Teaching Student Sun Safety In Nevada A Statewide Problem (NAPSA)—There are about 76,000 ~~ 25 new cases of melanoma—the deadliest kind of skin cancer—diagnosed every year. In 2018, around 800 ofthose will be diagnosed in Nevada.I's a problem the Nevada CancerCoalition (NCC)is deter- minedto change,starting with thestate's youngest residents. Prevention Starts Early If a child gets even onesevere(blistering) sunburn,it can doublehis or her risk ofskin cancerlaterin life. The NCC. program called Sun Smart Schools, started with CDC funding in 2015, is Nevada Cancer Coalition staff, Cari Herington (center) and Chris- based on three “pillars” of sun safety: tine Thompson(right), and intern shade, and helping state officials understand that sun-safe policies could help decrease Nevada's skin cancer problem nerville Elementary Schoolin Doug- education, access to sunscreen and in the next generation. ‘Thefirst year of the program began with only seven schools. Students were given a small bottle of sunscreen to clip onto their backpacks. Schoolnurses had. a large bottle of sunscreen for refills, and each school gave lessons in sun safety developed by organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Skin Cancer Foundation. Two surveys showed kids and families were changingtheir attitudes and actions on sun protectionin a positive way. From Pilot to Powerhouse In the next schoolyear, the program. grew in a big way. Many more schools joined,including everysingle schoolin Bria Hosier (left) lead a Sun Smart Schools kickoff assembly at Gard- las Count ‘Thompson, community programs man- ager for NCC. 2018 and Beyond By the end of 2017, there were 55 sunscreen dispensers at 28 different schools. NCC expects that the dispensers, announcements, and lesson plans will be in 48 schools by spring of 2019. To show thatit's never too late to think about sun protection, communities around the state—with the help of NCC—havestarted putting up sun- screen dispensers in public placeslike parks and swimming pools. Volunteers hand out samples of sunscreen and sun safety brochures at outdoorevents Douglas County. A partnership between NCC and a company that makes sun- year-round. Smart Schoolsto the next level. Instead of givingout bottles of sunscreen, many of the participating schools had a dispenser live, you can lower yourrisk and your family’s risk for skin cancer bypractic ing sun safety. Someschools don't allow Schoolsin the program got materials you can encourage kids to apply sunscreen before school, stay in the shade when playing outside, and wear widebrimmed hats and sunglasses outside the schoolbuilding, screen dispensers helped move Sun installed at the building so kids could get sunscreenanytimeduring theday. for daily announcementssuchas infor- mation on the UVindex and how the sun’sreflection from snow raises sunburnrisk. Partnership MeansEverything Soon, communities were getting on board. Staying in the shade is another good way to avoid UV exposure. Nurs- eries and tree farms near a few schools donated trees to help provide shade. Parent-teacher associations were holding fundraisers to buy andplant more. “One of the things thatreally hits homefor meevery dayis having key partners in every place)”says Christine What You Can Do Nomatter where in the country you studentsto carry over-the-counter medicines and creamssuchas sunscreen, so Getin the habit of carrying many types of sun protection with you when you planto be outside. Sunscreen works best when used with shadeor protective clothing. Use sunscreen ofat least SPF 15 on any exposed skin, and make sure to re-apply every twohours orafter swimming, sweating, or toweling off. Learn what CDCis doing to address skin cancernationwide at www.cdc.gov/ cancer/skin.
