Sun Safe Kids Program Promotes Skin Cancer Prevention

August 11, 2004---In many communities around the state, school has started, and soon thoughts about summer vacation will be a fading memory for many children and adults. However, damage from the sun to one

Thanks to a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System is partnering with the Alabama Department of Public Health Cancer Prevention Division to present the Sun Safe Kids program. This program promotes skin cancer prevention in preschool children by training parents, teachers, day care providers and local medical staff about the dangers of excessive sun exposure. The training program also provides suggestions on how to be a sun safe kid.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, people get most of their sun exposure by age 18. The more children are exposed to the sun, the greater their chances of permanent skin damage and skin cancer are as they become adults. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and it is also the most common cancer found in adults ages 25 to 29.