Skin Cancer Initiative

Auburn, May 20, 2003 --- Alabama Cooperative Extension System agents are working to educate Alabamians about one of the state’s most serious, but often underrated health risks -- sunlight exposure and its all-too-common consequence, skin cancer.

Alabama’s skin cancer rate is one of the highest in the country – not surprising, considering that the state is located in the very heart of the Sunbelt. And while an increasing number of Alabamians are aware that there is a price to pay for overexposure to sunlight, many are not aware of just how serious the consequences can be.

“Few really are aware of the risks associated with overexposure, and even fewer are aware that the risks go beyond skin cancer,” says Barbara Mobley, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist for family programs.

Each year, in fact, more than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States, and one person dies every hour from melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer.

With this in mind, more than 80 Cooperative Extension agents throughout Alabama recently attended an intensive training session on skin cancer with the ultimate goal of educating those most susceptible to skin cancer: construction workers, farmers, outdoor recreation workers and recreation participants, such as sunbathers.

The project, known as the Alabama Skin Cancer Initiative, is the brainchild of Coffee County Extension Coordinator Sandra Coffey, a member of Alabama’s Cancer Advisory Board, who organized a committee to explore ways to educate Alabamians more effectively about the risks associated with sunlight overexposure.

Funding for the initiative was provided by the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“Alabama has a high rate of skin cancer, and it’s going up all the time,” Mobley says. “It’s because of our prolonged presence in the sun, coupled with low use of preventative measures such as sunscreen.”

“Also, so many of our outdoor workers don’t wear shirts to cover their torsos and arms or wide-brimmed hats to protect their ears.”

A major focus of the educational initiative will be encouraging Alabamians to take the right precautions when laboring or playing in the sunshine.

“This includes using sunscreen, wearing long-sleeved clothes and pants and broad-rimmed hats,” Mobley says, adding that “staying out of the sun during the times of day when sunlight is most intense – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – is another effective safeguard.”

“Our first recommendation would be to stay out of the sun during these critical hours,” Mobley says. “Of course, for many farmers and construction workers, that’s not always possible, but that’s why it’s even more important for these people to take precautions.”

Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, also is one of the fastest growing types of cancer in the United States, with cases doubling within the past two decades. Many scientists suspect a link between childhood sunburns and malignant melanoma later in life.

Unlike melanoma, nonmelanoma skin cancers are rarely fatal, though they can spread and cause more serious problems if left untreated.

An estimated 1 million Americans will develop melanoma skin cancers this year, while 1,900 will die from the disease.

Other, more benign conditions associated with the overexposure to sunlight include actinic keratoses, skin growths that can become malignant if left untreated; premature aging of the skin, which results in thick, wrinkled and leathery skin; cataracts and other forms of eye damage, a few of which can lead to blindness; and immune suppression, which can alter the distribution and function of disease-fighting white cells.

(Source: Barbara Mobley, Extension Specialist, Family Programs, 334-844-2225.)

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