Friendly Reminder to Use Sunscreen

By: Maggie Brauer

Skin cancer isn’t a joke, so we wanted to remind everyone to grab that gunky, smelly and sometimes foul sunscreen.

Here are a few facts in case you need convincing:

• New skin cancer cases are on the rise or holding steady for both men and women across all ethnicities, except for Asian/Pacific Islander men.
• Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, occurring more frequently than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer combined.
• Nearly 10,000 people in the U.S. died from skin cancer related illnesses in 2011, the last year we have data for. The number of deaths have also increased ever year between 2003-2011.
• The states with the highest rates of incidents are Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. Just because you aren’t in the south doesn’t mean you can skip the protection.
• Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming have the highest rates of death from skin cancer related illnesses.
• Over 90% of the visibly/physical changes in people’s appearance often associated with age is actually caused by sun damage.
• People who use sunscreen daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily.

We want you to get out and enjoy this beautiful planet we call home, but we want you to do it while wearing sunscreen.