From my column that ran in The News Journal on June 5, 2013.
Safety-conscious outdoorsmen take various precautions to ensure their continued participation in outdoor activities. Hunters use insect repellent to guard against potentially dangerous tick and mosquito bites. Target shooters wear earplugs or earmuffs to preserve their hearing and safety glasses to protect their eyes. And fishermen wear life jackets to prevent drowning.
Lyme disease, West Nile virus, hearing loss, eye injuries and drowning are issues that garner much attention in the outdoors community, but hunters, fishermen and other outdoors enthusiasts tend to overlook another serious and potentially deadly issue: skin cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, with more than 3.5 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers account for more than 95 percent of the skin cancer cases each year and typically develop on the face, lips, neck, ears, backs of hands and other areas of the skin frequently exposed to the sun. Melanoma, a less common but more serious form of skin cancer, can develop anywhere on the skin but frequently starts on the chest or back of men or on the legs of women. Basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma skin cancers are almost always curable if found early enough.
By definition, outdoors enthusiasts frequently expose their skin (the largest organ of the body) to sunlight for extended periods of time, so they may be more susceptible to skin cancer.
Mel Toponce, of Walnut Creek, Calif., has spent a great deal of time in the outdoors as a hunter, fisherman and outdoors journalist. “I have spent a lifetime in the outdoors, and never had a single cancer until I was around 55 years old,” Toponce said. “Now, at age 82, I have them popping up like popcorn in an endless chain. I have undergone 10 or 12 operations on my face and am now undergoing a session of treatment using [a physician-prescribed] cream in place of surgery.”
Toponce believes his outdoors activities contributed to his skin cancer, and he believes fishermen, especially those who spend years fishing saltwater, are especially at risk. His 25 years of saltwater fly-fishing and a bout with skin cancer and related surgery on his eyelid have led him to wear sunglasses and a face cover while fishing. He also endorses the use of large-brimmed hats, rather than ballcaps.
“We in the USA live in a baseball hat culture,” Toponce said. “This type of hat is seen everywhere, including the TV outdoor channels. I guarantee you that this type of hat is one of skin cancer’s best friends,” he said.
While Toponce used his first-hand outdoors experiences to influence his sun protection measures, medical professionals echo his advice. Adam Raben, M.D., radiation oncologist for Christiana Care Health System, recommends that outdoors enthusiasts use at least SPF 30 sunscreen on their faces, necks and backs of hands while outdoors. Raben also recommends that participants in outdoors activities wear wide-brimmed hats and clothing that keeps their skin covered, and he advocates self-examinations. “I think any [outdoors enthusiast] that has large areas of sun exposure should self-examine to look for skin lesions or changes,” Raben said.
The American Cancer Society recommends that people notify their doctors if they find changes in their skin, including the size or color of moles, discolored spots or oozing or bleeding bumps. They also offer other tips for skin cancer prevention, including avoiding direct sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and seeking shade when the sun’s rays are strongest.
For more information about skin cancer, see http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/sunanduvexposure/skin-cancer-facts