While the summer months may be winding down, it’s still plenty hot and the fact is that the sun’s rays damage your skin 12 months out of the year. Here’s a few facts according to the Skin Cancer Foundation (www.skincancer.org):
- Over 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are treated in more than 3.3 million people in the U.S.
- Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon combined.
- Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
- One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
- One person dies of melanoma every hour.
I offer up these facts not in an effort to scare readers but to educate. Prior to conducting my research, I had no idea the figures were so incredibly high.
Most residents along the Gulf Coast take full advantage of all the fishing, boating and beaching opportunities we’re blessed to have. They also enjoy countless other outdoor activities and many work outside in the sun. Simply put, we are at a high risk for developing skin cancers, so do everything you can to protect yourself.
Dr. Jeremy Sunseri of Sun Dermatology treats a lot of fisherman because not only are they getting exposure from the sun above, but also from the rays reflecting off the water’s surface below. This greatly increases the amount of UV exposure and puts anglers at a much higher risk for skin cancers. He asks anyone that spends time outside, but especially anglers, to come in and get checked out if you have any kind of bump or spot on your skin that you might not be sure of. It’s just not worth the risk to ignore, and the longer things are left untreated, the worse the results can be…Don’t put it off! He also suggests you always cover up with sun block and clothing with a high UPF protection rating. I agree, and do my best to follow his advice especially with my clothing.
A hat, long pants, long sleeve shirts and a face mask are my choice. I suggest you purchase clothing built for sun protection because not all clothing is designed to protect you in this way. Gillz LLC (https://gillz-gear.com) produces the shirts and masks I’ve been fishing with for many years now…they’re all I use. GillzTec™ fabric with a UPF 50+ rating blocks 98% of the sun’s UVA/UVB rays. Their products are specifically designed to protect you from the sun while keeping you cool by maximizing ventilation with their unique Gillz Cross Breeze Ventilation™. The Pro Striker Series shirt, with the mask built into the collar, makes it easy to cover my face and neck from the sun and bugs. These shirts will keep you cool and protected and that means more fish!
Take care of yourselves, cover up with the right gear and don’t wait to have that spot looked at.
~ Capt. Randy (C-note) Cnota
Visit Sun Dermatology at www.sundermatology.com or call (850) 215-3612.
