12
Clackamas Print
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Safety in the sun
Skin cancer is deadly
and on the rise; protect
yourself this summer
Lydia Bashaw
I The Clackamas Print
Bacon: thick, pale slices of meat
that smell so good when cooked.
Drop them in a heated pan and
watch them brown and get crispy.
This deliciously dangerous food
reacts the same way to heat as human
skin - it gets darker and dries out.
Just like bacon, which ends its life
shortly
after being cooked, too much sun on
bare skin can end your life.
With the summer months here,
the sun is getting more dangerous
every day.
“People fail to realize the dangers
the sun has on skin,” said Doctor
John Antolik, a family physi
cian. “Skin cancer has
become one of the
most common cancers
today. It’s a very seri
ous problem.”
The most common
cause of skin cancer is
excessive exposure to
the sun. Ultraviolet rays
(UVR) cannot be felt on
the skin and penetrate
deep into our cells, caus
ing changes that lead to
skin cancer, skin ageing,
sunburns and eye dam
age.
Even if you have dark
skin, UVR can affect you.
The sun does not have to
be particularly hot to hurt
your skin; in fact, it is most
intense during midday.
The best way to save
your skin from frying is
to wear sunscreen. It may be
a hassle, but sunscreen could ulti
mately save you a lot of pain and
suffering later. Applying sunscreen
20 minutes before you go outside
and reapplying often will help pro
tect you.
“Everyone needs to wear sun-
screen, especially May through
August,” said Antolik. “Sion
cancer is a killer, and we need to
be more .aware of that.”
Buy sunscreen that is SPF
15 or higher and also broad
spectrum, Which protects against
different types of sunrays. Apply
liberally, and make
sure that all chil
dren and babies are
well-protected. To
be safe, use shade
whenever possible.
Trees and umbrellas
give your skin a rest
from the destructive
heat.
The most impor
tant thing to remem
ber is that skin cancer
is real. Tanning beds
and the sun are the
leading causes of skin
cancer deaths, includ
ing melanoma. Check
your skin often, and
look for unusual moles
and marks. Be sure
to contact a doctor if
something is out of the
ordinary.
Doctor
Antolik’s
piece of advice: “Don’t believe
you are invincible. It affects
everyone, from black skin to the
palest white. You can get skin
cancer. Cover up with sunscreen
or clothing. It could save your
life.”
Summertime and the swimming's
easy; just be careful about it
Andrea Simpson
The Clackamas Print
The last time I went to the beach, Pamela
Anderson did not run out and save me from
sinking to a watery grave - nor did David
* Hasselhoff, for that matter.
This summer, many people will enjoy
going swimming in the ocean and the vari
ous lakes and rivers in Oregon. But before
you dive in, read up on your swimming
safety.
According to the Department of Health
and Human Services, in 2004 there were
3,308 unintentional drownings in the United
States. That averages nine people a day.
There are many things you can do to pre
vent accidents while in the water.
This may sound obvious, but never swim
alone. You may think you are the best swim
mer in the world, but you never know when
you will need the help of others. The buddy
system is the number one way to stay safe.
Never dive in after someone who is
drowning. Many people drown within feet
of safety. Practice the “Reach, Throw, Row,
Don’t Go” method. Reach first with a pole
or stick and instruct the victim to grab hold.
If that doesn’t work, scan the area for milk
jugs or an empty cooler that can be thrown
in and used as a buoy.
If there happens to be a boat nearby,
row your way out to them. Never approach
a swimmer with the motor of the boat on.
Unless you are trained in lifeguard tech
niques, you should never enter the water to
save someone.
When swimming in the ocean, every
one should be aware of riptide^. Riptides
are retreating waves that tend to have an
extremely strong pull. If you feel yourself
being sucked out by a riptide, the best thing
you can do is swim parallel to shore until
you don’t feel the tug of the tide anymore.
Do not swim toward- shore. This takes a
great deal of energy and'isn’t very effec
tive.
Educating yourself on how to swim is
probably one of the most effective ways
to prevent an accident. The American Red
Cross offers swimming classes, as do most
pools in the area. If you can be trained as a
lifeguard, even better. Then, you can assist
saving someone else.
This summer, there is no need to stay out
of the water - as long as you take these life
saving precautions into consideration.
Fashionable tan led
to silent killer
, Lydia Bashaw
|| The Clackamas Print .
Clackamas resi
dent Misty Hammond
appears to have the
perfect life. She is
expecting her first
child in February
and is getting mar
ried in two weeks.
But the doctors
say she is dying. The
killer? The sun.
. “When T
was
young, the sun didn’t
scare
me,” ;• said
Hammond. “I have
dark skin, dark hair
and dark eyes. Who
would have thought
that I would be the
one to get cancer?”
Hammond,
23,
was an addicted tan
ner for eight years
Photo contributed by Tiffany Hartl
- she used to spend
several days a week Hammond and fiancé Adamson |h 1
inside the tanning a tender moment. Hammond has ir
bed or out in the chance of surviving her cancer.! n
sun. Today, she has
For Hammond, theld.v
Lentigo Maligna Melanoma, was caught too late. Dei
a form, of skin cancer. Inside tell her there are no treat: [
her home, there are pamphlets available to save her
spread across the dining room Holdingehands with her fi (
table: Living with Melanoma, Greg Adamson, she shars 01 j
Dealing with Cancer, How to truth about her disease! j ic
pi
Live Through Cancer.
“This disease that I| 1 hpv
. She knows very well why going to take my lif|
iKe my nil, j]C
she has cancer. Pulling her Hammond. ‘ “I " may noili1E
.11
knees underneath her, she see my baby
f go to her firs
explained the lure of the sun, of school. I may not live l
the desire to fit into a world her graduate or get ma
with high expectations about
— and it’s my own fault.’*'--
looks amongst her and other
Accordingtgihe Ame
young women. JB
Cancer Society,/over 8
“Back then, we all thought sand people die a year
having a tan was sexy; now, I melanoma, more thanBi
see it, as a deadly attraction,” thepi women. In 2006/
said Hammond. “We all think 59 thousand people were
that without that extra color
nosed with melanoma, a' /
on our legs and arms that we cent increase from 1990
aren’t pretty. We think that we
dangers of. skin cancer
have to have the same tan as menial to most, but the
Jennifer Aniston, but we never bers are rising.
Jon
realize the consequences of
“I wish I could tell eve <
following our stupid expecta I meet that the sun is a k
tions about body image.”
said Hammond. “I wish
With lovely dark hair and every person could kno
an olive skin tone, Hammond
real dangers. It’s slowly
could pass for a movie star. a hold on my life, an«Hl
She does not seem like the continue to do so. There’
type doctors would warn about
way to curb the sun. It’
the sun. In fact, she is the
not possible; we have¿q
opposite of the pale, freckled it into our own hands. W 16
girls who are often cautioned
With three weeks ¡til tor
to wear sunscreen, but she
wedding,
Hammond -
knows firsthand that the sun
Adamson struggle to 1 lai
does not discriminate.
decisions about the fu
“I wish someone would
Who should give the
have told me that skin cancer
speech at their rehearsal
is possible for everyone,” she
ner? What should they
said. “I don’t get the chance to their baby? Should they
fix this. There are no second
into a bigger place with a
chances.”
one on the way?
■ •
But Hammond is trying to
The one question
make a difference by increas
doesn’t come up: Is this
ing the awareness of skin cer going to ruin our live
cancer, especially among her
“We have decided!to
friends and family. Next to forward. We are putting s ?
the doorway of the apartment
energy towards this mai
she shares with her fiancé is a
and this child,” said Apai
bottle of Coppertone SPF 40.
“I love Misty with my y.
“I won’t let anyone leave heart. Wherever this c
the house without applying takes her, I will be there ‘
some to their bare skin,” she
Hammond knows that
said. “It’s become an obses cannot save her from Ithc.,
sion. When I have my baby, son in her body. She 1U1
the first thing it will learn is that she will be lucky to
the importance of listening. more than a few yearlwi
Doctors don’t lie to us; they treatment, which shegde
mean it when they say some not to go through becau
thing is bad for us.”
concerns about the effec
Hammond was diagnosed her child.
with advanced melanoma three
“The hard truth islth.
months ago. Her first child, a tfie end, I’m not going tc
girl, is due near the end of cancer. It’s not possitje,
February 2008.
can live my life happily,
Lentigna
Maligna said. “I just wish moil p
Melanoma carries a death rate would listen to the warnii
of 70 percent, giving one in would never wish this on
three a chance of living five one. Skin cancer is real.”**-
years.