July is UV Safety Month, and the Johns Hopkins Work Stride: Managing Cancer at Work team is providing helpful information on staying safe in the summer sun. In coordination, the university's vendor partner BCBS will provide this month's wellness workshop, which is on skin cancer awareness (details below).
Whether you are gardening, swimming, or just spending time outdoors, protecting your skin from the sun's harmful UV rays—even on cloudy days—is very important because skin damage from the sun can lead to skin cancer, the most common types being basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma (the most serious).
The best way to protect your skin is to put on sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Apply the sunscreen 30 minutes before venturing out and, if you are staying outside, reapply it every two hours. Here are a few other tips for protecting your skin:
- Wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, and a hat.
- If your hat is a baseball cap, remember to apply sunscreen to your ears and the back of your neck.
- Protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses.
In addition to regularly protecting your skin and eyes, schedule a yearly appointment with a dermatologist for a full-body skin check.
Talk to your Work Stride oncology nurse navigator, who can answer your questions about skin cancer and help you understand how to protect yourself and your family. You can contact your nurse navigators at 844-446-6229 or managecancer@jh.edu.
To learn about the causes of skin cancer, prevention, early detection, and risk factors, and for a review of how to perform self-examinations, tune in to the Skin Cancer Awareness webinar from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. Register here.
Posted in Health+Well-Being
Tagged hr newswire
