May 25: Don’t Fry Day

Posted by Chad Vorthmann on May 17, 2012 in Featured, Rural Life | 0 comments

To encourage sun safety awareness and remind everyone to protect their skin while outdoors, the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention has declared May 25—the Friday before Memorial Day—as “Don’t Fry Day.”

Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States due to overexposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun. The American Cancer Society estimates that one American dies every hour from skin cancer. This year alone, ACS estimates there will be more than 76,250 new cases of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, and more than 2 million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers in the U.S.

“Farmers and ranchers are fortunate to be able to spend much of their working lives outdoors,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “The downside of prolonged exposure to the sun while on the farm or ranch is that it can lead to skin damage and cancer.”

In fact, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, outdoor workers experience twice the amount of non-melanoma skin cancers (basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas) compared to those who work indoors.

Use that sunscreen!