Skin Cancer Prevention Success Stories
Programs have found many innovative ways to help prevent skin cancer in their communities. Some highlights are provided below.
The Rhode Island Department of Health will install more free sunscreen dispensers at state beaches and parks, expanding its successful program making sun safety a priority.
The Sun Smart Schools program teaches students how to protect their skin from too much exposure to the sun and encourages schools to create sun safety policies.
The Vermont Department of Health partnered with IMPACT Melanoma to add free sunscreen dispensers in 28 state and local parks and private ski areas. The dispensers have messaging promoting the importance of sunscreen.
The Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America helps outdoor workers prevent skin cancer by educating them and their employers about sun safety.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center uses a multi-component community-wide approach to improve sun protection in a variety of settings in Baytown, Texas.
Health educators from the University of Arizona Skin Cancer Institute raise community awareness of skin cancer and educate the public on skin cancer prevention and early detection strategies.
The skin cancer prevention efforts in New Hampshire are one example of using surveillance data to inform community action.
The Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness Campaign provided permanent and portable shade structures for schools’ athletic fields.
To support sun-safe behaviors, the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation created an initiative to provide free sunscreen in convenient and attractive dispensers throughout El Paso, Texas.
Since 2003, the American Academy of Dermatology has given money to schools, child care centers, parks, and nonprofit organizations to build more than 350 permanent shade structures.
The Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus is a national initiative supported by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention. It aims to break ties between universities and tanning salons and educate college students about skin cancer prevention.
The Georgia Sunscreen Initiative works with skin cancer prevention experts, state agencies, and universities to reduce skin cancer in local communities.
The Peggy Spiegler Melanoma Research Foundation built a free-standing shade structure at the Albert Bean Elementary School in Pine Hill, New Jersey.