Did you know that today, May 5, 2014 is Melanoma Monday? Melanoma is a form of skin cancer.
When I was younger I never gave sunscreen a thought. I don’t think anyone my age did. I would go out in the sun from dawn to dusk with not a drop of sunscreen on my face or body. As a result I’ve had sun poisoning more than once. One time it was so severe that my face swelled up and I was unrecognizable. It even started to “ooze” fluid. It was pretty gross. I was so embarrassed to be seen in public, not to mention it was very painful and uncomfortable.
Fast forward my my adult years – specially about 15 years ago. I was at the Dermatologist for my Eczema and he wanted to look at my freckles and moles. He found six “suspicious” ones on my back that had to be removed. Thankfully they were not cancerous but it was a painful experience and very stressful waiting for the results.
I make sure to wear sunscreen all the time. The same applies for the rest of my family even though my daughter wants to be able to sit out and sunbathe so that she can get tanned. I rather her be pale and healthy then tanned with Melanoma.
The American Academy of Dermatology has designated the first Monday in May as Melanoma Monday. Their hope is to raise awareness of this type of cancer and encourage people to do self exams, see a dermatologist when they suspect something might be wrong and of course wear sunscreen all the time.
Did you know…
- On average, one American dies from melanoma every hour. In 2014, it is estimated that 9,710 deaths will be attributed to melanoma.
- Melanoma is the most common cancer for young adults 25 to 29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.
- When caught early, skin cancer – including melanoma – is highly treatable. The five-year survival rate for people whose melanoma is detected and treated before it spreads to the lymph nodes is 98 percent.
The fact is, skin cancer does not discriminate, but it’s preventable, so we want to get the word out as much as possible!
It would be great if you could help educate your friends and family, as well as those who follow you on your social media outlets (Facebook and Twitter) by sharing this video. It provides you with more facts and valuable information about this preventable disease.
Neutrogena is passionate about this cause and have created a special campaign that I hope my readers will consider participating in.
The campaign is called the Neutrogena® Choose Skin Health campaign. The campaign kicks off today (May 5th) and runs through the end of July. As part of the campaign, Neutrogena is encouraging consumers to purchase products with SPF in it.
For every Neutrogena product with SPF that is purchased from May through July, Neugrogena will make a donation to a family in need, up to $10 million dollars.
Sunscreen is important to help protect and prevent against skin cancer for both adults and children. Sadly, some families can’t afford something like sunscreen. That is why Neutrogena came up with this campaign – to help provide families in need with sunscreen to help protect them this summer.
Check out this brief video featuring adorable children to learn more about the campaign.
I hope you will consider participating in Neutrogena’s Choose Skin Health campaign. Please spread the word to family, friends, co-workers and people on your social networking sites. And don’t forget to #ChooseSkinHealth. I don’t want any of my readers to become another melanoma statistic.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the benefit of my site readers as well as to support the campaign. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Christina Foley says
my mom was diagnosed with melanoma last July, it has been a very rough and scary time the past few months. Melanoma is so very difficult to diagnose at an early stage… you see pictures and know to look for the ABCDE of melanoma but my moms looked nothing like the pictures and only fit 1 of the ABCDE’s. I’ve always work sunscreen and been very cautious but I am even more so now. I’ve used the Neutrogena wet skin kids for a few years now… love that they will donate one! Thanks for sharing this very important info!