2014 Jersey Shore “Choose Your Cover” UV/Skin Cancer Awareness
Saturday July 26 10AM – 2PM: Long Branch Beach
More Info: Deb Levinson 732-286-3693
Source: Choose Your Cover.org
This summer, the New Jersey Regional Chronic Disease Coalitions, sponsored by grant funding from the Health Department’s Office of Cancer Control and Prevention (OCCP), have once again taken to the beaches, parks and public swimming pools to provide free skin cancer screenings through Choose Your Cover, a statewide skin cancer awareness and education program. July is the peak month for the program, which runs through mid-August.
The New Jersey Department of Health is promoting Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Month to remind all New Jerseyans to take precautions to prevent skin cancer and get screened for early signs of skin cancer, because early detection saves lives.
Choose Your Cover now brings free skin cancer screenings, complimentary sunscreen and a wealth of vital skin safety information, involving cancer detection, prevention and sun smart precautions directly to the at-risk population of people who spend extended time in the sun.
Choose Your Cover recommends a number of sun smart precautions, including using sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 30 and wearing protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
“People of all ages and races need to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun,” says Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd. “Young children and infants should not be exposed to direct sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If infants are outside, protect them with sunscreen, a hat and an umbrella or a pop-up tent.”
While the incidence of many forms of cancer are declining, the incidence of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, has been increasing for at least 30 years. The American Cancer Society estimates that 2,520 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in New Jersey.