Video |
Audio |
|---|---|
People tanning in water and on beach |
The suntan. It's a look a lot of people want to have. |
Donna Hinkes, parent, speaking |
You go on vacation and come back tan and they say you look so healthy. |
Man and woman walking out of water onto beach |
It's not just that people think a tan looks healthy - they think it looks sexy too. |
Margaret Earlich, skin cancer patient, speaking |
I think at one time tanning was sex appeal. |
Cynthia Jorgensen, Doctor of Public Health at Centers for Disease Control, speaking |
We know there's some segment of society that really wants darker, tanned skin and believes it's very beautiful. |
Shannon Loveless speaking |
I think they look like leather, personally, but... We'll see when I'm 40 and they're 40. |
Shannon Loveless walking |
Shanon loveless learned the hard way that tanning comes at a cost. She didn't always use sunscreen and stick to the shade. |
Shannon Loveless speaking |
I've been badly burned twice so my risks are a lot higher now. |
Shannon Loveless facing camera |
Only in her twenties, Shannon now worries about skin cancer. |
Drusilla Hufford, of US EPA, speaking |
One of the reasons why dermatologists have been concerned in the last few decades is because skin cancer is beginning to show up in younger and younger people. |
People sitting in grassy park Young girl playing in sand, bright sun overhead |
It's believed that even one sunburn raises your chances of getting skin cancer, and that young people may be especially vulnerable. |
Brief shots of SunWise educational materials, and a frisbee changing color |
So there's a push to educate kids. The Environmental Protection Agency partners with schools in a program called SunWise. They use fun, unique tools, like a frisbee that changes color in the sunlight. |
Drusilla Hufford speaking |
It's a really active way to get kids to understand that even if their skin doesn't feel different, it is already absorbing some of the damage from the sun the minute they step outside. |
Crowd cheering, soccer player running with ball, fan waving flag of DC United team |
To help give the message a higher profile, professional athletes are helping spread the SunWise word. |
Brandon Prideaux, player for DC United team, speaking |
The sun can be very dangerous. It's just really important to cover up and use sunscreen. |
Parents with small child at beach, shaded by umbrella, applying sunscreen; children playing in sunny water |
Most parents understand the importance of protecting their children from the sun's harmful UV radiation. |
Two children in a covered stroller; Donna Hinkes speaking |
I researched the stroller and we picked this one because it had the most protective shield to cover the kids in the sun. |
Aileen Cavanaugh, parent, speaking |
Daily, yes, lather them up with the sunblock. In the morning wash face, brush teeth, put on sunblock. |
Couple jogging and pushing child's stroller |
But too often, parents don't protect themselves the way they protect their kids. |
Aileen Cavanaugh speaking |
'Course I'm not setting the best example (laughs), but I do have sunblock on! |
Mike Hinkes, shirtless in the sun, speaking |
I should but I don't, I haven't. |
Drusilla Hufford speaking |
I really believe that there's a disconnect still between what we know and behaviors. |
Shirtless man fishing on sunny day, people at the beach. (Drusilla Hufford speaking) |
There's a sense that whatever it is that's out there that's bad, it can't happen to me. |
People at beach |
And so the beaches are still full of people who crave a tan. |
Bright sun flares in camera lens, closeup of shoulder |
But after bad burns as a teenager, Shannon Loveless knows what might lay ahead for her, and for them. |
Shannon Loveless speaking |
Skin cancer, premature aging. |
Logos of EPA and The Weather Channel over background of blue sky and mountains |
For the weather channel, I'm Nick Walker. |
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