Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
Exposure to ultra violet rays is a major risk factor for most melanoma (a common type of skin cancer) diagnoses. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for melanoma in the United States for 2021 are: About 106,110 new melanomas will be diagnosed and about 7,180 people are expected to die of melanoma.

All of these statistics were motivation to get information about sun safety out to students in Daviess County. The Sun Safety education station was added to Ag Safety Day at West Louisville Elementary School in Daviess County. During this event, the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for Daviess County reached 143 students, grades third thru fifth.

Each session was fifteen minutes so the Daviess County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent taught very basic information on sun safety and focused on the importance of protecting your skin, from Ultra Violet rays – all year long. The students were taught about Ultra Violet rays from the sun, the importance of using sunscreen and about SPF and the recommended level to wear, and other ways to protect their skin, like wearing hats, sunglasses, long sleeves, wearing sunscreen even on cloudy days and when swimming, using lip balms with SPF and staying in shaded areas. 

Each student received a UV bead bracelet; this reinforced the idea of protecting your skin all year, even on cloudy days. The UV beads detect UV rays and change colors, each student compared the color of beads from when they first put them on to the longer period of time they were outdoors. The beads changed colors and they answered questions correctly about what caused the beads to change colors. They learned the beads absorb UV rays the same way our skin does if it is not protected, by sunscreen or clothing. One-hundred percent of the students could tell what caused the UV beads to change colors. The students were also encouraged to go home and tell family members about the UV bead bracelet.

One-hundred percent of the students could tell me different ways to protect their skin, what the recommended SPF level was for everyone to wear, what SPF stood for and what UV stood for. The earlier we can teach children the importance of protecting their skin the better, maybe we can help prevent future cases of skin cancer.