Positive Addictions Day #1

Today I was able to take part in the Positive Addictions week. We will be doing two programs with the group total, and today was the first program. I worked with small groups to talk briefly about sun safety. I gave them a paper with myths of sun safety (and their truths) and then let them take a peek at themselves in the Derma Scan machine. When the machine was purchased the following article was published in the Allen County "Extension Line"

"How many people do you know who think they look healthy when they
have a tan or think being outside in the sun is good for them? Being in
the sun is good for us but too much sun at the wrong time and without
some precautions can be harmful. Many people have already done a
lot of damage to their skin and don't even know it. Did you know that
half of all new cancers are skin cancers and that about 1 million new
cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States each year?
There were about 44,200 new cases of malignant melanoma in 1999.
One person dies of melanoma every hour.
Farmers, landscapers, road and ditch maintenance crews, gardeners and
many others who work outdoors for extended periods of time are
especially at risk for skin cancer because of: increased amount of time
outdoors, time of day outdoors, limited use of canopies and cabs,
impracticality of wearing long sleeve shirts, unwillingness to wear
sunscreen, reluctance to wear wide brimmed hats, and just lack of
awareness of the hazards of excessive exposure to sun"
-Extension Line, June 2007

I think it was interested to talk with the kids that think sunbathing is the cool thing to do, and really give them real reasons to think twice about their sun habits. Being younger, I was able to speak to them on a level that they better understood. I just hope they think twice the next time they run out without sunscreen on.

Tomorrow is program two with the Positive Addictions week, and I will be team teaching with our FCS educator to talk about sterotyping.