Here’s the scenario: It’s Friday night and you head to your favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. You’re seated, and within minutes, a plate of hot, fried calamari arrives. You squeeze some fresh lemon over it to soak up the heaping amounts of fresh Parmesan cheese you add. Next, your salad arrives and after ladling on ample amounts of blue cheese dressing, you devour it. A couple sips of Chianti to wash it down before the main course; a huge plate of chicken Parmesan with a side of pasta and red sauce. You dig in and to assist in lapping it up, you grab a chunk of bread dripping with butter and garlic. You adjust your pants, shorts or skirt and push back from the table for a break … as you order a cappuccino and cannoli to top off the calorie fest. You wave goodbye to the proprietor and as you exit the eatery, you’re met by a doctor and nurse who ask you to voluntarily step on a scale, have a body mass index assessment and blood pressure check, followed by a cholesterol test. Seem farfetched? Maybe not!
This past July, some New Jersey sunbathers and beach-goers were greeted by medical staff offering free skin cancer screenings. Yep, that’s right. From the online “Press of Atlantic City” comes the report. “Joia Di Stefano, outreach coordinator at Shore Medical Center, and several other volunteers brought people off the sidewalks, streets and beaches to get the screenings and cancer-prevention education.
Lauren Cincotta, a physician assistant at Connolly Dermatology in Linwood, asked people one by one if they wanted her to check anything specific on their bodies. Some people asked about skin spots and moles; others opted for a general screen of all areas. While the free screenings do not replace a full-body dermatology examination, experts such as Cincotta make recommendations to patients on whether they should get something looked at more closely, said Angela Bailey, Shore Medical Center social worker and volunteer for the campaign.”
Is it just me who finds this slightly, well, odd? Some may feel that, “Hey, why not? It’s free and a good idea to get a screening.” Let me share my perspective. As those who do business in the tanning industry are well aware, there has been a significant and successful push to ban people 18 years and younger from tanning indoors. So, what efforts are made by the skin cancer folks with state and federal regulatory groups to ban those same people from bathing in the late July sun at the beach, where water and sand increase UV intensity? None. That’s right, nada.
Could you imagine the outcry of the chambers of commerce and local business operators in beach communities should these groups begin to ban the same youths from their sunny shores that are banned from using indoor tanning services?
Incredibly, on a recent vacay to Florida, I saw plenty of parents with young kids (some, with toddlers) having a blast at the beach. Yes, exposing these kids to the uncontrolled intensity of UV at the beach. It goes on throughout the summer at the ball fields, lakes, pools and parks. Kind of hypocritical, huh?
Remember these points as you explain to your guests the difference between indoor and outdoor sun exposure. Millions of people choose to tan indoors, where UV exposure is controlled by skin type and a timer, minimizing the risk of overexposure and sunburn.
