{"id":350,"date":"2017-09-21T22:25:26","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T02:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.melanomaeducation.net\/?p=350"},"modified":"2019-07-21T15:04:26","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T15:04:26","slug":"sun-safety-based-lessons-are-ineffective-for-educating-teens-about-skin-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/sun-safety-based-lessons-are-ineffective-for-educating-teens-about-skin-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun Safety-Based Lessons are Ineffective for Educating Teens About Skin Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the 18 years since the Melanoma Education Foundation<\/em> (MEF) was founded, we\u2019ve learned that the success of sun safety instruction varies, depending on the age of the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun safety education has a much greater effect on elementary school students than it does on teens who attend junior high and high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sloan Kettering Cancer Center<\/em> recently conducted a study on this topic. They researched the difference between elementary and middle school students in Framingham, Massachusetts. They discovered a 50% reduction in the use of sunscreen use by the middle schoolers in comparison with that of the elementary school students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite significantly increasing the amount of sun safety instruction taught in classrooms, we\u2019re frequently informed by secondary school health teachers that their students aren\u2019t taking heed of the information presented to them. They ignore the dangers of skin exposure to UV rays, and continue to tan either naturally or through tanning beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun\u2019s harmful UV rays are directly responsible for 70% of melanomas and 95% of other skin cancers. In light of these alarming statistics, the question remains why would teens continually disregard sun safety lessons designed to keep them safe and healthy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We think that the way the information is being presented is improperly balanced. Sun safety is overemphasized at the expense of sufficiently educating students about the consequences of overexposure to UV rays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEF<\/em> lessons do include sun safety information of course, but they start by focusing the students\u2019 attention on melanoma itself; what it really is, what it does and how it does it. This is tremendously important, because melanoma is the skin cancer most likely to affect them all the way from infancy into adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our lessons start with providing key information about melanoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n