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Other than working on equipment and taxes, and maybe clearing
some snow, most landscapers and lawn professionals have little to do
before the Spring season kicks into gear. It's a great time to do
some body maintenance. Not body work on your trucks, body work on
yourself. Take time to schedule a skin cancer screening.
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More
than 1 million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer may
occur each year, and there is evidence that the rates
are rising.
National Cancer Institute |
If you're like most lawn and landscape workers, you've baked in the
sun for years without the proper skin protection. Even though sun
screen lotions have become more common in recent decades, how many
workers take time to apply them daily? And we've all heard repeated
warnings about covering as much skin as possible while working
outdoors, but how many landscapers have you seen wearing a
long-sleeved shirt on a hot day? Wide brimmed hats are also
recommended, but baseball caps are the norm. They just cover part of
the neck or face, depending which direction they point.
But after all, this is a blog, not a lecture.
My point being that most people who work outside have ignored many
of the warnings about skin cancer. There's no remedy for the past, but
you can take time over the winter months to get a skin cancer
screening.
Sun screen lotion should also be
applied in winter
One magazine article I recently read said that it's
not a matter of IF you will get cancer, it's more a matter of
IF it will be detected early. Cancer treatments and cures are much
simpler and more successful in the early stages. It's not that much
different than treating a lawn's grub problem early. Proactive instead of
reactive. Ahead of the game instead of behind the 8-Ball.
It wasn't the written material on skin cancer that finally prompted me to
get a skin cancer screening this week, it was two friends who turned
up with
melanoma on their faces. Both of them work outside, one in the
lawn care industry and the other as a parcel delivery driver. I took
their stories to heart.
The winter lull is an excellent time to do some preventive
maintenance on yourself.
Here's to good health!
Bob
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Risk Factors for
Melanoma |
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Being white and over 20 years old
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Blue eyes
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Unusual moles
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Red or blond hair
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Exposure to natural
sunlight
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White or light-colored
skin and freckles
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Exposure to artificial
ultraviolet light (tanning booth)
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Family or personal
history of melanoma
Source:
National Cancer Institute |
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