AAD, MLB And MLB Players Association Play Sun Smart To Strike Out Skin Cancer

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) are teaming up with the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) this summer through the Play Sun SmartTM program to educate players and fans about skin cancer. The many hours spent in the midday sun playing baseball or cheering for their favorite team puts both players and fans at risk for skin cancer, a potentially life-threatening condition that affects 1 in 5 Americans.

Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig learned the importance of skin cancer detection and prevention in 2004 when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for melanoma.

“Long before early detection of my own Level IV Melanoma saved me, Major League Baseball was committed to educating and warning our teams and our fans about the dangers of sun exposure and skin cancer,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “We’ve been playing sun smart for ten years now and while there is still a lot of education to be done, I am proud that Baseball is a leader in the fight against skin cancer. I encourage the public to get a skin cancer screening from a dermatologist because it could save your life. When it comes to the sun, we want all of our field personnel, front office staff and fans to play smart and defeat skin cancer.”

This year marks the 10th year of the Play Sun SmartTM program, a public service partnership between the Academy, MLB and the MLBPA to raise awareness of the importance of skin cancer detection and prevention. MLB has dedicated June 21, the first day of summer, as Play Sun SmartTM skin cancer awareness day.

In celebration of the 10th year of the program, MLB is expanding its commitment to help strike out skin cancer by releasing a new public service announcement (PSA) which will be played at ballparks across the country featuring past and present spokesmen, urging the public to Play Sun SmartTM. In addition to the PSA, MLB will be distributing sun safety tip cards at guest services in all ball parks and sun safety messages will be made by the game day announcers. A full page Play Sun SmartTM ad also will run in USA Today prior to June 21, MLB’s Skin Cancer Awareness Day.

More than 1 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year and one American dies of melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes). Of these cases, more than 116,500 are melanoma, a cancer that claims more than 8,000 lives annually. Since the Play Sun SmartTM program’s inception in 1999, more than 19,000 skin cancer screenings of players, trainers, coaches and staff of the MLB family have been conducted.

“The baseball community continues to set a good example of sun-safe behavior,” said dermatologist Brian B. Adams, MD, MPH, Chair of the Academy’s Sports Committee. “We encourage everyone, including baseball players and fans, to regularly conduct skin self-examinations to look for signs of skin cancer which can be successfully treated if caught early.”

Skin self-examinations consist of regularly looking over the entire body, including the back, scalp, soles, between the toes and on the palms. If there are any changes in the size, color, shape or texture of a mole, the development of a new mole or any other unusual changes in the skin, see a dermatologist immediately.

Source:

1. AAD, MLB And MLB Players Association Play Sun Smart To Strike Out Skin Cancer