Division of Public Health Services Office of the Assistant Director
	1740  West Adams Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2670 PHONE: (602) 542-1023    FAX: (602) 542-1145	JANET NAPOLITANO, GOVERNOR CATHERINE R. EDEN, DIRECTOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 20, 2003

Desert Plants Teach Students How to Avoid Getting Stuck With Skin Cancer

Arizona students are learning how to avoid sun damage thanks to some prickly plants at the Desert Botanical Garden.

About 60 kindergarten students from St. Francis-Xavier Elementary School will visit the Garden from 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m., Friday, March 28, to discover unique ways cacti have developed to protect their skin.

The fun-filled trip has a serious purpose: Arizonans are at double the risk for skin cancer than most Americans. Even more startling is that one in every 41 Americans has a risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

“Studies have indicated people receive 80 percent of their lifetime exposure to the sun by the time they are 18 years old. This means that protecting young children from overexposure to the sun can have a tremendous impact on lowering lifetime risk of skin cancer,” said Will Humble, Chief of Environmental Health for the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The students are part of the new SunWise Arizona Skin Cancer Prevention Program offered through the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). More than 250 schools statewide have enrolled in the program, and are protecting students from overexposure to the sun.

Children participating in the field trip will show SunWise behaviors: Wearing wide-brimmed sun-protective hats, and demonstrating how to correctly apply sunscreen. They’ll also share colorful posters created for a contest sponsored by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the SHADE Foundation and ADHS.

Teachers will have ultra-violet beads, frisbees and nail polish that turn vivid colors when exposed to the sun, but remain unchanged when protected with sunscreen.

Arizona began implementing the Environmental Protection Agency’s SunWise school program in February 2003 for elementary and middle schools in Arizona. The program encourages schools to adopt sun-safe policies and promote sun-safe educational programs in order to encourage life-long sun safety behaviors. Schools that participate in the free SunWise program receive materials that facilitate cross-curricular classroom learning. The program also encourages schools to provide a sun-safe infrastructure, including shade structures and policies (e.g., using hats, sunscreen, sunglasses) that promote sun protection in a school setting.

The SHADE Foundation, founded by Arizona Diamondbacks player Curt Schilling and his wife Shonda, is dedicated to educating children and adults about preventing skin cancer and teaching about detection of potential skin problems before they become life threatening.

The poster contest, which targets public and private school students up to age 17, is designed to educate youngsters about protecting themselves, friends and family members from the harmful effects of overexposure to the sun. The grand prize: Four tickets to the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies game in Phoenix on May 5. The winner will throw out the first pitch, and have his or her picture taken with a Diamondbacks’ player. The teacher of the winning artist also will receive tickets to the game.

Shonda Schilling understands first-hand the importance of protecting children and adults from the sun after developing melanoma herself, and undergoing several surgeries to remove the cancerous lesions. She is now cancer free. “Teaching our kids to practice safe sun behaviors now may prevent them from having to deal with the sun’s damaging health effects in the long-term,” she said. “This is a highly preventable illness.”

Contest Rules
Posters must be at least 8 ½ “ by 11” in size and may not exceed 11” by 17” and should suggest ways to ways to prevent skin cancer and raise sun safety awareness, such as using sunscreen, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, limiting time in the midday sun, seeking shade, covering up to protect one’s skin and checking the ultraviolet (UV) index.

All posters must be original. Use of the Arizona Diamondbacks logo or personnel (e.g. D. Baxter the Bobcat ) is permitted. All posters must be received by the Department by April 18, 2003. Contest entry forms can be obtained by contacting Sharon McKenna, Arizona Department of Health Services, 3815 N. Black Canyon Hwy, Phoenix, Arizona 85015 or smkenn@hs.state.az.us.

To learn more about SunWise: http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/sunwise/
To learn more about the SHADE Foundation: http://www.shadefoundation.org

~ Leadership for a Healthy Arizona ~