Skin Cancer from Long-Term Sun Exposure

[rebel heart]

Hat, sailing gloves, long sleeve shirt, shorts that go over the tops of your knees, sunglasses. Funny enough I wrote all this out in a blog post 4 years ago. My attire has remained pretty constant.

Rebel Heart - Sailing, cruising, liveaboard blog and website - Eric's Blog - Eric's Sailing*Uniform

[tager]

Straw hats for the win. Especially good for MOB practice.

[cchesley]

Yep. It does matter eventually. I've had a couple cancerous doodads removed from my face in the past year or so. Skin graft on the nose, good little chunk removed from my forehead. I was too tough to use that sun screen stuff.....

Now I wear a hat, use the goop and sail under a hardtop with UV protective acrylic windows

and I see my dermatologist regularly!

[bobconnie]

I guess Im one of the lucky ones ! red headed as a young man, been at sea over 50yrs, always wore a hat and sun glasses, never used sun block, or that type of stuff. All my freckels (spl) grew together into a heavey tan, went bald 20 yrs ago had cks a couple of times nothing ! a little blind from glare, but with glasses I still see ok. Guess Im gonna keep going this way cus it makes for less stuff to have aboard, course Connie uses all the stuff to keep pretty, un burnt. I know Ive been lucky, but Ive been lucky all my life LOL Bob and Connie

[SkiprJohn]

Very lucky Bob.
I have to see the dermatologist every 3 to 4 months now. The last two spots were forearm and top of my head. Neither was pleasant but not nearly as bad as the spots on my ears.
I'm no longer bullet proof.
regards,

[webejammin]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Very lucky Bob.
I have to see the dermatologist every 3 to 4 months now. The last two spots were forearm and top of my head. Neither was pleasant but not nearly as bad as the spots on my ears.
I'm no longer bullet proof.
regards,

I know this might sound bad but try northern lattitudes where you might be comforable wearing lots of body and head coverings and where there are lots of clouds like Seattle . At least you would be able to go outside more. There is another medical perscription to try Medical Pot it kills cancer cells and I think you can get a perscription in Hawaii.

[Jacko]

Hi Tony know your problem I have been sailing or working in the sun my whole life long before any warnings and we just didnt worry. But now sialing here in FNQ ( Queensland ) I decided a couple of years back to have an extension ( removable ) fitted to my soft top. Boy that has made a huge differance to life I am no longer frazzelled after a long leg and am sure my body likes it. I have a full check over every year in a cancer clinic and after 60+ years in the ozzie sun "no probs"but I am very aware now !!! Cheers Jacko

[gjordan]

When I returned from 2 years in Mexico and Tahiti at only 30 years old my tan faded and I knew I had problems. My temples and ears stayed red and raw when the rest of me went pale. They froze the hell out of me and that seemed to fix the problem. Another few years in the Caribbean and they worked on me again and started taking little pieces off of my ears. For the last 20 years I have had to go through the Eufudex 5% treatment (topical chemotherapy) about every 4 years. Even when I was young and dumb I almost always had a sailing awning up and when I got older I always used sunblock, but being of Scots heritage it bit me. I now use SPF70 baby sunblock and I entend to go cruising again. To you young folks, get a good bemini and use lots of sunblock, and to us old farts, something is going to get us , so make that something that we love.____Grant.

[webejammin]

A hard dodger is a good thing and having your hair over your ears and sholders is what God put hair on your head for

[matauwhi]

G'day, mates. We have a saying down here with some of the highest UV rays on the planet....Slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, slop on some suncreen and wrap on the sunnies (sunglasses). Feel naked if I don't have a tube of SPF30 lip balm in my pocket. Dittos on using the bimini and we have added a filler piece to the dodger.

We like to do lots of walking when we can get ashore, so try to get that in before 10 AM. I'll probably regret working all those teenage days in the fields on the farm without a shirt! Cheers.

[CarinaPDX]

Me too: I have had two pieces of cancer cut off the nose, treatments on the face and top of the head (nasty - it pretty much dissolved the skin), and lots of things frozen off the face and arms, and lots of actinic keratoses on the legs. So yes, I take it seriously, and so should all cruisers.

I am religious about wearing hats (good to be religious about something). I have gone through quite a few over the years, and still like the Tilley the best (Tilley Hats: sun protection, spf 50+, crushable & packable . They sell other sun protection as well.) They are expensive, but are reasonable to own if you are in it for the long haul: I wore one out, sent it back under warranty, and got a brand new one.

I also wear long pants and shirts a lot. In addition to the sunscreen the high SPF lip balm is useful. And my prescription glasses protect the eyes.

When I start to feel that it is all a bit too much, I just remember how much fun I had with the surgeries and treatments...

[Wotname]

FWIW, there has been some talk about the dangers of the more expensive sunblock agents that use nanotechnology in their makeup. It seems the cheaper lotions (for the same SPF) may be better for you as they don't contain nano-particles but will feel more greasy etc.

[JanetGroene]

Best warning I ever had from a medic, "Your body never forgets a sunburn." In other words the damage is cumulative and irreversible. We all have different reactions and resistances but why risk it? Also your reaction of sun can change when you are on certain medications.

[bill352]

Originally Posted by webejammin

... having your hair over your ears and sholders is what God put hair on your head for

But what the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.

[lolarose]

why bother then, you should go and sail around UK....according those cancer experts, there would not be living thing around mediteranean. if someone is geneticaly **@*@* up they will get skin cancer even under the north pole sun.