Today, the Friday before Memorial Day, is "Don't Fry Day"as designated by The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention. The purpose is to encourage sun safety awareness while urging everyone to protect their skin while outdoors on this holiday weekend.
Cherish Your Skin Organization and the National Council have partnered with the EPA's SunWise Education program and the Nation's Aquariums and Zoos today to provide educational tools to those visiting participating parks. In Texas, you can find the stickers and coloring pages at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, the Houston Zoo, and The Aquarium in Rockport.
Cherish Your Skin Organization and the National Council have partnered with the EPA's SunWise Education program and the Nation's Aquariums and Zoos today to provide educational tools to those visiting participating parks. In Texas, you can find the stickers and coloring pages at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, the Houston Zoo, and The Aquarium in Rockport.
Remember that skin cancer is the most preventable cancer of all, if caught early. These steps are important to avoiding overexposure this weekend, and everyday!
Avoid sun burning, intentional tanning, and using tanning beds.Apply sunscreen generously.
Wear sun-protective clothing, wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses.
Seek shade.
Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand.
Get vitamin D through diet and vitamin D supplements.
Have safe and fun in the sun this weekend, and please, "DON'T FRY!"
The action step the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention emphasized for 2009 was “Slap on a Hat,” encouraging everyone to wear protective clothing like a wide-brimmed hat to provide important protection from too much sun. This year the National Council is emphasizing practicing all of the action steps ---because no single step can fully protect from overexposure to UV radiation, so use as many of the followingactions as possible.
The core members of the Council are the American Academy of Dermatology, American Cancer Society, Shade Foundation of America, The Skin Cancer Foundation, and Melanoma Research Foundation. Some of the other members include American Academy of Pediatrics, American Red Cross, Dermatology Nurses Association, Melanoma International Foundation, National Safety Council, and Women's Dermatological Association.
Cherish Your Skin will have an opportunity to meet the Council at their semiannual meeting next week in Washington, D.C. The group will be discussing the latest updates to the FDA reclassification process of tanning beds, as well as the upcoming "Don't Fry Day" activities.
"Wearing Sunglasses is COOL for KIDS this Summer!", says Jenifer Kuykendall, Mrs. Rockport-Fulton International. She tells everyone she meets to "Cherish their Skin" AND now, their eyes, too!
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, sunglasses may save their skin and eyes later in life by blocking the sun's powerful ultraviolet rays (UVR). 
Children under age 10 are at a high risk for skin and eye damage from UVR. The skin on their eyelids and around their eyes is more delicate and vulnerable than adult skin. "And until about age 10, the lens of a child's eye is clear, allowing greater solar penetration and thus greater UVR-induced ocular changes," explains Adelaide A. Hebert, MD, professor and vice chair of Dermatology, University of Texas, Houston. "After that, the lens starts to become more opaque, providing better protection."
UVR exposure causes 90 percent of all skin cancers. In addition, retinal exposure to UVR is associated with cataracts and macular degeneration, both causes of vision impairment. UVR damage builds over time, so the sooner you start protecting your children's eyes from the sun, the lower their risk will be of ever developing future eye problems.
Fortunately, good sunglasses protect both the skin around the eye and the eye itself. While children under 6 months old should never be exposed to the sun, once they reach 6 months, they should wear sunglasses outside. If they require prescription glasses, they should also wear prescription sunglasses.Keep these rules in mind when buying sunglasses for children:
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Yesterday was a GIANT LEAP forward toward a ban on the sale of UV tanning to minors! The collective testimonies of some very dedicated physicians, researchers, organizations and individuals made it very difficult for the FDA committee to recommend anything other than a ban for minors.
Minors could be barred from indoor tanning and a registry could be required to monitor the use of tanning beds by salons if the U.S. 
A few members of the FDA panel dissented on the under-18 ban. They agreed with the sentiment of a ban, but thought it would be unrealistic to implement a ban and would be better to require strong warnings and parental notification.
Using a tanning bed before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- by 75 percent, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation.
Tanning salon businesses, one of the many industries hard hit by the recession, are already feeling the heat with the passage of the 
The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention’s premier event, Skin Cancer in America: A Growing Epidemic in the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC served as a call-to-action for Congressional staffers.
Michelle 
Today is the DAY! The FDA will hear the facts about tanning beds and skin cancer. We will ask them to immediately reclassify for the purpose of protecting the American public.
Also presenting their stories will be other cancer survivors, and sadly, families of patients who died from Skin Cancer. 
American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) President, William D. James, M.D., FAAD will lead the meeting of top physicians and researchers in Dermatology, who will share the undeniable facts about the cancer causing UV tanning devices.
You know I want you wearing SPF 30 and above to protect your skin from the dangerous rays.... but here is a great way you can pamper your beautiful skin. 
Thanks to our sponsor, 
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