Pink Pic Monday

This Pink Pic Monday is dedicated to all the 3-Day walkers who have recently begun training for their walks and—with the arrival of Spring and sunshine—are planning for some nice, long, outside training walks. Take a lesson from me and don't forget your sunscreen!! 

Case in point:

In the words of Niblette: Owie.
...someone please pass the aloe!!

Yesterday I went to a Braves baseball game with @kscincotta and her hubs, and their friend JT. As we all piled into the car to head to the ballpark for a pre-game tailgate we were talking about our sunscreen. Everyone except me had already liberally applied their high-SPF sunscreen, and I had mine packed to put on. And I did...on my face, my arms, my legs and even feet (no silly shoe tan lines for me!). But as you can tell, I missed my neck. I thought I was doing so good until Kristen pointed out my bright pink neck. Then when I got home last night I noticed that a few of the folks in my Twitter feed had also imbibed in a little too much Vitamin D exposure and were lamenting their pain and overly pink skin tones.

So what does my ballpark burn and my Twitter feed have to do with my fellow 3-day walkers? Just this: There is more than one type of cancer my fellow Pink People! ...and when I say "Pink People" I mean Komen for the Cure Pink, *not* sunburn pink.

As 3-Day'ers we work hard every day to walk, fundraise, and raise awareness for breast cancer. But as our training season begins, in addition to our breast cancer statistics, please also remember this one: According to the CDC, Skin Cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US. In 2007, more than 58,000 people were diagnosed with melanomas of the skin, and 8,461 people died. Please remember those numbers and then liberally apply sunscreen and don't forget to reapply as needed.

In other words, be Pink!...not pink. (ow)

Happy walking Pink People!!
Love & Blessings-
Julie

Skin Cancer Prevention Tips from the CDC:
(source: www.CDC.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/prevention.html)
• Use sunscreen w/SPF 15 or higher and both UVA & UVB protection
   - Reapply if out in the sun more than 2 hours or you're swimming or sweating (hello walkers!!) 
   - Sunscreen expires & looses effectiveness when exposed to high temps. Check your bottles, and if in doubt, just buy new. 
• wear clothing to protect exposed skin
• wear a hat made from tightly woven fabric w/a brim all the way around to shade your neck. If you opt for a baseball cap, be sure to protect your ears and neck w/clothing or good slather of sunscreen. 
• wear sunglasses that wrap around & block as close to 100% of both UVA & UVB rays as possible 
• seek shade, especially during midday hours