I like big hats and I cannot lie! 

By Ann Derby, HCC member

 

When I got my first boat 40 years ago, in 1987, the two gentlemen who sold it to me, Bruce and Charles, gave me three rules for paddlers: besides 1) wear a life jacket and 2) take water, was 3) WEAR A HAT. Good advice I still follow - hat, long sleeves, sunscreen – when paddling, walking, hiking, being outdoors in the daytime. 

 

Even so, I recently noticed a small bump on my scalp, where I always part my hair. After a few months it seemed to get thicker, so I went to my dermatologist, who did a biopsy, and it was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma – in the top layer of skin. It’s been treated with MOHS surgery which was not painful, and has healed.

 

But I wore a hat, still do, so why did I still get skin cancer? Then I remembered that in my teens & 20s some behaviors were HIGHLY advertised and encouraged though we now realize they are harmful, like smoking, drinking too much, and sunbathing.

 

We had the idea that fair-skinned folks like me should start sunbathing in the spring so that when we were at the beach in summer we would have a “healthy tan” which would protect us from being sunburned (it didn’t). It was also considered more attractive than “pasty” pale skin, especially on legs. “Tanning oil or lotion” is what we bought, with no SPF ratings.

 

 Sun damage, even or especially in childhood or youth, can come back to haunt you MANY years later! 

 

 

 

Photo of Ann Derby & Honey Leveen, 2 HCC ex-Commodores who always wear hats at the beach!

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