Summer is almost here, and we've all heard how important it is to wear hats and sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun's harmful rays - but few of us follow a regular regiment. Such was the case for David Duckworth, who watched his wife take sun protection seriously for years, but never thought he needed to, despite having fair skin.
When David's employer offered a free skin cancer screening with Stanford dermatologists, he decided to take up the offer and get the freckles and dark spots on his face and arms checked out. The screening may very well have saved David's life, as it caught a spot on his left collarbone that he hadn't thought was abnormal. David's diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma (the country's most common form of cancer) has changed his every day behavior and made him an advocate of proper sun protection.
David's story is captured in the Stanford Hospital video above. And local readers may be interested to know there's a free skin cancer screening at the Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center this Saturday.
Previously: How ultraviolet radiation changes the protective functions of human skin, More evidence on the link between indoor tanning and cancers, Studies show new drug may treat and prevent basal cell carcinoma, Intense, rapid sun tanning may increase skin cancer risk and California cities score below 50th percentile on 'sun-smart' survey
