SUNSPORT, Stanford's new program to educate student-athletes about the dangers of sun exposure, was featured in the health section of today's San Francisco Chronicle.
The piece (subscription required) tells the story of Stanford distance runner Erik Olson, who was diagnosed with melanoma last summer at age 20. Following successful treatment, Olson has adopted healthy sun-protection habits and is working with SUNSPORT to encourage other outdoor athletes, and fans, to do the same.
SUNSPORT, a collaboration of the Stanford Cancer Institute, the medical school's Department of Dermatology, Stanford Athletics, and Stanford Hospital & Clinics, provides student-athletes with information about their heightened risks for sun-related skin damage and works with the teams' coaches and athletic trainers to reinforce skin-protection practices on a daily basis.
"Outdoor athletes are an at-risk group for skin cancer, and SUNSPORT offers structured prevention strategies as well as research into skin protection behaviors," Beverly Mitchell, MD, director of the Stanford Cancer Institute, told me.
Susan Swetter, MD, director of Stanford's Pigmented Lesion & Melanoma Program, is quoted in the article. Swetter, who recently published research showing that young white men have a 55 percent higher risk of death from melanoma than their female counterparts, is one of SUNSPORT's founders.
More information on the program is available at SUNSPORT's website.
Michael Claeys is the senior communications manager for the Stanford Cancer Institute.
Previously: As summer heats up take steps to protect your skin, Stanford study: Young men more likely to succumb to melanoma, How ultraviolet radiation changes the protective functions of human skin, Image of the Week: Stanford SUNSPORT and Working to prevent melanoma
