My Father’s Parting Words by Kathy Howie

My father grew up in South Boston playing and boating at the local beaches and harbor. When I was a child he took us for walks on Castle Island every Sunday. My brother developed a bone disease when he was six years old involving his hip. The doctor suggested that he swim for physical therapy and get lots of sunshine (vitamin D) so his bones would grow.

That began my dad’s obsession with exercising outside. He put in a swimming pool so my brother could swim – and of course a salt water swimming pool so we could get a really good tan in the process. As a family, we rented a cottage on a lake each summer, took weekend trips to the ocean and winter trips to the Caribbean. The goal was to be healthy and get a nice tan in the process. We never used sunscreen as it was practically unheard of in the 60s and 70s. We used baby oil to get that good tan. My mother would constantly throw us outside to “go get some sun”. They believed that a tan was a sign of good health. As my parents aged they spent their winters in Florida soaking up the rays and getting the darkest tan that was evidence of a good vacation and looking healthy.

In 2005, my father became concerned about his moles and became faithful about seeing his GP and a skin doctor. He had a few moles removed. One that was on his forehead was removed a few times but always turned out to be benign. However, it always grew back. Because it was not cancer the doctor wasn’t too pushy about having additional surgery.

After seeing a new doctor in 2011 he had the mole biopsied again and this time the diagnosis was melanoma. He then had additional surgery including removal of lymph nodes that were clear. Five years later, a spot appeared on his lower hip. Somewhere the sun had never seen and we knew it was not good. It was in fact a melanoma – a metastatic melanoma. It had spread throughout his entire body. He was dead in 3 months.

I believe the lack of knowledge that the sun’s rays can be deadly and the sun worshiping culture of my parents’ generation contributed to my father’s death. Since that diagnosis, I have changed my lifestyle but I know for me it may be too late. The damage may already have been done. My dad regretted his lack of knowledge and choices regarding the sun. One of my father’s last words to me were to “stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen”.

I remember his words and have decided to pass this warning on to a new generation. My Dad was a good man and loved mentoring others. I believe educating kids about sun safety is something my dad would be proud to be a part of. I want sun protection to become something each child does without thinking – like bike helmets and seat belts. No one deserves to have their life cut short because they didn’t know that the suns rays could cause cancer and that sunscreen could prevent it.

On behalf of our Executive Board and Advisory Council, I would like to welcome you to our newly redesigned website. Our Web development team has worked hard to make this site visitor friendly and informational. We invite you to explore our site to learn more about our mission, what we do and how you can help. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

For more than a decade, I have had the pleasure of working with the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation, an organization completely dedicated to educating children and their caregivers about preventing skin cancer. We can proudly say that we have reached more than 1 million students of all ages with our award-winning, age-appropriate, curriculum-based school programs. We continue to expand our capabilities to reach children and their families all over the world with our online programming and resources.

I hope that what you learn on our site will inspire you to join us in supporting our mission to prevent skin cancer, one child at a time. Sara Mason Ader  (Board Chair)

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Our SunAWARE school curriculum is based on five action steps: Avoid unprotected UV exposure and never indoor tan, Wear sun protection clothing, Apply adequate amounts of SPF 30+ sunscreen, Routinely examine your skin for changes, and Educate others. The SunAWARE acronym incorporates both sun protection and skin cancer detection components. The curriculum meets or exceeds the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and National Common Core Standards as well as the Next Generation Science Standards.

Read more: Book Your SunAWARE School Program Today!

Check out this adorable SunAWARE video created especially by Snapper Rock for celbration of our 15th anniversary: