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The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

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Frequently Used Tools:




Protect the Skin You're In Program Toolkit

This toolkit provides resources for teaching youth and adults about how to protect their skin from cancer. The toolkit and Web site has been developed in a partnership between the University of Tennessee Extension and the East Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition.

The purpose of the toolkit is to provide UT Extension educators, health care providers and others with presentations, brochures, posters and links to credible skin cancer information. The toolkit addresses skin cancer - especially melanoma, risk factors for developing skin cancer, ways to protect one’s skin from cancer and important tips for finding skin cancer early.

Photo of sunscreen being applied to a child.Educational Programs for Youth

SunWise Program

What Schools Can Do

Skin Cancer Information

American Academy of Dermatology - SkinCancerNet

American Academy of Dermatology - Facts about Sunscreens

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Skin Cancer Prevention and Education Initiative

Photo of a tannng bed.TAN Act

On September 27, 2007, President Bush signed the Tanning Accountability and Notification (TAN Act) into law. The TAN Act calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine if the current language and positioning of warning labels on indoor tanning devices is adequate to effectively warn consumers of the known dangers of indoor tanning, including the risk of skin cancer.

Tanning Beds

Tanning beds and sunlamps are just as dangerous as lying in the sun to get a tan, because they, too, emit enough UV radiation to cause premature aging and skin cancer. Consider using sunless self-tanning products. These products do not protect skin from the sun, so a sunscreen should be used.

Skin Cancer Facts

  • 1 in 5 Americans will develop some form of skin cancer during their lifetime.
  • Invasive melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in men and women.
  • One American dies of melanoma almost every hour.
  • Older Caucasian males have the highest mortality rates from melanoma.
  • Both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma have a better than 95 percent five-year cure rate if detected and treated early.
  • Men tend to develop more melanomas on the head, neck and upper back – suggesting they are not wearing sun-protective clothing, particularly wide-brimmed hats, or using adequate sunscreen on these areas.
  • Women are now more likely to develop melanoma on their chests and upper backs, which indicates that they might be favoring the latest styles that expose more skin on these areas and foregoing proper sun protection in favor of fashion.
  • More than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths are from melanoma.

For more information, contact:

Barbara (Bobbi) P. Clarke, Ph.D., R.D., Professor & Extension Health Specialist, The University of Tennessee Extension · 865-974-8197 · bclarke@utk.edu