Letter from Chip Northrup

Skin Cancer Is a Public Health Risk

I have now lost three friends to skin cancer, one of the most avoidable forms of cancer. In Texas, my great uncle died of it, my father and aunt lost the ends of their noses to it, and I have had enough precancerous tissue removed from my hide to make a small meatball.

It shouldn’t be this way. Some countries, such as Australia, treat skin cancer as a public health risk—and have legislated accordingly: banning tanning beds and requiring sun protection measures, particularly for children. The Japanese are obsessive about staying out of the sun, as their porcelain complexions attest. You don’t have to be blonde and blue-eyed to get skin cancer, but it sure helps. You may be a paleface, but turning yourself an unfashionable orange can be hazardous to your health.

I go to the dermatologist at least twice a year. Fortunately, Bassett has an excellent dermatology department, which now includes a Mohs surgeon, the gold standard for removing cancerous epidermal tissue. Before Bassett offered Mohs surgery, I had to drive to Albany. My car’s navigation system knows the way.

So do three things—teach your children about the need to cover up, then you cover up and check your skin for peculiarities, and go to Bassett’s dermatology department for an annual checkup. The life you save may be one of my friends or relatives. Or your own.

Chip Northrup
Cooperstown