Sun safety tips: a Danville doctor urges sunscreen reapplication, skin cancer survivor agrees

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CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — This week’s hot weather is a good reminder to protect your skin from the sun. Doctors say sunscreen is a must, whether you’re cooling off at a pool, walking somewhere, or working outdoors.

Putting it on is an easy thing to do, but there’s a right way to go about it. Tom Ewing, a skin cancer survivor in Mahomet, wants to make sure everyone knows how one simple step can save your life.

He’s a carpenter and works outside a lot under the sun. One day, a routine doctor visit changed how Ewing spent his time outdoors. A mole caught his doctor’s attention and he was off to a specialist.

“The dermatologist removed 2 suspicious places, sent those off to the lab,” Ewing said. “One came back as malignant, the other as suspicious.”

That was the start of his skin cancer story and the beginning of a new sun safety routine.

“Personally, I prefer to wear clothing with an SPF value,” Ewing described. “Days like today I got to wear long-sleeved shirts.”

He also finds himself reapplying sunscreen more often, something Dr. Jomel Labayog recommends starting at an early age.

“It’s in our teens and our twenties where the exposure, the protection, is most important,” Dr. Labayog said.

So, when you’re at the store and see aisles full of sunscreen, how do you know what kind to pick up? Dr. Labayog said it’s not only about the sprays versus lotions, it’s about how you apply them and how much you put on.

“A teaspoon for your head and face, a teaspoon for each arm,” he described. “Two teaspoons for your torso. Two teaspoons for your lower legs.”

Even on cloudy days or if you’re in the shade under a tree, he said it’s important to remember to reapply every two hours.

Ewing thinks about that reapplication every day now when he’s working outside, and wants others to care for their skin before it’s too late.

“I think my main message would be go to the dermatologist,” Ewing said. “Even if you have no suspicions at all. Let them give you an exam and they can guide you from there.”

Dr. Labayog said SPF 30 is the magic number to stock up on. That’s because it offers 97% protection against UV rays.

He also recommends following the “A, B, C, D, E” rule for moles.