By Greg Doering, Kansas Farm Bureau
No matter how hot it was, my grandfather always wore a brimmed hat and long-sleeved pearl snap shirts to protect against the ever-present and invisible ultraviolet rays in the summer. He had a good reason to cover up; the season’s work rarely took place in the shade.
Hayfields don’t have any trees, or at least the ones I worked in didn’t. Fencelines are also in full sun. Cattle might be found in the shade when it was time to move them, but the rest of the journey was over open ground.
The last thing on my grandfather’s mind during the peak of summer was stopping whatever task was at hand to reapply sunscreen. The hat and long sleeves were more about general comfort and avoiding an annoying sunburn rather than preventing cancer.
My grandfather kept the same summer wardrobe even after the shade of parasols gave way to enclosed cabs with air conditioners. I wish I had followed his lead. Instead, I preferred T-shirts paired with a baseball cap while working. Going shirtless while fishing or swimming also was normal. Sunscreen was largely an afterthought.
It took a few decades, but such carelessness eventually caught up to me. A visit to the dermatologist a couple years ago confirmed the ugly looking lesion in the middle of my back was potentially troublesome. The biopsy determined my skin cells were “precancerous,” meaning there was a slight chance it could progress to skin cancer.
The doc offered two options: an annual biopsy to ensure the lesion didn’t progress to cancer or just remove it. No fan of half measures, I opted for the latter. Going under the knife once was preferable to adding an annual appointment to my calendar.
A couple of weeks later, a scar is all that remains of the once ugly looking spot. Even though most of my time is now spent under fluorescent lighting rather than sunlight, I’ve adopted a few wardrobe items from my grandfather like the wide-brimmed hat and long-sleeved shirt for extended outdoor activities.
Farmers and ranchers receive two to three times as much UV radiation as those of us who work indoors. Anyone who spends a large amount of time in the sun should do their best to avoid prolonged exposure, especially during midday when its beams of light are strongest. In Kansas, that’s typically from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If long sleeves and pants are too hot or restrictive, lather on a sunscreen with a broad-spectrum SPF, which will block most of the sun’s harmful rays. Sunscreen works, but only if you reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or profuse sweating.
Add a hat that covers not just your face, but also your ears and neck in addition to protecting your eyes with UV-blocking sunglasses. When you do take a break, do so indoors or under a shaded area.
Proper protection today can help prevent problems tomorrow. But if you’re like me, there’s a good chance that sun damage from decades past can still show up. If you’ve spent years working or playing outdoors, regular skin checks can catch problems early when they’re easiest to treat.
Enjoy the sunshine. Just make sure you’re protecting yourself from it, too.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
