During the recent pandemic, most Americans have skipped or postponed important medical care. Now that social distancing measures have successfully flattened the curve, it is time to start giving your health the attention that it deserves. We must address non-COVID-19 health problems before we start seeing the negative impact of delayed care on the health of our community. For important screening exams such as mammograms, we know that early detection and treatment saves lives.

Gyms are beginning to open up across Nevada and many people are anxious to get back to their exercise routines. Cancer survivors are included in this group, as they should be, with exercise being a great way to improve your immune system and reduce the risk of cancer reoccurrence. However, even the cleanest gyms are a breeding ground for germs.

Today is “Melanoma Monday”, a day designed bring awareness to melanoma and remind us of what we can do to keep ourselves healthy. Melanoma is largely preventable and—if caught early—is usually a curable cancer.

Volunteering at community events for the Nevada Cancer Coalition, I've heard a handful of the success stories from people who had their melanoma – the deadliest type of skin cancer—found early and treated successfully.

Growing up and playing soccer in the hot Texas sun, my parents always encouraged practicing sun safety. In high school my sport of choice changed to ice hockey, which allowed a lax in sun protection during exercise. Toward the end of my undergraduate degree I began participating in sprint triathlons. These triathlons were short enough that reverting back to the sun safety basics were enough to avoid sun burns. However, in 2017 I decided (for some unknown reason) to undertake completing a full Ironman distance triathlon the following year.

Dilworth Middle School Athletic Director Kelly Mitchell is a sun safety warrior. This melanoma, basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma survivor jumped to say "Yes!" last August to Sun Smart Schools' offer of free sunscreen dispensers and a one-year supply of sunscreen.

University of Nevada's Sanford Center for Aging has just launched their FREE Thriving & Surviving Workshops

ONLINE for Spring 2020 the Cancer: Thriving and Surviving workshops meet weekly for two and a half hours. Each workshop is facilitated by two trained leaders, one or both of whom are cancer survivors or caregivers of cancer survivors.

What you need to know now

Stay Home, Stay Safe - Please leave home only for essentials, like food or exercise. When out, keep a safe distance of six feet between yourself and others.

Ever heard of Don't Fry Day? For people with fair, easily sunburned skin that's likely every day. But for cancer prevention advocates it's the Friday before Memorial Day each year. It's an annual day to remind people to protect their skin from UV radiation, sunburn, and skin damage that can lead to skin cancer.

By: Cari Herington, NCC Executive Director

Working my way towards that big 5-0 birthday in 2018, I knew darn well that a colonoscopy was in my future. I had been diligent about mammograms, so why not a colonoscopy? Most of us don't talk about our colons as readily as we might about other body parts...and we tend to make lots of silly excuses to avoid this particular type of cancer screening, even though we know it is really important.