I have just read one of the best pieces of medico-political journalism I have ever encountered, and I urge you all to read it as well. Not only does it provide more evidence (as if it were needed) of John McCain's hypocrisy and political cowardice, it contains vital information about the dangers of melanoma and how to prevent it, the incredible increase in incidence, and how the FDA caved into the cosmetics industry on the issue of sunscreens after lobbying by John Roberts (remember him -- head of the SCOTUS).
Please read Brian McKenna's McCain's Melanoma Cover-Up piece immediately, especially if you have children. I lost a dear friend to melanoma about one year ago (he was 40 years old with a child). Learn the basics of protection, and learn how McCain is acting, as usual, as an ass. Some excerpts after the jump.
Note: McKenna is a 16-year survivor of melanoma. He writes brilliantly, and knows what he's talking about.
On McCain's baseball caps:
And McCain's baseball cap won't do either. According to the National Cancer Institute baseball caps are insufficient sun protectors because they "do not fully protect the face, neck, and ears." The NCI is actively trying to dissuade citizens from using them in deference to big hats or draped baseball caps.
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But John McCain apparently doesn't know, doesn't care, or just doesn't want to draw attention to his disease by donning a showy 4-inch wide brimmed hat for his ongoing public appearances. One can speculate on reasons why. Fashion is a form of communication and politicians want to communicate that they are fit and healthy. They do not want to be a walking advertisement that communicates cancer victim or worrywart.
A wide-brimmed hat, unlike the hiphop baseball cap, may not be perceived as being "cool". The broad hat breaks a cultural denial mechanism. It's apparently far too risky, from a public relations standpoint, to send a non-macho, "I fear the sun" message. For John McCain, apparently, image politics trumps public health.
On the very real hazards of melanoma:
In 1930 melanoma was rare, with a lifetime risk of just one in 1,500 people. Since then, it has grown exponentially, with a lifetime risk in the United States of 1 in 250 in 1980, 1 in 120 in 1987, 1 in 75 by 2000 and 1 in 32 today (Swetter 2007). The black cells of melanoma will strike an estimated 59,940 in the United States in 2007 and kill a projected 8,110 (American Cancer Society 2006). Worldwide it annually strikes an estimated 132,000 people with an estimated 48,000 deaths (Lucas: W.H.O. 2006).
On "sunscreens" and their false sense of security; they may do more harm than good:
...when a mom lathers her son up with a generic SPF-30 sunscreen for mid-day soccer game, she might feel comforted that he can stay out on the sun-drenched field longer because of his protection. While he is receiving some protection from UVB radiation, more than likely he's receiving a massive dose of UVA radiation with virtually no protection. Further, the lack of a sunburn from the sunscreen will reinforce this illusion of safety, resulting in longer exposure times.
It turns out that U.S. sun-care manufacturers-who had $1.9 billion in sales in 2005 (Marketresearch.com 2005) do not tell people the full truth about their sunscreen products in their advertising, labeling, websites, or commercials. Sunscreen makers willfully take advantage of the ambiguity of the term skin cancer in their marketing, avoiding any open reference to the term melanoma while strongly appealing to melanoma fears, since about 80 percent of all skin cancer deaths are due to melanoma (Etzel and Balk 2003). Over the past half century, as the frequency of melanoma exploded, so has sunscreen production, with apparently little or no preventive effect. It is a powerful correlation that alarms epidemiologists and other researchers, suggesting causal linkages, but to many doctors it's just an irony.
What we should be doing to protect our children:
Australia and New Zealand ... have a "No Hat, No Play" rule. Every child must wear a hat to play outside. Recess times are often scheduled outside the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. time frame. Soccer games, played without hats under the high sun in the U.S. are delayed till a safer time Down Under. Children have begun wearing neck-to-knee swimsuits on beaches and at pools.
When the FDA tried to prevent misleading claims by sunscreen manufacturers in 1999, guess what happened? The lobbyists worked to stop it. And it was John Roberts who aided them.
According to FDA records, Roberts met with FDA officials, including FDA chief counsel Daniel Troy, a strong Bush supporter, on January 4, 2000, and on October 29, 2001 (OMB Watch 2005). A few months after the last meeting, the FDA suspended the stricter rules for labeling sunscreen products. Between 1998 and 2004 Schering-Plough spent $28 million in lobbying efforts (Lobbywatch 2006). Robert's future successes are illuminating. In September 2005 he was appointed chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
My emphases above
That's enough -- please read the entire essay. I trust McKenna won't mind my excerpts here; his words speak for themselves.