It's time for my annual trip to the soap box to remind you that as wonderful as the sun makes us feel, it can be dangerous to our health. Skin cancer is the source of forty percent of all diagnosed cancer cases each year. This year it's expected there will be more than a million cases of the highly treatable basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers that get their name from the layer of skin from which they originate. Basal cell cancers appear as a red patch, a shiny pearly or translucent pink, red, or white bump or a sore that will not heal. Squamous cell cancer looks like a persistent scaly red patch that sometimes crusts or bleeds, an open sore that doesn't heal, or a raised wart-like growth that may bleed.

There will also be more than 50,000 cases of the more serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, which originates in the cells that produce the melanin which gives skin its color. Although it represents only 4 percent of all skin cancers it accounts for more than 75 percent of all skin cancer deaths. This usually asymmetrical cancer is larger and brown, black or multicolored patches of red, white and blue.

Despite all the warnings we hear about the sun's damaging (and aging) ultraviolet rays, too many of us continue to cling to the notion that a bronzed body is the sign of a healthy body. So, despite knowledge that every minute spent chasing a tan increases our risk of skin cancer the majority of us fail to lather on sunscreen with a protection of 15 or higher.

Admittedly, most skin cancers appear after age 50, but its origin is usually caused by a serious sunburn in the first eighteen years of life. That's why this year I'm focusing on protecting children from the sun's rays. Here are some mix and match suggestions you must use:

• 1. Plan outdoor activities before 11 a.m. and after 3 p.m. since the damaging UV rays are strongest in the middle of the day. (Remember these rays can't be felt.)
• 2. Dress children in broad brimmed hats that protect the face, neck and ears. It will reduce exposure to UV rays by about 50 percent.
• 3. If outside, use woven fabrics you can't see through to cover as much of the arms, legs and body from the sun as possible.
• 4. Apply sunscreen about 20 minutes before going outside. Slather the stuff on. You don't need an expensive product but you do need a product with a SPF factor of at least 15 and preferably 30. Consider using a product designed for the sensitive skin of children.
• 5. Buy your child some cool sunglasses so they will be sure to wear them.
• 6. Use sunscreen yourself. It will be easier to get your children to put it on if you make it a family affair.

Meantime, if you are a sun-worshiping GenXer, talk to the Baby Boomers who know all too well that too much sun causes too many wrinkles too early in life. Lead your children down a different path.

For more on skin care and an SPF primer, go to the archives of this newsletter.