COVID-19 or SKIN CANCER: Brazil takes a lead in Skin Cancer Prevention thru the Internet
"It’s about prevention, education and taking action for health” says Haroldo Corrêa Rocha of Executive Secretary of Education of the Government of São Paulo, Brazil
Stephan Bognar with Shade Up! Brazil Colleagues
On December 15, the Brazilian government virtually attended the closing ceremony of SHADE UP! Brazil, the largest on-line skin cancer prevention-education program across the globe. With its partners, Hospital de Amor (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and The New York Dermatology Group Foundation (NYDG), it hopes to energize schools across the globe to participate more actively in skin cancer prevention thru in-classroom activities and the virtual world.
"This program has much to celebrate, which reflects the leadership of Hospital de Amor and the NYDG Foundation,” says Stephan Bognar, Executive Director of the NYDG Foundation. SHADE UP! is not only about sunscreen and hats, it’s about creating environmentally responsible leaders who care about the planet and public health, he remarks. Yes. Skin cancer is a public health problem.” True enough, in 2018, U.S. Surgeon General called skin cancer a major public health problem and called on all stakeholders from various sectors across the country to increase awareness of skin cancer and to call for actions to reduce its risk. The facts are hard to ignore: 1 in 5 Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime and about 3 Americans will die every hour from a skin cancer.
SHADE UP! BRAZIL- Championing for Real Sustainable Change
Planting trees to block UVB, grass to absorb UV, and/or banning chemical sunscreens won’t address the full effects of climate change, deforestation in the Amazon or overfishing. But it can make a difference. And SHADING UP! 30 schools covering more than 15,000 students across Barretos, a region of Sao Paulo, was not a simple task during Covid-19. Hospital de Amor took the entire SHADE UP! curriculum and created a virtual world called GAME School. Click here to learn more about Game School.
Today, SHADE UP! USA aims to copy SHADE UP! Brazil’s success and bring it to schools, sport clubs and First Responders across the USA. Yes! First Responders.
Hospital de Amor started as a small hospital for cancer treatment in 1962. The hospital was called Sao Judas Tadeu. Today, Hospital de Amor receives about 170,000 patients per year from more than 2,500 cities across Brazil. Like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in the US, patients do not pay for any treatment. The hospital is fully operational through donations.
You can help by sponsoring a SHADE UP! school in Brazil and the USA. Join the fight against skin cancer and keep kids healthy and active under the sun.
Learn more about SHADE UP! at https://www.nydgfoundation.org/our-programs/shade-up-usa/
