According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the second most common form of cancer in young adults ages 15-29...

Suntan lotion critical  
for summer games!

This story greatly condensed from a much longer article by Darren Cooper, Record columnist/NorthJersey.com at 

http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/Cooper_Lesson_learned_for_softball_coach_team.html

“The pictures are graphic. Eastern Christian softball coach Kevin Vanderbeck, swollen, red and missing the bulk of his nose.

“'I told my girls this is totally preventable,” said Vanderbeck, 58....  

Kevin Vanderbeck

“What Vanderbeck had was a serious case of squamous cell carcinoma on his nose...

“Like many North Jersey summer sun worshippers, Vanderbeck grew up going to Long Beach Island, fishing, clamming and skin-boarding...

“I never used suntan lotion, you burned once and that was it,” said Vanderbeck...

“This spot on his nose, however, was ominous.

“'I could see it was changing,' said Kevin’s wife, Michelle. 'It was starting to get a lump on it. He would pick it, it would bleed a little and heal up. Finally, I just made the appointment for him to go to the dermatologist.'

“Kevin went to the doctor in late February, expecting to have the spot frozen or lasered off. Instead, the dermatologist had to keep cutting, deeper and deeper, four separate times — and four separate rounds of shots — until they were sure they had it all.

“'They said it’s done, we got it all, but they left him with no nose,' Michelle said...

“'I just feel awkward, but once I get in the game, my kids don’t look at me funny. Other teams do, my kids don’t,” Kevin said.

Visit the Ray Festa Melanoma Foundation at http://rayfesta.org for information about skin cancer prevention

He and Michelle are able to laugh a little about it now. Kevin said he’s looking forward to getting his eyebrow back.

“'When we first came out of the hospital, one guy kept looking at him, and figured he had been in a car accident. I told him, not for nothing, you should make up some wild story and get some mileage out of this,' Michelle said.

“Kevin said sleeping is kind of hard because his face is numb, but by the end of the season, he should look like his old self. The hat and sunblock will stay.

“'The good thing is he is using this as a teaching tool,' Michelle said. “When he went back to coaching, he said stay out of the sun, or use your sunblock, because this is what you could look like and that was the best thing he could have done.'”