NAHANT — On a bright and sunny Thursday, residents got a chance to ensure that they are staying safe from the sun’s rays thanks to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
After not coming to the beach in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Blum Van and its team of certified dermatologists made their way to Nahant Beach to offer free spot checks and skin-cancer screenings for beachgoers.
The van has been coming to Nahant for six years now, and Sabrina Gonzalez from Brigham and Women’s and Dana Farber said that it’s a great beach for the van to visit.
“(Skin cancer is) very prevalent, but it’s very treatable with early detection,” she said. “So this is why we just feel that we like to be here, to train people on what skin cancer looks like and, of course, to give them the opportunity to see a board-certified dermatologist.”
Gonzalez understands that many people come to the beach to tan, and she stressed that the best way to protect skin from sun damage is to wear sunscreen.
“The No. 1 risk factor for skin cancer is the sun,” she said. “Then comes heredity (and) previous skin cancers and things like that, but the No. 1 risk factor is the sun. So if individuals can protect themselves from the sun, they lower the risk.”
With a short period of time remaining for residents to enjoy the Massachusetts summer, Gonzalez recognized that they might want to take advantage of the beach season, but she mentioned how surprising the rate of skin cancer is in the commonwealth, in spite of the fact that the state is associated with cold weather.
“We think (the high skin cancer rate is) because people get overexposed during that short period of time,” she said. “Also, the sun is around all year so we educate people that even in the winter months, the sun rays come through the clouds and they are even stronger.
“When people start taking care of (themselves) and being aware, seeing shade, going out and doing all activities after 4 p.m. or before 10 a.m. they can still enjoy the sun but (they) don’t have as much risk.”
With COVID-19 cases increasing due to variants, Gonzalez is glad that Brigham and Women’s and Dana Farber are able to bring the van to the public instead of trying to bring residents into hospitals.
“Screenings went down, a lot of cancellations for specialty medicine (went down) during COVID so we are very concerned that people didn’t get the screenings that they needed because of that, so we find that it’s even more important to be out in the community,” said Gonzalez. “We’re thrilled that we made it this year.”
