Captain Cutaneum is protecting children from the badness of skin cancer
11:19 p.m. Thursday, November 9, 2006
Each year, more than one million Americans will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer, and most of them are sun-related. In an effort to drop these numbers, one dermatologist is taking an unusual approach.
Meet America's newest super hero: Captain Cutaneum.
By day, Dr. Ruskin Lines is a dermatologist, but a couple of times a month, he slips on his super hero outfit to save kids.
“I’ve been saying there needs to be something, some program that we can teach these kids before they’ve already figured out how much they like being tan," says Captain Cutaneum, a.k.a Ruskin Lines, dermatologist.
Lines came up with his alter ego, Captain Cutaneum, as a way to educate kids about the importance of sun protection.
Fast Facts
- About 1.3 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year in the U.S.
- The best way to prevent skin cancer is to avoid the sun or protect the skin from the sun’s harmful rays.
- Dermatologist Ruskin Lines, M.D. has created a real life super hero, called Captain Cutaneum, to bring the message of sun protection to school children.
More information on Captain Cutaneum is available here. To learn more about skin cancer and prevention, log on to the American Cancer Society or the Skin Cancer Foundation.
“We have two prongs on our attack against skin cancer. Number one is prevention, number two is early detection," says Captain Cutaneum.
This group of fifth graders wasn't only interested, they actually learned something.
"That staying the sun will give you a lot of cancer that you could die from," says fifth grader Brock Sherwood.
"I learned about different skin cancers and, like, how you can get skin cancers," says Taylor Norftill, a fifth grader.
Captain Cutaneum says one of his biggest battles is changing misconceptions.
“Every patient thinks that applying sunscreen has caused them to somehow be magically sun protected and that’s simply not the case," says Captain Cutaneum.
He says you must wear protective clothing, hats and sunglasses in addition to sunscreen.
“Our goal is to get you protected before the skin cancers come," says Captain Cutaneum.
Captain Cutaneum also shows kids how to recognize skin cancer or suspicious skin lesions.
“Early skin cancer detection is key. You can make life-threatening skin cancers not life-threatening by catching them early," says Captain Cutaneum.
To reinforce his message, Doctor Lines has also come out with a comic book. This super hero hopes all the kids will become part of his skin cancer fighting team.
Doctor Lines says when buying sunscreen, make sure it contains one of these ingredients: Titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone or ecamsule. These ingredients are best at screening out harmful U-V-A rays.
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