Farmers at Increased Risk for Skin Cancer

In the 1940s and 50s, despite the fact that tractors did not have cabs and there was no such thing as sunscreen, farmers were in many ways better protected than they are today from the sun’s damaging rays. Most farmers in those days wore light, long-sleeved shirts to protect themselves from the heat and bright sun. They also wore wide-brimmed straw hats to keep the sun off their neck and face. While all of these measures helped prevent skin cancer farmers did it for another reason – to keep cool.

Fast forward to today and the same methods that were used more than 50 years ago continue to make great sense. For instance, while today’s farmers prefer baseball hats, baseball hats do not protect the ears, nose, and neck as effectively as a wide-brimmed hat. Further, long-sleeved shirts and long pants – the normal outfit of yesterday’s farmers – are the best way to protect arms and legs against the sun’s harmful rays. This type of clothing actually keeps the body cooler than t-shirts, shorts, and baseball hats.

This information is particularly relevant given that farming is one of the most perilous jobs in the United States in terms of skin cancer risk. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are the strongest and most damaging during the peak hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Since staying out of the sun during these hours is not possible for most farmers, it is important that preventative steps are taken. This is easier said than done, however, as continued research indicates that farmers do not take their risk of skin cancer as seriously as the general population. Given the time they spend outdoors it is easy to see why this attitude is extremely dangerous.

While no one would question why a farmer would resist being inside during peak daytime hours, there is no reason why they should bristle at protecting themselves with the proper clothing and applying sunscreen. However, less than one-fourth of U.S. farmers surveyed say that they use sunscreen. This statistic goes a long way toward explaining why the incidence of skin cancer is higher in farmers than the general population.

Education is one way to raise farmers’ awareness of skin cancer. To be effective, this education should point out that by ignoring the risks of skin cancer and delaying treatment, in most cases this will result in the need for increased medical intervention. This intervention is likely to keep farmers away from the farm for long periods of time – something they were trying to avoid in the first place.