Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Time to Protect Yourself from Cancer

Hi Yury.... I myself try to wear a long sleeve shirt, a floppy sunscreen hat, sunglasses and use sunscreen. I DON'T wear long pants. If I need to take the long sleeve off, I put sunscreen on. But it is a bit of a pain, so I understand why people don't. Even with my precautions, I still get some burn when I go up Whitney from the glare off of the granite. I try to keep it to a minimum.

I see most people using floppy hats and sunglasses. I know everyone in groups I've been with apply sunscreen. Many of the hikers, including Richard P and Bee take great care in how well they protect themselves from exposure. Richard P brags about his attire.......he sometimes looks like he should be starring in "Lawrence of Arabia".

But, to all his own. I've just seen too many people die from melanoma, including a couple of friends who had huge tumors on their faces, arms, etc. The pain they went through was incredible. I am blessed to have been with some of them in chemotherapy and even a couple of them in their final days.

I've had people send me P.M.'s on this site and the WPSMB site asking for advice on what they could do after a family member has gotten melanoma. I'm just asking people to be more careful. No one is perfect when it comes to protection and I've even gotten burned a couple of times in the last year, but it is important, but most of all, it's important to pass along the information. It may actually save a life.