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July is UV Safety Month but of course when you live here, you should always be aware of the damage our beloved sunshine can cause. As Matt Galka tells us, the American Cancer Society wants Floridians to be smart not only this month, but all year round.

A walk is part of the daily routine for Steve Starke. But today, he forgot sunscreen.

“I forgot to put it on I use it everyday,” he said.

Starke says he’s usually better about putting sunscreen on.  He says you have to be aware of sun damage when you live in Florida.

“It’s the smart thing to do, especially in the Florida sunshine all the time,” he said.

Skin cancer expert Dr. Len Lichtenfeld says it’s easy to forget the sunscreen when you’re not at the beach. But trying to prevent potentially fatal consequences is personal for him.

“When I was young people didn’t know about sun safety, we didn’t have sunscreen didn’t use it, so I was a lifeguard and I got burned badly, so the result to me so far has been skin cancers,” he said.

And the American Cancer Society says it’s not hard…when in doubt, just put more sunscreen on.

“Being outside is part of a healthy lifestyle, so take some precautions. We call it slip, slop, slap, and wrap. Slip on a shirt, slop on the sunscreen plenty of it, slap on a wide brimmed hat, and wrap – make sure you use UV protective sunglasses that cover the sides of your eyes as well, to avoid getting cataracts,” said Dr. Lichtenfeld.

Dr. Licthtenfeld says they’re also seeing an uptick of melanoma cases for people using tanning beds.  People trying to get some color from the tanning lamps before the age of 35 increase their risk of melanoma by 75 percent.

And parents don’t forget, a child who is sunburned runs more of a risk of developing melanoma later in life.