Sharon F. Kleyne Founder and Chairman

As our environment grows ever more polluted and unhealthy, it is the children, as always, who suffer. One effect of global air and water pollution is the poisoning and lowering of the air's natural humidity, resulting in an increase in dehydration-related diseases.

A particularly nasty dehydration-related disease is childhood melanoma, caused by changes in skin DNA as a result of excessive exposure to solar radiation. Healthy, adequately hydrated skin, is better able to withstand the sun's radiation assault. The rate of melanoma among the general population is growing at a frightening rate and is growing even more rapidly among children. Melanoma is a particularly virulent form of skin cancer that can be deadly if not caught in time.

Here are some suggestions for combating childhood melanoma:

• Do everything you can to oppose pollution and polluters and to fight for clean air and water.
• Never allow your children in the sun without sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater.
• Make sure your children drink plenty of water and wear protective clothing when they play in the sun. They don't have to fear the sun but they should respect it.
• Teach you children to recognize melanoma and to look for it on others and tell them when they see it (a mole-like skin growth, larger than a pencil eraser, with irregularly shaped edges and a multi-colored-usually red and black--surface).
• Contribute regularly and generously to the American Cancer Society, the Shriners Hospitals for Children and the St. Judes Children's Hospital. Your children will thank you.

SHARON F. KLEYNE, Founder and Chairman
Bio-Logic Aqua Technologies Biomedical Research