Lifeguards PaddleDown For Cancer Relay: Dana Point, South OC

DANA POINT, CA — Orange County area lifeguards dug deep over the weekend for their part in the annual John Wayne Cancer Foundation's PaddleDown for Cancer Relay. This is the 8th year of the SoCal PaddleDown, according to the organization.

The relay is 250-miles of ocean paddling, according to organizers. It began over Memorial Day Weekend, in Gaviota. Since then, the board, sponsored by the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, has been passed from lifeguard association to lifeguard association, spreading the message of skin cancer prevention and self-screening.

The board arrived in Huntington Beach in late July, then was handed off to Newport Beach. Five lifeguards participated in the paddledown, including: Caine Littrell, Blake Bogin, Jose Cueto, Hayden Paul and Ryan Cook, according to StuNews Newport Beach.

Later, the board was moved to Corona Del Mar, where it then headed to Crystal Cove. The board then made its way to Dana Point then San Clemente, before heading into San Diego County for the end of August.

Ocean lifeguards want all to know that as important as wearing a mask is to combat coronavirus, wearing a hat and sunscreen is even more important to combat the rays of the sun. Skin cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the United States, affecting over 3.6 million people a year. That's one in three Californians, according to Lauren Fraga, Senior Program Director of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.

The PaddleDown relay, a partnership of the cancer foundation and the California Surf Lifesaving Association, hopes to educate beachgoers and ocean enthusiasts on the necessities of sunscreen and the dangers of skin cancer.

“As ocean lifeguards, we spend the majority of our careers in the sun, and we know firsthand the dangers of sun exposure,” says Bill Humphreys, president of the association.. “Through the SoCal PaddleDown, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation is educating the next generation of lifeguards early in their careers on ways to detect skin cancer and prevent long-term damage.”

The program has educated over 100,000 Junior Lifeguards about sun safety and skin cancer with an emphasis on skin cancer prevention and screening. In addition to early detection and how to recognize the first signs of skin cancer, the program teaches the Junior Lifeguards how to protect themselves from harmful sun exposure.

For more information, visit: johnwayne.org/blockthe