Vans Warped Tour Fighting Cancer

What’s the Vans Warped Tour got to do with cancer?

First for the uninformed:

You may be familiar with Vans as primarily the maker of those great checkerboard slip ons worn by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The company (making skateboarding shoes since 1966) also makes a variety of other footwear and accessories primarily geared to skateboarders, snowboarders, BMX riders and Motocross enthusiasts. Check them out at Vans.com.

The Vans Warped Tour began in 1995 and is a combination multi-stage concert, festival and skateboarding exposition/competition.

This year’s Warped Tour will be hitting 46 cities across the United States and Canada.

(check out the schedule )

One of the great things about the tour is the huge non-profit benefit. This year’s tour teams up with 16 organizations including, Boarding for Cancer and the newest affiliation with Astron Clinica to provide free skin cancer screenings to attendees of the tour. MoleMate skin cancer screening system will be used to raise awareness of skin cancer in youth.

Read the press release here.

More on MoleMate:

MoleMate System helps the practitioner identify skin cancer and make clinical decisions based on technology that evaluates and measures melanin, haemoglobin and collagen in the top 2mm of the skin.

Learn more about this patented technology at the Astron Clinica site.

Skin Cancer Facts From the American Academy of Dermatology:

• Over 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States alone in 2008
• 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their life
• Melanoma is the most common type of cancer for young adults 25-29 years of age
• Melanoma is the second most common cancer for young adults 15-29 years of age
• Melanoma is increasing faster in females 15-29 (possibly due to high risk tanning behavior)
• One American dies of melanoma almost every hour
• Melanoma diagnosed in individuals 10-39 is highly curable with a five-year survival rate exceeding 90 percent

So find a concert date near you and get the screening!!

More on Boarding for Breast Cancer:

Early Detection + Active Lifestyle = Best Prevention

“Boarding For Breast Cancer (B4BC) is a non-profit, youth-focused education, awareness, and fundraising organization. Our mission is to increase awareness about breast cancer, the importance of early detection and the value of an active lifestyle. ”

Check out the Boarding For Breast Cancer community, events and athletes.

More Warped Tour Resources:

Vans Warped Tour: 2007 Compilation