Kaye Cowher, Wife of Former Steeler's Coach Bill Cowher Dies of Skin Cancer at 54

Cancer is a disease that clams the life of many people each year and is an often fatal disease with high rates of reoccurrence. Throughout your life you probably have personally known someone who has been given a diagnosis of cancer. Today, we lost Kaye Cowher due to skin cancer which only reiterates how devastating this disease can be.

According to ESPN, Kaye Cowher, wife of former Steeler's Coach, Bill Cowher, has died after a battle with skin cancer. Kaye Cowher was only 54 years old and was survived by her husband Bill Cowher as well as her three grown daughters. Kaye Cowher met Bill Cowher when they were going to school at North Carolina State where she was a women's college basketball star and he was a linebacker. Kaye Cowher helped lead North Carolina State to their first Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball title in 1978. Kaye Cowher also played a season with the Women's Professional Basketball League the New York Stars and two years with the New Jersey Gems. Kaye Cowher also was big on family and she helped Bill Cowher decide to leave the life of being the Steeler's Coach to be closer to their children.

The story of Kaye Cowher hits home for me because I have a close relative who is living with the diagnosis of skin cancer. My aunt, who is 47, was diagnosed with skin cancer two years ago and has been going through treatment. She had excisional surgery to try to remove the cancerous lesions. The excision surgery is where the doctor cuts out the cancerous tissue as well as surrounding healthy tissue. This type of treatment will remove some healthy tissue in hopes that it will stop the spread of the skin cancer. My aunt has gotten the surgery two times to remove skin cancer lesions from her stomach and leg which is a painful procedure to undergo. My personal experience seeing what skin cancer can do makes me advocate for prevention so that other people do not suffer the same pain as my aunt or Kaye Cowher.

If you want to prevent skin cancer globally the best thing you can do is to protect your skin while you are outside in the ultra-violet light. According to the Center for Disease Control, Wearing a hat with a three-inch brim is a great way to protect you from skin cancer. You also want to wear long-sleeves and pants if possible because you do not want your body to be in direct contact with the sunlight. It is essential that you also wear sunscreen preferably with a Sun Protection Factor of at least 15 when you are out in the sun for a prolonged period of time. Sunglasses will also help shield your eyes from the sunlight and can prevent UV rays from damaging your eyes. People do not realize that tanning beds can contribute to skin cancer but they can, so stay away from tanning beds. Tanning beds still contain harmful ultra-violet rays even though it is artificial sunlight and it can do a lot of damage in the long-term. Protection is very important if you have an outdoor job such as a construction worker or if you work in a flower store. When you talk about preventing skin cancer it is important to just take simple common sense steps such as sunscreen and sunglasses. The sun can damage any part of your body so you always want to make sure that you protect any skin that could come in direct contact with the sunlight. If you follow easy preventative steps while outside in the sun you can really decrease your chances of developing skin cancer.

ESPN News Service, "Kaye Cowher dies of cancer at 54", ESPN

Center for Disease Control Staff, "Skin Cancer Prevention", Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

My personal experience from my aunt being diagnosed skin cancer