"We had to survive, so this was my summer job," he said.
"Sometimes I’d wear a hat. I’d start out wearing a shirt in the
morning, but I’d take it off as the day went on because it was
so hot. I paid for it later, though. First, my skin would
blister and then it would peel." Several years later, a
successful college graduate, Rodriguez thought he’d left those
harsh memories behind. But in 1985 a routine trip to his
dermatologist proved his experiences as a child had come back to
haunt him. A small nodule on his left cheek tested positive for
basal cell carcinoma - a type of skin cancer. Why a day in the
sun could be deadly According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common form of
cancer in the United States. Basal cell and squamous cell
carcinomas are the two most common types of skin cancer. Each
year, more than 10,000 people die from skin cancer. Some experts
believe that 80 percent of skin damage occurs before the age of
18. "A child’s health may be at risk lat