ShineSafe Is on a Mission to Rebrand Sun Safety
ShineSafe founder, Celine Mactaggart, impressed us with her millennial-friendly design sensibilities. But it's her foundation's science-backed, friendly approach to skin cancer education that keeps us coming back for more.
Amy Cohen: I'm really excited to talk to you today and to learn more about your foundation, ShineSafe. Obviously we're in a really bizarre time right now, and the only thing that we can do to stay sane is to get a breath of fresh air and to be outside. Being cautious, covering, and using sunscreen are all really important things. So tell me a little bit about yourself and how you started this organization and why.
Celine Mactaggart: Sure. Like you mentioned, it is a bit of a wild and unsettling time.
I went to graduate school for nonprofit administration, but I never thought I wanted to start a foundation or a charity. I always wanted to work for a grant-making foundation, or a private foundation. I never thought I would be a good grant maker unless I learned the other side of it — how to raise money. So I ended up getting really interested in healthcare and healthcare philanthropy.
Throughout the beginning of my career, I was very aware of health and I was aware of how philanthropy could help raise awareness for causes and help make medical centers better with the services they offered.
A little fast forward: I got married and he had a diagnosis in 2008.
We were on an airplane going to a dear friend's wedding in Mexico and there were three seats on one side of the plane, three seats on the other and an aisle down the middle. So my husband took a seat right on the aisle and a woman sat down next to him. He was sitting next to this woman who, it turned out, was going to the same wedding and they talked for a good part of the plane ride. She sat on his left side, and, the whole way down to Mexico, she could see that he had some raised pigment on his eye. So if you can imagine a mole, a brown-colored mole on the white of your eye, and that's what he had. She had just finished her fellowship at UCSF Medical Center under a world-renowned ocular oncologist and, to make a long story short, she pestered him and pestered him. He had had it looked at by, I think, three doctors in three medical centers and everyone said, "Oh, it's no big deal. It's probably this thing called preliminary acquired melanosis. It can't be something that serious.” Fast forward, she pestered him and said, "Get that thing out, get it biopsied." And, mind you, this is on your eye so this is invasive.
It turned out to be melanoma. And I think, to answer your question, having this nonprofit background and then having a dear loved one diagnosed with this really changed how I thought about the sun. We have three young children, and I see how they're vastly under protected on a daily basis. So that's why I decided to create ShineSafe.
Amy Cohen: I cannot think of anything scarier than having surgery on my eyeball. I just can't. It's like a horror movie.
Celine Mactaggart: Yeah. It happens, and thank God there are physicians that deal with this and that we were lucky enough to get care. He had to do chemo drops. Who knew that you could have eye drops that are a form of chemotherapy?
I think part of why I think I created ShineSafe was to say, "Hey, this can go sideways. This is largely preventable. We don't have to be scared. But we do have to be mindful, and we have to make good choices and be aware of our choices with the sun and our health and our children."
ShineSafe got tagged today in an Instagram post from a woman saying we need to be mindful of our exposure and her cancer didn't have a primary source; it went directly to her lymph nodes. I think, again, we don't need to walk around being fearful. We can live a wonderful, active life outside, but we have to be vigilant about getting care, checking our skin, our partners, our kids, our loved ones, mentioning something if we see something. Even if we're not doctors — and I'm not a doctor, I'm an advocate for sun safety and prevention. Even if it's like, "Oh, Mom, that looks weird. Just go get it checked out."
Amy Cohen: Yeah. That is my absolute tagline. I've been saying it for 20-plus years to women in the field that I run in, which is preventative care for women's cancers. And, of course, like you said, there's a fine line between being vigilant and being smart and being crazy and never leaving your house. But there are ways to be smart and to be safe.
So tell me more about how you advocate and how you get the word out.
Celine Mactaggart: One of my primary goals with ShineSafe is to create a platform that connects advocates, different people, and different organizations in this space. We had to go where your eyes already are and that's social media. So I said, "Well, I need to build a really strong social media feed to go where people's eyes are and then, from there, build a community of people to leverage our cause who have a huge following and huge followers." So I had to look at ShineSafe and your skin as a brand. And what are we selling? We're selling your health, we're selling your wellness.
I really tried to build this community of supporters and people who have followers who believe in your health. A lot of those are dermatologists and skincare founders who are into green beauty and nontoxic beauty. And a lot of these are celebrity makeup artists that I've connected with who are responsible for red carpet looks at Oscars. They are among some of the biggest supporters for this. Because part of their job is to minimize the look of sun damage and premature aging and things like that. So we're trying to build a community.
I think also we need to re-examine some of the narratives that are dangerous and potentially deadly. This morning when I was having a cup of coffee before everyone was awake in my house, I was re-looking at Instagram and I looked for the hashtag for tan. There are 14 million tags on Instagram that use that. And you look at that and it's people on the beach and they're promoting sun exposure and active tanning, and this is dangerous. It's really dangerous. Also, there were 4.9 million hashtags that used the hashtag “sun-kissed". And these are really, I think, when you have a lot of people looking at "influencers" who are normalizing and even glorifying tanning, it's not helpful. It's dangerous and it creates a false sense of safety in doing this to your skin. I think we all need to be really mindful of that.
Amy Cohen: I totally agree. It's definitely an uphill battle. There are ways to look sun-kissed and healthy and beautiful without baking in the sun, of course.
Celine Mactaggart: True.
Amy Cohen: That is something phenomenal that we've been able to do as a society in using technology and innovation, that we can have a glow without baking in the sun.
I have three teenagers, two full-blown teenagers, and one ten-year-old. As kids become more responsible for themselves, as they go through school, that idea of sun safety gets lost. The only place you kind of see it pop up again is maybe in the summer when they go to camp and you, as a parent, are still labeling their stuff. But I don't know if they use the sunblock I’m giving them. I know they use it before they leave because I watch them put it on, but that's the only time it pops up. And, like you, I live in a very sunny-year-around climate, and they go to school where it's mostly outside. It's tricky.
Celine Mactaggart: I think it can be challenging. Maybe, as mothers, we need to take our teenagers in once a year and start telling them that they need to see a dermatologist once a year. Or you make a plan with your board-certified dermatologist in concert with your primary physician, given your history. I think what might be helpful is saying, ‘okay, well, we need to do our yearlies and we need to make a point of every month reminding our kids to check their bodies.’ So that might be an easy step at this point.
Amy Cohen: Or going one step further and saying, "Well, we always take our kids in for an annual checkup. Most people do. Why isn't that a part of the annual checkup?" So, yes, your pediatrician isn't a dermatologist, but it can absolutely be part of a checklist. During this time, during COVID right now, so many parents are so nervous to take their kids to any doctor for anything. Even when you're nervous to go to the doctor, don't let those things slide and don't push them off because it's just as important today as it was a couple of months ago, and your doctor's still there to help you and still there to work with you.
Don't forget about things like a mole that looks a lot bigger than it did four months ago. Don't wait. That's not something to do for yourself or your child or your partner, because that's equally as important now as it's always been.
Celine Mactaggart: I think that's exactly right. And I think that, in many ways, if you are not moving forward with your health, you're maybe moving back. If you don't feel comfortable to go to the office, call and find out when they're open. At least that's one step forward.
Amy Cohen: I totally agree. Thank you so much for what you're doing. I think it's so important. It's beyond important. We all know someone who's had some sort of skin cancer issue or some sort of skin cancer care. I say it to my kids all the time. All it takes is one bad burn. So, with that, to all the girls who are going to lay out all summer, do it safely and put sunblock on.
Celine Mactaggart: For sure. Thank you so much. And thank you also for all you do with prevention. It's so important.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To listen to the full version, please visit The Seam Podcast.