BOSTON -- It's not every day that a big leaguer gets screened for cancer in front of reporters and photographers before beginning his day at the ballpark.

But Mark Loretta was more than happy to undergo the checkup on Friday afternoon at Fenway Park to get the message out about sun safety and avoiding skin cancer. Team dermatologist and consultant Bonnie Mackool was on hand in the interview room to examine the Sox second baseman, who was diagnosed with stage I malignant melanoma in November 2004.

After successful treatment, Loretta remains free of the disease that affects one in every five Americans. The native of Southern California was joined by Mackool and SHADE Foundation co-founder and fellow melanoma survivor Shonda Schilling to help raise awareness about skin cancer.

"First and foremost, get yourself checked out and get your kids checked out," Loretta said. "It's a painless process to have a doctor go over your skin and then get in the habit -- particularly on sunny days -- of wearing a hat, wearing sunscreen and make it part of your everyday routine."

Realizing that players are in the sun for countless hours every summer, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, in conjunction with the American Academy of Dermatology [www.aad.org] created Play Smart When It Comes to the Sun in 1999. It was during this screening two years ago that a dermatologist recommended that Loretta follow up on a suspicious mole on his chest.

"I learned that putting sun screen on is just like brushing your teeth," Loretta said. "You do it every day, especially when you know you're going to be in the sun, and it helps reduce your risk."

Schilling, long a proponent of skin awareness and cancer prevention, directed her message to a specific group.

"I specifically want to reach the kids, because I want them to know that skin cancer should be treated just like smoking. There are things you can do to prevent it if you start good habits at an early age, like putting on sun screen every day," she said.

Mackool, who is also on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital, took a magnifying glass to Loretta's left arm, checking for any suspicious moles or skin marks that would necessitate a further checkup.

More than 1 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. More than 111,900 of them are melanoma -- a cancer that claims almost 8,000 lives annually. Since 1999, the Play Smart program has screened almost 15,000 Major League players and staff members and has detected nearly 500 suspicious lesions.

"We appreciate this chance that Major League Baseball has given us to get out the important message of skin safety," Mackool said. "The baseball community has set a good example for sun-safe behavior. We encourage everyone to follow the players' lead and regularly conduct skin self-examinations to look for signs of skin cancer, which can be very treatable if caught early."