I am a 3-Time Olympic Volleyball athlete that is now a professional beach volleyball player. My office is the beach and the sand is my desk. I have one of the best jobs in the world that is the envy of almost everybody I meet. I am my own boss, I travel around the world, the more I work out and get in shape the better I perform, everyone is in a bikini or board shorts, tan and looking good...I have a great job. And I am now faced with having to quit.

Two weeks ago I found out that I had two different types of skin cancer; basal cell and melanoma. I was fortunate in that both were detected very early and will be treated with almost 100% certainty of recovery. I am very lucky because being in the sun for almost 4-5 hours every day, whether it is for competition or practice, coupled with having very fair skin puts me in a high risk bracket. For six years now as a beach athlete I've ALWAYS put on sunscreen before my sun exposure, taking great care in avoiding getting burned. And with my diagnosis, I've realized that it too late. The damage that caused my skin cancer is from before my beach career began, back before I was 10 years old.

I now look back and think to all those times I came home burned from the sun and laughed it off. It is not so funny anymore. I have great appreciation now in taking care of my skin, but I wish that I had great appreciation for it when it mattered most...as a child.

Less than a week after my diagnosis of skin cancer, still reeling with the shock of the news and burning with questions, I happened across John Lyons, Rob McOwan and Dr. Ernie Bodai from Solar Safe. Within two hours of talking with them, not only were all of my concerns and questions about skin cancer addressed and answered, but I came away armed with everything I needed to protect myself from any further sun damage...the Solar Safe bracelet. Now I have a constant reminder of when I need to find shade and reapply more sunscreen or when I am perfectly protected and can focus completely upon competing at the highest level without worrying about sun exposure. The people of Solar Safe took a frightened athlete and given him many more years of active competition. My thanks to them.

Jeff Nygaard

More information from AVP.com: Nygaard still recovering from cancer treatment

One of the fastest rising stars of the AVP CROCS Tour, Matt Fuerbringer was awarded Rookie of the Year in 2003. Along with his partner Casey Jennings, Fuerbringer made it into the finals four times in 2003, tying for the most among all teams.

For more information, visit Matt Fuerbringer's web site