Skin Cancer Triples In Women Under 40

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MrsSpringsteen

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I think it's a case of denial just like smoking or any other behavior that might cause cancer. I think also most people don't realize how serious skin cancer can be. I do agree that fair skin is not seen as healthy and beautiful, I am very fair skinned and I don't like it. Self tanners are too messy and annoying to use.

I used to bake myself when I was younger and the risks weren't as well known or publicized, now I have sun damage and it's scary to have to watch moles and worry about what they could turn into. Honestly I don't even do that because it's denial :|

Most people don't wear sunscreen on a daily basis, how many people here do? I wear it at the beach or a ball game, something like that. I wear makeup w/ an SPF. But daily minimal exposure is enough to cause problems. Now I avoid the sun as much as possible. It also causes premature wrinkling, some of the women I see in their teens and 20's already have leathery skin on their faces.

Skin cancer triples in women under 40

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- The incidence of two types of skin cancer has nearly tripled among women under age 40, a sign that tanning is still popular among the young despite warnings about the harm it can cause, researchers said Tuesday.

The rate of basal cell and squamous cell cancers rose to 32 per 100,000 women under 40 in 2003 from 13 per 100,000 in the late 1970s, their study said.

Basal cell and squamous cell cancers are the two most common forms of the disease and can be removed and treated more easily than the deadlier melanoma type.

"Tan is still accepted as a sign of health and a sign of beauty and so changing that message is going to be important to accept fair skin as very healthy and beautiful," said study author Dr. Leslie Christenson of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The study looked at some 500 skin cancer cases in surrounding Olmsted County, Minnesota, where the population's comprehensive health records are examined as part of the clinic's Rochester Epidemiology Project.

Young women, especially, still use tanning beds and lie in the sun despite health warnings about cumulative skin damage from sun rays, Christenson said in a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Among men under 40, the incidence of basal cell cancers did not increase though the rate of squamous cell cancers among men did rise, the study said. Christenson said that men may not pay as much attention to their skin as women, and might not spot the tell-tale discolored bumps as often.

Basal cell cancer usually appears as a pink bump on the skin, which can be superficial or bleed and does not go away. Squamous cell cancer can also look very pink, but it is usually scaly and appears as a rough, raised bump.

In the United States, there were 800,000 new cases of basal cell and 200,000 cases of squamous cell cancers diagnosed in the year 2000.

Cases are increasing rapidly in people over age 50 as well, the report said.
 
some facts about skin cancer

Ultraviolet light is the primary cause of skin cancer.

Children and young adults, who have unprotected sun exposure and sunburn, have a higher risk of developing skin cancer and melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer) in adulthood.

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in people younger than 30.


It is projected in 2005 that approximately 1 person will die every hour from skin cancer.


One in five Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetime.


There has been a 10% increase in new cases of melanoma from 2004.

http://www.shadefoundation.org/

Sunglasses.

Always wear sunglasses with UV ray protection

Hats.

Always wear a wide brim hat made from a close weave fabric

Always

wear protective clothing, long sleeved shirts and pants

During

the peak sun hours of 10 – 4 reduce exposure to the sun –stay in the shade

Every
90 minutes reapply sun block with at least a SPF of 15
 
there's also an actual condition described by doctors, I've known several men and women who I think have it-and they're not all "young people"

Tanorexia is term coined by doctors to describe the young people who put themselves at risk of getting skin cancer as a result of the frequent use of tanning salons to get the perfect skin color.

Baltimore Sun
Originally published August 21, 2005

IT'S BEEN well-documented that society's ideal of the sleek and slender physique can prove fatal to young people who literally starve themselves in a twisted quest for self-esteem.

Now it seems something similar may be happening when teens and 20-somethings set out to damage their skin in pursuit of what is erroneously regarded as the healthy glow of a tan.

Recent studies report two clearly related findings:

That tanning can be psychologically addictive, particularly among the young, because they think it makes them look and feel better.

That skin cancer is reportedly twice as common among the under-40 crowd, especially women, as it was 30 years ago.

Young people are, of course, notoriously hard to warn about anything. They consider themselves indestructible. It might be useful, though, for the already old and wrinkled to exert whatever influence they can muster, particularly on fragile-faced pre-teens.

Anybody who's ever gotten a nasty burn knows the sun is nothing to mess with. But it's more dangerous than ever now because so much of the protective ozone layer has been destroyed by greenhouse gases. Even if there's no burn, the skin damage known as tan can often be a prelude to cancer.

Another more modern threat is the tanning bed, initially advertised as not harmful but proven since to be anything but. Widely available year round, tanning beds beckon those who want an athletic appearance of robust health. But lying on a tanning bed is like putting your body on a rotisserie.

The American Medical Association is urging states to prohibit the use of tanning salons by people under 18, which makes some sense. The most effective solution, though, might be for a pasty-white complexion to become the fashion ideal.

Meanwhile, companies that make fake-tanning potions, which are becoming increasingly natural-looking, should ramp up their advertising to the youth market.

"Look good now, and postpone the day when you turn into wrinkly old Mom or Dad." What kid wouldn't go for that?
 
I watched some of my high school peers bake themselves to death for a while and vowed not to do it to myself.
Im one of the irish skinned freckled girls that is at high risk. And I had 3 very bad burns along with countless normal ones as a child. Nothing stopped me from burning. Ive burned in the shade :rolleyes:
now Im at a high risk for skin cancer and even had a biopsy when I was 15. Fun fun.
I really hope that white skin comes back into fashion because I see these younger ladies with alligator leather skin thats just disgusting looking! They might look how they want now, but later on in life when they look 10 years older than they really are theyre going to wish they had just kept their skin white
 
One of my friends bakes herself all the time (she never goes to a tanning salon though). She freaks out when she gets "pale" which to me is pretty darn dark. We'll see what happens to her.
 
I had 3 moles removed last year. They were nothing serious, but better safe than sorry. I don't go in the tanning booths(though many of the girls who I go to school with go into tanning booths 2-3 times a week, year round :rolleyes: ) and when I sit out in the sun I wear sunscreen. I forgot to wear it once this summer and well, it wasn't pretty. :lol: Sometimes I do wish my skin weren't so pale, but I don't mind it most of the time. It would be nice to have a tan now but I'd rather have my health down the line.
 
i'm reading this as i sit here with a very bad sunburn i managed to get last week jetskiing on the colorado river. i spent the entire day out there and never applied sunscreen. not once. as a southern nevada local i know better.

i'm not feeling too smart right now.

this thread is a good reminder.
 
I am another pale girl who is slowly coming to terms with the fact that its okay to be that way...I never used sunscreen and baked in the sun and in tanning beds without a second thought. I'm starting to see the damage I've done to myself and I think I'd rather stay healthy and pale than die trying to be tan.

I learned my final lesson not too long ago when I skipped the sunscreen because I was sitting in the a shady section of Anaheim Stadium at an Angel game.

I noticed I was little red when I got home and thought it was just the heat but by the next morning, my chest and part of my forehead was lobster red. It was the deepest, reddest sunburn I've ever had and I can only guess it was from the sun reflecting off the concrete in the stadium.

Moral of the story: Use sunscreen NO MATTER WHAT, even if you are convinced you won't burn because you're in the shade.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:

Now it seems something similar may be happening when teens and 20-somethings set out to damage their skin in pursuit of what is erroneously regarded as the healthy glow of a tan.



One of my close friends was absolutely addicted to tanning in her early 20's despite the fact that her own mother lost part of her nose to skin cancer. Her mom used to cry and beg her to stop going to the tanning salon and even that wasn't enough to convince her. Sad. :|
 
Add me to the list of pale people. I'm not much of an outdoor person to begin with, though, never really have been, so this shouldn't be too big a concern for me. I have had a bit of sunburn before, though-while it wasn't as bad as other people I know*, I should still keep an eye out.

I've never been one to go to tanning salons and whatnot, either. Never cared much for that sort of thing. And I'm not one to sit outside and tan the regular way, either.

*My mom and sister are definitely at risk-they're outdoors-type people, and they've gotten RED while outside. Seriously, they've come home looking like lobsters.

Angela
 
I break out in a rash w/ sunscreens even if they're PABA free, this year I actually had to resort to getting that Water Babies sunscreen - when I used it I didn't break out.

I shudder thinking of the sunburns I used to get when I was a kid, I used to use baby oil sometimes when I was baking myself :down:
 
It's funny but in the Victorian era they viewed pale porcelain skin as a sign of good breeding and a tan as a sign of being 'lower class'.
 
I am afraid I am another pale skinned girl too. I burn really easily and never wear anything less than factor 25 if it is sunny.

It doesn't surprise me that skin cancer is on the increase though. Loads of my friends regularly go on sunbeds. I can not understand why people go on them - apart from the fact they increase your risk of getting skin cancer you eventally get wrinkles and that is not good either.


This is one instance when faking it (with fake tan) is better!
 
I'm as white as white gets and I'm absolutely obsessive about sunscreen.

What I hate is when I go off on vacation and get back and people say "you didn't even get a tan! don't you like being outside?"

STFU.
 
anitram said:
people say "you didn't even get a tan! don't you like being outside?"

I get that too, also the Casper stuff

It's weird that some people act like a tan is some sort of accomplishment and/or goal :huh:

I've tried so many self-tanners and that new self tanning moisturizer, I guess I'm just too lazy and unconcerned about it to put the required effort into it. It does make your legs look better in the summer and gives you the illusion of being thinner. It hides unsightly stuff too :wink:
 
I was dx'ed with melanoma last year. I had major surgery to remove it and have a huge scar on my thigh to remember it by. It did not spread to my organs, thank God. Recurrence chances are fairly low (10-20%) if they don't spread to other organs or lymph nodes.

Please, please people, stay out of the sun, especially if you are fair skinned. Wear sunscreen and hats.
 
I've had to find a happy medium. I'm not that pale naturally and I spend a LOT of time out in the sun in the summer, basically all weekend long and then for two weeks straight on a family vacation. To slather myself w/ SPF50 everyday would be dangerous b/c you know that ONE time I'd forget and be in the sun for 1/2 hour I'd burn to a lobster red. However, I ALWAYS have SPF 45 on my face and ears since those parts are always in the sun. I try to get a bit of a tan at the beginning of the summer, just by reading outside for a while. I've never, ever gone tanning at a tanning place. I also watch my moles very closely, as does my Dr. (anytime I go in for anything, he will ask to see my moles). I feel like for me, it's more dangerous to try to stay pasty white b/c I spend two solid weeks swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing in direct sunlight, but I can tell when I'm starting to burn or bake and always have suncreen and a big T-shirt handy.
 
another pale, pasty sunscreen addict here.

my parents still give me crap about not getting enough sun/colour, even with all the warnings about melanoma out there. i don't know why people haven't figured out that that healthy glow is really an unhealthy glow.

favourite nickname: elvira :sexywink:
 
as someone who gets lightly tan in the summer, wears sunscreen when going to the beach (but not walking around on a saturday), has somewhat of a pasty ethnicity (irish and swedish) and spends the other 8 months of the year under clothes, i'm more concerned about the radiation from my cell phone and the terrible air i breath every day (all that exhaust from those evil, evil SUVs) in the city than i am about skin cancer.

that said, i'd never, ever sit on a tanning bed.
 
Yeah I have fair skin too. Not really that much of an outdoors person but I do enjoy cycling. Sun isn't as strong over here luckily - but yes, people with fair skin should take the precautions.


Hmmm, a lot of Irish genes on this thread I think. :wink:
 
anitram said:
What I hate is when I go off on vacation and get back and people say "you didn't even get a tan! don't you like being outside?"

STFU.

I've not gotten those exact comments, but I have gotten comments on my pale skin-one person compared me to a Precious Moments doll, and I've gotten the Casper thing, too.

I dunno, maybe I'm just weird, but I've never had much of a desire to get a tan :shrug:. I'm not a person who fusses much with any part of her body, don't mess with my hair, don't bother tanning, don't wear makeup, don't put on nail polish or perfume or jewelry... If other people want to do that stuff, that's entirely up to them, I don't care. But it's just never been an interest of mine *Shrugs*.

financeguy said:
Hmmm, a lot of Irish genes on this thread I think. :wink:

:yes:. I've got some Irish ancestry in me. And German, too-aren't those people also known for being rather pale-skinned?

Angela
 
Moonlit_Angel said:
:yes:. I've got some Irish ancestry in me. And German, too-aren't those people also known for being rather pale-skinned?

Angela


Yeah most of the Northern Europeans are.
 
I'm relatively pale, Polish/Russian and English/Scottish/Irish genes in there. But I can tan, and like to every once and awhile, just not excessively. Of course my friend is half Irish, half Swedish, complete with freckles, and she got the most gorgeous tan this summer. :grumpy:

So yes I am jealous of people with nice tans, but I realise you can't overdo it. And I cannot understand why people would go to tanning salons.
 
VertigoGal said:

So yes I am jealous of people with nice tans, but I realise you can't overdo it. And I cannot understand why people would go to tanning salons.

Even if skin cancer didn't exist, why the fuck would you PAY to tan when the sun is FREE? :banghead:

I LOVE being outside and I get depressed (like that SAD thing) without enough sun light and fresh air (Michigan winters, Sept - May, are torure for me). Going outside instead of to a tanning salon lets me kill lots of birds w/ one stone, so to speak. If I'm going to do homework or study, I do it outside. If I'm going to do chores on Sunday, I go outside and trim hedges. If I'm going to trim my nails or groom my cats, we go outside. Sun exposure (not necessarily tanning, but being outside in the fresh air and daylight) is really healthy.
 
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I guess people in cold climates do it sometimes. I know many who go off to Mexico/Florida/Jamaica, etc in winter like to get a base tan.

Then you have the orange people who are like walking Oompa Loompas all year long. Totally weird to me!
 
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