The Numbers Tell A Grim Tale
The number of melanoma cases is increasing at a rate higher than any other form of cancer. And a disproportionate amount of these new cases are found in young women.
Since 1980, the incidence of melanoma in younger women has jumped 50%, while rates among younger men remain unchanged. Melanoma has become the most prevalent cancer among women ages 25-29, and the second most prevalent cancer (behind breast cancer) among women ages 30-34.
Many researchers say the gender and age-specific nature of aggressive melanoma rates is a result of the burgeoning indoor tanning industry. And the numbers seem to add up. Of the 30 million patrons who use indoor tanning salons each year, 71% of them are young girls and women ages 16-29.
Two cancer survivors and spokeswomen for the American Association of Dermatology (AAD), Brittany Lietz and Meghan Rothschild, have no doubt that their own bouts with skin cancer arose from their use of tanning beds as teens.
"There's no doubt in my mind that my indoor tanning caused my skin cancer,” says Rothschild. “I wasn't a beach baby. I knew indoor tanning was bad for me. I knew what I was doing to my body, but I always thought it wouldn't happen to me." Lietz agrees that her addiction to indoor tanning is what landed her in the hospital three years later, fighting the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Both young women stress the severity and brutality of skin cancer.
"I want people to understand how serious skin cancer is," Rothschild says in her AAD patient profile. "I had drainage tubes in me. I couldn't lift anything over 20 pounds for six months. I'm fortunate my skin cancer was diagnosed before it was too late.”
"I was in a lot of pain," describes Lietz. “My pictures after surgery are so graphic that some people have become physically ill looking at them."
Lietz, winner of the 2006 Miss Maryland title, tries to convey the dangers of indoor tanning to the youth groups she speaks to. "I tell the students that if indoor tanning is such a risk, why would they take it?" And she issues the ultimate warning: “I don't want anyone to go through what I have. I keep reminding people that skin cancer can happen to you. You're not immune to this.”
Despite increased publicity and awareness, made possible by advocates like Lietz and Rothschild, many girls remain unaware or unresponsive to the dangers associated with tanning beds. At a time when more and more girls are entering tanning salons at younger and younger ages, the future is nothing short of frightening.
Assisted by Jess Begen
