Go To The Source: Melanoma Myths

Perhaps you caught Baltimore-based WBAL-TV’s “Youth And Melanoma” story live or saw a variation of it in print. Stories like this are the reason it is so important for salon owners to know the facts about melanoma—don’t allow the media to contour your current or future customers’ mindsets on UV exposure. The following is from the response I sent to Kari Kendra of The Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, who was quoted in the story.

... In regard to your quote that more people in their teens are being diagnosed with melanoma, perhaps that is what you are personally seeing. However, according to the American Cancer Society’s SEER report on cancer statistics, 90 percent of melanoma incidence and fatality occurs in individuals over age 35 and the median age is 59. This can be attributed to the fact that there was little to no public awareness about skin cancer while this older generation was growing up. Furthermore, SPFs were not widely promoted, available or used until the last decade. So, it would seem that your statement counters the American Cancer Society’s statistics. What do you base your claim on?

You also said that tanning beds are partly to blame for the rise in teen cases of melanoma. You based that statement on a recent study from the Skin Cancer Foundation that shows using tanning equipment before age 35 can increase the risk of melanoma by 75 percent. I have searched the Skin Cancer Foundation Web site and have been unable to locate that study. I would appreciate you forwarding the link.

In addition, the indoor tanning industry estimates that 75 percent of tanners are female. For the record, the American Cancer Society estimates that there were 8,110 melanoma-related fatalities in 2007 in the United States—of those, 5,220 cases were men and 2,800 were women. The number of new diagnoses of melanoma is estimated at 59,940; of these, 33,910 cases will be in men and 26,030 in women. If tanning beds are to blame for increased risk of melanoma, how do you explain that more males are diagnosed with this deadly skin cancer? I suggest you take a look at the article, “Sunlight May Not Be All Bad For Some Cancers” on cancer.org.

Another quote from you suggested that radiation from tanning beds is higher than the sun—even in places such as Australia where UV intensity is extremely high. This myth has been circulated for years, yet has no real basis for comparison. Ultraviolet output from tanning equipment differs according to the type of lamp, the exposure time, proximity to the lamps and more. Similarly, sunlight intensity differs according to the time of day, time of year, pollutants in the atmosphere, cloud cover and altitude, as well as proximity to the equator and reflective surfaces such as sand, snow and water. To truly assess your statement, people would need to know all these specifics.

You, or perhaps the reporter, also seem to have omitted key facts regarding melanoma risk factors—such as moles, skin type, family history, personal history and immune system—focusing only on UV exposure. However, millions of people weigh the benefits and risks of UV exposure and choose indoor tanning where the risk of erythema is minimized because exposures are controlled by timed sessions according to skin type. Sunlight has no such controls ...

As of press time, Kendra had not responded. oo

For more information on LightSources tanning products, visit www.lsitanning.com. If you have a question that you would like answered in this forum, e-mail joe_lsi@bellsouth.net.