| |
Deseret Morning News, Saturday, March 19, 2005
Dr. Paul Harrison, a dermatologist,
thinks it will probably take having a senator's 22-year-old
daughter die of melanoma
caused by years of tanning to get Congress to act on the issue.
But he sees the ravages in ever-younger patients every day
in his office.
Some are disfigured by basal or squamous cell
cancers. And some of them will be killed by malignant melanoma.
In 1996, when he saw a 34-year-old with basal cell cancer,
he thought it was odd and premature. "Now we're seeing all
kinds of UV-related cancers in patients in their 20s," he said. "And
more and more bizarre moles that have changed and become malignant.
And I'm not seeing one strange mole but six of them."
In his
Sandy office, he estimates that "easily one-third to one-half" of
his patients are there for skin cancer work. "My day is full
checking on moles."
The incidence of the most deadly form of
skin cancer, melanoma, is on the rise in Utah, according to
Kathryn Rowley, program director of the Utah Cancer Control
Program of the state Health Department. Concern is so great
that this year's U-CAN education campaign targets kids, she
said.
The amount of outdoor activity and sports, not to mention
high altitude, likely account for most of that increase, she
said. "But if people are using tanning beds and getting burned,
they are at risk, too."
"While many health issues are complex
and involve multiple factors, we know that ultraviolet light
is the primary cause of skin cancer and avoiding excessive
exposure to the sun and other forms of ultraviolet radiation
is the solution," said Dr. Clay J. Cockerell, a dermatologist
and president of the academy, in a statement released Thursday.
"Indoor
tanning is particularly troubling because it is so unnecessary," he
said. "It is not associated with playing sports or other outdoor
activities but is practiced solely for cosmetic reasons. Individuals
who utilize tanning beds are intentionally putting their health
at risk."
Dermatologists believe just telling youths tanning
is harmful is not enough. Hence the proposal to ban access
to the beds until they attain majority.
Rowley remembers well
the optimism of youth. "I wasn't concerned at all about when
I turned 50," she said, so just warning of future consequences
may not do much.
The number of skin cancer cases surpasses
that of all other cancers combined. And while many of those
skin cancers are basal cell or squamous cell, which are not
generally deadly, other cases can kill. Nationally, 105,750
new cases of melanoma are expected to be diagnosed this year,
a 10 percent increase over last year, Harrison said.
Detected
early, the five-year survival rate for melanoma is 99 percent.
Found later, it drops to 40 percent who survive.
Many of the
melanoma patients are surprisingly young, Harrison said. While
skin cancer used to be the province of those who worked long
hours outdoors year after year, like farmers, it's showing
up in many demographic groups.
The more common basal and squamous
cell usually show up where people have sun exposure. With tanning
beds, that could be anywhere. Melanoma can be anywhere there's
a mole, including under nails, in the hair, hidden away.
Indoor
tanning is big business in the United States, believed to generate
more than $5 billion a year. Most salons use bulbs in the beds
that emit both ultraviolet B and ultraviolet A radiation, both
involved with skin cancer development and premature aging.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services calls ultraviolet
radiation from the sun or artificial sources like sun lamps
and tanning beds a known carcinogen.
The academy wants a ban
on minors using tanning devices at all, as well as a U.S. surgeon
general's warning on all tanning devices. And it wants no advertising
of any ultraviolet A or ultraviolet B tanning device using
words such as "safe," "safe tanning," "no harmful rays" "nor
adverse effect," etc.
There's irony in the quest for the perfect
tan. "They're trying to look beautiful," Rowley said, and their
skin turns to leather when they get older because of that sun
exposure, even if they're lucky enough to avoid skin cancer.
The best protection from dangerous ultraviolet rays is to use
a sun screen with a high SPF, said Harrison. But that alone
won't do it, since SPF says how much ultraviolet B is blocked,
but not A. So people should look for a "broad spectrum" sunscreen
that contains either titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, he said.
© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company
|
