Despite warnings, people keep soaking up sun
Experts consider changing tactics to reduce skin cancer rates

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- The word is definitely out: Too much sun can be very, very bad for you.

Public campaigns remind people to protect themselves from the sun's ultraviolet rays. Sunscreen companies market their wares hither and yon. More people understand the causes of skin cancer and melanoma than ever before.

So why do melanoma rates continue to rise by about 3 percent a year?

Because, experts say, many people still think a tanned skin is a sign of health and beauty, and they've been taught that the best fun occurs out in the sun.

"Leading thoughts are that more and more people equate leisure with getting out in the sun and getting a tan," said Dr. Conway C. Huang, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham . "The message about skin cancer is effectively conveyed to the public. I think a lot of people know the sun is bad. But it hasn't resulted in a change in behavior."

As a result, experts continue to puzzle over how to best convince people to protect themselves from the sun -- an issue front and center during May, which has been designated Melanoma/Skin Cancer Protection Month.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, accounting for at least half of all cancers, and most cases are considered to be sun-related, according to the American Cancer Society.

More than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States , the Cancer Society says. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, occurs in less than 5 percent of all skin cancer cases but causes the vast majority of deaths from skin cancer: an estimated 8,110 of the 10,850 deaths each year from skin cancer.

Tanning occurs when ultraviolet light damages the skin. The damage goes deep into skin cells, affecting their DNA. Too much damage can result in skin cancer or melanoma.

"The fact your skin becomes more pigmented is a sign that damage has occurred," Huang said. "It's like if you are coughing up phlegm, you likely have the flu."

And it's the sense of invincibility that young people carry with them that might be largely to blame for skin cancer rates continuing to climb, many health experts believe.

"Young people never think bad things happen to them," said Dr. Martin A. Weinstock, professor of dermatology and community health at Brown University and chairman of the skin care advisory committee for the American Cancer Society. "It's always the other person."

Huang agrees. "Young people simply are not threatened or concerned with the fact they might contract skin cancer," he said.

Popular myths surrounding tanning also play a role, the experts say. For example, people still believe that getting a base tan before spending more time out in the sun will protect them from a bad burn. In fact, that base tan is simply sun damage and does nothing to keep a person safe from additional doses of ultraviolet radiation.

As Huang put it: "You shouldn't get some sun damage to mitigate other sun damage."

Attitudes also are influenced by popular culture, Weinstock said. Just as smoking shown in movies would probably cause more people to pick up the habit, images of tanned icons can send folks scurrying to the beaches, backyards and tanning beds.

"We were doing OK when Madonna was popular," Weinstock said. "When Britney Spears became popular, it got harder. It's not all about medicine. Cultural icons and mores have a huge impact."

So, some say, does the wide availability and limited regulation of tanning salons.

The ultraviolet rays from a tanning booth, after all, are no less dangerous than those from the sun. One study found that regular use of tanning beds increases melanoma risk by a factor of eight, according to the American Cancer Society. Even occasional use nearly tripled a person's chances of developing melanoma.

"It's really teenagers and young adults who are the primary users of tanning parlors," Weinstock said. "In young people, skin cancer is increasingly more in women than in men. That may be due to indoor tanning."

So, how to address these factors?

Experts recommend better regulation of tanning salons to keep out kids younger than 18. Studies, however, have shown that laws intended to restrict and limit teenagers' access to tanning parlors don't work, largely because of lax enforcement.

The message being sent to young people about the sun and tanning is being revamped to better press teens' buttons, Huang said. If messages about death don't matter to kids, who feel invincible, what will?

"Outreach has changed to focus on the cosmetic damage the sun does," Huang said. "Tanning causes wrinkles, stuff like that."

On the Web

To learn more about skin cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin/page1.

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