RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The leading research agency that provides cancer information to the World Health Organization has moved tanning beds into the highest cancer risk category, where it accompanies carcinogens like arsenic, asbestos, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco. The special report appears in the current journal The Lancet Oncology. As with some other high-risk cancer-causers, tanning beds are an all-too-common health threat. “The use of UV [ultraviolet ray]-emitting tanning devices is widespread in many developed countries, especially among young women,” says report author Fatiha El Ghissassi, MD, of the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph Working Group.
THE DETAILS: The combined analysis of more than 20 epidemiological studies found that the risk of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is increased by 75 percent when people use tanning devices before age 30. In addition, several other studies referenced by the group found that UV-emitting tanning beds and booths can lead to melanoma of the eye. IARC also reclassified UV radiation in the carcinogenic to humans category, meaning it’s not safe to lay out in the sun, either. Previously, UVB rays have been blamed for cancer, but the new report says UVA radiation has also been found to be a culprit in animal studies. These findings reinforce current recommendations by the World Health Organization to avoid sunlamps and tanning parlors, and to protect yourself from overexposure to the sun.
WHAT IT MEANS: Skin cancer affects more than 1 million people a year; more than 60,000 of those cases involve melanoma, a much more serious skin cancer that will claim the lives of about 9,000 people this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Early detection is key. When caught early, melanoma is highly curable, although it can return at the same spot or in other organs. Prevention remains the best approach.
Here’s how to keep your skin safe:
• Know your risk. Visit your dermatologist for annual body checks, but the American Cancer Society recommends scheduling an appointment sooner if you notice:
Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth or the spread of pigmentation beyond its border, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule
A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain.
Earlier this year, researchers also announced six easy-to understand melanoma risk factors.
• Find safer sunscreen. Not all sunscreens contain ingredients that are equally safe for you and the environment. And not all work best in the same conditions. So shop around to find the type you’re most comfortable using. As a general rule of thumb, stay away from sprays because the chemicals will wind up not just on your skin, but in your lungs, too. Environmental Working Group’s brands rated the highest in safety and effectiveness often contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Visit Environmental Working Group website, where you can search different lists to find the best fit for your needs.
• Dress for protection. Sunscreens are important, no doubt, but by wearing SPF clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses that block UV rays, you can cut down on the amount of sunscreen you need to slather all over your body. Regular cotton T-shirts offer little protection from the sun, so choose tightly woven fabrics that you can’t see through when you hold them up to the light.
• Use your noggin. Common sense tells us to avoid hanging out in the sun unprotected all day, but we’ve all been guilty of soaking up a little bit too much sun from time to time. To lower your risk of skin cancer, stay out of peak sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seek out shady spots, and make supplements your main source of vitamin D (which occurs naturally when sunlight hits your skin at certain times of the year). And of course, stay out of tanning beds and booths. You’re beautiful just the way you are!