The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal

MAY 2014

The 2012 edition of The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal features medically reviewed, reader-friendly articles such as tanning, the increasing incidence of skin cancer diagnoses among young women, & the prevalence of melanoma among white males over 50.

Issue link: https://skincancer.epubxp.com/i/319518

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S K I N C A N C E R F O U N D A T I O N J O U R N A L 54 two new drugs designed to inhibit or even reverse tumor growth in pa- tients with a defective gene called BRAF, which is linked to more than half of all melanomas. At frst, Eric's tumors dramatically shrank. "It was amazing; a week later we could tell the diference," said Jill. She posted pictures on her blog showing the ma- jor improvement in just a few weeks, as his leg began to appear tumor-free. The relief was temporary. To date in most patients, these particular drugs eventually stop working, and the can- cer comes back with a vengeance. That April, Eric discovered a lump near his groin, meaning the tumors had started growing again. "My heart just sank," said Jill. "This was, after all, regression." Within months the cancer spread to his spinal cord, and he had several lesions on his brain. He was unable to move from the armpits on down. In one of his fnal videos while in hospice care, Sizemore is propped up on pillows, his legs paralyzed, speak- ing into the camera about his former tanning bed habit. "Look at me and ask if it's worth it," said Eric. "It's not. You more than double your chances of catching this disease by tanning one time, and it's just not worth it to look good for one evening…... Don't do it. It has robbed me of the last three years of my life." Those Left Behind I t ultimately robbed him of a lot more. Eric passed away on August 3, 2011, still a young man at age 47; Jill was ly- ing by his side. Besides Jill, Eric left his son Rick, whom he had saved from a broken home as a child, a granddaugh- ter, two teenage step-daughters (Jill's daughters), and his parents and siblings. As Jill grieved, she looked at the graphic images she had posted of the tumors multiplying on Eric's legs. She paused to wonder if she had shared too much. "It was very shocking to me. What must people have thought when they saw it?" said Jill. But then she remembered her and Eric's mission. "He was a devout Chris- tian, a very giving and loving person, and though he's gone, he lives on in telling his story," she said. "We hope we have saved lives. We have to be our own health advocates and advocates for our children. You have to realize it can hap- pen to you; it's not worth the risk of going to a tanning bed even one time." Indeed, their story has touched many. For one example, a man con- tacted Jill on Facebook saying that be- cause of Eric's story, he couldn't even bear to sell his at-home tanning bed. Instead, he destroyed it. Just one indoor tanning session increases users' chances of develop- ing melanoma by 20 percent, and each additional session during the same year boosts the risk almost another two percent. 3 People who frst use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. 2 6,000 419,000 In the US, there are 419,000 new cases of skin cancer each year linked to tanning beds 1 75 % 20 % About 6,000 of those cases are melanoma. The Sizemores posted gruesome images of the tumors on Eric's legs to warn others of the dangers of tanning beds. "Look at me and ask if it's worth it. It's not. You more than double your chances of catching this disease by tanning one time, and it's just not worth it to look good for one evening." — Eric Sizemore Health Photo provided by Jill Sizemore References available on p.96

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