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.
for a job. When I was hired I signed a contract saying I would maintain a tanned appearance, and in return I'd get 12 free sessions and one Mystic spray tan a month. I worked at this salon for two-and-a-half years, and was top salesperson for over a year. In April 2011 I moved to Ottawa,
Ontario for school. A few weeks later my mother noticed that the freckle on my stomach had changed, and she wanted me to have it looked at. I went to see a dermatologist, who thought it looked fi ne. But he did a biopsy, which left an inch-long scar. I was scared, but convinced myself that everything would be fi ne. Three weeks later the doctor called
to tell me that the "freckle" was a melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer. I dropped the phone, and broke down. I had truly believed what I'd been taught by the industry — that tanning prevented certain cancers and that the industry had the docu- ments and scientists to back up these claims. Over the next six weeks I had many doctors' appointments, three more biopsies for lesions on my breast, leg, and arm — and fi nally excisional surgery to remove the melanoma, which fortunately was at an early- stage, and non-invasive. Today I have a 6-inch scar on my stomach and so much fear. I always have new spots appearing
and changing. I recently had a couple of biopsies and one came back last week as precancerous, but they got it. I'm going for surgery soon on my left breast, as my doctors recently found two spots they are very concerned about. I'll never forget going to the surgeon's offi ce the fi rst time with my mom — he thought she was the patient. When he realized I was the patient, he told me I was the youngest
person he'd ever treated for melanoma. I'm only 21.
Chelsea, 24, used tan- ning beds for years. While the Virginia native knew skin cancer was a possibility,
"It wasn't until after my fi rst surgery, when I found out melanoma had spread to my lymph nodes, that I truly realized it's a serious, serious disease." I'm surrounded by people who have
always loved tanning salons. Both of my grandmothers tanned indoors and my aunt actually had a tanning bed in her home. I visited my fi rst tanning salon at age 14. For about six years I tanned for approximately 12 minutes three to four times a week for a month before major events, like prom. Tanning was a social event for me: my college friends and I would carpool to the salon. I didn't want to be dark, I just wanted to have a
"healthy glow." (I hate that phrase now!) I thought if I only went a few times a year, I'd be fi ne. When I was 23, I scratched an itch
on my back that felt like a scab. My boyfriend looked at it and said that the mole on my left shoulder had scabbed over and was leaking a clear fl uid. I knew that wasn't normal, so I called a dermatologist the next day. The dermatologist did a full body check and thought I was OK, but decided to remove the suspicious mole, just to be safe. Ten days later I was having the
stitches taken out and joking with my boyfriend when the dermatologist walked in and blurted out that I had melanoma. He scheduled me to see an oncologist and a surgeon, and pre- pared me to hear that the melanoma had spread, and that I would need treatment.
CHELSEA: "My life revolves around doctors and blood work and needles and
chemotherapy. It's nothing like what a 24-year-old should be experiencing."
Less than a month later, I had
surgery to remove the lymph nodes* under my arms and either side of my neck. The doctors also took about fi ve inches of skin out of my back. They found melanoma in the lymph nodes under my left arm and in the right side of my neck. I was diagnosed with stage III melanoma.** Since then, I've had two more pretty invasive surgeries, and I'm currently enrolled in a clinical drug trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.*** So many people — myself included,
when I was fi rst diagnosed — assume that once a doctor removes the mela- noma, you're good to go. Many people assume that I am in the clear now because I currently show no signs of disease. What they don't know is that my life is planned in three-month spans: I have skin checks, CT scans, and treatments every three months. I am scared to plan past those three months because I never know what the next scan will show. My whole life has changed. I went
KATE: "I had truly believed what I'd been taught by the industry — that tanning prevented certain cancers and that the industry had the documents and scientists to back up these claims."
from living on my own in Roanoke, VA, with a full-time job, a huge circle of friends, and a great boyfriend, to moving back home with my parents for months because I couldn't take care of myself after the surgeries. My life revolves around doctors and blood work and needles and chemotherapy. It's nothing like what a 24-year-old should be experiencing. Tanning is not worth what your life becomes, how your life totally changes. It's not "just" skin cancer. It can kill you.
References available on p.96. 37