Dangers of Tanning and Skin Cancer Risk
- A woman, 58, who used tanning beds for a decade straight beginning in her late teens, was later diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma, a potentially dangerous form of skin cancer. Amid treatment, doctors had to remove a tennis ball-size part of her foot due to the cancer spreading near her ankle.
- The main types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. However, melanoma is more likely to impact nearby tissue by spreading or metastasizing to other body parts.
- Tanning beds emit UV rays, increasing your risk of developing skin cancer. Our experts recommend using safer alternatives, like spray tans or sunless tanning lotions, to achieve a bronze look.
- For all types of skin cancer, early detection is key.
Some people go to great lengths to achieve that golden bronze tan, and Caroline Madden, 58, has regularly used tanning beds (also called sunbeds) since she was a teenager. However, decades later, she learned unsafe tanning came with a cost, which involved two cancer diagnoses and the loss of part of her foot.
“I was blissfully unaware of melanoma until I got it,” Madden told U.K. news outlet ITV.
“It needed a wider excision to see what stage it was. I went back in, had a massive hole cut in my foot the size of a tennis ball, had a skin graft from my groin, and had lymph nodes removed from my groin. It had traveled up, so I was stage 3 straight away,” Madden explained.
While undergoing treatment, Madden spent several weeks in the hospital for surgery. She received chemotherapy every three weeks for a year.
Madden is sharing her skin cancer journey because when she was younger, regulations and added focus on the dangers of using sunbeds were not as robust as they are today. She hopes other people desiring a tan will do so in safer ways.
Expert Resources on Tanning and Skin Cancer
- A Dangerous TikTok Trend Is Promoting The Use of Tanning Beds. Here’s What You Need To Know About The Risks.
- Caution For Indoor Tanners: Tanning Salon Worker Who Indulged In Free Sessions Gets Skin Cancer
- Tanning Salons Pose a Big Risk of Melanoma
- Gay Men Get More Skin Cancer– The Perils of Tanning Bed Culture
- A Biopsy of Your Mole Doesn’t Mean You Have Melanoma
- A Melanoma Vaccine for Metastatic Patients
- Am I at High Risk for Melanoma?
The Dangers of Unsafe Tanning
According to the FDA, indoor tanning beds emit a type of UV ray, and UV exposure can increase the risk of skin cancer. (The sun also emits UV rays)
The National Center for Biotechnology Information published a 2011 study by Yale Cancer Center researchers examining indoor tanning and the risk of early-onset basal cell carcinoma. It concluded tanning beds were a “strong risk factor.
The study’s researchers said young people who tanned indoors had a 69% increased risk of early-onset BCC.
Indoor tanning was strikingly common in our study of young skin cancer patients, especially in women, which may partially explain why 70% of early-onset BCCs occur in females, a researcher Susan T. Mayne said to Yale Daily News.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Dermatology says that just one indoor tanning session can increase the risk of melanoma by 20% and squamous cell carcinoma by 67%.
A study published recently in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, suggests that banning tanning beds among minors would prevent thousands of cases of melanoma in adolescents and save millions of dollars in healthcare costs.
Studies have shown that exposure to tanning beds increases the risk of skin cancer and ocular cancer, says Dr. Lynn A. Cornelius, chief of the Division of Dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, which also induces changes that lead to premature skin aging. There is no tanning bed.
Dr. Cornelius recommends spray tans and sunless tanning lotions as safer alternatives to tanning beds. While everyone should take precautions not to inhale the product when getting a spray tan, allergic reactions are rare, he said.
Understanding Caroline’s Cancer Diagnosis
The main types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
In melanoma skin cancer cases, it is more likely to impact nearby tissue and spread or metastasize to other parts of the body. Since it tends to spread, it is considered a more dangerous form of skin cancer. It starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color.
WATCH: Use Sunscreen to Reduce the Risk of Melanoma.
“When it comes to melanoma, if you use sunscreen, there is this great study that came out of Australia that if patients used sunscreen consistently over ten years, they were actually able to reduce their risk for melanoma by 50%,” Dana-Farber Cancer Institute dermatologist Dr. Cecilia Larocca tells SurvivorNet.
Melanoma also causes the most skin cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute.
What to Look for In Melanoma
You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed skin areas like your face, neck, arms, and legs. However, melanoma can also be found in places you’d least expect, including the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, eyes, mouth, and under your nails.
SurvivorNet’s medical experts say the most important thing to look for when it comes to finding melanoma is a new spot on your skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color.
When you check your skin, use the acronym ABCDE as your guide:
- Asymmetrical moles: If you drew a line straight down the center of the mole, would the sides match?
- Borders: Is the mole irregular or jagged?
- Colors: Are there multiple distinct colors in the mole?
- Diameter: Is the mole larger than 6 millimeters (mm), about the size of a pencil head eraser?
- Evolution: Has the mole’s color, shape, or size changed over time?
WATCH: Learning the warning signs of melanoma.
If you answered yes to these questions, our experts say it’s time to see the dermatologist.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, you may have some questions for your doctor. SurvivorNet suggests some of the following to help you on your cancer journey.
- What type of skin cancer do I have?
- What treatment options exist for this type of cancer?
- Will insurance cover this treatment?
- Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense to me?
- What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
