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TEENS AND MELANOMA

We’re smack dab in the middle of summer, and another weekend is here when a lot of us, especially our kids, are going to be outside in the sun.
But at a time when skin cancers are on the rise, even in teens, there’s evidence that adolescents just choose to ignore the dangers.
It’s really a very simple concept: to get people to use sunscreen and wear protective clothing when in the sun, thus prevent melanomas. But for teenagers, it’s tricky issue; they know the dangers, they just choose to ignore them.

Take Krissy and Kelly, who are sisters. They love being at the beach. But it’s a danger zone for them.

Dr. Darrell Rigel, a dermatologist at NYU Medical Center, says, “10 years ago it was unusual for us to see people under the age of 20 with melanoma. Now we are seeing teenagers with melanoma fairly regularly.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology 80% of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 know that getting a tan is dangerous for the skin and know that sunburn increases the risk of getting skin cancer later on as an adult. Still, 60% of these kids say they have gotten sunburn in the past year.

The evidence isn’t hard to find: young Americans just choose to ignore what they know and opt to bake themselves silly without using protective sunscreen.

And it doesn’t get better among 20-somethings. Evelain, 24, says, “I do not use any form of protection, just tanning oil.”

And boys are especially a problem; only about a third are careful about protecting themselves in the sun. Ask Mike what number sunscreen he uses, and he says, “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“We were disappointed getting the results of the survey. After all these years of educating people there was a little bit of good news- 4 out of 5 teenagers knew that ultra violet exposure is bad. But on the other hand we still see that they are not connecting this to the fact that they still are getting sunburns which increase the risk of skin cancer. Young people still think you look healthier and better with a tan. I think that’s what we really need to work on to make a difference in the future,” says Dr. Rigel. His is sound advice, especially given that melanoma rates among teens are starting to rise.

“Teens are even going to tanning beds to get their tans. But whether it’s from a tanning bed or the sun, exposure to ultraviolet radiation increases your risk of getting skin cancer,” Dr. Rigel states.

60,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year. It’s believed that children get more sun before the age of 21 than they do during the rest of their lives. Hence skin protection during these key years is essential to guard against skin cancer.

For more information go to:
http://www.aad.org

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