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PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health problem

missy

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I know most (if not all) of us are well aware of these statistics to some degree. And I know most of us do what we can to minimize our risk. Whether it be wearing hats/ sunscreen, or sun protective clothing or avoiding the sun's rays during the worse part of the day. But I just thought it worth repeating here given this new report that came out yesterday. This is a very personal cause for me due to my dh's experience with melanoma and we are now forever vigilant and pray there is no recurrence. It is near and dear to my heart to prevent others from going through this. Please be safe everyone.


1 person dies every hour from melanoma.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/07/29/why-the-acting-surgeon-general-thinks-skin-cancer-is-a-major-public-health-problem/

Each year we have 63,000-plus cases diagnosed, nearly 9,000 people die. That’s one person every single hour that’s dying from melanoma. I mentioned the increase over the past 30 years. But also, it’s one of the most common types of cancer amongst U.S. teens and young adults. So when we’re looking at impact, the term in epidemiology that we use is “years of potential life lost.” We’re really talking about a tragic disease here, something that really affects the young.

We’re encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors. But as you’re out there exercising, doing all those nice outdoor activities, protect yourselves. It’s the concept of the floppy hat, the sunglasses, the sunscreen, protective clothing and seeking shade when possible.

Ultraviolet radiation is a known carcinogen, period

According to research…we’re looking at about 400,000 cases of skin cancer, about 6,000 of them melanomas, that are estimated to be related to indoor tanning in the United States each year.

Please wear sunscreen and protect yourself from the sun's rays with hats, sunglasses and protective clothing when necessary. I know we all know this but just thought it worth repeating. Even if you are not convinced that UV rays cause melanoma is it worth the risk? There has been a tripling in melanomas over the last 30 years happening mainly with our young people. Please do what you can to help slow this increase down and decrease it in future generations...
 

rosetta

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I do keep banging on about sun protection.

I use sunsense spf 50 on my face, plus I wear a hat. I have brown skin, and most days, I am the only person wearing a hat as far as the eye can see. I see a series of white skinned people literally burning before my eyes and it's really hard not to say something to total strangers. In the uk we are getting increasingly warmer summers but people don't seem to notice that's it's very sunny. Today it's very very sunny.

Thanks for bringing it up missy!
 

ksinger

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

As a redhead living in sunny hotter-n-hell Oklahoma, I crawl under a rock about mid-May and only poke my head out again mid-September. When I do go out it's as quickly as I can, and as early or late as I can and I cover up. I also love big floppy hats but around here if it doesn't have a chinstrap you very likely won't have it for very long, meaning being stylish while covered is a bit of a trick.

However, convincing my husband to be more careful is another subject entirely, and no amount of discussion by me has worked so far. Very frustrating. He IS a bit more aware than he used to be but not nearly enough. I keep telling him I'm not going to be happy at ALL if they start cutting pieces of him off, as happens to so many sailors, but he blows me off.... grrrr.
 

MarionC

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Thanks, Missy. One of the first patients I had contact with as an oncology researcher was a beautiful young woman who died from this terrible thing.
I wear 100% SPF when doing yard work, a hat, gloves long pants, good sunglasses, etc. and at least 30 spf the rest of the time. I wear sunglasses as long as it's light out.
I have friends who don't even bother with sunglasses!, which is hard to fathom, Melanoma aside! They look so old and one has been diagnosed with cataracts. Another, a man who golfs a lot lost the outside of one of his ears to cancer.
And it's good to remember that on cloudy days there is still about 80% of UV rays reaching us.
And although the front windshield of cars has some protection, the side windows do not, so being inside a car is not safe without sunscreen.

I will now get off my soap-box.

thanks again for bringing up this subject :appl:
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

ksinger said:
As a redhead living in sunny hotter-n-hell Oklahoma, I crawl under a rock about mid-May and only poke my head out again mid-September. When I do go out it's as quickly as I can, and as early or late as I can and I cover up. I also love big floppy hats but around here if it doesn't have a chinstrap you very likely won't have it for very long, meaning being stylish while covered is a bit of a trick.

However, convincing my husband to be more careful is another subject entirely, and no amount of discussion by me has worked so far. Very frustrating. He IS a bit more aware than he used to be but not nearly enough. I keep telling him I'm not going to be happy at ALL if they start cutting pieces of him off, as happens to so many sailors, but he blows me off.... grrrr.

Here are some hats I have and like that have chin straps. It is very windy by us too and these hats stay put. I am also adding some the hats I bought for my dh. I hope your dh becomes even more careful Karen. It's amazing how stubborn some men (my dh included!) can be.

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/46160

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/47500

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/46560

http://www.coolibar.com/product/Sun-Hats/Womens/Chin-Strap/Shapeable-Sun-Catcher-Hat/pc/2222/c/2271/sc/2197/156288.uts

And for my dh:

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/45000

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/45200



rosetta said:
I do keep banging on about sun protection.

I use sunsense spf 50 on my face, plus I wear a hat. I have brown skin, and most days, I am the only person wearing a hat as far as the eye can see. I see a series of white skinned people literally burning before my eyes and it's really hard not to say something to total strangers. In the uk we are getting increasingly warmer summers but people don't seem to notice that's it's very sunny. Today it's very very sunny.

Thanks for bringing it up missy!

Thanks Rosetta. I hesitated because well the people who know don't need this PSA and those that don't believe the sense in it don't care what I am posting about it so I almost didn't post. But then I thought if it helps just one person who reads this lurker or poster it is worth posting. Glad you are sensible and stylish. It's a winning combo. :appl:

Of course being in your chosen profession you know more than most about this topic!
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Jimmianne|1406728246|3723078 said:
Thanks, Missy. One of the first patients I had contact with as an oncology researcher was a beautiful young woman who died from this terrible thing.
I wear 100% SPF when doing yard work, a hat, gloves long pants, good sunglasses, etc. and at least 30 spf the rest of the time. I wear sunglasses as long as it's light out.
I have friends who don't even bother with sunglasses!, which is hard to fathom, Melanoma aside! They look so old and one has been diagnosed with cataracts. Another, a man who golfs a lot lost the outside of one of his ears to cancer.
And it's good to remember that on cloudy days there is still about 80% of UV rays reaching us.
And although the front windshield of cars has some protection, the side windows do not, so being inside a car is not safe without sunscreen.

I will now get off my soap-box.

thanks again for bringing up this subject :appl:

Oh Jimmianne, how terrible for that poor young woman. If there is anything I learned over these last few years is that life is unfair and even when you do everything right you can lose. But at least one has to try. I am so pleased that you are taking all the proper precautions! And yes, sunglasses are critical as melanoma of the eye is deadly. Not to mention other consequences. And thank you for caring about this topic and not letting me be the only one on a soapbox here lol. :wavey:
 

justginger

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I was ignorant, growing up in the Midwest. I tanned every summer, even in tanning beds before events like prom, and just didn't know how terrible it was for me at the time. Then when I moved to the skin cancer capital of the world, I cottoned on quick smart. The information is everywhere - bus stops, billboards, radio, even the old 'slip, slop, slap' TV campaign. I'd love to see some of that ramped up in the area of the States I grew up in, because people there (judging by FB) still just don't undertand. I do not dash through the sunlight or carry umbrellas (as many of our Asian immigrants do), but I am conscientious about sunscreen and reapplication.

That being said, people are SO switched on about UV avoidance here that there are actually quite a large number who are Vit D deficient!
 

Calliecake

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Thank you posting this thread Missy. This cause is also very near to my heart as well. A very close friend of mine has stage 4 melanoma and one of my best friends has had a melanoma mole removed. Thank g-d it had not spread. She continues to lay on her patio between 10 and 2 most summer days to "work in her tan". :angryfire: . All the while, my other friend and I have researched every thing we could get our hands on to keep her alive. She goes to the National Health institute for her treatments and everything has been experimental. She is doing well right now and for that I am very thankful. Missy, this is where I got all my experience talking someone off the ledge. It's been heartbreaking at times.

I know I look like an idiot on vacation completely covered up. With everything I"be seen my friend go thru I could really care less what anyone thinks.

I have lectured my nieces repeatedly about sunscreen and wanted to strangle my sister in law for letting her teenagers go or tanning beds.
One of nieces loves how my skin looks so I have drilled into her head that if she wants nice skin when she's my age she needs to wear the sunscreen. Sorry for the rant.
 

TooPatient

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I love that there are so many SPF things out there now.

My little cousin burns easily but is moving so fast much of the day she doesn't like to hold still for sunscreen. She LOVES frilly girly stuff though so I got her SPF lip gloss, SPF body lotion, SPF face lotion, etc. Plus cute sunglasses!

That alone isn't enough a lot of the time, but it is a start!
A little extra protection between SPF 50 applications and on those days that are cloudy (so SPF 50 isn't thought about) it is something to hopefully prevent damage.
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

justginger|1406731069|3723091 said:
I was ignorant, growing up in the Midwest. I tanned every summer, even in tanning beds before events like prom, and just didn't know how terrible it was for me at the time. Then when I moved to the skin cancer capital of the world, I cottoned on quick smart. The information is everywhere - bus stops, billboards, radio, even the old 'slip, slop, slap' TV campaign. I'd love to see some of that ramped up in the area of the States I grew up in, because people there (judging by FB) still just don't undertand. I do not dash through the sunlight or carry umbrellas (as many of our Asian immigrants do), but I am conscientious about sunscreen and reapplication.

That being said, people are SO switched on about UV avoidance here that there are actually quite a large number who are Vit D deficient!

Thank you for bringing this very important point up Ginger! I forgot to address it in my initial post. It is critical that we get enough Vitamin D and a good way to get that is with Vitamin D3 supplementation instead of sun exposure.


ETA: Just want to add I am speaking about "you" in the collective general you and not the specific you if you kwim.

First it is important to have your blood serum levels tested to see where you fall in the spectrum. Concentration of 25(OH)D is the best indicator of vitamin D status and depending on what your doctor recommends and your health status the number best for you might vary. I think it is good to be at 50 ng/ml and above depending on your overall health and any conditions you might have. Higher might be better depending but you don't want to be too high in vitamin D levels because that has its own set of negative consequences. I would definitely recommend doing the research and consulting with your doctor for what might be best for you.

I take vitamin D3 every day. I used to supplement with 5000 IU's to keep my serum blood levels in the 80's but recently have cut back to 2000 IU's as per my surgeon's recommendation. I find that mainstream medical professionals don't care for high vit d dosing but I felt it was helping me in other ways. For now I am keeping it at 2000 IU's a day.


Callie, I am with you. I don't care if I look stupid when I am wearing my sun protective clothing. And good for you for teaching your nieces the right thing to do at a young age. I am so sorry about your friend. :blackeye: I hope she continues to do well. Thank you for sharing and you never have to apologize to me for "ranting". I always appreciate what you have to say!


TooPatient, I agree. So glad you are looking after your little cousin this way and I love all the spf lotions too. It's amazing what we know today that we didn't know before and I always wonder what the next 20 years will bring. I am sure each generation looks back on the past generations thinking how barbaric or ignorant lol. I guess while things change there are still some things that stay the same.
 

Sky56

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I wear hats and being a night owl sun hater, that helps. Also, the sun isn't what it used to be - it's stronger due to the ozone layer being compromised. Vanity and the threat of skin cancer keep me out of the sun. I even get no sun exposure when I go to places like Bermuda. I look at people who are out in the sun for 3 hours and think about how that is more sun exposure than I have had in 30 years. I have that kind of pinkish white skin that can't take any sun - it goes from white to burned.
 

Sky56

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I take supplements and my blood tests show no deficiencies in anything. The sun is your skin's biggest enemy. I am living proof that sun avoidance keeps skin youthful. My skin looks the same as it does at age 20 and I am almost 60. But don't be too amazed. I think I look close to my age because wear my hair undyed, had no procedures, and my body and face has that typical look of menopausal ladies (sagging, shape) though I had someone who hadn't seen me in decades comment to me that I looked the same as I did in the '80's except for the hair color.
 

CJ2008

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I'm crazy with sunscreen too - I wear it every day, and I put it on my arms, face, neck, chest and hands. Mostly I wear SPF30 but I do have some 50s.

I rarely get lazy with it - and the few times I do, it's with the short drive to get coffee (I know it's no excuse, and it all accumulates, but once in a while I do get tired of putting it on for just a 10 minute drive).

I've gotten DH to be pretty diligent with it too - but he is much much pickier with his sunscreen - he will choose cosmetic elegance over natural protection. So the sunscreens he tends to like are the chemical ones - the zinc oxide-based ones he tends to hate and won't wear them or will apply so little he's not getting any protection.

My nieces...I try to tell them...but it mostly falls on deaf ears. One things that makeup or moisturizer with SPF15 is enough, and the other one is too young and just doesn't get it that her skin will NOT look like that if she doesn't protect it now. I wish somebody had told ME that when I was younger. :blackeye:

ETA: one thing I've gotten my DH "into" - that believe it or not, I recently discovered - are rashguards. He just bought one to wear while he's going to go diving. I am so happy. They're SPF50. And he's trim and fit so he looks pretty handsome in them, too. ::) I was thinking of getting something like that for my everyday errands so I can be protected without having to lather on the sunscreen when it's just a short drive.
 

kenny

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Getting society to drop the idea that a tan looks healthy or attractive is an uphill battle.

I know what would work, but they can't do ... legislate that nobody with a tan can appear in films, TV or advertising.
Next outlaw people wearing make up that makes their skin look darker.
Next outlaw tanning booths.
It would take a generation but it would work.
Sure many people just have skin tone that looks like a lighter person with a tan but at least we'd see plenty of people with unaltered very light skin.

The problem is the decades of delay between exposure and the cancer.
Young people don't make the association because they don't see it till it's too late.

I'd love to see, and frankly expect to see, canopies everywhere so nobody can sit outside at a restaurant patio.
Schools either don't allow kids outside or they build huge canopies over playgrounds and sports fields.
 

Sky56

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

The world is a crazy place. Too many people who are light want to look darker and too many people who are dark want to look lighter.

It's healthy to just accept what you are and not compromise your skin's health. =)
 

JewelFreak

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I'm not a sun-worshipper nor a beach-goer and I'm going to commit heresy. Drum me out of the corps if you like. EVERYTHING is a major public health danger to every Surgeon General. I don't remember a time when they weren't sending out terrifying warnings about hundreds of activities per year. That's how they justify their existence. Yes, skin cancer is a danger. Wear sunscreen if you're going to be galavanting around on a sunny day. But sorry, I am going to sit on restaurant patios without globbing myself up & I'm going to walk down the street with my dog, ditto. I have lived a pretty long time so far without terror of going outside for an hour without a parasol or stuff smeared on myself.

I absolutely refuse to fear the sun, my water, quake at the thought of eating a >>gasp!<< egg yolk, red meat, cured bacon, breathing air somebody smoked in a week ago, fill in the blank with anything else normal. Sometimes we feel more secure in an ungovernable world by erecting barriers against every possible danger & a few impossible ones. Of course, be smart, but for heaven's sake, anyone who follows all the SG's advice would die of boredom. I know I'm a voice in the wilderness, but fear of most of life's activities just isn't in my book.

There has NEVER been a time when so many people lived such long lifespans -- and been so terrified of any imagined possible peril.

---Laurie
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Sky, I have that type of skin too. And I totally agree about the aging issue. Everyone thinks I am in my early to mid thirties when I am going to be 50 next year. No doubt in my mind it is because of protecting my skin from the sun since I was young.

Kenny, I think having outdoor canopies is a great idea at least where it is possible. Every little bit helps.

Laurie, this thread is not about every recommendation of the Surgeon General. Just about the dangers of unprotected UV radiation. I mean of course one has to put things in perspective. I just believe strongly in this issue and if you read what I wrote I said you could do everything right and still bad things can and will happen. It's just about finding that happy medium that works in your life and doing the best you can.
 

JewelFreak

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Yes, I agree with you, Missy. But every scare gets carried to such extremes. Not eating on the patio of a restaurant unless you're gooped up? Sorry, that's too much for me.

As you alluded, too much sun does age skin, but it's likely you also inherited good-skin genes that are responsible for your looking young more than extreme staying out of the sun would. I was lucky enough to have the same -- I got carded at bars until I was almost 40 & people still think I'm 10 yrs younger than I am. I don't hang out in the sun a lot, though I do garden several hrs a week, and don't even own sunscreen.

I just had to vent -- sorry if I annoyed you. It makes me sad to see people full of fear of normal life, especially on the basis of "studies" reported for maximum drama, whose methodology may be flawed & about which we know nothing. For instance, simply counting the number of skin cancer cases is useless. To do a valid comparison, you need a control group -- and where do you find enough people who do not go out in daytime at all, if you're positing that the sun causes all of it? You don't know how many people would get skin cancer, sun or no sun. Could be genetic, could be another cause. For example, they used to say lung cancer would be very very very rare if nobody smoked cigarettes. Well, relatively few people do & there is plenty of lung cancer among those who never smoked. (No, 2nd-hand isn't an answer -- there is no way to quantify that either except by supposition, which isn't scientific method.) I could name off the top of my head 5 never-smoking friends who died of it.

Sorry to bore you. My point is, sure, use sunscreen, but don't panic if a ray of light hits you while you're bare-naked of it.

--- Laurie
 

AprilBaby

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

After eleven basal cell carcinomas I say AMEN and preach it sister. I'm trying to stay as pale as possible this summer. I do notice women's magazines stressing more than ever this year the use of sunscreen and BB/CC cream. I think we are finally catching on!
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

JewelFreak|1406754379|3723321 said:
Yes, I agree with you, Missy. But every scare gets carried to such extremes. Not eating on the patio of a restaurant unless you're gooped up? Sorry, that's too much for me.

As you alluded, too much sun does age skin, but it's likely you also inherited good-skin genes that are responsible for your looking young more than extreme staying out of the sun would. I was lucky enough to have the same -- I got carded at bars until I was almost 40 & people still think I'm 10 yrs younger than I am. I don't hang out in the sun a lot, though I do garden several hrs a week, and don't even own sunscreen.

I just had to vent -- sorry if I annoyed you. It makes me sad to see people full of fear of normal life, especially on the basis of "studies" reported for maximum drama, whose methodology may be flawed & about which we know nothing. For instance, simply counting the number of skin cancer cases is useless. To do a valid comparison, you need a control group -- and where do you find enough people who do not go out in daytime at all, if you're positing that the sun causes all of it? You don't know how many people would get skin cancer, sun or no sun. Could be genetic, could be another cause. For example, they used to say lung cancer would be very very very rare if nobody smoked cigarettes. Well, relatively few people do & there is plenty of lung cancer among those who never smoked. (No, 2nd-hand isn't an answer -- there is no way to quantify that either except by supposition, which isn't scientific method.) I could name off the top of my head 5 never-smoking friends who died of it.

Sorry to bore you. My point is, sure, use sunscreen, but don't panic if a ray of light hits you while you're bare-naked of it.

--- Laurie

Dear Laurie, you could never annoy me. That is the truth. I appreciate what you have to say always. Even if we don't agree completely. I mean how boring would that be anyway lol.

Smoking and unprotected sun exposure are something that I might feel it necessary to get on my soapbox about occasionally but that's OK if you don't feel the same. I also know people who have died of lung cancer and never smoked as well as people living into their late 80's (my grandfather died at 89 pipe smoker since age 14!) and 90's smoking incessantly their whole lives.

That's what I mean when I say you can live your life right and still not be OK and vice versa. Too many variables. I still say live your life smart (whatever that means to you) and do the best you can and no need to be scared. I wear sunscreen and don't smoke but I am not scared about it. I just do what feels right for me and especially given my dh's history I am super careful about it for him too. And he wasn't easy to get onboard the sunscreen train though these days it is easier. But he doesn't live his life worrying. I do that for him lol... JK!!! ;))
((HUGS)) my PS twin. :wavey:


AprilBaby said:
After eleven basal cell carcinomas I say AMEN and preach it sister. I'm trying to stay as pale as possible this summer. I do notice women's magazines stressing more than ever this year the use of sunscreen and BB/CC cream. I think we are finally catching on!

AprilBaby, wow, 11 basal cell carcinomas...glad you came through and are doing well!
 

ksinger

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

missy|1406728318|3723079 said:
ksinger said:
As a redhead living in sunny hotter-n-hell Oklahoma, I crawl under a rock about mid-May and only poke my head out again mid-September. When I do go out it's as quickly as I can, and as early or late as I can and I cover up. I also love big floppy hats but around here if it doesn't have a chinstrap you very likely won't have it for very long, meaning being stylish while covered is a bit of a trick.

However, convincing my husband to be more careful is another subject entirely, and no amount of discussion by me has worked so far. Very frustrating. He IS a bit more aware than he used to be but not nearly enough. I keep telling him I'm not going to be happy at ALL if they start cutting pieces of him off, as happens to so many sailors, but he blows me off.... grrrr.

Here are some hats I have and like that have chin straps. It is very windy by us too and these hats stay put. I am also adding some the hats I bought for my dh. I hope your dh becomes even more careful Karen. It's amazing how stubborn some men (my dh included!) can be.

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/46160

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/47500

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/46560

http://www.coolibar.com/product/Sun-Hats/Womens/Chin-Strap/Shapeable-Sun-Catcher-Hat/pc/2222/c/2271/sc/2197/156288.uts

And for my dh:

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/45000

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/45200



rosetta said:
I do keep banging on about sun protection.

I use sunsense spf 50 on my face, plus I wear a hat. I have brown skin, and most days, I am the only person wearing a hat as far as the eye can see. I see a series of white skinned people literally burning before my eyes and it's really hard not to say something to total strangers. In the uk we are getting increasingly warmer summers but people don't seem to notice that's it's very sunny. Today it's very very sunny.

Thanks for bringing it up missy!

Thanks Rosetta. I hesitated because well the people who know don't need this PSA and those that don't believe the sense in it don't care what I am posting about it so I almost didn't post. But then I thought if it helps just one person who reads this lurker or poster it is worth posting. Glad you are sensible and stylish. It's a winning combo. :appl:

Of course being in your chosen profession you know more than most about this topic!

Missy, no chance of that. He would never wear ones like you posted because they obscure his view (sailing). And he won't wear the ones that have the fabric down the back of the neck because he can't feel a breeze shift (sailing). Are you seeing the trump card here? :rolleyes: Stubborn is the man's middle name.

I actually DO have a tightly woven wide-brimmed sunblock hat with a chinstrap, but while not bad, it's not exactly stylish and it ends up blowing off my head and dangling by the strap no matter how hard I jam it on or cinch it in. But then you mostly don't wear skirts here either... :(
 

VRBeauty

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I'm not questioning the sun/melanoma connection, but I do wonder why there would be "a tripling in melanomas over the last 30 years happening mainly with our young people," when it seems to me that today's young people spend far less time outdoors,throughout their young lives, than us old fogeys did when we were young. :think: Surely not all of those kids are using tanning beds??? Skin cancer simply wasn't on the radar when I was young - we thought nothing of spending an afternoon sunbathing by a pool. Anyone else remember slathering your skin with a mixture of baby oil and iodine? :lol: The only negative effect we were concerned about was a skin-peeling sunburn. Anyhow, that's not meant to be a rant about the "good old days," it's just that the increase of skin cancer cases in young people is a bit of a paradox to me.
 

anne_h

Brilliant_Rock
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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I am anti UV-rays too! And have been since my mid-twenties. For me, it's mainly due to vanity - I completely believe that UV radiation causes premature aging. I wear face cream with SPF every day, and actively take steps to stay pale year round. In summer this means sunscreen and hats, and lots of shade-chasing. When I return from a warm vacation, people always remark how I'm still the same color and to me that is a great thing!!

I have a sister close in age who has loved tanning since she was a teenager. Now in our mid-thirties, some of her skin is getting a bit crepe-y, whereas mine is not at all.

I do have some brown spots and fine lines on my face, presumably due to sun damage I incurred before I knew better.

But I'm 36 and was told at work today that someone thought I was 25! lol (Okay, this doesn't happen often, but still!)

Anne
 

packrat

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

VRB, I think it's the tanning beds. Here, a lot of people tan in beds year round. I used to. I tanned 5-6 days a week for several years. In our small town, we used to have two tanning salons each with about 7 beds, plus about five hair places w/a bed, and the gym used to have one too. And they were going *non stop*. Having not tanned in forever, I don't know how full the one salon is (one closed) but I don't see many pasty girls around.

I was at a casino w/my parents one day, sitting there smoking a cigarette, bored out of my gourd trying to prompt them to hurry the heck up. As I was sitting there twirling my chair, I noticed a woman down the way. And I like to look at people. She was older than I, not a whole lot I don't *think*. She was tan, I watched her light up a cigarette. Then she turned around in her chair and spoke out loud to a person a couple chairs down from her. In a super scratchy gravely voice. And she was wrinkled. Like...wrink-led. Not crepe-y wrinkley like when you get older. This was plump would've-been pretty skin that was lined all over.

Yeaaaaah I totally did not smoke or tan long after that. (well, the prices of cigarettes was too high for me then too-2.50/pack heck no!) I don't care if it's vain, those wrinkles and that voice, nope nope nope.

Plus, my gramma has had so many cancer spots removed I lost count. Luckily none of them have turned out bad, but she's had some deep gouges in her face to get them out. And her brother actually lost his NOSE to skin cancer.

Yep, nope. Foundation was so much easier to match to my skin when I was tanned. And I felt better about myself. But I feel better being pale and alive. I'm pretty sure my kids like me better pale and alive too!
 

VRBeauty

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Packrat: I had no idea. In California you have to be 18 to use a tanning bed.
 

lknvrb4

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3,738
Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I sit outside in the sun everyday for at least 20 minutes and I am good with that. I am also very picky about the sunscreens I put on my family because I have read numerous times that sunscreens are full of toxic chemicals and some can increase the speed at which malignant cells develop. Here are a couple of good articles about sunscreens.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/04/astaxanthin-as-sunscreen.aspx

http://www.ewg.org/2014sunscreen/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
 

justginger

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

VRBeauty|1406780516|3723573 said:
Packrat: I had no idea. In California you have to be 18 to use a tanning bed.

Us Midwest kids must be really 'lucky' then - I started using a tanning bed at 14 (prior to a formal event, and to get a base tan before holidays).

I think the increase of skin cancer is due to both a thinning of the ozone and massive tanning bed usage.
 

missy

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Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I agree. I think the increase is due to thinning of the ozone, increased using of tanning beds and just straightforward exposure to UV radiation. Adult men over 40 have the highest exposure to UV and I think the highest incidence of melanoma (caucasian men over 50).

VRBeauty, interesting fact from below link. "Of melanoma cases among 18-to-29-year-olds who had tanned indoors, 76 percent were attributable to tanning bed use." And "People who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent." "Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year. Two to three million of them are teens."

More interesting facts:
http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts

just a few bits from that link:

The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation.


Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for young people 15-29 years old.


A person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns


One or more blistering sunburns in childhood or adolescence more than double a person’s chances of developing melanoma later in life


Regular daily use of an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen reduces the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 40 percent and the risk of developing melanoma by 50 percent


Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen.

Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure.

Also check out the aging data and sunscreen use. It works. PSers are proof too.


Karen, I hear you. At least your dh is wearing some protection and you are being smart. That's all you can do. It is very windy by us also (by the water) and those wide brim hats I linked really stay put. And they are quite fashionable too. My neighbors are always saying I look like Audrey Hepburn with one of the hats I wear lol. If I could I would wear that one every day. Hahaha.
 

packrat

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
10,614
Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

I know for a while I'd heard talk about making it a law here that you had to be eighteen but don't think anything was passed. Ginger, ha, yeah us Midwestern girls sure are lucky! I wish they'd just invent a tanning pill that would increase your melanin production.
 

Beacon

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,037
Re: PSA:Surgeon General-skin cancer major public health prob

Great post! It is important for folks to protect themselves from sun. The Sun Precautions stuff is great. My DH just got his own pair of handguards and I didn't even have to ask him to do it. I think my skin looks pretty good for my age and figure the sun avoidance has been helpful. i take 2-3k of vit D per day and my doc runs the blood levels every so often and they've been normal.

Stay well everyone!
 
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