Some Tanners Return to Tanning Beds after Cancer

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One in seven people returns to the tanning bed after being diagnosed with skin cancer, according to a new study by the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, CT.

Tanning beds are known for increasing a person’s risk of getting cancer, since they emit up to 15 times the ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation of the sun. This type of radiation penetrates to the deep layers of skin and changes the composition of skin cells. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, indoor ultraviolet tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.

"The situation may be analogous to that of lung cancer patients who continue to smoke after diagnosis," said Brenda Cartmel, lead author and a cancer prevention researcher at the Yale School of Public Health. "Just as tobacco is known to be addictive, our research suggests that some patients may become dependent on tanning, with new intervention approaches needed to change these behaviors.”

Twenty million people use tanning beds each year in the United States, and most of the users are young Caucasian females.

The study looked at white patients who had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a slow-growing skin cancer which can be removed but increases the risk for subsequent skin cancers. Cartmel surveyed 178 patients who visited tanning beds before diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma.

Of the 178 people, 26 of them (about 15 percent) said they had returned to the tanning bed at least once in the past year, with some visiting the booth up to 20 times. These people also reported tanning more often before their diagnosis than the rest of the study participants.

More than 50 percent of the tanners reported symptoms of dependence, such as feeling guilty about tanning or needing to tan first thing in the morning, compared to 36 percent of those who had quit tanning after being diagnosed with cancer.

Previous studies have revealed that UV light exposure can be addictive and produces endorphins when skin cells are exposed to UV rays.

No matter what you may hear at tanning salons, the cumulative damage caused by UV radiation can lead to premature skin aging (wrinkles, lax skin and brown spots), as well as skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Whether you visit the tanning bed or not, getting your skin checked frequently by a dermatologist is essential to your health. Even melanomas are 99 percent curable when caught early. Please contact Greenville Dermatology at (864) 242-5872 to schedule an appointment today.