The House of Representatives has approved a 10% excise tax on the use of indoor tanning beds. With more than 3.5 million estimated cases each year, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US. There is research that proves the link between skin cancer and the UV rays associated with indoor tanning.
First exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75%!!
People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma - and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma!!
Read the complete article on the Skin Cancer Foundation website by clicking the link above.
Enjoy the weekend and don't forget your SPF!!
A posting of miscellaneous information pertaining, for the most part, to skin care, hair removal and esthetics. A medical esthetician and certified medical electrologist with a Degree in Natural Health, I have 11 years experience that include the spa industry and medical aesthetics with plastic surgeons and dermatologists. I also do freelance skin care training and am currently designing The Aesthetic Apothecary. Stay tuned for more information on that exciting adventure!
Showing posts with label skin cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skin cancer. Show all posts
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Fast Fact - Skin Cancer
More than 62,000 people develop melanoma in the United States and 8,400 die annually from it. More than 1,000,000 people a year develop non-melanoma skin cancers - basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma (BCC and SCC). Both can cause significant damage and disfigurement.
Friday, November 20, 2009
WHO: Tanning Beds Cause Cancer
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has moved UV tanning beds to it's highest cancer risk catagory, "CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS." There is evidence linking indoor tanning to melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Tanning beds filter out UVB light, but expose the user to UVA. UVA light is a class 1 carcinogen and should be avoided.
A tan is not a sign of health, it's a sign that your skin to trying to protect itself from UV radiation!
Tanning beds filter out UVB light, but expose the user to UVA. UVA light is a class 1 carcinogen and should be avoided.
A tan is not a sign of health, it's a sign that your skin to trying to protect itself from UV radiation!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Facial Resurfacing Treatments for Photoaging May Also Help Prevent Skin Cancer (Part 2)
Treatments Compared
Liquid nitrogen, or LN2 cryotherapy, a destructive method which freezes lesions and causes them to fall off, is the most common AK treatment. But, in the VA study, Susan M. Swetter, MD, and colleagues treated 24 patients with either a 30 percent TCA chemical peel, a 5% fluorouracil (5-FU) cream applied twice a day for three weeks, or a CO2 laser peel to assess both reductions in development of AKs and prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancers. All participants had histories of facial or scalp AKs and/or basal or squamous cell carcinoma (BCC or SCC).
Following treatment, all subjects were examined every three months for two years, and all procedures proved to reduce incidence of AKs effectively at the first three month evaluation post-treatment. With 5-FU, the number decreased from almost 62 before treatment to less than 9 three months after treatment (83% reduction); with TCA, the number was reduced from over 83 to less than 8 (89%); with the laser, from 78 to 5.5 (92%). And all three methods reduced BCCs and SCCs significantly (TCA by 40%) in up to 4.5 years of long-term follow-up, compared to the number found in a sampling of patients who were not treated.
While the three treatments performed comparably, one method was most popular with patients. "From a subjective standpoint," notes Dr. Sweeter, "the TCA arm was tolerated more favorably, with rapid time to healing and less discomfort than the 5-FU and CO2 laser arms."
The study was small, so "larger samples are definitely needed to confirm our findings," Dr. Sweeter explains. But the outcome was nonetheless extremely promising, not only for expanding the arsenal of AK treatments, but in offering another tool for skin cancer prevention.
Liquid nitrogen, or LN2 cryotherapy, a destructive method which freezes lesions and causes them to fall off, is the most common AK treatment. But, in the VA study, Susan M. Swetter, MD, and colleagues treated 24 patients with either a 30 percent TCA chemical peel, a 5% fluorouracil (5-FU) cream applied twice a day for three weeks, or a CO2 laser peel to assess both reductions in development of AKs and prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancers. All participants had histories of facial or scalp AKs and/or basal or squamous cell carcinoma (BCC or SCC).
Following treatment, all subjects were examined every three months for two years, and all procedures proved to reduce incidence of AKs effectively at the first three month evaluation post-treatment. With 5-FU, the number decreased from almost 62 before treatment to less than 9 three months after treatment (83% reduction); with TCA, the number was reduced from over 83 to less than 8 (89%); with the laser, from 78 to 5.5 (92%). And all three methods reduced BCCs and SCCs significantly (TCA by 40%) in up to 4.5 years of long-term follow-up, compared to the number found in a sampling of patients who were not treated.
While the three treatments performed comparably, one method was most popular with patients. "From a subjective standpoint," notes Dr. Sweeter, "the TCA arm was tolerated more favorably, with rapid time to healing and less discomfort than the 5-FU and CO2 laser arms."
The study was small, so "larger samples are definitely needed to confirm our findings," Dr. Sweeter explains. But the outcome was nonetheless extremely promising, not only for expanding the arsenal of AK treatments, but in offering another tool for skin cancer prevention.
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