According to a survey recently released by the American Academy of Dermatology, the majority of white females aged 14-22 years old surveyed, 81%, report tanning or using tanning beds in the past year. Sun tanning or using artificial tanning beds are documented sources of ultraviolet light, a know cause of skin cancer, including the deadliest form- malignant melanoma. In fact, melanoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in young adults 25-29 years old. Rates in women under 40 years old have been rising since the early 1990s and melanoma is the second most common cause of cancer death in women under 40 years old.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month. In honor of that fact, I will be doing a number of blog posts on prevention and identification of this condition. Watch the You Tube video in which I discuss why tanning bed use increases ones risk of developing life-threatening melanoma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS1_PI1uOp4
