Risk of death from skin cancer: 0.003%

[Krassus]

My recent post about sunless tanning sparked some concerns over tanning increasing the odds of death from skin cancer. So i did a little research, and found out that according to the American Cancer Society, the odds of any given US citizen dying of any type of skin cancer in 2002 were 0.003% or 1:30,361.

In other words, you are three times more likely to kill yourself than to die from tanning. Nearly twice as likely to die in a car accident. One third as likely to die from falling or getting poisoned. And to top it all off, you're more likely to get shot and killed by someone than to die from skin cancer. You guys can go ahead and walk around pale, but i think i'll take my chances with this one. To illustrate the dangers of tanning, i present you with the following:


ODDS OF DEATH PER YEAR

Death due to suicide: 9,343
Death due to being in a car: 1:18,752
Death due to tripping and falling: 1:20,728
Death due to accidental poisoning: 22,388
Death due to getting shot: 25,196
Death due to tanning: 1:30,361 (assuming all skin cancer cases are caused by it, which they aren't)

source

 

[pyonir]

You may not die, but your skin will look like crap and you'll be a freak.

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: pyonir
You may not die, but your skin will look like crap and you'll be a freak.

You don't even know what skin cancer is, do you? Skin cancer treatment involves getting a cancerous mole removed nearly all of the time.

 

[ISAslot]

Sure, you may not die of skin cancer, but when it spreads to your liver or something it's gonna suck.

 

[pyonir]

I wasn't talking about cancer at all.

Tanning booth / sun tanning, whatever, by the time you are 30 your skin will have the look of a 60 year old. regardless of causing cancer, it makes your skin look like crap.

 

[jeffrey]

We will all die, go to the tanning place if you want to.

 

[pray4mojo]

Studies have also shown that increased sun exposure causes skin to wrinkle.

 

[Mallow]

Tell that to my aunt who is fighting dearly for her life after she was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer last august. It has since metastisized to her brain. Hopefully it hasn't spread anywhere else.

 

[Krassus]

Well yeah, wrinkles are another story. I'll try to keep tanning down to a reasonable level of course - it's not like i'm planning to do this every second day for the rest of my life. But either way, i'd rather have a little more wrinkles later in life than stay pale. And don't tell me i'll look like i'm 60 when i'm 30, because we both know that's bs.

 

[pyonir]

A little exaggerated but not BS. My sister is going to be 30 this year and she has terrible skin from tanning over the years. Your skin will age faster.

 

[Amused]

:::sigh:::

Dying is one thing. Tens of thousands of dollars in medical care is another. In most cases, it is not a simple removal of a mole, but chemo and/or radiation therapy.

Plus, the effects of premature aging are remarkable and drastic. If you want old person leathery skin by the time you're in your late thirties, go ahead and keep a dark tan. Just don't whine about it and claim no one told you.

 

[MrBond]

The cancer could possibly spread other places, or at least that's what they told my dad when he had to get a spot removed from his cheek. He doesn't even tan, it was just from being out in the sun so much in the summer.

He also has a nasty scar right on his face where it was removed. They took a sizable portion of his cheek's surface off to remove it.

A little sun's not going to kill you, but a lot of sun isn't going to make you look great in 40 years.

 

[XZeroII]

Risk of looking like a dried chilie pepper in shorts: 95%

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Krassus
Well yeah, wrinkles are another story. I'll try to keep tanning down to a reasonable level of course - it's not like i'm planning to do this every second day for the rest of my life. But either way, i'd rather have a little more wrinkles later in life than stay pale. And don't tell me i'll look like i'm 60 when i'm 30, because we both know that's bs.

You HAVE OPTIONS. The entire cast of Baywatch NEVER had real tans. Their tans came from a bottle, and looked as real as any tan I've seen. You can buy some quality tan in a bottle and save your skin... and no one will notice the difference.

And yes, if you maintain a "dark tan" you will look far older when you get into your late thirties. Thick leathery skin isn't genetic, it's caused by too much sun/tanning.

 

[BuckNaked]

Hi, this is Martina - Daves (buck_naked) Girlfriend - I got diagnosed with Melanoma in April 2002, I am just 34, and let me tell you: whatever your statistics says about it, you do not want to have it!!! It is scary, because you do not feel any pain until your surgery! And my type of melanoma was especially hard to detect one: 1% of all Melanomas!

I never exposed myself to the sun very much, but I do have fair skin and I am blonde, besides that I do have a lot of cancer history in the family... anyways, it got caught in a pretty early stage - so I got lucky. But if you get it that early your chances are big to get some different kind of cancer within the next 20-25 years! Great! So, I recommend to everybody: be careful, use high sunprotection and watch what you are eating. Because, besides what the sun does to your skin, your own health can make a big difference to the consequences.

So watch your moles for any little suspicious changes (look samples up on google) and check them out if neccessary!

Thanks for your attention!

Martina

 

[luv2chill]

This article was just on msnbc.com on Monday. It described the followinf effects of photoaging (via UV Rays)

Uneven pigmentation
Course and leathery skin
Deep wrinkles
Loss of elasticity (sagging)
Age spots
Dilated blood vessels
Spider veins
Red bumps
Keratoses (raised, rough, red, brown or black spots)

And that's not even including the risk of melanoma/carcinoma.

I tanned a few times about five years ago just to see what the big deal was about. I won't ever do it again because, unlike a lot of kids (and adults) I value my life more than I value a dark tan that will fade anyway. The sunless tanning products have gotten a lot better than they used to be.

What would be ideal is a return to 'pale chic'... well, one can hope!

l2c

 

[Platypus]

You may not die, it doesn't mean you won't get it.

 

[Spamela]

my dad died from it (melanoma) at age 45.

 

[rbV5]

When you are ranked statistically with deaths from car accidents, suicides and poisonings...safe would not be my term. Your statistics prove how deadly it really is. 1 in 30,000 is the odds I'd like for winning the lottery, not dying from walking around outdoors.

 

[0roo0roo]

stats are funny. those are the odds from the entire population. how about the odds from just tanners eh?

 

[dullard]

Some reasons not to tan:
1) Tanned skin looks uglier than pale skin (this isn't a race issue it is a tanned, it is the fake colors that are ugly),
2) Tans make you look shallow and that all you care about is looks,
3) Tans mean you are ashamed of the natural way you look, you must have been ugly to want to change the way you look,
4) Skin cancer,
5) Major wrinkles quite early in life,
6) Cost,
7) Waste of time.

One reason to tan:
1) Moderate tanning means less chance for skin cancer than someone who gets no sun at all (but lots of tanning such as more than twice a month will turn this stat around).

 

[Darein]

Maybe for your average person in the US, but what about those of us living in sunny places? I am pretty sure my chances are a heck of a lot higher, white guy living in Hawaii, gets sunburned a few times every summer, and been really badly burned 3 times in my life. I am pretty much sure I will get cancer if I keep this up. :sun:

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Krassus
Well yeah, wrinkles are another story. I'll try to keep tanning down to a reasonable level of course - it's not like i'm planning to do this every second day for the rest of my life. But either way, i'd rather have a little more wrinkles later in life than stay pale. And don't tell me i'll look like i'm 60 when i'm 30, because we both know that's bs.

You HAVE OPTIONS. The entire cast of Baywatch NEVER had real tans. Their tans came from a bottle, and looked as real as any tan I've seen. You can buy some quality tan in a bottle and save your skin... and no one will notice the difference.

And yes, if you maintain a "dark tan" you will look far older when you get into your late thirties. Thick leathery skin isn't genetic, it's caused by too much sun/tanning.

Alright, you've got my attention. Where do i get this stuff? I did some research on it and every single person who used it said it was crap, and made their skin look yellow, not tanned.

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: dullard
Some reasons not to tan:
1) Tanned skin looks uglier than pale skin (this isn't a race issue it is a tanned, it is the fake colors that are ugly),
2) Tans make you look shallow and that all you care about is looks,
3) Tans mean you are ashamed of the natural way you look, you must have been ugly to want to change the way you look,
4) Skin cancer,
5) Major wrinkles quite early in life,
6) Cost,
7) Waste of time.

One reason to tan:
1) Moderate tanning means less chance for skin cancer than someone who gets no sun at all (but lots of tanning such as more than twice a month will turn this stat around).

1) Bullsh1t
2) Bullsh1t
3) Bullsh1t
4) Valid
5) Valid
6) Bullsh1t
7) Bullsh1t

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Krassus

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Krassus
Well yeah, wrinkles are another story. I'll try to keep tanning down to a reasonable level of course - it's not like i'm planning to do this every second day for the rest of my life. But either way, i'd rather have a little more wrinkles later in life than stay pale. And don't tell me i'll look like i'm 60 when i'm 30, because we both know that's bs.

You HAVE OPTIONS. The entire cast of Baywatch NEVER had real tans. Their tans came from a bottle, and looked as real as any tan I've seen. You can buy some quality tan in a bottle and save your skin... and no one will notice the difference.

And yes, if you maintain a "dark tan" you will look far older when you get into your late thirties. Thick leathery skin isn't genetic, it's caused by too much sun/tanning.

Alright, you've got my attention. Where do i get this stuff? I did some research on it and every single person who used it said it was crap, and made their skin look yellow, not tanned.

There are many brands. The best place to find out about it is on the web, and from women, not men. A good place to get some is where my GF's mom gets it... at one of the foo-foo cosmetics counters in department stores. From what I've heard, this is one of those things the old saying, "you get what you pay for" applies.

There was a time it made skin yellow or orange, but those days are long gone. They've really improved since then. PLUS, you have to follow the directions. More is not better.

Oh, and it's best to have someone else apply it to you, if possible. It's hard to do it evenly on yourself.