Deadliest form of skin cancer rising in younger population

While the bulk of skin cancer affects fair-skinned, middle-aged men, the types of cancer they experience are often easily treatable and rarely fatal.

On the other hand, the deadliest form of skin cancer is increasingly affecting a younger population - most likely for vanity reasons, experts say.

Melanoma, the deadliest of the three most common skin cancers, is rising at epidemic proportions in people aged 20 to 30, and is the primary cause of cancer death in women aged 25 to 30, the Melanoma Research Foundation reports.

"It's definitely up there in deaths for the younger generation," said Dr. Susan Schaberg, a dermatologist with Schaberg Dermatology in Edwardsville. "Melanoma is now associated with someone who goes out there and burns, whether in (tanning) beds or on weekend trips (to the lake)."

The American Cancer Society reports that melanoma is one of the more common cancers in adolescents and young adults, with about 12 percent of all cancers cases being melanoma in patients between 15 and 20 years of age, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Nearly 90 percent of all melanoma cases are due to UVA and UVB exposure, which can come from sunlight or tanning beds, the research foundation reported.

A common misconception among youth is that being tan equals being attractive. The reality is a tan is visible proof that skin cells have been damaged, Schaberg said.

A 2006 study conducted by Discover Magazine found that nearly one fourth of teens surveyed regularly use tanning beds, and about 50 percent of the teen girls said they've used tanning beds at least once.

"Tanning beds are just bad news," Schaberg said. "They're very unregulated and highly unpredictable. You have no idea how much exposure you're getting from the bulbs, and you don't know how burned you are until later."

Christy Swigonski, a mother of three who has endured the least serious form of skin cancer, insists her teenaged daughters use sunscreen and forbids them from using tanning beds.

"I'm paranoid - not to the extent that they're not allowed out (in the sun), but I stress (sunscreen use) every year," she said.

Many adolescents and young adults think it's better to burn than to be white, she said, but they're not thinking of the long-term effects.

A better idea would be to use fake-tanning lotions or bronzers, Schaberg said, which provide that yearned-for summer glow without damaging the skin and risking cancer.
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