Melanoma: Facts and Prevention

Hey everyone, I thought this post was very important today especially. On the radio this morning I heard an advertisement for Hollywood Tans, apparently they are offering free tanning as a beginning of the season promo. I was extremely disheartened when I saw the lines of young women wanting a free pass to damage their skin and put themselves at risk for skin cancer. I figured I would lecture everyone on the dangers of artificial UV rays. My platform as a competitor in the Miss America Organization, is "Mela-No-More: Skin Cancer Advocacy and Awareness."I lost my cousin to skin cancer, and it is my hope that no other children have to grow up without a father or mother, due to melanoma. Kent didn't catch his cancer until it was already stage 4, and had spread throughout his body. Even experimental treatments couldn't save him. Since our loss, my Godparents, Kent's parents, and our family have become very involved in spreading melanoma awareness, and raising funds for research and treatment. This link will take you to our website, Mela-no-more.org where you can learn more about melanoma, my cousin Kent, and how we work to end melanoma.

Here are a few facts about melanoma that you might not know.

• Melanoma cases are increasing at an epidemic rate of 3% a year
• In the U.S. there are as many new cases of melanoma each year than there are of AIDS.
• Melanoma is the most common cancer in men and women ages 20-29.
• In women 25-29, melanoma is the primary cause of cancer death, and in women 30-34 it is the second most common cause of cancer death
• The projected numbers of melanoma diagnosis and death (according to the National Cancer Institute) for 2012 are even higher with 76,250 diagnosis and 9,180 deaths.
• Melanoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States and worldwide.
• The incidence of people under 30 developing melanoma is increasing faster than any other demographic group, soaring by 50 percent in young women since 1980
• Tanning beds are no healthier than sitting in the sun. Actually, the UVA radiation used in tanning beds is three times the amount of harmful radiation emitted by the sun.
• Tanning beds are a Level 1 carcinogen, along with cigarettes and plutonium. This means that these substances are directly responsible for causing cancer. If you wouldn't smoke on a "cancer stick" or roll around in toxic waste for fun, why on Earth would you enter a tanning bed?

Don't put yourself at risk, go with your own glow!

It's scary that a cancer that is this dangerous and deadly, is often tossed aside as only being something as a minor cosmetic problem, and something that is often brushed off. Here are a few facts you'll be happy to hear:

• If caught in the earliest stages, melanoma is entirely treatable with a survival rate of nearly 100%. 
• 90% of melanomas are caused by exposure to the sun.

Melanoma is a preventable type of cancer, and it is also easy to cure when it is caught early. 

I'm not here to preach to everyone and tell you to all become vampires. I'm a huge fan of being outdoors, I live and work on the beach, I'm Miss Coastal Bay for crying out loud! My job title is officially, a Skin Protection Speciailist with Steen's Beach Service, where I work on Campbell Place in Bethany Beach, DE.

Me, hard at work!

I'm here to tell you all to protect yourselves from UV rays and enjoy the sunlight in a healthy way! Here are some tips on how to lower your risk of developing melanoma.

• Protect yourself during any outdoor activity with a sunscreen that has a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) rating of 15 or higher. I wear moisturizer and make-up with SPF 15 every day!
• Apply sunscreen about ½ hour before you go into the sun. This allows the sunscreen to seep into the upper skin layers, giving you better protection. I wear SPF 100 while I work since it's a long day! 
• Reapply sunscreen (even waterproof sunscreen) every 2 hours, especially if you're swimming or sweating. I reapply about every hour since at work I'm usually a sweaty mess!
• Wear a hat with a broad brim (4 inches wide). Sun hats are adorable and I'll use any excuse to be able to wear one all the time! ;)
• Wear sunglasses with UV-protective lenses. The label should say that the lenses block at least 99% of UV-A and UV-B radiation. Sunglasses can protect both your eyes and the skin around your eyes.
• Rent an unbrella! Find your friendly neighborhood umbrella boy/girl and tip them well! (Shameless plug for Steen's Beach Service!)
• Get regular check-ups, and know your skin. Routinely check out spots on your skin so you know when something changes. It is so important to catch melanoma early!
• Know the ABCDE's of melanoma! 

This video is one of the first I've seen promoting skin cancer awareness. It shows you what it's like to lose someone too soon due to melanoma, and I hope you all send it to anyone you love who is 16, or even younger or older. If you can watch this video and still say "Oh, I'd rather die tan than pale" or "I'm going to die from something anyway" then I fear you're not human. Share this video; tweet it, blog it, facebook it, and if for some reason you still have a Myspace, do that too.Get the word out.

I'm not asking you to become a vampire and never venture where sunlight may be, my intentions are to make everyone aware of the dangers of melanoma. Too many girls my age were lined up today in Hollywood Tans for me to stay silent about this. Protect yourselves, healthy skin is in.

XOXOXOXO

Alyssa