As I lounged by the pool, my gaze was drawn to a young girl, perhaps no older than 17, as she slipped off her sandals and cover-up. I knew I should avert my eyes; after all, I was a 35-year-old woman, and I didn’t want to come across as some sort of creepy voyeur. But I couldn’t help it—I was captivated.
It wasn’t just her perky figure or flat stomach that held my attention, nor was it the absence of love handles or the firmness of her thighs—though, kudos to her for that. What truly struck me was something far more alarming: she was far too tan.
In a snap judgment (yes, a bit judgmental), I assessed her skin tone based on her hair and eyes. She likely tans easily, but it was the first week of June, and we had just emerged from a brutal winter. There wasn’t a tan line in sight on her shoulders, back, or legs—neither a hint of natural sun-kissed color. All signs pointed to pre-prom fake tanning.
I wanted to approach her, to remove my sun hat and show her the scar on my forehead—a constant reminder of the importance of SPF. This scar is the aftermath of a melon-ball-sized lump of skin cancer that was removed. Can you believe it? Despite never stepping foot in a tanning bed, I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma at just 35. Had I indulged in the fake-n-bake culture like many of my college friends, it might have been worse. It could have been melanoma.
I yearned to share statistics about tanning beds and skin cancer with her. Did you know that indoor tanning leads to nearly 420,000 skin cancer diagnoses in the U.S. annually? It causes more skin cancer cases than lung cancer from smoking. One session in a tanning bed raises your risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 67 percent! And if you go a few more times, your risk of basal cell carcinoma increases by a staggering 73 percent.
In the last four decades, the rate of melanoma among young adults has skyrocketed by 800 percent. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and 76 percent of cases in those aged 18 to 29 can be traced back to tanning bed usage. Using a tanning bed before the age of 35 boosts your chances of developing melanoma by 75 percent. Tragically, nearly 10,000 people will succumb to melanoma this year.
I wanted to plead with her, for the future children she doesn’t have yet but will want to protect: Stay away from tanning beds!
But instead of saying anything, I remained silent. Instead, I announced to my kids that it was time to reapply our sunscreen.
If you’re interested in learning more about home insemination, be sure to check out our guide on the at-home insemination kit. For further resources on pregnancy and procedures, Mayo Clinic offers excellent insights.
In conclusion, while enjoying the sun, remember that taking care of your skin now can save you a lot of trouble in the future.
Keyphrase: skin cancer awareness
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