Indoor tanning campaign targets young women

A nurse who initially ignored a dark spot on her leg that turned out to be melanoma is encouraging young women to learn the facts about indoor tanning.

The spot that was the size of a pencil eraser would bleed when Jackie Connors shaved her legs. She initially chose to ignore it. But at age 20 while in nursing school and learning about the signs and symptoms of skin cancer, it soon would become a cause for concern.

"I still remember sitting at my desk thinking, 'Wow, this is what I have,' and still trying to put it in the back of my mind of not wanting to think that it could be that," Connors recalled in a telephone interview from St. John's, N.L.

Her family doctor thought she was too young to have skin cancer, but referred her to a surgeon to have the spot removed.

About a week after he'd taken it off, the surgeon called her and confirmed her initial fears she had melanoma.

"I was devastated, I was, for a lot of reasons," Connors recalled of her reaction. "[Not] just for the diagnosis of cancer but also knowing I couldn't tan anymore."

"As scary as it sounds, that was one of the things that went through my mind was: 'Oh my gosh, I'm not going to be able to tan anymore.' "

From around age 16, Connors had frequented tanning salons. The heat helped her to feel better, she said.

Now 36, Connors is part of a new campaign by the Canadian Dermatology Association that features four melanoma survivors in their 20s. TV and radio public service announcements will be aired until June, including during March Break and the pre-prom period, when the CDA says many young people seeking tans use indoor tanning equipment.

The CDA has long advocated against indoor tanning use. But with its Indoor Tanning is Out campaign, launched Monday, the organization representing Canada's dermatologists is targeting its message towards young women.

The association says melanoma has become the third most common form of cancer among young Canadian women.

Banning tanning beds forminors

Dr. Cheryl Rosen, national director of the CDA's Sun Awareness Program, said it seemed most logical to focus on young women in their teens and 20s as they seemed to be among those who most frequently use indoor tanning facilities.

Part of the issue is that for many people, having a tan is correlated to beauty, she said, based on the results of focus groups.

Rosen said dermatological groups have been working towards having tanning devices banned for those 18 years of age and under.

New Brunswick is the only jurisdiction in Canada that prohibits those under 18 from using tanning beds.

Last year, a working group of the World Health Organization's International Agency of Research on Cancer classified ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices as "carcinogenic to humans."

Tanning beds and UV radiation were moved into the highest cancer risk category.

But the president of Canada's largest indoor tanning company disputes the links made between melanoma and UV exposure.

Indoor tanning offers more control

"As it relates to melanoma and UV light, there is correlative evidence but correlation does not mean causation," Doug McNabb of Fabutan Sun Tan Studios said in a phone interview from Calgary.

"There are studies that show correlation, just as there would be if you did swimming and drowning, but that does not mean causation."

McNabb said Fabutan's policy requires anyone between 16 and 18 to have parental consent when they purchase their tanning package.

Those under age 16 must be accompanied by a parent at any tanning session.

Those who fall under skin type 1 redheads with blue eyes are asked not to tan. Clients are recommended to tan no more than every 48 hours, with the average session lasting between 16 and 18 minutes.

The WHO has said that in recent years, sunbeds have been manufactured that produce higher levels of UVB radiation that mimic the solar spectrum and speed the tanning process.

McNabb said he believes indoor tanning gives parents the ability to control the amount of their child's exposure compared with going out in the middle of the day to a beach or backyard.

Shortly after the removal of the cancerous spot on her leg, Connors had to have a wider section of skin around the lesion removed, and has had treatment for two other melanomas one each on her neck and back and continues to go for routine followups and protect herself.