Skin Cancer: Is Tanning Worth It?

Bill was supposed to be watching his grandson graduate high school today, but he is not in the audience. Nor was he there for his grandson’s first day of kindergarten or for his birth. Bill passed away last month from skin cancer because he never bothered to learn about how SPF could protect him from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Always aspiring to look just a bit more tan, Bill has no one now to show off just how bronze he looks.

Skin cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world. It can often be prevented by using sunscreen and proper clothing layers when spending long periods of time out in the sun. Often starting with a small misplaced mole, skin cancer can also develop after years and years of very bad and painful sunburns. These cancerous skin cells, are often referred to as melanoma. This is one of the most common cancers as people often submit their bodies to the tortures of the sun from laying out too long under a weakening ozone layer or by toasting themselves in a tanning bed during the winter months.

Although skin cancer can also be caused by smoking or human papilloma virus, the sun is usually what causes these rapid growing skin ulcers. By constantly reapplying sunblock, with a minimum of SPF 30, those especially with light skin are more likely to be affected by these deadly rays. This does not mean that those who are darker skinned can get away with the brutal effects of the sun, as any person no matter skin color can receive a sun burn. Sunscreen is not the only thing that will protect a person from getting skin cancer however. Scientists often urge those spending prolonged periods in the sun to wear a hat that covers their ears and the back of their neck and to wear a long shirt and/or pants as protection against these harmful and deadly UV rays.

Along with proper diet and exercise, this deadly disease can be preventing with proper countermeasures. Tanning in the sun or in a tanning bed may do wonders for a person’s ego when they show up to school looking bronze and beautiful, but it will turn the skin leathery with over usage and unfortunately death. Bill in the beginning of this essay, although fictional, can and does happen on a daily basis. If someone wants to beat the winter blues with a nice tan, they should look into using a self-tanning lotion or spray tan location.

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