I've had melanoma twice. I have fair skin and green eyes. I wear sunscreen at all times during the day and make a good effort to avoid the sun. I hate the feel of sunscreen on my sensitive skin and can't wait to wash it off each evening. I joke that if this melanoma becomes terminal, the first thing I will do is swim in the ocean and get a tan. Dr. Daniels says that there are fewer cases of melanoma diagnosed in summer as opposed to other skin cancers. Maybe that's because melanoma takes longer to incubate and so does not show up right away. It also can show up on areas like the tongue, where the sun does not shine. It would be great to follow Dr. Daniels' theory and enjoy the sun and not spend my time going out dressed like a bee keeper, but what if he's wrong--dead wrong? Why are there more cases of melanoma in Australia and California in light skinned people who are living in sunny areas where the native population is dark-skinned? The sun must play a role for that to happen, even if it works by lowering the immune system.
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Cancer Specialist: Sun Exposure Does Not Cause Melanoma
I've had melanoma twice. I have fair skin and green eyes. I wear sunscreen at all times during the day and make a good effort to avoid the sun. I hate the feel of sunscreen on my sensitive skin and can't wait to wash it off each evening. I joke that if this melanoma becomes terminal, the first thing I will do is swim in the ocean and get a tan. Dr. Daniels says that there are fewer cases of melanoma diagnosed in summer as opposed to other skin cancers. Maybe that's because melanoma takes longer to incubate and so does not show up right away. It also can show up on areas like the tongue, where the sun does not shine. It would be great to follow Dr. Daniels' theory and enjoy the sun and not spend my time going out dressed like a bee keeper, but what if he's wrong--dead wrong? Why are there more cases of melanoma in Australia and California in light skinned people who are living in sunny areas where the native population is dark-skinned? The sun must play a role for that to happen, even if it works by lowering the immune system.
June 5, 2009 at 4:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )