Team IST searches for erroneous, suspect or negative reporting by the media that adversely impacts the tanning industry. Reports such as these have plagued tanning businesses for decades. Although the media sources will seldom admit a falsehood and print a retraction, IST offers these well-crafted responses to the negative reports that can be shared with your customers and potential customers, alike.
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Each May, health magazines and other media sources hit the presses with their updates on skin cancer prevention. Why not? May has come to be known as “Melanoma Awareness Month.” In fact, the Skin Cancer Foundation suggests that the first Monday in May (aka Melanoma Monday) should be marked on our calendars as a day for doing a skin self-check or having a diagnostic screening of any moles on our skin, and to seek medical advice upon finding any sign of melanoma. Some of the info is rock-solid and practical, while some of it can be, well, misleading.
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Let’s take a look at their numbers and offer factual information as our response. You can share this info with your salon guests who inquire about cancer and UV exposure.
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By the Numbers: The Cost of Skin Cancer
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“In the United States, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. Luckily, it’s also one of the most preventable. As temperatures rise and the days lengthen, it’s important for people to monitor their time in the sun. For Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Penn Today featured experts who gave a glimpse into preventing and detecting skin cancer. Below are some additional statistics about skin cancer. Find even more info at skincancer.org” (Visit goo.gl/nLfgZ3.)
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1 in 5: The number of Americans who will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.
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IST: True, with the overwhelming majority of them being male. As members of our industry know, we salons typically average about 75% female tanners vs 25% male.
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$8.1 billion: The annual cost of treating skin cancers in the U.S.
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IST: Not surprising – with thousands of clinics offering free skin cancer screenings, doctors are clearly seeing more patients and finding more skin cancer. In the litigious world that we live in, any mole that is suspect is typically removed and biopsied. But, finding more and treating more is a GOOD thing.
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1: The number of people who die from melanoma every hour.
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IST: Any fatality is one too many. Statistically, fatalities from melanoma have dropped from 2011-2015 – down 3.0% in men and 2.6% in women.
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53%: The increase in the number of new melanoma cases diagnosed annually since 2008.
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IST: Again, more screenings certainly can lead to more being diagnosed.
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178,560: The number of cases of melanoma expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.
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IST: For perspective, and if correct, this means that 0.000541 of our population
will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2018.
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9,320: The number of people who will die of melanoma this year. Of those, 5,990 will be men and 3,330 will be women.
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IST: Correct. But again, the overwhelming majority are typically above age 60; men who probably have had a significant number of sunburns from overexposure to natural sunlight. Also, remember the previous stated estimate of 75% female indoor tanners.
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5: The number of sunburns that double a person’s risk for melanoma, on average.
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IST: Although there may be some research (I could not locate it) to support this statistic, heredity, and having fair skin, blue eyes, red hair and many moles are by far the leading factors related to melanoma.
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15: The number of states, plus the District of Columbia, that prohibit people younger than 18 from using indoor tanning devices.
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IST: Correct. This brings up the law of unintended consequences. The reality is that banning those 18 and younger from indoor tanning clearly doesn’t mean that they won’t seek a suntan. They may even be more in harm’s way with exposure to natural sunlight, where overexposure and sunburn are highly likely.
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419,000: The number of cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year that are linked to indoor tanning.
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IST: This estimate is listed by the Skin Cancer Foundation. But, the actual attributed research pulls information from the U.S., as well as Western Europe and Australia (which has the among the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world), not just our country. (goo.gl/JpMZmc)
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The National Institute of Health (NIH) provides U.S. cancer statistics with its Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER). Take the time to digest this next point: The SEER report only includes statistics on melanoma. (goo.gl/pwnmMb)
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They do not include ANY statistics on non-melanoma skin cancer such as basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma. None. So, when you see assimilations of numbers such as “419,000 cases of skin cancer attributed to indoor tanning,” it’s more than likely a guess. It remains to be seen exactly how a case of skin cancer is linked to indoor tanning. How much time in one’s entire life has been spent either advertently or inadvertently exposed – or overexposed – to the natural sun vs. the total amount of time spent tanning in a sunbed, and with what type of sunlamp? I doubt that we will ever see a number to represent that comparison.
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90%: The percentage of skin aging caused by the sun.
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IST: Perhaps this is accurate; but let’s not forget the effects of stress, alcohol, smoking cigarettes, gravity and age has on wrinkles!
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Remember: Indoor tanning provides a controlled environment for obtaining a cosmetic tan, with sessions delivered according to individual skin type and with a timing system to reduce the risk of overexposure and sunburn.
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