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kind of sad, frustrating and made me angry

Forums Cutaneous Melanoma Community kind of sad, frustrating and made me angry

  • Post
    Bonnie Lea
    Participant

      For sheer lack of nothing to watch on TV last weekend, I chanced that show   "addicted to…."  it had a segment on Addicted to tanning'  story was about a young woman, late teens perhaps early 20's  bleached white blonde,  brown brown tan.  said she was introduced to tanning as a 12th birthday present from her stepfather.  (still with her mother)  and she felt so good in the bed, that she began to do it all the time.  Now she sneaks about alternating with 3 tanning parlours daily each for I think half hour daily, pllus spe

      For sheer lack of nothing to watch on TV last weekend, I chanced that show   "addicted to…."  it had a segment on Addicted to tanning'  story was about a young woman, late teens perhaps early 20's  bleached white blonde,  brown brown tan.  said she was introduced to tanning as a 12th birthday present from her stepfather.  (still with her mother)  and she felt so good in the bed, that she began to do it all the time.  Now she sneaks about alternating with 3 tanning parlours daily each for I think half hour daily, pllus spends hours ouside, floating in the pool, aside the pool, slathers on vegetable oil etc etc.  Never a day goes by without tanning upwards to 8 hours (guess she doesnt work)  She is fed up with her mother, and stepfather, telling her (or as she says nagging)  so to shut them up she went to a dermatologisst who was of course horrified.

      Told her about Melanoma,   told her and showed her that her hands and fingers are that of a old old lady, she shrugged it off.  This doctor used words like you will die from melanoma if you allow yourself to continue this way.  He examined her body, and as luck would be on her side, not a thing, so of course she used that as ammunition.  Still does tanning.  Actually I thought she looked rather silly with this white bleached hair, light pink lipstick, and not really pretty face and sort of big football type shoulders.  But she could from what pictures they showed from high school graduation where she was just a little bit bronze.

      Then I go back in my mind remembering all of us here,  me as well, who never 'sun tanned'  got burned yes, by living….as both a child running about outside before we ever all even heard of UV and sun screen, back to the days when my older sister, and mother both would lay out in the sun, with baby oil, and I would always seek shade….to me sitting under canopy of shade trees reading as an adult, never heard of melanoma or any other skin cancer and then a show like this came on.  With all that is out there on sun damage  (even if no melanoma is mentioned, she saw, she acknowledged her hands which the doctor pointed out immed)  her answer is  I shall wear lacy gloves and start a new fashion.   Poor Girl.

       

      sigh……..

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        bcl
        Participant

          Thanks for posting this Bonnie -I heard this was to be on, but never seem to watch much television. It amazes me that wrinkles are not a turn off when she can already see the evidence on her hands!

          Lately I've been thinking the 'reality' TV shows are making things worse as they portray tanned skin as the norm – heck, 'snooki' apparently got paid over ten thousand dollars to stand in a tanning salon for two hours!  (I hear she's a right little tart but don't watch that show either – millions do though.)  In her commercial for pistachios she uses the lid of a tanning bed to crack open the nut…

          Meanwhile people in China are risking their lives putting mercury on their faces to appear pale…

          http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/13/asia.whitening/

          I came across a study yesterday that really chilled my blood; apparently children with familial risk of melanoma are still driven to tan. "Frequent sunburns, suboptimal sunscreen use, and high rates of tanning bed use are commonplace even among the children of health professionals who are at risk for developing skin cancer themselves as a result of personal or family history.

          Only 25% thought that a natural skin color was most attractive, and on average, 25% in each group agreed that it was worth burning to get a tan.

          triple sigh…

           

          http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16585282

          bcl
          Participant

            Thanks for posting this Bonnie -I heard this was to be on, but never seem to watch much television. It amazes me that wrinkles are not a turn off when she can already see the evidence on her hands!

            Lately I've been thinking the 'reality' TV shows are making things worse as they portray tanned skin as the norm – heck, 'snooki' apparently got paid over ten thousand dollars to stand in a tanning salon for two hours!  (I hear she's a right little tart but don't watch that show either – millions do though.)  In her commercial for pistachios she uses the lid of a tanning bed to crack open the nut…

            Meanwhile people in China are risking their lives putting mercury on their faces to appear pale…

            http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/13/asia.whitening/

            I came across a study yesterday that really chilled my blood; apparently children with familial risk of melanoma are still driven to tan. "Frequent sunburns, suboptimal sunscreen use, and high rates of tanning bed use are commonplace even among the children of health professionals who are at risk for developing skin cancer themselves as a result of personal or family history.

            Only 25% thought that a natural skin color was most attractive, and on average, 25% in each group agreed that it was worth burning to get a tan.

            triple sigh…

             

            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16585282

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