The dark side of bronze

A ‘healthy tan’ could lead to skin cancer

How to spot Cancer • Basal cell carcinoma is the least severe and most common. It may be a flakiness or mounding up on the skin that does not go away, but usually does not spread. It could be fleshy or off-colored, non-suspicious looking and can be removed. • Squamous cell carcinoma is more serious, as it can metastasize and grows more aggressively. It looks like a windburn or sunburn with scales or mounds that won’t heal. Sometimes it will bleed. • Melanomas are darker in color and can have multiple colors such as black, white and red, or a dark freckle. They have an irregular border and the surface is rough or cracking. They will bleed recurrently. • If something doesn’t go away in a few weeks, get it checked out by a physician. Sources: Skin Cancer Foundation, Dr. Robert Flores.

Being blessed with the ability to tan easily, may not be a blessing at all.

That was the unpleasant truth that Conchita Raices, a marketing consultant in the Valley of the Sun, faced.

Raices, 50 years old  and of Cuban ancestry, has fought flare-ups of recurring skin cancer. “My mother (86) …has suffered from basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer for the past nine years, and my involvement with her treatment helped me tame my fear.”

Like many Cubans, Conchita has fair skin from her Spanish blood. And hours of sand, surf and sun on the beaches of Miami, Florida hammered her skin.
“We thought that the tan we were getting was so ‘healthy looking.’ We never thought for one second that the ‘bronceado divino’ would come back to haunt us later in our lives,” she says.

She advises all Latinos to start early to understand the hazards of sun exposure. Over time, the high price of flaunting sun-kissed skin could be fatal, especially for Latinos in Arizona.

“The Arizona sun can be wicked,” Conchita notes.

Our state boasts the second highest rate of skin cancer in the world, according to the New York-based Skin Cancer Foundation.
Every day, about 20 people die of skin cancer, primarily melanoma, the most severe of the three forms. Although the rates for Latinos and African-Americans are lower than those for Whites, skin cancer is more deadly for these populations because it is more likely to go undetected.
Dr. Robert Flores, medical director for population health for CIGNA Medical Group, says that the misconception that having darker skin makes one exempt from skin cancer occurs across the board, from the general population to even doctors.

“Most Latinos grow up assuming skin color protects them somehow, so they tend to be a little more relaxed in protection. It lulls them into thinking they have no chance of getting skin cancer. The risk is lower, but not completely absent. Latinos come in all skin colors and skin types, so labeling someone as Latino does not label them as being dark skinned,” says Flores, who has 20 years experience as a family practitioner and sports medicine physician.
According to a University of Miami study, Hispanic teens were significantly more likely to tan deeply but less likely to use sunscreen or protective clothing than Whites. The incidence rate of melanoma among Hispanic children and young adults has increased by nearly 3 percent annually from 1981 to 2001.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, adults experience 60-80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure before the age of 18.

In 2005, Arizona became the first state to write into law a requirement for  sun-safety education in all K-8 public and charter schools. The hope is that children will view wearing brimmed hats and sunscreen as routine as brushing their teeth, says Sharon McKenna, coordinator for the Arizona Department of Health’s SunWise, the law’s mandated program.

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1 Stay away from overexposure in the middle of the day or late afternoon. Do outdoor activities in the morning or evening.

2 Use a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher. Reapply often, as even waterproof formulas can rinse or sweat off. Be sure to get spots like ears and backs of the legs.

3 For camping or any prolonged outdoor activity, opt for clothing that contains SPF, or hold up regular clothing to light to see if it blocks out the rays.

4 Babies have virtually none of the protective cells during the first few months of life, so cover them when outdoors.

5 Tanning salons are not a safer option; recent studies have shown those rays can be just as damaging as the sun.