A study published in the July 10 online edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology states that the number of melanoma cases among women has increased 50% between 1980 and 2004, while the rates for men leveled off. The study was conducted on men and women aged 15-39 and suggests that there has been no significant result of skin cancer education upon young women.
See the article for steps to protect yourself from the sun, recognizing melanoma, and more information from the American Cancer Society.
As a lupus patient, and because I do get a lot of sun exposure as a runner, and because my grandfather had skin cancer and lupus, I have to be that much more diligent about wearing sun screen, the right type of clothing, etc. As a teenager growing up on the beach, it was a status symbol to wear a stripe of zinc oxide on my nose, but a smart one. Peeling skin after getting a burn was not a good thing, nor pretty. It seems my generation is being ignored in our warnings to young people about the dangers of over-exposure to UV rays.
Why do you think young women are not doing enough to protect their skin?