Time In The Tanning Bed example essay topic

Skin cancer and Tanning beds Despite being one of the most preventable cancers, skin cancer is also the most common cancer in the United States, accounting for almost half of all cancers and more than 1 million Americans will be diagnosed with non melanomas in 2002, and about 53,600 will be diagnosed with melanoma (web). It's a scary thought and yet some people still risk it just because our society says that tan is beautiful. I used to be one of those people. My freshman year in high school the big craze was fake tanning. Everyone was doing it and so did I. I had a membership at a tanning place called California Sun Center. It was relatively inexpensive and at the time I thought it was a great deal.

I paid thirty dollars a month for unlimited tanning. I have always been sort of a hypochondriac and I was worried about skin cancer. When I went to the Website it said, "The sun emits three types of ultraviolet rays. The shorter the ray, the more harmful it becomes.

The shortest of the three, UVC, is unable to penetrate the earth's ozone layer. Only UVB and UVA enter the earth's atmosphere, and of these two, the shorter UVB is the ray responsible for burning. UVA, the longest ray, is responsible for tanning. Outdoors, UVB can reach levels of up to 40 percent, making burning a very real possibility, even for darker skin types. This then poses a real dilemma for those who want to acquire a tan without the dangers inherent in burning-a dilemma that has been solved by the indoor tanning industry. Indoor, tanning beds emit approximately one-tenth of the UVB experienced outdoors, minimizing the chances of developing sunburn and the negative consequences that accompany such a condition.

This is great news for those wanting to reap the positive benefits from tanning. Beyond its attractive cosmetic appeal, tanning in moderation has been proven to reduce the risk of developing breast, colon and ovarian cancers. Moderate tanning lowers blood cholesterol levels, strengthens bones and teeth, reduces depression, aids in weight loss, increases immune response and heightens physical performance". (web). This led me to believe that fake tanning was not only safer than tanning in the sun but that it was health for you. The next day I went to the Salon and bought a membership. My very first time at the tanning salon was just fine.

I tanned for 10 minutes. I did this about every other day for about a week and then I started seeing results, so I decided to spend a little more time in the tanning bed. I spent 15 minutes in the tanning bed, and I thought that it would be fine. The next day I woke up in pain.

I had a horrible burn, it was the worse burn I have ever had before. I didn't think anything of it, but I stopped going to the tanning salon for about 2 weeks so my burn would heal. My friends said not to worry because you have to burn first before you can get a really good tan. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Fake tanning was probably the worse thing that I have done. I don't have cancer now but I have a much higher risk for it now, especially since I started fake tanning at a young age.

Researchers found that, among artificial tanners, those who started at an early age are even more likely to develop skin cancer. (web) I started my tanning craze at age 14. A lot of research has gone into finding a link between skin cancer and tanning beds. So far they have found out that the first time that anyone used a tanning device, they were 20% more likely to get squamous cell cancer -- and 10% more likely to suffer from basal cell cancer... Although these two types of cancers won't kill you, they do involve treatment with surgery and the surgery can leave disfiguring scars if the cancer isn't treated early enough. (web) I have learned a lot from my experience. I would definitely say that fake tanning is not all that it is cracked up to be and it is just as dangerous if not more dangerous than tanning naturally. There are plenty of facts that can support that fake tanning does increase your risk for skin cancer and that it is truly not worth it, SO DON'T DO IT!! !