The Hawk's Herald

Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Features

Summertime memories are slowly drifting to the backs of students' minds at Roger Williams University as the leaves fall and the temperature plummets. With those memories goes the bronzed skin tone that so many students worked tirelessly to achieve during the peak summer months.

Some students accept their predictable fair tone until the next warm season rolls around while others attempt to regain their summer glow by using the services of tanning salons.

RWU senior Ashlee Soares was one of those students. Soares tanned two to three times per week in preparation for important events during high school and frequented her vacation home in Florida twice a year, exposing her body to immense amounts of sunlight annually. These bursts of tanning ceased come fall of this year.

"I was diagnosed with Stage I Melanoma skin cancer in September 2009," Soares said. "Doctors were pretty sure indoor tanning was the main cause."

Stage I Melanomas are referred to as 'localized tumors,' meaning the cancer hasn't spread to surrounding lymph nodes or other areas in the body. Although this form of Melanoma is fairly low-risk, it is still dangerous and had to be taken seriously in Soares' case.

"When the results came back that I had Melanoma, my heart dropped," Soares said. "I knew my life would change and that it was something I had to protect myself from forever. I never thought I would get skin cancer. Everyone thinks 'it won't happen to me,' but when it does it's always too late."

The light bulbs used in most tanning beds and tanning booths emit UVA rays. UVB rays are considered more harmful for the sole reason that they are prone to produce burning, most commonly known as sunburns. However, it could be argued that UVA rays are as bad or worse than UVB because they penetrate deeper into the skin, which leads to consequences that appear further into life.

This ultraviolet radiation is what causes the changes in cell DNA, and in combination with excessive exposure, eventually can develop into cancer.

The Nemours Foundation reported that "according to a recent study, radiation from just 10 indoor-tanning sessions in two weeks can suppress a person's cancer-fighting immune system."

Amy Pimentel, manager of the Bristol and Newport Hot Bodeez tanning franchises, said, "I do try to educate and make our customers aware of the risks as much as possible."

When asked if there was a limit to how much an individual could tan per day, she responded, "customers are limited to one tanning session every 24 hours.

Continued...

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