By Ariella Monti
"Sure!" my friend replied. I slathered the oily substance all over my 16-year-old body and lay down on the sand at Smith Point Park in Suffolk County. I learned after two hours of baking on the beach that I shouldn't have listened to my friend. Red as a lobster, I had severe sunburn that left me in excruciating pain for days. But, boy, did I have an awesome tan when it went away.
I became a lifeguard shortly afterward and spent my summers working on my tan poolside in Dix Hills. The tan lines weren't very flattering considering my racer-back Speedo working attire, but my dark color was the envy of all my indoor-working friends.
I'm not sure when I decided to switch tanning oil with SPF 8 to sunscreen with SPF 45. Maybe it was when I went to college and I met a girl who, at 18, already had leathery skin and faint wrinkles from all but living in a tanning bed. My last few summers at the pool, I started wearing hats and adjusting the umbrella so I was always in the shade.
It was after I hung up my whistle that I became concerned about the damage I might have done to my skin. I visited a dermatologist for a skin cancer screening two years ago. All was clear then, but a spot on my arm that I have watched grow darker over the last few months reminds me that it's been too long since I've been back to see the doctor.
"Adults in general should have an annual exam for the examination of moles and growths," said dermatologic surgeon Marc Glashofer, who works out of Island Dermatology in Long Beach, Lynbrook and Massapequa. "And, if they've had a history of skin cancer, every six months."
Glashofer added that sun-lovers, surfers and lifeguards should go every six months. Snowbirds — people who summer in Long Beach and winter in Florida —should also get an exam twice a year. He said that there has been an increase in the number of cases of skin cancer, which includes the less serious basal and squamous cell carcinoma and the potentially fatal melanoma. "We're seeing younger and younger people ... coming in with skin cancers," he said.
According to Glashofer, the rush to tanning salons during the winter has played a huge role in the increasing incidence of skin cancer. "You're going to tan because you think you look better, but what ends up happening to the 25-year-old, when they're 35 or 40, they look like they're 50 or 60," he said. "Tanning is the worst investment you can make in the health if your skin."
Glashofer added that the sun may not be the only cause of skin cancer. "The exact roles of sun versus genetics and the roles they play are still being worked out," he said, urging that people who have a family history of the disease should be checked often.
Self-exams should be done regularly, and Glashofer said that a patient should come in if they notice any change in the shape, color or texture of an existing mole or if a new one pops up. Spots on the skin that start to itch or bleed should also be examined, and people should take note of any pimple-like spot that doesn't go away in a few months or a blotch that doesn't fully heal.
While sun lovers don’t necessarily need to become sun avoiders, Glashofer encourages people to be smart about their sun exposure by wearing sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and reapplying it often. They should also be conscious of how much time they're spending in the sun, and minimize exposure in the middle of the day, when the sun is most damaging.
The risk of skin cancer won't keep this beach bum out of the sun, but you can bet I'll be under an umbrella with sunscreen on.
