The skin like other organs in the body can be affected by cancer. Skin cancer is an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of skin cells that can be divided into three types:
CBS News in New York ran a story this week about a new proposed law that would make New York the first state to ban indoor tanning for minors.
While this might seem to be a bit too much government intervention for some people, think about this: The issue is rising rates of skin cancer. A 2010 study found regular use of tanning beds can triple the risk for melanoma, the most deadly form of the disease. The risk was quadruple for people using high-pressure tanning beds, which give off more UVA radiation.
“It can be horrific,” said Harvey Weisenberg, who is sponsoring the bill in the state assembly. “This is a cancer-causing process. Teenagers do it for proms. They do it for special occasions. There is lots of evidence” of harm, he claims.
With Japan suffering through a national health scare over the leaking of radiation from its tsunami-damaged nuclear power plants, the topic of radiation sickness and radiation burns has made it front and center in the newspapers and TV news programs.
But the most common sources of radiation burns are the sun, and treatments for cancer. First, repeated sunburns means repeated radiation exposure, which damages skin cells so much that the possibility of getting carcinoma, melanoma, or other skin cancer is significant among people who do not take precautions to protect their skin from the sun.
Ironically, for people who have breast, cancer, colon cancer, and other types, radiation therapy is often used to stop malignant tumors from growing and spreading, and eventually killing them. But this treatment often results in radiation burns.
Burn Injury Resource Center