The Smallest Detail

Despite knowing me my entire life, my uncles and cousins still address my Christmas card to “Allen” or “Allan.”  Um…it’s Alan.  That’s one reason I sometimes go by Al…it’s hard to misspell a two-letter name.

When I go to a restaurant and put my name on the waiting list, the hostess rarely pronounces my last name correctly when I’m called.  I still answer the call to the table of four even when misstated.  After all, I know they mean me, but they just got the name a little wrong.  I’m a patient man, but after awhile, especially after a long hard day, I want to say, “No…that family is not here…did you in fact mean THIS family?”

<sigh>

People have the best of intentions and mean no ill will when they get a slight detail wrong.  Still, imagine if you won an Academy Award and they got your name wrong!  I’m sure you’d be a bit peeved.  The smallest detail can mean so much.

The American Academy of Dermatology wants to paint the nation orange on Monday, May 6 in order to raise skin cancer awareness.  That particular Monday is known as Melanoma Monday.  One has to appreciate the AAD’s efforts to raise awareness.  This organization has supported many state legislative acts to ban tanning, and has always taken a front line in fighting skin cancer.  However, they made a slight mistake when picking the color.  The color associated with skin cancer may be orange, but the color for melanoma is black.  Asking the public to wear orange on Melanoma Monday is like having your name mispronounced at Applebee’s.

One reader of their Facebook page stated, “Who really cares what color ribbon is worn as long as it gets people's interest?”  She has a point…the focus of this day should be increasing awareness.  But I have to wonder if this particular person has been touched by melanoma?  When you’re touched, you embrace the black color.  Sure, others use the color for mourning and other causes, and maybe black is not as bright and cheery as orange.  But the literal meaning of the word “melanoma” is “black tumor.”  It’s a dark, nasty disease with no real cheerfulness about it.  Black is the most representative color this disease could have.

The entire month of May is designated as Skin Cancer Awareness Month…and melanoma is considered by most as a type of skin cancer.  Other forms of skin cancer can be deforming and even deadly (one person dies of squamous cell carcinoma for every three people that die from melanoma).  But with an entire 31-day month to share the news about sun safety and skin exams, why couldn’t the AAD have picked one other day to don the orange?  What about “Don’t Fry Friday” which is the Friday before Memorial Day?  Surely wearing orange leading into the unofficial start of summer would better match the cheerfulness of the coming season.  Any day but Melanoma Monday.

I’m not asking for people to ignore the Spot Orange campaign.  If you have more orange than black in your wardrobe, by all means sport the orange and make sure to tell people why you’re wearing it!  As for me, I don’t have a stitch of orange in my closet.  I “joined” the Spot Orange event in spirit as I plan to make others aware of Melanoma Monday.  However I have plenty of black and melanoma-related attire, and I plan to wear it on May 6…Melanoma Monday.  As a result, I’ve also joined the MelanomaBlack Monday event.

Raise awareness all month long.  But don’t forget the darkness of melanoma.  It’s an important detail.

Discussing the "Health Benefits" of Tanning Beds

[IMAGE] myhealthnewsdaily.com

Those who support the tanning salon industry tend to taut the supposed health benefits of tanning beds.  As soon as one opposes their views, they tend to accuse our resources as being biased and guilty of using “sun-scare” tactics.  I decided to dig a little deeper and find out what others might say about tanning bed benefits as related to psoriasis, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD ), and Vitamin D deficiency.

 

 Psoriasis

According to the National Psoriasis Foundation,” Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious.  Psoriasis is the most common autoimmune disease in the U.S. As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.”

There are various treatments for psoriasis, including phototherapy.  One type of phototherapy is using UVB radiation, either broad-band or narrow-band, with the latter providing quicker results.  It should be noted that all phototherapy treatments require a prescription. 

UVA rays, which are the primary UV radiation of tanning beds, are relatively ineffective unless used with a light-sensitizing medication.  There seem to be more side-effects with UVA treatment and this method is more effective on psoriasis of the palms and soles.

Regarding the use of tanning beds, the National Psoriasis Foundation states the following:  “Some people visit tanning salons as an alternative to natural sunlight. Tanning beds in commercial salons emit mostly UVA light, not UVB. The beneficial effect for psoriasis is attributed primarily to UVB light. The National Psoriasis Foundation does not support the use of tanning beds as a treatment option for psoriasis.”

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Per the Mayo Clinic, “Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.”  One course of treatment for SAD is another type of phototherapy.

In light therapy, a person with SAD sits a few feet away from a bright light therapy box which mimics outdoor light and causes chemicals in the brain to change, thus improving the mood.  It has been stated by the tanning industry that tanning beds provide the type of light necessary for proper treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is simply not true.

The Mayo Clinic discusses this a bit more.  “Some people claim that tanning beds help ease seasonal affective disorder symptoms. But this hasn't been proved to work. Visible light, not the UV light released by tanning beds, is used in light therapy. The type of light released by tanning beds can damage your skin and increase your risk of skin cancer.”

 

Vitamin D Deficiency

This is probably the number one “health benefit” cited by the tanning industry.  In fact, I recall hearing one NC State legislator argue against a tanning bed bill based solely on the supposed vitamin D benefits.

It’s difficult to find any unbiased information regarding vitamin D and tanning beds.  Tanning supporters obviously see tanning beds as a cure-all for vitamin D deficiency.  Organizations such as the Skin Cancer Foundation side towards debunking the benefits all together.  I tried to read a little of both sides as well as unbiased articles to formulate my own opinion.

There is no doubt that vitamin D is important to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus and aids in increasing bone density.  According to the Mayo Clinic, “Vitamin D is found in many dietary sources, such as fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil. The sun also contributes significantly to the daily production of vitamin D, and as little as 10 minutes of exposure is thought to be enough to prevent deficiencies.”  Other sources claim that 20 minutes of exposure on the arms and face alone will also provide enough daily vitamin D.

Recall that sunlight contains both UVA and UVB radiation.  Vitamin D absorption occurs during exposure to UVB rays.  As stated before, tanning beds primarily emit UVA rays.  It stands to reason that standard tanning beds offer no real benefit for increasing vitamin D levels.

There are some tanning beds that emit mostly UVB rays.  Studies performed at Boston University concluded that such tanning beds do increase vitamin D production.  However, most general practitioners and dermatologists will recommend simple vitamin D supplements.  From my own personal experience, I was found to have a deficiency about 3 years ago.  My doctor recommended that I take a daily 1000 IU supplement.  The cost of this daily pill is about 2 cents per day!  Since that time, my levels have been well within the normal range.

In short, vitamin D levels can be increased by tanning beds, but ONLY from those designed to emit UVB rays.   Most standard tanning beds at tanning salons are not such tanning units.  An equally effective and safer mode of increasing your vitamin D levels is through various dietary sources and/or through daily supplements.  “Taking vitamin D supplements instead of tanning, either in a tanning bed or in natural sunlight, does not carry the same risk for skin cancer.” – LiveStrong Foundation

 

As always, do the research yourself.  There are plenty of websites sponsored and written by associations and businesses supporting the tanning industry.  There are also many sites devoted to skin health that discourage the use of tanning beds. 

After reading many sites over several days, I’ve concluded that there are no health benefits from using tanning beds that one can’t find through an alternative source.  In some cases, the preferred treatments of various ailments are significantly more effective and possibly less expensive.  There’s no point risking skin cancer for a health benefit that simply doesn’t exist.

Does a Tanning Ban Deny Parental Rights?

This morning, a local TV station posted on their Facebook page that Governor Christie had signed legislation to ban tanning in New Jersey for those under 17.  The station asked, “Do you think more states should follow or leave it up to parents?”  As usual, there were supporters for both sides of the argument.  But since I’m a data geek, I had to analyze a little more deeply.  Here’s what I found:

 

 

·         38% of the comments were in favor of such bans.  Most of these respondents had been somehow touched by melanoma. 

·         21% responded that such a ban would violate parental rights.

·         17% stated that the government was already too involved with our personal lives.

·         4% stated that there were more pressing issues to address than a tanning ban.

·         The remaining had other random answers.

Obviously, I was one of the 38% that responded in favor of such a ban.  While I’m usually pretty open-minded in most debates, I’m not sure I can understand the opposing arguments.

The government is “involved” when it comes to many age limits.  Are those opposed to banning the tan for minors also open to allowing minors to drink and smoke without restrictions?  Would they allow children to drive on the highways?  Are they ready for Sponge Bob to be the next president once we allow kids to vote?  Will we expect to find pornography in our children’s back pack along with Diary of a Wimpy Kid?  There are restrictions on such issues for valid reasons and not simply so government can rule with an iron fist. 

I can understand (somewhat) the argument for parental rights.  I’m a parent of two incredible kids and I believe I have the right to provide parental guidance as I see fit.  At the same time, I have already taught them the issues with tanning beds.  They know that not only would daddy be very disappointed if they choose to tan, they know it’s unhealthy and basically a stupid practice.  I have taught them as an informed parent.  The problem is, where tanning beds and skin cancer/melanoma are concerned, many if not most parents are simply uninformed.  They don’t understand that a single visit to a tanning bed can increase the chance of cancer.  They don’t know that melanoma rates in young women are sky-rocketing.  They haven’t become friends with a young woman who died from this horrid disease. 

Right now, at age 10, my kids know that tanning is bad.  When they turn 14 or 15, I’m sure they’ll not agree with all I have to teach.  They may become rebellious.  They may be tempted to tan.  And two teens can most likely find many loopholes right underneath the nose of the best parent.  That’s why I believe even supposedly good parents like me need such a law to ban tanning for minors. 

Your parental rights won’t be denied at all.  You still have a job to do.  Issuing government dictated bans is one thing, but educating our young on WHY such a ban is needed is equally important.  We parents need to be informed so as to teach our kids.  When they whine about wanting a darker glow, we need to help them understand why it’s an unhealthy choice.  We need to teach them about safety in the sun as well and make them understand the importance of wearing sunscreen and hats.  Trust me, even with a tanning bed ban; you’ll have plenty parenting to do.

The Voice of Melanoma Awareness

You’ve read my blog post “Real People of Melanoma."  You’ve seen the calendar of the Faces of Melanoma.  You may have walked Miles Against Melanoma.  And now, there is a Voice for Melanoma Awareness.

Two weeks ago, Chelsea of Adventures with My Enemy…Melanoma announced that she would be appearing on The Dr. Dan Show.  This is a radio show out of Austin Texas’ 93.9KJCE-FM and Talk Radio 1370-AM which airs at 9:00 AM Central Time every Saturday morning.  I tuned in and was very much pleased to have discovered this show.

The host is Dr. Daniel J. Ladd, Jr. who is board-certified in dermatology and Mohs surgery.  In short, he knows all about melanoma and skin cancer.  Recently, the Skin Cancer Foundation inducted him into the Amonette Circle Membership which ”signifies a commitment to skin cancer education to patients and demonstrates great leadership to fellow physicians.”  His co-host is wife Lurleen Ladd, founder of the Shade Project in Austin, TX which provides shade units to playgrounds and parks throughout their area.  Both are very knowledgeable and sympathetic to those who have been touched by melanoma and skin cancer.

Dan and Lurleen Ladd (Source: Facebook)

Chelsea was the main guest two weeks ago.  Last week they interviewed Shonda Shilling, wife of baseball great Curt Shilling.  Shonda is a melanoma survivor and founder of TheShade Foundation.  She’s a celebrity AND big wig in the melanoma awareness community…no slouch of a guest at all.

Granted, Dr. Dan’s show is not all melanoma all the time.  Per his Facebook page, the show is about all aspects of health.  “Dr. Dan is an advocate for contemporary, holistic health practitioners in Austin. Future shows will spotlight the many, exceptional doctors that believe that whole body, preventative care is the key to life-long health and topics will include solutions for healthy living ranging from what to do when you feel tired and lethargic to how to treat those sore muscles from your weekend exercise, to how to prevent suffering from seasonal allergies so common here in Austin.”  At the same time, his expertise is dermatology and he usually has some good words to share about sun and skin safety.  Whether featuring a tanning-related fashion disaster in their “Good, Bad and Ugly” segment, or their end-of-show give-away of free sunscreen, the good doctor is sure to raise his listener’s melanoma awareness.

I encourage you to support Dr. Dan Ladd and his wife Lurleen in three ways. 

First, listen to his radio show every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM Central time (10:00 Eastern time).  Here’sthe link to listen to the radio station online.  If you miss it, they post a podcast of the entire show later in the day (so you can still catch Chelsea’s interview from a few weeks ago!)

Second, “Like” his Facebook page.  I’d love to see his “Like-count” reach very high levels.  (I’m sure his radio station would as well).

Finally, and most importantly, Lurleen’s Shade Project is nominated for the Merz Aesthetic's STAND AND DELIVER contest.  If she wins, her organization will receive a significant amount of money to be used for additional shade projects in the Austin area.  Visit the Shade Project's website and cast your vote today...and do it again every day.  Promoting sun safety, whether it be in your town or in Austin, Texas is something worth spending a few minutes a day to vote for.

Please give Dr. Dan a listen and share your thanks for giving a voice to melanoma awareness!

Is Anti-Tan the Same as Anti-Sun?

Whenever I read an article about anti-tanning legislation on a local news website, the “comments” section is filled with those opposed to such a ban.  They cite that government should not dictate parental rights (yet we have age restrictions on cigarettes and alcohol as well as many others).  Some mention that tanning beds provide valuable Vitamin D to a population that’s seriously deficient (it doesn’t).  Whatever the argument, I typically write it off as the person being misinformed.  I sometimes offer up a response, but I’ve also learned that once someone has an opinion, it’s pretty difficult to change it. 

However, there’s one misconception I see over and over that just floors me.  “Anti-tanners want to ban sunshine!”  This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Sure, one can get an unhealthy dose of UV radiation from the sunshine, but one needs to understand the difference between exposure in a tanning bed versus exposure under the sun.

As you probably know, there are two types of UV rays emitted by the sun.  UVA rays go deeper into the skin and typically don’t burn.  They cause the inner skin to darken or tan.  They also cause the skin to age more quickly (UVA –UV Aging) and cause DNA damage.  UVB affects the surface if the skin more and causes sun burns (UVB – UV Burning).

Your body is an amazing thing.  When there is danger, it has a way of warning you.  If you touch something that’s hot, your skin feel s pain and you instantly pull away your hand.  But what if you couldn’t feel that pain?

Imagine going to a dentist and you have your mouth numbed with Novocain.  Before you leave, the dentist warns you not to drink anything hot or to bite your lip.  He issues this warning because he knows that while you can’t feel the pain, you can damage your lips or mouth. 

Your body has a natural mechanism to protect itself from too much sun exposure.  When UVB rays from natural sunshine start to burn the skin, the body announces that it’s time to seek shade.  Without those UVB rays, the body has no way of detecting when it’s time to get out of the sun.  That’s where the danger lays in tanning beds versus sunshine. 

There are no UVB rays in most tanning beds, so your body won’t get burnt.  However, the UVA rays still penetrate your skin and cause serious damage.  In fact, the amount of UVA radiation from the bed may actually be many times more intense than from natural sunlight!  When you leave the tanning salon, you won’t feel the pain or the burn, but the damage will be there.  It’s like drinking scalding hot coffee with a numb mouth…you won’t feel the pain, but the damage has taken place.

This is not to say that the sun is entirely safe, but this doesn’t mean that we fear the sun and expect it to be shunned.  What we do is respect the sun. 

Those who have been adversely affected by the sun (whether it be from melanoma or aged skin) have every right to fear the sun.  But for many, they’ve learned to respect it rather than fear it.  They have learned that it’s important to wear sunscreen when enjoying the sun’s warmth.  They know it’s best to seek shade between 10AM and 4PM when the sun’s rays are at their strongest.  They know that wearing a hat provides additional protection.  Believe it or not, they enjoy the sun very much.  They embrace the sun.  They also know the limits in which to enjoy and learned to respect it.

So are those opposed to tanning in beds also opposed to the sun?  No.  In fact, we encourage you to enjoy the sun, but to be safe within in.  Just realize that a tanning bed offers much different dangers from the sun and they should indeed be avoided.  Tanning beds are NOT the sun…not at all.

Sources:  American Cancer Society, Skin Cancer Foundation, Melanoma Research Foundation, and plain ol' common sense!

A Loved One's Influence

Source:  MSN.com

Preface:  The following thoughts are intended to be politically neutral with no biased towards or against gay marriage.  (I know I have readers that have strong opinions at either end of this discussion).  While I have my personal opinions on such matters, I always try to maintain a neutral tone in my posts so as not to detract from the main message of melanoma awareness.  With that being said, I share an analogy in which some may claim I’m comparing being gay to having an awful disease like melanoma.  This is in no way the case.  My thoughts merely compare one’s point of view when influenced by a loved one’s situation or life event…whether it be homosexuality, a cancer diagnosis, or possessing any other trait.

Senator Rob Portman of Ohio recently announced that he has changed his position against gay marriage.  His history shows a very aggressive campaign to block any chance of any homosexual couple engaging in any formal, law-abiding union.  However, today Senator Portman revealed that he now supports gay marriage.  Why?  His son has recently stated that he is gay.

The senator stated that he did a lot of research and consulted with his pastor before he had a change of heart.  Obviously his love for his son inspired him to partake in such research, but this leads me to wonder if his previous stance was based solely on his personal opinion and not on any research at all.

I’ve seen this before.  I’ve experienced this before.

Prior to 2004, I knew very little about skin cancer or melanoma and really had no clue about any such relationship to tanning.  Sure, I knew that getting a lot of sunburns was probably a bad thing for one’s skin, but I also remember the tanning bed operator telling me that tanning beds emit “only the safe UV rays that don’t burn.”  (Yes, I visited a tanning salon for about a one month period back in the late 1980’s.  My distain for potentially laying in other people’s germ-laden sweat caused me to cease the practice more so than the potential for skin damage).

In 2004, my brother announced that he had melanoma removed from his back.  He told us that the doctors determined that the cancer had not spread to his lymph nodes.  Everyone sighed in relief and assumed that his melanoma was totally eradicated.  Silly ol’ skin cancer…such an inconvenience and so easy to remove.

In 2010, Jeff’s melanoma returned and, as most of you know, he passed away in November of that year.  Jeff never visited a tanning booth only because they didn’t exist in his youth.  But he did aggressively “sunbathe” in the summer using only baby oil and iodine as his tanning oil.  So did I.  His illness and subsequent death prompted me to do some extensive research in melanoma. 

There was evidence to suggest that tanning beds were safe and that they were a great tool in providing Vitamin D and treating seasonal affective disorder.  However, there was overwhelmingly more evidence to suggest that tanning of any kind has a direct link to skin cancer and melanoma, and that tanning beds are even more dangerous.  After such research, my stance was clear and I vowed to make others aware.

It took a loved one’s encounter with melanoma to inspire me to do the necessary research on melanoma and allow me to come to my own personal conclusion (some would agree…some would disagree).  It took Senator Portman’s son coming out to inspire him to do his own research and come to his own personal conclusion (some would agree…some would disagree).

Several state legislative bodies across the country are considering proposed tanning ban bills.  North Carolina is one such state.  So far, House Bill HB8 has passed through two subcommittees, but not without some opposition.  One representative (Marilyn Avila) has been on both committees and has voted against the bill each time.  She has stated that she has done some research and has concluded that there is no strong scientific evidence of a link between melanoma and tanning.  She also has stated that banning tanning beds would cause unsupervised teens to scamper into the sunlight to seek a tan that’s not properly regulated or monitored.  She claims that she’s done her research, so I have to respect her opinion, even if it differs from mine.

I would never wish melanoma upon anyone.  But I have to wonder…would her stance change if a close family member revealed that they had melanoma after using tanning beds?

Happy Birthday Dad!

I just spent about an hour writing about my dad.  I typed about how good life was for my family during my childhood.  I wrote how proud Dad was as my brother and I both graduated college and started our own lives.  I conveyed how life got tougher as my mom got sick and died and then five years later, my brother also passed away.  And then I stopped…read what I wrote…and I couldn’t write more.  I was writing as if my dad was no longer here.  But he’s alive and well in Florida, living the retired life with my step-mom and with good friends close by.  I just visited him last week and I know he’s doing well.

The point of sharing this here in this blog is, frankly, to wish him a Happy 79^th Birthday today (March 12).  (Yep, I forgot to send him a card).  The second is to introduce my dad as someone who’s been touched deeply by melanoma. 

My dad is an amazing guy.  He’s done so many cool things that have inspired me.  Little things like taking care of the local park grounds when no one else would, despite never being asked to do so.  Like driving around the neighborhood replacing remove heavy manhole covers that prankster teenagers removed the night before.  Like shoveling snow off of a neighbor’s driveway because he was the first out there doing so.  Like working on his ink drawings as hard as he worked on his drafting projects because drawing helped him cope and relax.  Very little things that Dad did made huge impressions on both me and my brother.  And he continues to be as impressive.

When Jeff was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic melanoma, Dad traveled the 3 hours between his home in West Virginia and Jeff’s home in Ohio many times.  During Jeff’s last weeks, Dad stayed there constantly.  He knew what was going on with Jeff.  Dad had seen what cancer can do when he watched my mom fight lung cancer during her last year.  It was not an easy time for Dad…and the scars will last for the rest of his life.  His scars from melanoma are not from a surgical knife, but they run just as deeply. 

Dad’s doing well.  He misses my mom.  He misses Jeff.  I saw him tear up during a touching feel-good commercial while watching TV.  I do the same thing as such ads bring up deep emotions mores than they used to.  But I know he’s as happy as he can possibly be now (even with the “Estep Temper” we both share).  And that makes me happy.  I have the deepest appreciation and gratitude for the dad I have…and I hope to one day, even as I’m 50 years old now, to grow up to be just like him.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I wrote a little more about my dad back in 2006 when he wrote a memoir of his youth called, “Growing up in a Nitro.”  You can check out the blog here...you'll have to scroll down past the post titled "Happy Alloween"...which turns out to be a pretty neat tribute to my brother as well, so you might as well read it, too!