Those years frying in the sun as a teenager gave you a golden tan - and a jump on contracting skin cancer. But playing it safe in the sun now can help.

By SUSAN ASCHOFF, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 23, 2002

Every baby boomer with idyllic memories of lying in the sun coated with Coppertone or baby oil to fry to bright pink, then golden tan, now knows he got burned.

We damaged our skin. And we set ourselves up for skin cancer years after we basked.

"About 80 percent of your lifetime exposure, statistically, occurs before age 18," says Dr. Neil Fenske, professor and director of dermatology at the University of South Florida. And exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays is the main cause of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer in the United States.

Older and wiser, boomers have become the parents who slather SPF-40 sunscreen on their children. Yet those children's participation in sports, physical education classes and outdoor play still means their chance of getting skin cancer is much greater than that of their grandparents, who didn't know what an SPF was, Fenske says.

"The lifetime risk of an American born in 2000 of developing a melanoma is 1 in 75. In 1935, it was 1 in 1,500," he says.

Sun safety [Times art: Teresanne Cossetta]

The American Cancer Society estimates more than 1-million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year.

Malignant melanoma, the most serious, is increasing most rapidly and causes the most deaths because it can spread to other organs such as the lungs and liver.

The other two types of skin cancer, basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, are much more common, making up 96 percent of new skin cancer cases. If detected early, more than 95 percent of these cancers can be cured.

So why are we not better protected from skin cancer when we now know the best way to prevent it?

Don't blame the hole in the ozone: Atmospheric filtering of the sun's harmful rays has been significantly compromised only at the North and South poles.

The problem is inattentiveness. About 70 percent of adults do not protect themselves with sunscreen, shade or clothing, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those same adults pursue leisure activities that may put them at greater risk than the roofer daily boiling under the sun.

"When you're affluent, what kind of exposure do you get? It's on the weekend, and it's a sunburn. You're boating, you're jogging," Fenske says. "My patients who have had skin cancer do it. I see them on Bayshore in a little swimsuit. Why haven't you covered up?

"The golfers are being devastated. They're out there for four hours in the hottest part of the day. They get skin cancer on the tops of their heads. That little straw hat is not protection."

Certain characteristics also put some people at greater risk, the National Skin Cancer Prevention Education Program says. They are:

• Fair to light complexion
• Family history of skin cancer
• Personal history of the disease
• Chronic exposure to the sun
• Sunburns early in life
• Atypical moles
• Large number of moles
• Freckles

Perhaps "Florida resident" should be added to the list, since many worship what brought us here in the first place.

Not necessarily, Fenske says. Just practice a more disciplined faith. "Sun smarts," even in middle age after youth's damage has been done, can slow skin cancer's development and its frequency.

Put a shade tarp over the boat, Fenske says. Restrict outdoor activities to early morning and late afternoon and evenings. Use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 and marked "broad spectrum," which means it contains parsol 1789 (avobenzone) to knock out the UVA as well as the UVB rays.

Be aware that sunscreen is not a license to spend eight hours unshaded. Wear hats and protective clothing. Fenske particularly likes the brand Solumbra (www.solumbra.com), apparel made of tightly woven but loose-fitting fabrics that screen harmful rays.

Once a year, have a head-to-toe exam by a board-certified dermatologist.

Researchers are working on sunscreens and creams that actually will repair, not simply protect, the skin. Meanwhile, the CDC is targeting a 2010 goal of persuading at least 75 percent of adults to use some protective measure and limit sun time. The agency is taking its education effort to children at swimming pools, zoos and schools and onto the Internet at www.sunsafety.org.

Sun risk and skin cancer [Times art: Teresanne Cossetta]

Skin cancer symptoms

The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change on the skin, especially a new growth or a sore that doesn't heal. Skin cancer may start as:

• A small, smooth, shiny, pale or waxy lump
• A firm red lump
• A lump that bleeds or develops a crust
• A flat red spot that is rough, dry or scaly
• A mole that changes shape, size or color

Changes in the skin are not sure signs of cancer; however, it is important to see a doctor if any symptom lasts longer than two weeks. Don't wait for the area to hurt; skin cancers seldom cause pain.

-- Source: National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov)

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