Spring Break
Fake n' Bake
Indoor tanning takes the heat for skin cancer
Margaret Canty
Issue date: 5/7/07 Section: News
Karen Raines used to lie outside for hours, dreaming of glowing, bronzed skin until her flesh was red and blistered.
But the burns never made the 25-year-old tan. Instead, she got call from her doctor.
Raines had skin cancer.
Now, at 48, the CSU biology professor bears a small scar on her back - a permanent reminder to the three-time skin cancer survivor that tan skin isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's a value she passes on to her daughter and students.
Raines has changed her relationship with the sun. She spends less time in daylight, wears sunscreen everyday and still receives annual skin checks from a dermatologist.
But not everyone gets a second chance or third chance. This year alone, 8,000 Americans will pay for skin-deep beauty - with their lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of skin cancer among young people in the U.S. has risen by almost three percent each year since 1981, and Colorado, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, is no exception.
With May being National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, dermatologists have targeted indoor tanning salons, pointing to their increase in popularity as the cause.
But indoor tanning isn't going down without a fight. Several local salons are actively promoting themselves as the healthy alternative to sun tanning, and some insist no proven link exists between indoor tanning and skin cancer.
And with the recent failure of a Colorado bill that would limit tanning to those over 18 - a law passed in 19 other states - it appears the salons could be winning.
Indoor tanning has grown to become a $5 billion-a-year industry, with 30 million Americans catching the fake rays each year, according to The American Academy of Dermatology.
Home to over a dozen tanning salons, Fort Collins is no stranger to this market. CSU students have their pick to an array of tanning techniques and locations when the weather doesn't permit a bake. The synthetically hued skin tones flooding campus attest to tanning popularity, especially in the frigid winter months.
But the burns never made the 25-year-old tan. Instead, she got call from her doctor.
Raines had skin cancer.
Now, at 48, the CSU biology professor bears a small scar on her back - a permanent reminder to the three-time skin cancer survivor that tan skin isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's a value she passes on to her daughter and students.
Raines has changed her relationship with the sun. She spends less time in daylight, wears sunscreen everyday and still receives annual skin checks from a dermatologist.
But not everyone gets a second chance or third chance. This year alone, 8,000 Americans will pay for skin-deep beauty - with their lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of skin cancer among young people in the U.S. has risen by almost three percent each year since 1981, and Colorado, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, is no exception.
With May being National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, dermatologists have targeted indoor tanning salons, pointing to their increase in popularity as the cause.
But indoor tanning isn't going down without a fight. Several local salons are actively promoting themselves as the healthy alternative to sun tanning, and some insist no proven link exists between indoor tanning and skin cancer.
And with the recent failure of a Colorado bill that would limit tanning to those over 18 - a law passed in 19 other states - it appears the salons could be winning.
Indoor tanning has grown to become a $5 billion-a-year industry, with 30 million Americans catching the fake rays each year, according to The American Academy of Dermatology.
Home to over a dozen tanning salons, Fort Collins is no stranger to this market. CSU students have their pick to an array of tanning techniques and locations when the weather doesn't permit a bake. The synthetically hued skin tones flooding campus attest to tanning popularity, especially in the frigid winter months.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Johann Sebastian Bach
posted 3/15/08 @ 12:32 AM MST
why would u do that IF IT GIVES YOU SKIN CANCER??
Craig Hawley
posted 3/15/08 @ 1:22 AM MST
People with great tans not only are nuts from a health standpoint , but when they get to 50 they look like there 70. Their beautiful tan skin ends up looking like a leather saddle. (Continued…)
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