Not Music to My Ears

I admit it. I have a lot of anger toward the indoor tanning industry. My daughter Jaime was a tanning bed addict when she was in high school and college ... up until she was diagnosed with melanoma, a potentially fatal type of skin cancer, when she was 20. She fought this damn disease for her entire adult life but died when she was 29. A beautiful young life cut way too short, all because of tanning bed use. So I think my anger is justified.

To fan the flames of my anger, tanning beds are still very popular, particularly among teens and young adults. Vanity wins over sanity every time. Everyone knows how dangerous UV radiation is ... or at least everyone should know ... and yet the indoor tanning business is thriving while leaving behind a trail of young dead bodies.

The American Cancer Society and various skin cancer/melanoma foundations and medical organizations, the FDA, the CDC, the US Surgeon General (and me!) have all come out with warnings about the use of tanning beds ... but our pleas are basically ignored.

Why? Because our culture promotes being tan. Reality TV shows and magazines equate being tan with being sexy, and fitness centers promote the idea that a tan is healthy, when, in fact, neither is true. A tan is just the often deadly result of UV radiation damage.

A friend who understands my obsession with getting the message out about the dangers of tanning beds made me aware of this music video (UV Love) by Clinton Sparks. A sweet little romantic ballad it's NOT, so consider yourself warned if you watch it! From the title, you can probably guess that it is filmed in a tanning salon with young women roasting in tanning beds.

I can't understand the lyrics when I listen to the song, but I still don't understand them when I read them! (lyrics) But the lyrics don't even matter. It is the visual that gives the perception that tanning is a positive and acceptable activity.

Now I know I am out of touch with the current music scene (The Lettermen is still one of my favorite groups), and I admit that I have never heard of this guy. My hope is that this recording artist (term used very loosely) is not very popular because the message he is sending, that frying your skin in a tanning bed is sexy, is just flirting with death.

I'm not going to kid myself or you into thinking that kids listen to my preaching (or their parents') about staying out of tanning beds more than they listen to music videos like this one that are targeted to their age group and reach out and grab them.

Kids don't have to use any time or effort thinking about what this video is projecting ... that being tan makes you sexy and desirable and popular and fun. After all, these videos are made to make money; same goal as the indoor tanning industry, no matter the damage they do.

In contrast, my message tells them that tanning could kill them, but kids are certain that will not happen to them. They're too young to worry about that, right? That's what my Jaime thought too!

We must change the way our culture promotes tan bodies ... from the media to the fitness centers to the world of music. Some may claim this video was created with artistic license, but I claim it is irresponsible and driving kids and young adults to participate in an activity that is similar to playing Russian roulette with their lives. Reminds me of the cigarette ads with the sexy, manly Marlboro man!

When the US Surgeon General recently released a Call to Action against skin cancer, he was reaching out to everyone to do their part. Clint Sparks apparently thinks he is exempt. Some people, like the indoor tanning industry, will do anything for a buck ... even put young lives at risk. Why should freedom of artistic expression be acceptable when it is promoting dangerous activity?

Can you see why I'm so angry???




 Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
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Birthday Girl

April 6. It's Party Time! ... but where is the birthday girl? Today is my daughter Jaime's birthday. It should have been her 37th birthday celebration, but, thanks to her obsession with tanning beds and the melanoma that resulted, she will not be celebrating this one or any future birthdays. There will be no party, no presents, no birthday cake and candles. And she will remain 29 forever.

During an April blizzard in the Cleveland, Ohio, area in 1977, Jaime was born. She was my 10-month pregnancy. Her due date was actually on my birthday, March 16 ... which (insert Twilight Zone music here) also happens to be the date on which she died just 29 short years later. (See my blog Blowing Out Birthday Candles.) One of those things that makes you go hmmmm!

Anyway, I was more than ready to meet her. And it didn't take long ... about an hour. The doctor missed the delivery (and I refused to pay his full bill); Daddy missed it too because he was busy getting dressed in his delivery room gear. But between me, the nurse, and Jaime, we got the job done! 

I was crying when my husband arrived in the delivery room, which alarmed him. But they were tears of joy that she was a girl ... a Jaime and not a Jacob! We didn't have sonograms in those days to tell us the sex of the baby ahead of the delivery, so it was always a surprise. Jaime had two very rambunctious brothers at home, one had just turned 3 years old and the other a little over 1, so I was overjoyed and felt blessed to be the recipient of a quiet, dainty, demure little girl. I would live in that fantasy for only a few months before it became crystal clear that she was every bit as wild as her brothers ... or maybe more so!

Now Jaime's birthdays weren't just birthdays ... they were BIRTHDAYS (and often extended to birthweeks and birthmonth).

April 6 was her special day, and everyone was expected to celebrate that day, even strangers ... although to Jaime there was no such thing as a stranger. She would start planning her birthday celebrations on April 7 for the next year ... reminding us that her birthday was only 364 days away. It was intense. Just ask her friends. And this enthusiasm for her day ... Jaime's Day ... continued throughout her short life. But she would only see 29 birthdays ... just 29.

When she turned 25, her new husband threw her a surprise birthday party. Unfortunately only a couple weeks before that (see more in the blog With This Ring), we discovered that her cancer had spread and she was rediagnosed with stage IV melanoma. There was not a dry eye at that party ... except for Jaime, who with her usual beautiful big smile told all in attendance to stop the crying because it wasn't like she was dying or anything. Always the optimist; always positive. But everyone there knew that she was, in fact, dying! We didn't know that she would only celebrate 4 more Jaime Days, but we knew those special days were limited.

Jaime's life ended just 3 weeks before her 30th birthday, and her death could have been prevented. If her vanity had not driven her into the tanning beds for a darker skin tone than what she was born with, she might have gotten to celebrate #30 and beyond. We will never know what might have been in Jaime's future because the melanoma caused by the excessive tanning bed UV radiation cut her life way too short.


Birthdays are not the only things that melanoma can steal from you. Melanoma can take pieces of your body, a chunk of tissue here or an eye or ovary there. It can take your energy and your hair. It can take your time and your job. It can take your friendships and relationships. It can take your security and peace of mind and restful sleep at night. It can take your ability to walk or talk or breathe. It can take your dreams and your future. It is an evil monster of a disease that will take whatever it wants whenever it wants and should never be invited into your life by frying your skin.

But Jaime had it right. Birthdays are special; they are precious. Celebrate each one and make lots of memories. And do what needs to be done to reach your next special day. Be proactive with your health. Get regular check-ups and skin checks, stop smoking, eat healthier, lose that extra weight, exercise, go for that mammogram, be sun smart ... and stay out of the damn tanning beds. Too many birthdays have been lost that didn't need to be!

This year and every year since April 6, 2007, we don't light birthday candles for Jaime Day ... we light a memorial candle. Sadly, the party has been cancelled.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, sweet baby girl!


 Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

Twitter: @melanoma_mama
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
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Ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)

Spring: The Teen Tanning Season

Spring. The season for growth and new beginnings. A time to turn our backs to a dark, cold winter and look ahead to the warmth and light of summer. Many of us celebrate the season by planting our gardens, spring cleaning, planning summer activities, or digging our light and airy clothes out of storage and replacing them with our winter wear. But for many teenagers across the country, in spring their thoughts turn to the wonders of Spring Break and Prom ... and with their preparation for these important events comes increased use of tanning beds. 

Vanity trumps everything for teens, and they must, at all costs, have a certain darker skin tone to go with their prom gown or their shorts and bikinis. What they are unaware of (or just don't care about) is that each use of tanning beds puts them closer to the pain and fear of melanoma, the deadly kind of skin cancer. So by putting out the welcome mat for this disease and other skin cancers, they are quite possibly shattering all the wonderful memories of these annual teen rituals.

I know one such young lady who frequently used tanning beds to darken her very pale skin ... after all, "everyone" was doing it. It was just the thing to do among teens in the mid-1990s, and sadly that has not changed. The particular teen I am talking about is my daughter Jaime ... and this is one of her prom pictures. Notice the tan? Well, then you can also see what killed her a few years later!

Read more of Jaime's story on my blogs Blowing Out Birthday Candles and With This Ring.

Melanoma facts

Melanoma is the number 1 cause of cancer death in young women between 25 and 29 years of age (Jaime was 29 when she died from melanoma) and number 2 in young adults 15 to 29 years old ... and it can be prevented in many cases by avoiding tanning beds and practicing sun safety. Tanning bed use has been linked with an increased risk of melanoma, especially if it's started before age of 30. According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma is projected to kill 9,710 US citizens in 2014, about one person every hour of every day.

Tanning myths

 

Back when Jaime was tanning, the indoor tanning industry was spreading misinformation (aka lies) about the "benefits" of using tanning beds. And sadly, nothing has changed!

• Myth: Tanning beds will give you a "base tan," so you won't get burned by the sun when you hit the slopes or beach for Spring Break.   ***   WRONG!! A "base tan" from tanning beds is a great base for skin cancer and melanoma but doesn't protect your skin. The CDC says, "A tan is the body's response to injury from UV [ultraviolet] rays, showing that damage has been done. A "base tan" only provides a sun protection factor (SPF) of about 3 or less, which does little to protect you from future UV exposure." It's a deadly myth! 


• Myth: I have to get tan to look good.  ***  WRONG!! Embrace your natural skin color. It was given to you for a reason. A "golden glow" has been made socially popular through magazines and reality TV, but in the real world, that tan can kill you, just like it killed my Jaime. And if you do survive, your skin will pay the price if you torture it in a tanning bed, by gifting you with fine lines and wrinkles, sagging skin, and brown spots ... not to mention the possibility of any or all of the three kinds of skin cancer. Your eyes can also be abused by tanning beds because the UV rays can penetrate through your closed eyelids, possibly putting cataracts or cancer of the eye in your not too distant future. And don't forget the other things you can get from a tanning bed besides a tan ... genital or skin warts, rashes, and infections ... all for the same price!


• Myth: I don't need to worry about sun protection on cloudy or rainy days.  ***  WRONG!! UV rays, not temperature, do the damage to your skin. Clouds do not block the rays, they only filter them slightly.


• Myth: Tanning indoors is safer than in sun.  ***  WRONG!! Even though tanning beds operate on a timer, your exposure to the UV rays varies based on age and type of bulbs. Some tanning beds give you up to 12 times the intensity of the noonday sun. But that doesn't mean you can safely lay in the sun for hours without protection. Be sun smart too!


• Myth: Using tanning beds just for Spring Break or Prom isn't enough radiation to hurt you. ***  WRONG!! Just one indoor tanning session increases your chances of developing melanoma by 20%, and each additional session during same year increases your risk by almost another 2%. Also consider that the UV radiation our body absorbs is cumulative ... and we have no pop-up timer to tell us when we have had more than our lifetime limit. That one time tanning bed session might be just the one to push you over your allotment, so if you enjoy playing Russian roulette with your life, go for it!


• Myth: The vitamin D you get from using tanning beds will make you healthier and protect you from cancer and other diseases.   ***  WRONG!! According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, vitamin D is received through exposure to UVB rays, and the bulbs used in tanning beds mainly emit UVA rays. There are better ways to get vitamin D (10 minutes of sunlight, diet, or supplements) than frying in a tanning bed and putting yourself in danger.


• Myth: Tanned skin is healthy skin.   ***  WRONG!! The FDA says, “Although some people think that a tan gives them a ‘healthy’ glow, any tan is a sign of skin damage.”
  
  
  The science is clear; there are no health benefits from tanning beds that can't be obtained more safely and without risk of skin cancer.

The Tanning Truth

Truth: There is no good reason to use tanning beds, but there are lots of reasons not to!

If my little prom princess Jaime were alive, she would tell you that no tan is worth dying for! Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It protects you, and you should protect it in return. Stay out tanning beds ... and practice safe sun by wearing sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses or by seeking shade. Don't be the dead girl with a tan! It's just not that cool!!





 Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)


Twitter: @melanoma_mama
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
Ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)