Runners with skin cancer?

what to do wrote:

Is sunscreen the answer? I've gotten slack for being out & using sunscreen because they say it has chemicals that cause cancer. I've also gotten slack for being fair skinned & not using sunscreen. Also I've read that lack of sun causes cancer. What a dilemma.

Conclusions based on published data:

Titanium dioxide is used in many sunscreens and has been shown to cause cancer in mice and rats when inhaled at high concentrations. (This was in powdered form.) European factory workers exposed to titanium dioxide powders over long periods have not demonstrated significant genetic damage.

Zinc oxide (also widely used in sunscreens), and titanium dioxide, were shown to be incapable of penetrating the stratum corneum in pigs (pig skin). These both have been shown to cause cellular damage when internalized, though Gamer et al. (2005) believe it is not carcinogenic when used externally (or, "as directed").

So, keep it away from your internal tissues and organs. Don't dehydrate it and then inhale it.

Opinion: don't get it all over your eyes, mouth, other mucus membranes. Be more scared of the sun, less of the sunscreen.

Most of my friends who ran shirtless back when we were young have had bouts of skin damage.

I ran with a shirt and have no problems.

Been running 45 years.

Sunstroke wrote:

This is a runner's health topic that is SERIOUSLY underdiscussed.

This is true. Thanks everyone for all the opinions. Hopefully some younger guys will see this thread and realize it's something they need to worry about.

Me.....50 years old 3 x melanoma in situ....PLEASE wear sun screen and make sure your kids wear sun screen.

I'm lucky my Derm caught my melanoma's early!

much sun exposure starting @ ~ 10yrs - running stop @ 23-4 (no connection) but ~8 or so melanoma 'tumors' in the last 10 yrs . In fact I have a growth on my nose right now - thinking its melanoma ... fortunately dermatologist treatment arrested any progression. The beach was an almost daily event from 10-14yr - then many shirtless runs/workouts (I didn't get kicked off team!). Tan yes - very - but I'm paying for it now. I'm surprise none of my brothers developed it.

two words: wrote:

Pam Reed

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Image:

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I was diagnosed with melanoma last summer at age 32. I have been a runner since I was 13 or so. I'm a female and run in tanktops but still get a lot of sun exposure (live in Texas). The damage was probably done when i was younger and got some horrible sunburns. But anyway, melanoma is crazy stuff and now I don't leave home without sunscreen. I also leave it in my car, at work, etc. so I never have an excuse.

Not to scare people, just some reality:

If you type "melanoma metastasis brain" into pubmed it'll get you over 1000 hits.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21476810

Brain surgeons talking about skin cancer.

So what sunscreen are you guys using that doesn't clog your pores? When I use those "sports" spray-on versions, I feel as though I've just covered myself in a thin layer of plastic.

So, if sun causes cancer, where are the cases of it from a hundred years ago or more, when people probably never wore shirts when they ran? I really think it has to do with more than just sun.

I like Neutrogena Ultra Sheer. It comes in different SPFs. I have the SPF 70.

In a genetics class I took I made a presentation on MC1R alleles, which are believed to be responsible for skin cancer. The frequency of MC1R alleles are greater in fair skinned blue eyed people. However, the alleles that are highly correlated with skin cancer are not always present in fair skinned, blue eyed individuals. Someone with olive coloured skin and brown eyes could still carry the alleles that have a higher correlation to skin cancer even though they rarely burn.

Long story short if your burning or if your skin is turning red there is a greater chance of creating free radicals which are believed to create cancerous cells. If your in the sun long enough to cause your skin to go red then you should wear sunscreen.

You can also find sunscreen without all the bad stuff someone else mentioned at one of those ecological hippy stores.

impossible goals wrote:

So, if sun causes cancer, where are the cases of it from a hundred years ago or more, when people probably never wore shirts when they ran? I really think it has to do with more than just sun.

First, I don't think you actually looked anything up because people did get skin cancer and have been for basically all of history.

Second, running as a sport hardly existed in 1911.

impossible goals wrote:

So, if sun causes cancer, where are the cases of it from a hundred years ago or more, when people probably never wore shirts when they ran? I really think it has to do with more than just sun.

People were dying from tuberculosis when they were five years old, 100 years ago. People were dying from cancers as well, but those cases were generally labeled "old age."

(Actually, the naming system of calling cancers by the body part where it originates is pretty archaic (starting hundreds of years ago, in France). The system really needs to change; it's specific mutations on specific genes. . . digressing.)

In short, it's the excitement of electrons by photons, and therefore atoms, within certain parts of your DNA that causes most skin cancers. These can highly reactive oxygen species, as mention above, but most cases are seen as mutations where two thymine base pairs from a dimer - this affects transcription of the DNA and this could cause problems. Generally, they don't. But, continued exposure increases your chances of mutation on a gene that's related to cell growth.

It's the sun.

It's not just as simple as wearing lots of sunscreen.

Because 1. your body needs vitamin D to ward off diseases and many people are D deficient, including many who have had skin cancer despite wearing lots of sunscreen. Remember Deena Kastor's dr. blamed her over-diligent use of sunscreen as the cause of her being D deficient, which also prevented her from absorbing calcium and therefore caused her to break her foot? 2. There are tons of toxic chemicals in sunscreen, which does penetrate your skin and get in your body.

There ARE some sunscreens that don't have a bunch of crap. Check out EWG's skin deep database to give you the list of the ones that are OK. Most health stores will have a few of them.

I plan to wear sunscreen on long runs that will not be covered, but otherwise will just cover my face. I don't ever sit at the beach or anything like that in the summer, but in the winter I don't use sunscreen at all to get some D. I live way north and have medium dark skin.

Pathetic

DocLove wrote:

Pathetic

I know you are, but what am I?

Ugh -- yes I am paying the price for living in the hot, humid south and running shirtless for many years :-( Many pre-cancerous and a few cancerous spots removed. My shoulders and upper back are bad, but I have also had spots removed from my arms, legs and face. I couldn't stand the feeling of running in a long sleeve shirt when it's hot and humid, but now that I live in Colorado I try to wear a thin long sleeve white shirt when I am in the blazing sun. Ironman training was the worst, as long rides (sometimes followed by a run) put me in the sun for hours and hours. I'd apply sunscreen before starting a ride or run, but I found that applying more sunscreen after I am already sweating results in awful itching rashes.

I'm 50 now, and bummed about what I've done to my skin. All you folks please be smarter and either sunscreen or cover that skin!

I agree - this is a serious subject that needs to be discussed more. I ran shirtless when I was young, and now regret it. Nothing clinically scary yet, but white guys running shirtless mid-day in California, regularly, ... is asking for trouble. Looks at the Australians - they understand this and got religion, long before the rest of the world.

My advice:

Do NOT run mid-day. Early am is best. If you want to run shirtless before 7 am, really not an issue.

I think sunscreen is over-rated. Far better to just run when the sun is low, or to use clothes, like notably covering hats and long sleeve shirts.

- Alex