Runners with skin cancer?

Australian children play in covered areas.

Australian kids lather sunscreen religiously.

Australian kids are relentless about their kids wearing bathing suits that we would have, until recently, laughed at: long sleeve shirts, hats with side flaps, ...

Australians are at high odds for skin cancer, they know it, and they are ahead of the curve in doing something about it. It is the natural result of them being fun-loving, sun-loving people who are (mostly) fair skinned and living in an outdoor-loving sun-soaked world.

just run on wooded trails, early in the morning and in the evening and you can be both shirtless and fine

I have run for 36 years in south California and I have always run shirtless if the weather is above 60-70 degrees. Due to my schedule I usually have to run at lunch time.

I've done this for a long time, without sunscream or other retarded stuff.

Result - I was a pale white guy that now has a smoking ass tan, and check it out, NO CANCER! It's about how tough you are.

Marathon Mistress wrote:

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.

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I hate this... you're just making this up. You need about 15 minutes of direct sun a day, which is basically nothing. Unless you're covered at all times you should get that much.

There are some questionably-toxic chemicals in sunscreen, but they don't penetrate your body and AREN'T associated with any diseases. Secondly, those "natural" sunscreens don't work very well. There's a reason that most sunscreens use those nasty chemicals.

Try reading "The China Study" by Colin T. Campbell. His research concluded that the more meat we eat, the faster cancer grows. About 10 years ago I had 3 basal cell carcinomas removed within 2 years. I cut way back on the meats and dairy products and have had zero cancers since that time. I'm 56 years old, have ran 3 marathons in the last 5 months, 3:23, 3:29, 3:29 and I know my arteries are clearer and contain less plaques, cholestrol and fats. I do know that I have a few "pre-cancerous" areas on my skin but the growths have stopped and in some places have dissappeared. In one month's time you'll notice the difference.

"Can we starve cancer?", TED talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html

They are trying to starve cancers. There are drugs being developed to stop chemo-taxis (the cancer's ability to attract blood vessels to itself for nourishment). But remember, prevention beats ALL the cure. Medicine and medical procedures can't do it all. Check out "The China Study".

A surgeon is just waiting for you!!

Then there's my situation... I was diagnosed with severe vitamin D deficiency. The doctor indicated that wearing sunscreen over 15 SPF will block enough sun to prevent formation of vitamin D. I no longer use sun block, but usually don't go outside between noon and 3:00pm...

A medical study was done 3 years ago that determined that we need higher levels of Vitamin D for stronger bones, tendons and cancer prevention. etc., and at the latitude that we live, we are not getting enough. The theory initially was, 10 minutes in a short sleeve shirt in the sun was enough for adequate levels of Vit. D. So recently, Docs are prescribing Vit. D 50,000 units (prescription strength) once a week for 8 weeks, as a loading dose, then 2,000 mg (OTC, over the counter) once daily thereafter. The Ethiopians and Kenyans are very close to the equator so they are getting plenty of Vitamin D. Sometimes, I wonder if we would have less stress fractures, joint ailments and injuries if we had higher blood levels of Vit. D on-board.

There are concerns that sunscreens can actually increase the risk of melanoma, not because of any toxic chemical they contain, but because the dye molecules in the sunscreen diffuse into the skin, then absorb the high-energy solar photons. They become excited and transfer that excited state to your DNA, which is then damaged. Your best bet is to avoid the midday sun. You want to know who has it figured out? Mexicans! Viva la siesta, baby!

I recently had carcinomas frozen off my forehad and chest. I had a big ass carcinoma removed from my shoulder via Mohs surgery, a procedure which lasted 8 hours. This procedure sucks balls. I didn't get the wound stitched shut because of where it was on my shoulder and how big it was. I would have basically had to have my shoulder immobilized for a month while the dermis grew back together. It has been 10 weeks and I was just last week able to take off the bandages. The skin is still thin and as weak as hell back there. It looks like a giant piece of salami is stuck on my back.

Me. Same story as most who have posted. White Boy. Out in the sun all the time. Ran shirtless, chose to be skins while hooping it up, lots of time at the lake/beach, rarely used sunscreen.

"You" may only need 15 minutes a day, but according to my doctor tons of people are D dificient where we live. We don't even see the sun for weeks at a time sometimes.

The Environmental Working Group did a study that found most sunscreens they tested to be highly hazardous to your health. If you'd like to think they do you no harm, sure, but no thank you for me.

People, please read "The China Study". I have no re-occuring skin cancers for over 10 years now and I run 5 days a week with no sunscreen in sunny Calif.

That time of year again!

Shirt or no shirt?

How the heck do you sunscreen your own back anyways?

Try to wear a shirt. I hate the chemicals in sunscreen, and every sunscreen gives me a rash when I start sweating, but I also have skin cancers removed every 6 months (only one this past visit - yay!, but I had 3 more pre-cancerous places treated). I also did photodynamic therapy last year to remove multiple pre-cancerous spots from my face, and will probably have to do that every year or 2.

I am 50, and love being outdoors -- running, cycling, swimming, etc. I'm paying for all those years of healthy-looking tans now. And trying to avoid the dreaded melanoma.

Marathon Mistress wrote:

ll cool j wrote:

I hate this... you're just making this up. You need about 15 minutes of direct sun a day, which is basically nothing. Unless you're covered at all times you should get that much.

There are some questionably-toxic chemicals in sunscreen, but they don't penetrate your body and AREN'T associated with any diseases. Secondly, those "natural" sunscreens don't work very well. There's a reason that most sunscreens use those nasty chemicals.

"You" may only need 15 minutes a day, but according to my doctor tons of people are D dificient where we live. We don't even see the sun for weeks at a time sometimes.

The Environmental Working Group did a study that found most sunscreens they tested to be highly hazardous to your health. If you'd like to think they do you no harm, sure, but no thank you for me.

MM, Vitamin D "deficiency" is a hot topic currently (as was Vitamin E supplementation not too long ago, which has been since put through the wringer), largely because science doesn't really know the clinical relevance of "Vitamin D deficiency" beyond some obvious signs/symptoms with severe chronic deficiency.  To boot, the level defining "deficiency" keeps changing . . . it recently was changed from about 20 to 30ng/mL, "catching" a ton of people who used to be "normal" but are now deemed "deficient" without any change to their health/levels.

Vitamin D deficiency is on its way to reaching the levels of autism in the categories of "artificially inflated numbers" and "questionable relevance."  Vitamin D is the new "trendy" test to do for patients with vague symptoms and no good answers as-of-yet.  The fact is, based on clinical guidelines, virtually half of all Americans are "deficient" in Vitamin D, so when you happen to find the one out of every ~two people who are deficient, and they happen to have a constellation of vague symptoms, you can just slap a "Vitamin D deficiency" sticker, prescribe 10,000iu of Vitamin D qday, and call it a day.  That's lazy medicine.

Please cite this study/studies that prove sunscreen to be "highly hazardous to your health."  I would be interested in viewing it.  

The EWG's own website even states "EWG’s review of the latest research unearthed troubling facts that might tempt you to give up on sunscreens altogether. That’s not the right answer. Despite the unknowns about sunscreens’ efficacy, public health agencies still recommend using them, just not as your first line of defense against the sun."

I always advocate additional sun-avoidance measures (hats, clothing, shade, etc) with my patients.  In fact, I "quiz" them at each skin-check visit, asking them "do you remember the other ways besides sunscreen that you can prevent sun damage?"  It's a good way to ensure they're giving it some thought.  There is conflicting information out there on sunscreen's benefits vs. harms, and it seems as if you are just aching to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I don't think a thread full of anecdotal evidence is going to help anyone change their habits...

What to do! wrote:

That time of year again!

Shirt or no shirt?

How the heck do you sunscreen your own back anyways?

A shirt. One with built in SPF is going to be the best bet too. I have to go to the dermatologist on a regulary basis the rest of my life now. And I'm only 28. Every visit I have multiple spots removed. Some scars fade over time but I look like I took serious shrapnel on my back. It's not worth your life to look tan. It's not ideal but you will regret it if something happens that could have been preventable.