Melanoma on the RIse, or Is It Just Diagnoses?

The New York Times recently published a study on the increasing diagnosis of melanoma skin cancer. Some don't believe in the rise of cases of melanoma instead believing that dermatologists are only able to diagnose symptoms earlier being the cause for the increase of cases recorded in the cancer registry. A study published in the September issue of The British Journal of Dermatology found that between 1991 and 2004 there was a 48% increase in cases of melanoma, which is similar to the 44% increase reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for American whites.
Gender and skin color are factors that both influence the commonality of the cancer. According to The New York Times, melanoma is 20 times as common in white as in blacks. In U.S. News & World Report, melanoma rates are going up among older white men differing from The Washington Post, which states that melanoma rates are increasing most among younger women and cases leveled off among men. The rates of melanoma have reached more than 125 cases per 100,000 men age 65 and older. In U.S. News & World Report, Dr. Robin Ashinoff, a medical director at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey also supports that there has been an increase in melanoma in younger patients, especially women, which may be a result of tanning. The Washington Post provides the statistic that from 1973 to 2004, the rate of new melanoma cases in younger women jumped 50% since 1980. Mark Purdue is quoted in The Washington Post with the statement that "it could be the result of such factors as women spending more time outdoors and engaging in indoor tanning."
Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a professor of dermatology at New York University said in The New York Times that "every study over the past 10 years has shown that the absolute number of melanoma is rising...The death rate from melanoma has also been going up, Dr. Rigel said, but so has the survival rate." According to the American Cancer Society, "about 62,000 melanoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United Sates and more than 8.400 people die of the disease." Indoor tanning has been blamed as one of the causes for skin cancer, but Sarah Longwell, a spokeswoman for the Indoor Tanning Association claims in The Washington Post that "there has been no scientific studies that show that indoor tanning causes melanoma." Dr. Levell in The New York Times supports the Indoor Tanning Association by stating that the diagnoses of melanoma in the registry were mostly on the back, trunk and limbs, which are ares not consistently exposed to the sun, meaning that sunlight cannot explain the increased number of cases.
Melanoma is a topic that I will always follow research on because I worked in a tanning salon for three years and I still consistently expose my skin to sunlight either outdoors or through indoor tanning. Family members have repeatedly cut out article after article on how dangerous tanning is for your health, but i consistently choose to ignore these warnings. I don't disagree that indoor tanning may add a higher risk of getting skin cancer, but I do believe after going through training and becomming "Smart Tan" certified that indoor tanning is a safer, more controlled way of tanning since you are able to measure and limit the amount of UV exposure you want to receive.
I do feel that melanoma is revolutionary because this cancer has increasing rates in women, but has leveled off for men. Women are now becoming more active outdoors as well as treating themselves year round to the tanning salon, where as men used to be very active due to working and holding jobs outdoors, but now men are inside attending school and holding office jobs since technology has advanced our machines resulting in less manual labor outside.
This research has provided us with answers proving that melanoma is increasing and the rate of melanoma has doubled in all socioeconomic groups, while deaths from the disease did not increase significantly. Although sun exposure may be a leading risk to skin cancer, there are other causes that may have larger roles in resulting in melanoma that should also be researched to provide our society with better ways to prevent ourselves from increasing our risk of getting this disease.

Bakalar, Nicholas. "Melanoma on the Rise, or Is It Just Diagnoses?" The New York Times. September 28, 2009. http://nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29mela.html?ref=science

Reinberg, Steven. "Melanoma Rates on the Rise in U.S. Increase could indicate an epidemic of skin cancer, researchers suggest" U.S. News & World Report. January 8, 2009. http://usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/01/08/melanoma-rates-on-the-rise...

Stein, Rob. "Melanoma Rates Increase Among Younger Women." The Washington Post. July 11, 2008. http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dym/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071001231.html