Skin-cancer rates have spiked among young women; experts advise limiting sun exposure, tanning beds

Source: Northern Kentucky Tribune, September 2019

New research shows that skin-cancer rates have surged among young women, likely because they use tanning beds, but health experts warn that exposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays puts us all at risk, so it’s important to always take precautions when out in the sun.

The research, presented at the summer meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, found that between 1970 and 2009, rates of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, increased 800 percent among women 18 to 39, an AAD news release said.

During a similar time frame, the researchers also found that basal-cell and squamous-cell carcinoma rates also increased, 145 percent and 263 percent, respectively.