United kingdom Daily news: Allison Bailey, 20, warns of dangers of tanning beds after her addiction led to skin cancer

Jumat, 06 Juli 2012

Allison Bailey, 20, warns of dangers of tanning beds after her addiction led to skin cancer

Allison Bailey, 20, warns of dangers of tanning beds after her addiction led to skin cancer

By Victoria Wellman

PUBLISHED: 09:26 EST, 6 July 2012 | UPDATED: 10:37 EST, 6 July 2012

A woman whose tanning habit caused her to develop skin cancer at the age of just 20 has issued a warning to other young people against the use of sunbeds.

Allison Bailey, from Boston, Massachusetts, began tanning as a teenager, in the hope that it would make her more popular, but admits that the habit became something close to an addiction.

She was diagnosed with melanoma after noticing some unusual moles on her legs and was left in a wheelchair and on crutches for a month.

Her story: Allison Bailey, a former tanning bed addict was diagnosed with skin cancer at just 20 and was left on crutches for a month

Describing the environment in which the occasional ultraviolet session quickly became a dangerous habit, she told The Boston Herald: 'There was a social pressure of how it defines beauty.

'I felt I couldnâ€™t wear certain outfits because I was too pale.'

In anticipation of a big event, Ms Bailey would visit the tanning salon up to four to five days a week.

Though the James Madison University graduate is keen to share her story to spread awareness, it is unfortunately not such a surprising tale.

Dermatologist Jennifer Lin, of the Pigmented Lesion Clinic at Brigham Women's Hospital revealed to the paper that in the last 40 years, the number of young adults 18-39 diagnosed with melanoma has increased by six times.

But the challenge of encouraging youngsters to heed the warnings about the risks associated with sun beds is one that doctors, and now Ms Bailey, are struggling to overcome.

Baking: 69per cent of teenagers get sunburned every year while in the last 40 years the number of 18-39-year-olds diagnosed with melanoma has increased six-fold

Baking: 69per cent of teenagers get sunburned every year while in the last 40 years the number of 18-39-year-olds with melanoma has increased six-fold

In a survey last month, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, found that among teens and young adults, these warnings fall on deaf ears.

Of those who confessed to having used a tanning bed in a poll taken by the prestigious facility, a surprising 59per cent said they agreed with the statement: 'Tanning bed use can make me ill, but everything causes cancer these days.'

Dr Lin concurred: 'The behavior of young people is hard to correct. Ultraviolet exposure especially when youâ€™re young increases the risk of melanoma.

'And tanning bed use has also been a factor with the increased risk. Part of it is awareness, but many are succumbing to peer influence.'

Currently 69per cent of adolescents get sunburns each year, she added.