Sunscreen and Skin Cancer

I recently read an article in Glamour Magazine regarding the importance of getting any unusual spots checked for cancer. They run this article or something similar every year around this time. They say that this article has helped many women identify potential cancerous spots. It is extremely informative regarding the types of spots to look for, etc., however, I have an issue with the assertion that the sun is the cause of skin cancer.

The sun is natural; it’s been around since the beginning of time. We NEED the sun; without it we would cease to exist. The sun’s rays allow our bodies to produce much needed vitamin D which helps us absorb calcium and also prevents many diseases. I feel it is extremely contradictory that something that is so good for us and absolutely necessary could also be so bad as to cause a potentially fatal illness.

While I do believe that everything should be had in moderation and that anything to an extreme could be harmful I have serious doubts that the sun is actually causing the cancer. I agree that getting burned by the sun is probably not healthy and I could buy into the notion that having severe sunburn could possibly increase the odds of skin cancer. I haven’t yet seen any data that points to how this would happen but with a good argument I could stand behind that. Perhaps the sunburn makes the skin more vulnerable allowing an external toxin to cause the cancer. I don’t know but I know there must be a reason the odds of getting skin cancer are increased after having been sunburned. This still doesn’t tell me that the sun actually causes the cancer. I don’t believe the sun is a carcinogen and if it is I’m not sure how that was ever proven. I get the whole "radiation" argument and the sun's rays being a form of radiation but still, the sun is necessary and life-giving.

The article states that “…the number of young women diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma has more than doubled over the past 30 years.” This is attributed to the use of tanning beds; however, I wonder if it could possibly have anything to do with the increased use of sunscreen.

The Glamour article also states that you can get cancer on your palms and the soles of your feet. I’m confused. If the sun is causing the skin cancer, how can the soles of your feet get it from the sun? How often do the soles of your feet see the sun? I would venture that it’s extremely rare. I also don't see most people walking around all day with their palms facing out or up. In fact, I can't remember the last time I witnessed that. The palms are, however, the one part of the body that is exposed to every, single product we use on ourselves from shaving cream to body lotion to shampoo.

It should be a well-known fact that women, since the beginning of time, have been sunning themselves. I recall my mother telling me that she’d become (much) tanned every summer because of all the time she spent outside. I’m fairly certain that she wasn’t using sunscreen in the 1940s. Bathing suits have been in existence for decades, yet the number of young women with basal cell carcinoma has more than doubled over the past 30 years? I hear the argument of young women using tanning beds clearly more than women 30 years ago (were there tanning beds in the 80s? I think so but maybe not as prevalent? Who knows?) but I also know that the awareness campaigns about their supposed danger have been highly pushed over the past twenty to thirty years also. To me this would suggest that many more women are aware of their perceived dangers and are either avoiding them altogether or avoiding them as well as slathering on the sunscreen.

I just don’t buy the argument that the sun causes skin cancer. I also believe that because the sun is necessary and healthy it doesn’t cause any type of cancer at all. I’m not saying that women should lie outside all day long getting fried I’m just saying that I don’t believe the sun is the villain that it has been made out to be. As I stated earlier, I feel that anything to an extreme could be “bad” and therefore I feel that the sun, in moderation, is not and is in fact a good thing. In fact I recall learning this in a toxicology class I took in college - that anything in the right quantities can be toxic. Fair enough. But is it really fair to place all the blame on the sun? I really don't think so.

Okay then, if that is the case then what IS causing the skin cancer? Could it possibly be the sunscreen itself? Could it be the product(s) that is being recommended to prevent the thing that is actually causing the thing? The article, “Sunscreen Causes Cancer!” actually states this as fact and corroborates this postulation. Additionally the article “Sunblock Can Actually Increase Your Cancer Risk” discusses a link between the food we eat and skin cancer. Both articles provide viable arguments and we all know that nutrition affects every aspect of our health.

Then, after the question from a friend and subsequent research, I found out that most sunscreens contain Oxybenzone, which is also known as Benzophenone-3. Not only has it been linked to allergies, hormone disruption and cell damage (http://www.vivawoman.net/2008/04/10/avoid-sunscreens-containing-oxybenzone/) it is potentially a photocarcinogen (Wikepedia). This means that if so, when exposed to the sun, the sunscreen actually becomes a carcinogen! Does that make any sense at all? Push a product on people under the pretense that it prevents cancer only it actually CAUSES cancer!

Most Glamour articles contain suggestions/recommendations for specific brands of products relating to the topics discussed within their articles. I went back to that article to find out what, exactly, they were recommending as “good” products to use for sun protection. They recommended three different products – one “for face”, one “for every day” and one “for beach days”. After Googling these products and searching the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database I found that all three contain Oxybenzone and therefore all three are probably more detrimental to a person’s health than the “protection” they are claiming to provide. The cosmetic database rates the products on a scale from 0 to 10 – zero being non-hazardous and ten having the most hazards. The products ranked 0 – 2 are recommended for use, those ranked 3 – 6 should be used with caution and those ranked 7 – 10 should be avoided. All three of the products recommended by Glamour had high hazard ratings ranging from 8 to 10.

It would stand to reason that topical application products could be the culprit for skin cancer if it is also found on the palms and soles of the feet. I’ve read several articles and have heard references to studies of products that are now being found to be the cause of several illnesses and problems, particularly in women. The skin, being one large organ, is very porous. According to aforementioned Natural News article, anything that is absorbed by the skin makes its way to the bloodstream fairly quickly. For this reason it is important to limit the toxins and chemicals used on the skin in the form of beauty products. As it states, you shouldn’t put on your skin anything that you wouldn’t eat.

The bottom line is that the sun is necessary, without it we would die. In fact, it has been reported that many illnesses that people are suffering today are a direct result from vitamin D deficiency. It is recommended that everyone spend at least 15 minutes a day out in the sun while exposing as much skin as possible so that the body can produce the necessary vitamin D. This means no sunscreen. Sunscreen blocks the necessary rays that allow the body to produce the necessary D. There are many articles that point to this. My logic tells me that the sun is not the cause of skin cancer. Perhaps, in large doses and after having severe sunburns it triggers the negative effects of an outside toxin. I haven’t read information from any such study but that is something I could understand; however, it would take quite a bit for me to ever believe that the sun, in and of itself, actually causes any form of cancer.

I still believe that if you choose to spend hours in the sun you should use some sort of protection either in the form of a hat, long sleeved shirt, and/or non-hazardous sunscreen, which does exist. Burning is never good. After researching a variety of products, I found that several do not contain harmful chemicals. I recommend a variety of products that I have researched and have listed on my web page http://www.marciemartinez.ws/skincare. I have included several options for non-hazardous sunscreen for those times when you have to be out in the sun longer than 15 minutes. You will also find other useful information regarding natural health and alternative products and treatments for various issues by browsing my web site. Please bear with me as I'm still populating my site with my recommendations but I believe you will find the information I've provided so far to be useful.

Until next time have a fabulous week and enjoy the warm sun…in moderation!