I detoxed... and then I ate a Big Mac

After completing my first 10k on Aug. 11.

This spring, I found a rather delectable-looking clean eating meal plan on Buzzfeed and followed it religiously for about five days. It was a bit burdensome to cook three meals a day (usually I buy lunch at work or grab take out on the way home) but it was fun to try news things in the kitchen, like roasting fennel and adding unexpected ingredients like blueberries to my salads.

Eating healthy made me feel better for a split second, but by the time the weekend rolled around I was exhausted and too busy to cook. One night, I went out on the town with friends and inadvertently ended the night in the McDonald's late-night walk-up window. As I sat on my futon eating a Big Mac, french fries, and a sugar-laden soda, I decided that something needed to change.

Chicken, snap peas, and cucumber salad.

As a patient advocate and health blogger, I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about health, beauty, and self esteem, so how had I become someone who was binging on junk food and feeling awful about my waistline?

In June, I joined my cousin and signed up for a 21-day fitness challenge. During the month of June, I ended up exercising 19 out of 30 days. Whether I was weight lifting, jogging, or doing pilates, I got off the couch and made myself sweat even when it hurt. For three weeks, I cut about 95 percent of the crap out of my diet. In doing so, I learned that I can survive without sharp cheddar and that the world won't end without ranch dressing. I can look Ben & Jerry's in the face, drool a little, and then walk away. More importantly, I learned some pretty interesting things about my body, like it's easier to wake up in the morning when I don't go to bed with a full stomach, and my energy levels vary based on what types of foods I eat.

Indulging in an occasional post-race beer? Fine by me.

Every time I read the news, there's a new article saying that exercise prevents cancer, that it lowers our risk for dementia, or that sitting at a desk all day is probably killing us. But working out every day? Easier said than done. 

Three months after my "you shouldn't be doing this to yourself" epiphany, I'm not perfect by any means, but I've made strides to challenge my body and mind in new ways. On Aug. 11, I ran my first 10k, which was a rugged, off-road trail run. It was by far the hardest race I've ever done, but I finished it and it felt awesome. I've also been taking a ballet class for adults, which has been a great way to meet new people and learn something completely new and different. (Side note: ballet is way harder than it looks.)

Why am I telling you all this? As friends and regular readers of my blog, you are the people who hold me accountable for my actions. When I quit tanning, you helped keep me on track. I hope that by sharing this with you, I'll be less likely to slip up and fall back to old habits. We all have room for growth and improvement, but I hope that I never forget to keep loving and taking care of myself.

Five things I'm loving this week

1. Shirtless Men
Simultaneously learn about UV radiation and sun protection, while undressing male athletes with your mouse at SunBlunders.com. Fun and educational. Thank you, Skin Cancer Foundation.

2. Farmers markets
During the summer, a giant farmers market pops up outside my office every Tuesday afternoon. I found these raspberries there this week, along with some other fresh produce. Raspberries = antioxidants, which are amazing for your skin.

3. Snapchat
I thought this photo sharing app was just for kids. I was very wrong. My friends and I have been using this app obsessively over the past two weeks. Loud-out-loud worthy.

4. Push ups
I don't know that I *love* pushups, but I've started doing them again at night before I go to bed so that my boyfriend stops making fun of my puny arms! So far, so good. My shoulders are a bit sore, but I love that pushups give you such a good workout without having to use weights or go to the gym.

5. Hangin' with my dude
Tim's out of town this week (sad!), but luckily I'm headed to the beach this weekend for a girlfriend's bachelorette/shower. This photo was taken last Thursday at Portland's Rose Festival carnival. The third item in the photo is a delicious cup of beer from Rogue, which just so happens to be one of my fave microbreweries in Oregon. If you ever visit Portland, you must try it. You won't be disappointed.

What it means to be a "patient stakeholder"

Greetings from Baltimore, Maryland! I just finished a full day of reviewing grants as a patient stakeholder for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute--aka PCORI. PCORI funds biomedical research, much like the National Institutes of Health, but as its name implies, the research it funds is uniquely "patient centered." What does that mean? Proposals are critiqued not just on their scientific merit but also on their involvement of patients in the research process and their likelihood of solving problems patients identify as most important. Each grant submitted to PCORI is reviewed by both scientists and at least one patient, which is why I had the opportunity to participate in a scientific review process that is typically limited to MDs and PhDs.

The whole process has been fascinating to me. I do have quite extensive experience working with scientists and reading grant proposals--when I'm not blogging, I manage the Research Funding & Development Services program at Oregon Health & Science University. That said, I'm not a scientist. I may help scientists find grants to apply for and advise on writing, but I've never had the opportunity to review a grant for a public or private entity before. In summary, the experience was incredibly rewarding and informative. I encourage anyone who is interested to apply to be a patient or stakeholder reviewer. It's a pretty hefty time commitment, but I know a few fellow health advocates who I think would make tremendous contributions as a reviewer. Feel free to email me if you're considering applying--I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

GIVEAWAY: Support melanoma awareness + Win a Fitbit prize package!

Win $200 worth of awesome gadgets from AT&T. The Fitbit is so cute and tiny!

I am thrilled to announce my first ever Pretty in Pale giveaway, courtesy of AT&T. I've really wanted to try one of these devices, so I'm super jealous that one you is going to win a Fitbit ZIP Wireless Activity Tracker (MSRP $60), plus a Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale (MSRP $130). Both make it easy to track your physical activity by networking wirelessly with your computer or smartphone.

Fitbit ZIP Wireless Activity Tracker (more info)

• Tracks steps, distance, and calories burned
• Syncs automatically to your computer or select Bluetooth 4.0 smartphones or tablets
• Set goals, view progress, and earn badges
• Free iPhone and Android App

Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale (more info)

• Automatically taps into your home wireless network every time you weigh in to save your info to Fitbit.com
• Track your weight with easy-to-read graphs
• Measure body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage

There are several ways to be entered to win, including registering for the Portland Melanoma Walk. Enter below using your Facebook account or email address. Contest ends Friday, April 19, 2013. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know why you deserve to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fine Print: Prizes for this giveaway were provided to Pretty in Pale from AT&T. No purchase necessary to win. U.S. residents only, please. Void where prohibited.

The un-domestic goddess goes on a cleaning spree

Over the weekend, I had one goal: to deep clean my bathroom. Cleaning, to me, usually means Swiffering the floor or spritzing the shower with Scrubbing Bubbles. I'm definitely not the most domesticated girl in the world, so I'm very excited to share that I cleaned both my bathroom and my kitchen this weekend. We're talking scrubbing the floorboards-type cleaning. Who knew it could be so satisfying? I was so pleased with my Pine-Sol fresh kitchen that I walked over to Trader Joe's and bought everything I needed to make vegetarian slow-cooker chili. Say what? It feels like I'm nesting or something.

Sour cream melted a bit. Whoops!

The chili recipe was from Real Simple. I think the hardest thing about this recipe was waiting while it cooked. I put it on in the afternoon, and by the time Jodie Foster's Golden Globes speech came on, I was starving!

Bonus to my super productive weekend: Influenster send me three full-size dish soaps to try. When it came time to clean up the new mess I'd made in my sparkly clean kitchen, I got to test out Palmolive's new Fresh Infusions in ginger white tea and lemon rosemary. As you can imagine, my non-domestic self hates washing dishes (downside of living in a 90-year-old building is no dishwasher.) But these soaps smell very nice. The scents are actually quite a bit lighter than I expected. Not overpowering or migraine-inducing. Although, the lime basil one smells a little too much like a cocktail...

And that was my weekend. How was yours?

My NaHeBloPoMo half-marathon

National Health Blog Post Month Day 30: Recap NHBPM

The cool thing about blogging is you make your own rules. Even when participating in an organized event! When I found out about National Health Blog Post Month on November 12, I was bummed that it was too late to participate. Then I thought to myself, wait... says who? In the end, I responded to 18 prompts in 19 days, which is a heck of a lot more blogging than I usually do. I also had a blast reading posts by other health advocates. In case you missed my incessant posting over the past few weeks, here is a recap:

• Day 12: Call BS on something
• Day 13: What’s your favorite book and how can you tie it to your health? 
• Day 14: Advice for dealing with negative feedback in your community 
• Day 15: Should healthcare companies use social media?
• Day 16: Use a picture to inspire a post 
• Day 17: Write about your strengths and weaknesses  
• Day 18: How do you take time for yourself?
• Day 19: Write about life/death
• Day 20: What's a health moment you regret?
• Day 21: Create a new technology related to health
• Day 22: Give thanks
• Day 23: Clean out your fridge in written form
• Day 24: What would you do with more than 24 hours in a day?
• Day 25: How have your goals as a patient/advocate/person evolved?
• Day 26: Make a chat/meme/poster and write about it
• Day 27: Freebie day
• Day 28: Interview a community member 
• Day 29: Write about unexpected blessings of your health condition
• Day 30: You are here :)

Have a great weekend! 

***

This post was inspired by the Day 30 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

Turning negatives into positives

National Health Blog Post Month Day 29: Write about unexpected blessings of your health condition

I'd like to reiterate one of the points I made during yesterday's conversation with Anjannette: this blog is about so much more than melanoma. Unlike some of my fellow melanoma bloggers, I have been very lucky. I don't need to head to the doctor every three months for treatments, and I don't have to deal with the anxiety of frequent scans to make sure there's no evidence of the disease in my system. So that's not what you're going to find here. Even so, melanoma is frequently on my mind. I realize that what causes skin cancer varies widely from patient to patient, but for me, I strongly believe that using tanning beds in my teens is what gave me melanoma in my 20s. Consequently, I've become fascinated by why young people use tanning beds in the first place (even when they know they're dangerous), and more importantly, what we can do to stop it.

This a huge undertaking--far too big for little 'ole me to tackle on my own. But I have some pretty exciting projects in the works for 2013. I can't wait to share these with you! I would never with melanoma upon anyone, but I am grateful that this experience has lit a fire under me, so to speak. I think I have the potential to become a strong advocate for melanoma prevention and early detection both in my community and across the globe.

Who knows what life would have been like if it hadn't been for that dang little black mole. I'm just thankful that I've been able to twist such a negative experience into a positive one, and that I've found a cause I am truly, truly passionate about.

***

This post was inspired by the Day 29 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

Tanning salons in 2050

National Health Blog Post Month Day 21: Create a new technology related to health

Last week I attended a fascinating talk by TED speaker Juan Enriquez. He's a futurist--the opposite of a historian--who specializes in the future of biomedicine. One of the key points he made during his talk was that within the next year or so, genome sequencing is going to explode. This leaves us to wonder: What on earth are we going to do with all this genetic information?

To give you a little background in case you're not a science geek like me, researchers now how the power to look at all of a person's DNA collectively, which in some cases (like breast cancer for instance) can indicate whether an individual may be more susceptible to developing a certain disease. Since there seems to be a significant genetic component to melanoma (like breast cancer, it tends to run in families), perhaps genetic information could be used regulate indoor tanning usage.

Many scientists believe that in the not-too-distant future, we'll be able to walk into the doctor's office, hand them a jump drive containing our sequenced genome, and they'll be able to prescribe treatments based on our unique genetic makeup. Maybe the some data can be used for disease prevention, too.

Today's prompt asks me to create a new technology related to health. Well, here it goes: If you've been to a tanning salon at some point in the last five years or so, you may have noticed that many of them check customers in using a fingerprint scanner (my gym does this, too). What if, before you used a tanning bed, you had to scan your finger and if you're predisposed to cancer, the bed would automatically either limit or restrict you from using it? Similarly, the bed would know from a database what you natural, skin, and hair colors are, so it would time your sessions based on how long it takes for your skin to burn. The FDA currently makes recommendations on how long a person should tan based on these factors, but customers frequently exceed suggested exposure times and salons themselves don't enforce. This new technology would limit overexposure and better regulate indoor tanning.

Would this method be perfect? Of course not. Most derms will you that there's no such thing as a "healthy" tan. What this would do would limit burning (which increases melanoma risk) and restrict folks who are melanoma-prone from tanning.

Or maybe by 2050 tanning will have gone out of style. What do you think?

***

This post was inspired by the Day 21 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

Things I don't like talking about

National Health Blog Post Month Day 19: Write about life and death

Image: French by Design

Let me preface this by saying: when it comes to melanoma, I was lucky. Very, very lucky. It's one of the first things my dermatologist told me when I found out my mole was malignant.

Others are not so lucky. One of the things that makes melanoma so dangerous is how quickly it can spread. This year, it's expected to kill almost 10,000 people.

When you're 23 years old, being told that you have a disease that could theoretically kill you is, well, scary. Like life-alteringly scary. I don't know about you, but I've always been jealous of people who are (or at least claim to be) "at peace" with the fact that we're all going to die someday. Thinking about death makes life seem both incredibly important and yet trivial. I feel pressure to check off every item on my bucket list, but at the same time, I wonder what's the point? As a result, I'm terrified of death.

I think one of the reasons why I fell in love with writing is because it lets you be immortal. When you put your pen down on the paper and share your most intimate thoughts with the page, your mind can outlive your body. That's why I love reading, too. I can glean insights on how to live from any number of other writers--living or deceased.

This prompt has been by far the most difficult one to write about so far this month. Even though our mortality is one of the only things all of us as humans have in common, it still feels so deeply personal. I suppose I still have a lot to figure out about life and death, but I feel lucky that I have time to try.

***

This post was inspired by the Day 19 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

A melanoma survivor walks into a tanning salon

National Health Blog Post Month Day 12: Call BS on Something 

 

Starting on #12! What a fantastic idea.

Walking into a tanning salon after being diagnosed with melanoma feels a bit like being a hippie-liberal at a tea party convention. This was about a year and a half ago. I was there because even after my run-in with skin cancer, I was still a little self-conscious about wearing a bikini in public. I was also curious to try spray tanning, which temporarily darkens the skin using a chemical called DHA instead of UV radiation.

I hadn’t been to this tanning salon before, so the gentleman at the front desk asked me to fill out a new member questionnaire. Every salon’s questionnaire is a bit different, but they all ask about your natural hair and eye color, as well as if you tan easily, so that if you ever decide to UV tan, operators can recommend an appropriate UV dosage.

“Have you ever tried UV tanning before?” he asked. “You could do what we call a tanning cocktail. Lay in a UV bed for a few minutes, open your pores up, and then head on in for your spray tan.”

“Yes, and no thank you.”

Meanwhile, a woman who was just nine days away from her wedding had come in for her first ever indoor tanning experience. She’d received a full tour of the facilities from a friendly female employee and was deciding which package to buy. Sensing a bit of hesitancy in the bride-to-be, the man at the front desk walked over to the waiting area and grabbed a newspaper that was sitting on the table.

“This here is gold,” he said, pointing to the cover story. “Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University right here in Portland say that we need more vitamin D. In a climate like Portland where it rains eight months of the year, the only way you’re going to get enough vitamin D is by using an indoor tanning bed. Plus, tanning beds have improved so much in the past few years. They won’t fry your skin and burn you like they used to. Our beds are so high tech. They use 98% UVA rays—hardly any of the burning rays at all. So we don’t even have to worry about the c-word anymore.”

As he finished his sentence, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Research by doctors at the university where I worked was being manipulated to sell tanning beds to innocent consumers. And him blatantly saying that tanning beds won’t cause cancer? Do you think he would have been offended had I pulled up my shirt and showed them the scar on my chest? I didn’t want to start a scene, nor start a fight that I knew I wasn’t going to win, so I kept my mouth shut.

Despite this salon operator’s promises that today’s tanning beds won’t cause the “c-word,” in the scientific community, UV radiation is well known to be the primary cause of most skin cancers. Even the Indoor Tanning Association, a lobbying organization for the indoor tanning industry, admits that their products can lead to skin cancer, stating clearly on their website: “You do not need to become tan for your skin to make Vitamin D. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation may increase the likelihood of developing skin cancer and can cause serious eye injury [1].”

When the skin is exposed to UV radiation from the sun or from an artificial light source, it triggers a molecular reaction within skin cells, specifically between the keratinocyte cells in the top layer and the melanocyte cells in the bottom layer. UV rays cause the pigment-containing melanocytes at the bottom layer of the epidermis to travel upwards, where the pigment creates a protective cover for the top layer cells [2]. According to a report by the American Academy of Dermatology, the molecular mechanism that is responsible for creating a tan appearance is the exact same mechanism that leads to skin cancer [3].

Although the Indoor Tanning Association has acknowledged that exposure to UV rays may increase a person’s risk for developing skin cancers like basal and sqaumous cell carcinoma, they are adamant that there is no correlation between melanoma (the most deadly type of skin cancer) and UV exposure from tanning beds.

In contrast, the World Health Organization, a global authority on health research, has found not one or two, but 19 studies that linked sunbed use with an increased risk for melanoma. The same group also came to the conclusion that using tanning beds before the age of 30 increases a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 75% [4]. An American’s risk of developing melanoma has increased 2000% over the past 75 years [2], signifying that a change in human behavior over the last century is likely responsible for this increase. And what has changed that dramatically in the last 75 years? The use of tanning beds.

Admittedly, we have more epidemiological evidence than biological evidence that tanning beds increase a person's risk for developing melanoma. But why risk it? Tanning salon owners are more concerned about making a profit than taking care of your health.

Next time you try to tell me tanning beds don't cause cancer, I will call bullshit.

***

This post was inspired by the Day 12 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

[1]The Indoor Tanning Association. http://www.theita.com/. Accessed June 5, 2011. 
[2] Tran TT, Schulman J, Fisher DE. “UV and pigmentation: molecular mechanisms and social controversies.” Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2008 Oct;21(5):509-16.  
[3] Lim HW, James WD, Rigel DS, Maloney ME, Spencer JM, Bhushan R. “Adverse effects of ultraviolet radiation from the use of indoor tanning equipment: time to ban the tan.” J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 May;64(5):893-902. 
[4] “The association of use of sunbeds with cutaneous malignant melanoma and other skin cancers: A systematic review.” Int J Cancer. 2007 Mar 1;120(5):1116-22.

Pinktoberfest

Even soup turns pink in October.
Image: Goodlifer.

As I'm sure most of you are aware, we're only a couple days into October, but Breast Cancer Awareness Month is already in full swing. Several of my favorite melanoma bloggers have beat me to it and thrown in their two cents about breast cancer and melanoma. Now let me throw in mine.

If you're a regular reader (or an acquaintance who found my blog on Facebook), you may not know this: my melanoma was actually on my breast. I can't ever claim to understand what it feels like to be diagnosed with or treated for breast cancer, but I do know what it feels like to go under the knife and have a chunk of your lady parts removed. After I was diagnosed with melanoma, my dermatologist referred me to an oncologist who specialized in breast cancer. Both were hyper-conscious that I was a 23-year-old woman who didn't want to end up with lopsided breasts. Don't get me wrong--my first priority was always to get the melanoma off--but of course I was worried about losing breast tissue. I didn't have much to begin with.

Today, I have a neat, three-inch scar that wraps around my right breast like a phantom underwire. Even in a swimsuit, you can't see it, but it's still there. Something I'll never forget: During a post-op appointment, my surgeon cautioned me, "Just so you're aware, women who've had melanoma are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer later on. I don't want to worry you. Just something to be aware of."

What's the purpose in me telling you all this? Sometimes, when it comes to fundraising or allocating federal research dollars, we see a pink ribbon versus a black one. What makes one cancer any more worthy than another? Rev. Carol Taylor wrote a great blog post yesterday that explores the history of breast cancer advocacy. She comes to the conclusion that, above all else, we all need to be in this together. Yes, we can learn from Big Pink, but at the end of the day, the women (and men) affected by breast cancer are our mothers, our sisters, and our friends. Hell, if my surgeon was right, it might even eventually impact me.

All that said, please do your homework before purchasing products that claim to support breast cancer research. If you buy a "pink" lipstick, for instance, how much of the proceeds are really going to the cause? And what organization are funds being donated to? I hate to think that companies are making a profit off of cancer, which brings me back to my favorite topic in the whole entire world: the indoor tanning industry.

We all know that the tanning bed industry has undergone major scrutiny by the government and the media over the past several years. Because tanning has become more widely identified as a health risk, marketing strategies have changed. Inside tanning salons, posters of beautiful women have been replaced by posters that say things like “Indoor tanning: 100x more vitamin D than milk.” Such posters are sold by lobbying groups like the Smart Tan network to help change customer’s negative perspectives about indoor tanning. Some articles on their website suggest that indoor tanning bed use can actually decrease breast cancer risk. While science has far from proven that tanning can decrease breast cancer risk—quite the opposite—by proudly selling breast-cancer-pink ribbons, salon owners are presenting themselves as sympathetic to the millions of Americans who have lost a loved one to breast cancer.

My friend Al at Black is the New Pink wrote a blog post yesterday because he was outraged at the way tanning salons are leveraging Breast Cancer Awareness Month to boost sales.

"This would be the same as placing your pink endorsement upon cigarettes," he said.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

New skin cancer iPhone apps get rave reviews: Is it worth a try?

A screenshot of University of Michigan's
new skin self exam iPhone app.

Ever since I read this article on CNET about University of Michigan's new skin check app, I've been dying to try it. Trouble is, like most Americans, I am lazy, and sometimes things like "downloading a new iPhone app" fall to the bottom of my priority list.

Today, I saw a report claiming that "Digital Aids Boost Self-Exams for Melanoma." My curiosity once again piqued, I decided to disrobe and give the app a try for myself. After three months of gathering data, scientists found that patients using the app were more than twice as likely to perform self exams and almost three times as likely to feel more confident in detecting a melanoma on their own skin. After trying the app for myself, here are the pros and cons.

The review

First of all, how frickin' cool is it that there is an iPhone app to help us become more aware of potential problem spots on our skin? We live in an increasingly digital world, so being able to set up reminders to perform skin checks is awesome. The University of Michigan app was super easy to find in the iTunes store. Just search "skin cancer." It's free. As for features:

Risk Factors
Based on my age, number of moles on my body, and the region I lived in, the app told me I had a low risk for developing melanoma. Ironic, eh? I wish it would have asked a few more questions--like, do you have a personal or family history of the disease? Or what about number of lifetime sunburns? Or past tanning bed use? Overall impression: Great concept, needs some work.

Full-Body Survey
I was mistakenly under the impression that I would be able to do this myself. There's no way. You absolutely need a buddy to help you with this. You also need to make sure your OK with that buddy getting up close and personal to take 23 pictures of you. More convenient than getting this done in the doctor's office, but what about aging patients who live by themselves? Or 26-year-olds who live in studio apartments and are too embarrassed to ask their friends to take the pictures for them? Overall impression: Wish there was a way to make this a one-man operation.

Lesion Tracker
This feature lets you take photos of suspicious spots that you can refer back to later to see if the mole has been evolving in any way. When I go see my doc, they usually do this with a high resolution camera. Not sure if it was the lighting in my apartment or just the resolution of my iPhone, but when I tried to snap a few photos of my skin, it was really hard to see them. This might be a good tool for me to mentally be more aware of where my potential trouble spots are, but I wouldn't trust the camera to show me any significant changes. Overall impression: Needs higher quality images for this to provide valuable data.

Self Exam
I loved this feature! No photos necessary, it just walks you step-by-step through a self skin exam. If you come across anything suspicious, you can mark that spot on your "virtual body" and check back on it later. I'm all about the self exam and do it frequently. I think this is a great way to educate people how to do skin exams properly on their own. Overall impression: Great tool.

Info Section
Some of the images here are a little cheesy, but for someone who is unfamiliar with skin cancer, it's definitely helpful to have the information readily available. Overall impression: Not bad.

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed by some of the feature on the app, but I think this is a great first step. I look forward to feature versions that take into account some of the problems I had with photos, as well as a more comprehensive risk assessment tool. If nothing else, apps like this one are raising awareness about the importance of skin exams. Getting to know your body and what's normal for you is so crucial. When you see something that's out of the ordinary, then it's time to make an appointment with your dermatologist.

Have you tried one of these self exam apps? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

I think I burnt my eyeballs

Oversized sunglasses aren't always
just for looks.

Last week, I complained to a handful of my friends: "It's August and I've worn my swimsuit only once this summer!" I know I don't purposefully lay out in the sun anymore, but a summer without swimming? It just doesn't feel like summer.

The weatherman forecasted it was going to be in the 90s on Sunday, so a small group of us decided to take a day trip to the Clackamas River. If you're from the Portland area, you probably know the Clackamas River. On hot summer days, it attracts a huge crowd of rowdy young adults (think frat party with water).You park one car at the top, float down the river on a tube, and drive back up to the top with your second car once you reach the bottom.

Even though I was swarmed by lots of tan bodies, I carefully applied my sunscreen to all exposed areas. I even spritzed my scalp and reapplied several times throughout the course of the float. By the time we were about three quarters of the way done, I started to feel an intense burning sensation in my eyes. At first I assumed it was just a little sunscreen that had run into my eye, but even after splashing clean water on my face, the burning persisted. I found myself needing to face away from the sun and shield my eyes from the glare with my hands--even though I had sunglasses on. By the time we reached the spot where our second car was parking, I was squinting like a pirate and could barely see a thing.

On Monday morning, it just so happened that I had a doctor's appointment scheduled, so while I was there, I politely asked her to inspect my eye.

"There are no scratches or anything," she said, "But it sure does look inflamed."

That was an understatement. My right eye was so puffy it looked like I'd been up half the night crying over a movie on Lifetime.

"You probably just got too much sun. Were you wearing sunglasses?"

Of course I was wearing sunglasses. My eyes have always been über sensitive. But maybe my sunglasses didn't provide full-spectrum UV protection. Or maybe a mysterious river-borne pathogen had somehow creeped its way into my eye. I didn't know, so I Googled.

Have you ever you've wondered: Can eyes get sunburned? Surprisingly, the answer (according to my doc and WebMD) is yes. In fact, symptoms include:

• Burning pain.
• A feeling that something is in your eye (foreign body sensation).
• Decreased vision.
• Excessive tearing.
• Hypersensitivity to light.

These symptoms, which can last for up to a few days, were sounding eerily familiar. Maybe I did burn my eyeballs. Scary, because excessive damage to your retina can cause vision problems later in life. So it remains a mystery whether I sunburned my eyes this weekend or not, but my love/hate relationship with the sun continues...

Melanoma and particle physics

Human melanoma cells.
Image: Paul J.Smith & Rachel Errington.

Even the indoor tanning industry admits that UV light causes the most common forms of skin cancer, basal and squamous cell carcinoma. They claim, however, that there is insufficient scientific evidence to prove that UV radiation causes melanoma, a much more rare but lethal form of skin cancer. In a way, they're right. Forgive my far-fetched analogy here, but pinning down the exact molecular mechanism that causes melanoma has been kind of like the physicists at MIT hunting down the Higg's boson. We can see all this evidence suggesting that it exists, but we don't have the technological capacity to prove it. Now that we found the Higg's boson, surely it isn't too much to ask that we determine once and for all that yes, UV radiation causes melanoma? After all, in epidemiological studies, severe sunburns and tanning bed use significantly increase a person's risk for developing the disease. We just need that final bit of information that explains why.

A group of scientists from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Broad Institute are getting closer. A new paper published this week in Cell identifies six new "melanoma genes," three of which are described by one of the paper's author's as, "The first 'smoking gun' genomic evidence directly linking damage from UV light to melanoma."

This line of research may also guide scientists toward more effective treatments for advanced-stage melanoma. I guess it's not quite as monumental as the discovery of the "God particle," but I'll take what I can get.

Everything causes cancer

When are we going to start seeing these as one and the same?

Over the weekend, I spent a few hours catching up on my magazine reading. I'm one of those people who swaps airline miles for magazines subscriptions, so there's a lot of junk for me to sift through (guilty pleasure, whoops!)

Every month, it's the same: eat blueberries, they protect against cancer. Drink wine, it's good for your heart. Drink coffee, the caffeine is good for you! Then two months--if not two weeks later--it's the opposite. Don't drink alcohol, it's bad for you! Caffeine is bad for you. Smoothies are bad for you and so is Diet Coke (OK, I already knew about that one, but still.) Admittedly, science is a moving target. Our knowledge base is constantly evolving, and it's only fair for the media to share the latest research with the public. But with so much conflicting health information out there, how do we know what to do?

For example, doctors tell us we need vitamin D for bone health and to support our immune systems. On the other hand, one of the easiest ways for our bodies to synthesize vitamin D is to sit outside in the sun. Well, guess what? Sun causes skin cancer. It's a real "damned if you, damned if you don't." So what do we do? Because UV radiation has been proven to be carcinogenic in numerous studies, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends adjusting your diet or taking supplements instead of getting vitamin D from sunlight. The key here is that UV has been proven to be dangerous. Vitamin D from the sun versus from a supplement is still up for debate. Just one or two publications don't mean something is a fact. It can take years to establish compelling evidence that something is truly beneficial or harmful (and even then, sometimes we don't know for sure.) Based on a large number of studies over a long period of time, there is a clear link between UV radiation and skin cancer.

This all leads me to an article I read recently about teenagers rationalizing risky behavior like tanning bed use. More than half of the teens questioned in a study by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center said that they tanned because "everything causes cancer." To many, using a tanning bed seemed to hold about as much risk as walking across the street or eating a burger (cholesterol, hello!) Sure, tanning has been in the news a lot lately, but what makes using a tanning bed seem any more dangerous than the hundreds of other warnings we receive on a weekly basis? I fear that if every time I read one of my magazines that all the dos and don'ts are diluting warnings against behavior that is truly dangerous. The importance of taking care of our skin and avoiding tanning beds needs to rise to the level at which we educate our children about smoking, doing drugs, and driving without a seat belt.

I also found it interesting that 32% of teenagers said: "If tanning bed use was so bad for you, the government would ban tanning beds." Kids: have you taken a look at our government lately? Take health matters into your own hands, and don't trust the government to do it for you.

Spray tans might be bad for you now, too

Woman getting a spray tan.

My mom has been asking me about this for years--but there have literally been no new studies since the 1970s on the safety of DHA (dihydroxyacetone), the active ingredient in most sunless tanning products.

Earlier this week, ABC News did an investigative report that I absolutely frickin' loved! This may come as a surprise to some--I do occasionally use a DHA-based moisturizer before running around in a bikini--but I'm glad that someones finally digging a little deeper and trying to learn more about how DHA interacts with human cells. The report also bashes on the tanning bed industry, which as you know, is one of my favorite pastimes.

In summary: The scientists ABC quoted were heavily concerned by DHA being applied as a spray rather than a lotion. For those of you who have never gotten a Mystic, or spray, tan, they basically shut you in a box and mist you with a really stinky spray for about a minute. It doesn't take very long, but it's not uncommon to feel like you're gagging or choking on the spray. (To me, it seems like that's how you'd feel if you were an ant getting bug bombed.)

While topical application of DHA was approved by the FDA back when my mom was a teenager, according to ABC News:

"The FDA told ABC News it never could have envisioned the chemical's use in spray tan back in the 1970s, and says 'DHA should not be inhaled or ingested"' today. It tells consumers on its website, 'The use of DHA in 'tanning' booths as an all-over spray has not been approved by the FDA, since safety data to support this use has not been submitted to the agency for review and evaluation.'"

So basically, by bombarding our lungs and eyes with this chemical version of DHA, we could be putting ourselves at risk for developing cell abnormalities (a.k.a. cancer). Of course, topical application of sunless tanning products gets attacked, too. New research insights indicate that DHA may penetrate more deeply than we once thought, which means more research needs to be done to determine the costs and benefits of spray tans versus the real thing.

Now, onto my favorite part. I love it when the media does undercover investigations of tanning salons because the results are always the same: mass noncompliance with basic, federal safety recommendations. For example, even though spray tanners are supposed to cover their eyes while they're in the booth, nine out of 12 salons in the report did not have protective eye wear available. Same deal with nose and mouth guards. Apparently, many tanning salon owners are also told that DHA is so healthy, you could drink it! Yum. Mind you, these are the same folks who told me, a melanoma survivor, that UV tanning won't cause cancer.

Essentially, this report affirms several things I've been preaching over the past few months:

1. Stay the heck away from tanning salons. Even if you're not UV tanning, you're still supporting a $5 billion industry that's more concerned with making a profit than it is with your health. Plus, tanning salon operators are trained to sell. While spray tanning before a vacation two years ago, the guy at the front desk tried to sell me a "tanning cocktail" package, which means you do 10 minutes in a UV bed before you go in for your spray tan. Perhaps he just couldn't read English because it explicitly said on my client information card: History of skin cancer.

2. Love your natural skin color! This is a hard one, I know, but if think of how much safer we'd be if we shunned tanning beds of all types--UV and UV-free. Funny story: At a fundraiser earlier this spring, I was having a conversation with a woman about my experience with melanoma. I gave her the rundown about how I used to use tanning beds, but now I've become diligent about sun protection. Her reaction? "Well, at least you can still spray tan." Yes, of course I can still spray tan, but I think she missed the point.

3. Think of sunless tanners as a “nicotine patch” for tanning beds. Despite everything it says in the ABC News report—that DHA has some potential side effects—UV radiation has proven risks. If you’ve got a wedding coming up, opt for an  airbrush tanning session instead of using a UV bed twice a week for the next eight weeks. If the thought of going to the beach without a tan gives you nightmares, use a little Jergens Natural Glow. Just don’t skimp on the SPF, and don’t become one of those people whose palms become perma-orange from self-tanning cream.

Little miss sunscreen

Happy Friday everyone! First and foremost, I'm excited to share an article I wrote for a new, local magazine called Womyncentric. You can view a PDF version of my article, "Here comes the sun(screen)" on their website. Please share!

Now, what the article doesn't address: As I wrote (on a Greyhound bus), I was so preoccupied by all the benefits of wearing sunscreen (um, hello, have you seen this picture??) that I failed to address the negatives. My editor responded with some very valid questions: Because many sunscreens use chemicals to protect us from UV radiation, could using sunscreen be doing more harm than good?

I didn't know the answer, so I turned to melanoma expert Dr. Sancy Leachman from the University of Utah. Dr. Leachman helped put my mind--and my editor's--to ease by providing the following insights:

Tons and tons and TONS of studies (cellular, molecular, animal, human, epidemiological) all indicate that sunscreen is effective in preventing non-melanoma skin cancers. She believes UVA/UVB sunscreen is also effective in preventing melanoma, there's just less data out there to support it. Conversely, studies that show sunscreen is bad are still very limited.

If you have concerns about using products with artificial chemicals, she recommends using sunscreens that contain only physical blockers, like zinc oxide: "Zinc oxide has been used for generations on baby's bottoms for diaper rash and is even an additive in some of our packaged foods. I think any major problem with use of zinc oxide would have been discovered by now, so I am putting zinc oxide on my kids to prevent sunburn!"

But what if all you've got is a bottle of Neutrogena? Dr. Leachman said, "If the choice is to use a chemical sunscreen or burn, then I still think the benefit of the sunscreen outweighs the risk."

Somewhat serendipitously, only days after this conversation, I started chatting with Kourtney from SamvidBeauty.com. Kourtney just published an eBook about making the switch from products with harsh chemicals to more natural alternative ones. I felt like it must be a sign from the universe that I should not only be wearing sunscreen, but thinking more about the type of sunscreen that I'm putting on my body. I highly recommend checking out Kourtney's blog (and her eBook!) We may even get together before the end of the summer and make our own batch of zinc oxide-based sunscreen. I'll be keeping you all in the loop. In the meantime, I'd love to know if you have any favorite sun protection products. Please share with me below!