Mean girls (and boys)

National Health Blog Post Month Day 14: Advice for dealing with negative feedback in your community

Chelsea is a blogger who's had to deal
with cyberbulling AND stage III melanoma.

Today's prompt happens to be extremely relevant to something that's been going on in the melanoma community. My friend, Chelsea Price, a self-proclaimed melanoma diva, is the epitome of what it means to be a health advocate. She documents her journey with melanoma so candidly that she's hard not to like. Chelsea has made appearances on TV, she graced the cover of the Skin Cancer Foundation's journal, and has given a speech at a major fundraising gala. Though she can easily net over 50 "likes" on Facebook when she reports clear scans, Chelsea's had to deal with her fair share of haters, too. Just yesterday she wrote a very emotional blog post about being the target of cyberbulling.

Unfortunately, if you're doing something big, you're doing something important, you're challenging the status quo--you're going to piss people off. It's hard not to take personal insults, well, personally, but take Chelsea for example. I can guarantee that for every negative comment she receives, there are exponentially more individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by her blog.

A little inspiration from my friend Susan Clark at heartspark.

I can't tell you how difficult it has been to write about my melanoma diagnosis on a public blog. To admit to the world that I've had severe self-confidence issues as a teenager and young adult. My family can read this, my friends can read this, some girl I went to elementary school but I haven't talked to in 12 years can read this, my boss can read this, and the list goes on and on. Not to imply that I regret blogging. I've made wonderful friends, experienced catharsis in sharing what I've held inside for too long, and motivated a few strangers to take better care of their skin.

I think it can be particularly challenging for those of us in the skin cancer arena to stand up against the tanning bed industry. People don't want to hear that tanning causes cancer. Even well-meaning friends sometimes veto my warnings about UV tanning. As with anything, we're all entitled to our own opinions. I try to reply calmly and back up my arguments with as much empirical evidence as possible.

When all else fails, hit the mute button. Follow your passions, and don't let anyone stand in your way. And remember: you'll never change the world without pissing someone off.

***

This post was inspired by the Day 14 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

Sookie Stackhouse and other vices

National Health Blog Post Month Day 13: What’s your favorite book and how can you tie it to your health or life? 

 

Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse

Since HBO's True Blood is dead and gone until next summer, I decided to check out the books from whence the TV show came. The first book, I thought, was awful. The second one? Not impressed. The third one? Eh, not bad. Now, I'm on book ten and I'm certifiably obsessed.  I love reading about my favorite characters (namely, Eric Northman)--but with all kinds of crazy plot twists we haven't seen on TV. Spoiler alert: Sookie (protagonist, telepath, object of everyone's affection) dates a "weretiger" in book seven. Weird, I know.

Much as I love the books, I'm genuinely surprised by how much Sookie talks about tanning beds throughout the series. Of all things! Naturally, I'm more sensitive than the average person when it comes to tanning talk, but really, Sookie? Really?!

Here are some examples. Let at me put my college lit major to use:

• "I took a deep breath, turned to the mirror, and slapped on some makeup. My tan wasn't great this far into the cold season; but I still had a nice glow, thanks to the tanning bed at Bon Temps Video Rental." - Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 3)
• "His companion's face might have been sculpted from marble. Had the woman never heard of a tanning bed?" - Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5)
• "I enjoyed lying in the sun in a little bikini, timing myself carefully so I didn't burn. I loved the smell of coconut oil. I took pleasure in shaving my legs and removing most of my other body hair so I'd look smooth as a baby's bottom. And I don't want to hear any lectures about how bad tanning is for you. That's my vice. Everybody gets one." - Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5)
• "Every year I thought of all the reasons I shouldn't lie out in the sun. Every year I added up my virtues: I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, and I very seldom had sex, though I was willing to change that. But I loved my sun, and it was bright in the sky today. Sooner or later I'd pay for it, but it remained my weakness. I wondered if maybe my fairy blood would give me a pass on the possibility of skin cancer. Nope: my aunt Linda had died of cancer, and she'd had more fairy blood than I had. Well... dammit." -Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 9)

One thing I find particularly interesting is that over the course of the series, Sookie's tone evolves. It goes from "I use tanning beds and everyone else should, too" to "stop giving me a hard time for tanning" to "I hope I don't get skin cancer from tanning so much." I suppose, from a literary standpoint, Sookie's bronze skin makes her a good foil to her paler than pale vampire suitors. But when something like suntanning makes its way into popular chick lit, it's indicative that tanning has become ubiquitous in American culture.

A few of my favorite vices that Sookie might try as a tanning substitute:

• Pinterest
• Weekly manicures
• ABC's Revenge
• Cheese
• Vanilla lattes
• Cheesy vampire novels :)

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This post was inspired by the Day 13 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.

Changing the world

Just a quick little snippet of inspiration for your Monday. I started reading the Steve Jobs biography at the end of last week. It's fascinating.

This quote resonates with me because I truly believe that by raising awareness about melanoma, we can decrease the number people who die prematurely from this disease.

How do you hope to have an impact on the world?

Just for the record, I don't hate the sun

Too bad every morning doesn't look like this! Image: David Yu/Flickr.

The sun and I have a long, drawn out, off again/on again, love/hate type of relationship. Here's why: In 2010, when I was diagnosed with an early-stage melanoma, I realized that after years of sunbathing, I'd never be able to lie out in the sun again without worrying.

Luckily for my skin, my hometown of Portland, Oregon is notorious for being covered in dark, grey clouds from October to June. So imagine my surprise when I left for work Wednesday morning and discovered a bright blue, luminous sky. Seriously. It was breathtaking. My theory is that the election finally ended and the clouds parted (just kidding, kind of). I'm not sure what caused the break in the clouds, but I loved it. The combination of the bright sky and the crisp fall air.

Throughout the day, the sunshine had a lasting impact on my mood. After I got to work, I was indoors until it got dark out, but I occasionally stole a glimpse or two from the window and the sun was still there.

It's no secret that energy from the sun sustains life on our planet. But it amazes me how much of an impact it can have on our moods. Just for the record: I don't hate the sun. I just recognize that, like almost anything, too much of a good thing is, for lack of a better word, bad. As long as we don't take sunbathing to excess, I like to think melanoma survivors can live a relatively normal life, which includes smiling when the sun comes out and playing outdoors.

Happy almost Friday! Have a great weekend.

DIY Peplum Top

I had one of those "ah-ha" moments the other day that was too good not to share. I've owned this shirt for about a year now, but I've never been able to wear it with a pair of pants. Because it's so billowy, I've always paired it with a pencil skirt--something I could tuck it into. By simply adding a belt, I was finally able to wear the blouse with a pair of pants. Plus, the silhouette morphs into a trendy peplum shape. I dig it.

Start with a loose-fitting blouse like this
one by Daniel Rainn.

Add a thin belt just below your natural
waist. And voila!

Happy Halloween!

Me and my friend Debbie dressed up as loofah's last weekend.

Happy Halloween! I hope you're all warm, safe, and dry. The weather hasn't been so great this week, has it? When I celebrated Halloween on Saturday, I got drenched, but at least I didn't have a hurricane to contend with (I'm looking at you, Sandy).

Anyhow, funny story: Shortly after I published this blog post about body image and Halloween costumes, I found myself waiting in line at Joann Fabric to purchase 25 yards of tulle. I had seen a couple of girls at the 5k dressed up as bath loofah's and I thought it was such an amazing idea that I had to be one, too. Apparently, I wasn't the only one. I got stuck in line behind another group of would-be bath-poufs who were having a really difficult time deciding which color fabric to buy. They seemed miffed that I had taken the last few yards of purple.

"Ugh, I can't be light pink! I'm not tan enough!" one of the girls said.

Of course, in my head, my first instinct was to think, wow, wasn't I just talking about this? My second thought was, what is this girl talking about, she's already eight shades darker than me.

As the bath loofah fiasco continued (they had the nice lady working behind the counter measure out 20 yards of light pink, only to tell her they wanted to do blue instead), I couldn't help but wonder why we sometimes have such skewed perceptions of ourselves. When I see olive skinned women berating themselves for being too pale, skinny women berating themselves for being too fat, etc. I wish I could smack some sense into them and let them see what they look like from where I'm sitting. I know I'm guilty of self-hate, too, but it just kills me when people beat themselves up for not being tan enough. I lived with that feeling for so long, and I wish there was something I could do to prevent other people from feeling the same way.

Side note: Totally reminds me of that scene from Mean Girls where The Plastics are huddled around the mirror, commiserating over all their physical "flaws." Enjoy!