Melanoma concerns on the rise
as rates climb for women,
remain steady for men
By Sara Michael
7/24/08
BALTIMORE – Rachel Peterson wasn’t thinking about cancer, as she
spent countless hours in the sun as a kid, often to the point of painful
sunburns.
Even in the ninth grade when she got a membership to a tanning
salon, cancer was the furthest thing from her mind. It was cool to be
tan. All her friends went tanning. It made her look good.
But in January, Peterson, a blonde, fairskinned 18yearold, was
diagnosed with melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — and
had a small, black mole on her leg removed. Doctors told her she was
lucky, that in five years the cancer would have spread "out of control,"
Peterson recalled.
"I understand it’s really popular to be tan, but it’s your life you’re
dealing with," said Peterson, of Bowie, who attributes/blames her skin
cancer to her overexposure to Ultra Violet rays.
"It’s kind of silly," she added. "All my plans — college, kids — could
have been taken away, just to look pretty."
Melanoma rates among young, white women have skyrocketed in the
past few decades. From 1980 to 2004, the number of cases among
women ages 15 to 39 rose 50 percent, from 9.4 per 100,000 to 13.9
per 100,000, according to a new report from the National Cancer
Institute.
At the same time, the rates for young men leveled off.
Researchers also found an increase in thicker, laterstage melanomas,
suggesting the rise isn’t because of better reporting, said lead
researcher Mark Purdue.
The results offer a clue of what’s to come — rates in older women may
rise in the future, Purdue said.
Most cases of melanoma are treatable with a simple incision, but a
minority of cases can recur, spread and be fatal, said Dr. Julie Lange,
professor of surgery, oncology and dermatology at Johns Hopkins
University.
"When it begins to spread, it’s a disease, frankly, we aren’t very good
at treating," Lange said.
For Peterson, of Glenn Dale, a scar a few inches long on her right calf