At 15, Jessica Coffman was enticed by the allure of the bronze glow she got by lying for 20 minutes in a tanning bed. The rays produced a golden tan that boosted her self-confidence before the annual twirp dances and spring proms at West High.
The young woman of Italian and Irish descent sports dark hair and dark eyes characteristic of Italians and the pale skin associated with Irish. She longed for the darker skin her mother has. “I felt I looked better with tanned skin,” Coffman said. She spent hundreds of dollars and many hours in a tanning bed, visiting the salon two to three times a week for several months each year. It was her go-to, must-do before her wedding day. And, to ensure the glow on her big day, Coffman said she “double-dipped,” relying on indoor rays and the natural rays of the sun to secure the desired golden tan.
At age 25, a decade after Coffman began her love affair with tanning beds, her family physician noticed a mole on Coffman’s right shoulder during a routine physical exam and referred her to a dermatologist. The mole, which had grown, was skin cancer. “I remember going to my car, calling my husband and sobbing,” said Coffman, now 27. Although the surgery has left her cancer free, Coffman said, the 26 stitches required to remove the cancer have left a telltale scar. She said it is so unsightly that she refuses to wear tank tops.
Coffman is one of a growing number of young women who have developed melanoma and attribute it in large part to use of indoor tanning beds.
Once considered an old person’s disease, melanoma has a particular grip on young women. Since 1992, rates of the disease have risen 3 percent a year in white women ages 15 to 39, according to the American Cancer Society. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. The chance of getting it increases as you get older, but people of any age can get the disease. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in young adults ages 25 to 29. Each year, more than 50,000 people in the U.S. learn that they have melanoma.
In April, Susan Anderson, 25, underwent surgery for skin cancer on her abdomen. Anderson, a registered nurse in Billings, said she believes it was due primarily to genetics but said using an indoor tanning bed was a factor, too. “As I aged I could tell I developed more moles,” Anderson said. “I will never go in a tanning bed again. Spray tanning is a good alternative.”
Coffman, an occupational therapist, and Anderson discourage the use of indoor tanning beds and encourage regular appointments with a dermatologist, use of sunscreen and regular self-checks for changes in moles.
About 35 percent of 17-year-old girls use indoor tanning devices, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According to a 2010 study by the Melanoma Research Foundation, there is a definitive correlation between indoor tanning and skin cancer. People who have used tanning beds are 74 percent more likely than others to develop melanoma, according to the study.
Dr. Roberta Hawk of Yellowstone Dermatology and Skin Cancer Clinic said she has seen an increase in the number of melanoma cases and not just among young white women. “It’s a very real problem,” Hawk said.
She said she sees five to 10 people each day with flat moles, and each person has upward of 50 moles. Not all are cancerous, of course. She said her biggest challenge is that most people don’t understand the potential risk of cancer — or don’t want to hear it — until a friend has been diagnosed with it. Her mission is to educate people about the need to use sunscreen 365 days a year, indoors and outdoors. Hawk said sunlight can penetrate car windows, even office windows, taking a toll on a person’s skin.
A bill in the 2009 Montana Legislature would have prohibited the use of tanning facilities by anyone under 16 without written consent from parent or legal guardian, according to the Department of Public Health and Human Services. The bill failed. There was no attempt to pass similar legislation this year, according to DPPHS. Coffman said the money she spent for her golden glow ultimately cost thousands of dollars in medical expenses. “The golden tan is not worth the damage you’re doing to your body,” Coffman said.
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