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It is very possible for individuals who use tanning beds to develop one of the three types of skin cancers. While no one who tans wants to think this will happen to them, thousands of people get the grim diagnosis each year. Our society is so focused on looking beautiful that many people are willing to continue tanning even though research has shown UV rays from tanning beds are one of the leading causes of the skin cancer predicament. One reason why many people don’t heed the warning is because tanning bed manufacturers and tanning salons are too willing to push the positive aspects of indoor tanning. While there are some positive qualities of using tanning beds, there are serious risks that should not be taken lightly. The tanning industry rakes in billons of dollars each year between equipment being sold, equipment use, and tanning products. There is no way the manufactures and the tanning salon owners want to see that money taken away from them because people are aware of the possibility of getting skin cancer from using tanning beds. Another reason why the majority of people who use tanning beds don’t worry about getting skin cancer is that the information out there states it is curable. That is true in many cases, but not all of them. If skin cancer is caught in the very early stages there is a good chance that individual will be able to get better with the various treatments available. However, most people don’t realize they have skin cancer until the symptoms have gotten bad enough for them to start looking into it. By then they are already into advanced stages of the cancer and therefore many of the treatments are no longer an option. There are individuals who have a body chemistry different enough that it doesn’t respond well to skin cancer treatment. This is true even when they are diagnosed with it in the early stages. It is a myth that you can’t develop skin cancer from tanning beds if you only use them occasionally. Even using them once in a while significantly increases your risk of skin cancer. They more often you use them and the longer your tanning sessions are, the greater risk of skin cancer from tanning beds you have. Research shows that the earlier in life a person starts using tanning beds the greater risk they have of getting skin cancer. That is why there is so much controversy over teenagers being able to use tanning beds. In some states they have to get the written consent of their parents to be able to do so. Skin cancer may not develop for 10 years or more after you start tanning, but a 14 year old may die of skin cancer by the time she is  24 and that is something substantial to be concerned with. If you have a family history of skin cancer, you will want to pay even more attention to the warnings regarding tanning beds and the risk of skin cancer. There has been several different research projects that show individuals with a genetic history of skin cancer are three times likely to get skin cancer from using tanning beds as other people. The number of people diagnosed with skin cancer continues to grow each year and tanning beds are more popular right now than ever before. To help reduce the number of cases of skin cancer resulting from tanning bed use each year, the public needs to be aware of the risk. Too many people falsely believe that fake tanning doesn’t come with any risks. Most tanning salons provide written information and have customers sign a waiver before they are allowed to use the tanning beds.
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