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Guest Post: A Call to Action from a Skin Cancer Survivor
Megan Ramey is a courageous ACS CAN volunteer from Minnesota. At age 21, after several years of indoor tanning, Megan was diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Megan bravely shares her story with teens with the hope that they will avoid indoor tanning salons and ... plan for dealing with this devastating cancer by sharing Megan's powerful story. My name is Megan Ramey and I was diagnosed with stage III melanoma in 2010, just weeks before my 21 st birthday. With blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin I am the walking definition of someone who should ... to UV exposure. Four years post diagnosis I look back on the choices I made and feel a large amount of regret for not being cautious enough. Melanoma is a unique cancer in that most cases directly results from our behavior. We can choose to protect ourselves in the sun and we can choose ...
Guest Post: Delaware Takes Action to Protect Youth from Skin Cancer
... about the dangers of tanning. We made this a priority because of individuals like Sherrill Rigney, whose 22-year-old daughter, Michelle, died of Melanoma in 2008, after heavy use of tanning devices. Sherrill turned a tragic event into passionate advocacy that will save the lives of countless ... Cancer Action Network, American Academy of Dermatology, Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Medical Society of Delaware, AIM at Melanoma, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, Moving for Melanoma Delaware, and the Delaware Cancer Consortium. The vast majority of skin cancers are caused by unprotected exposure to excessive ...
Don’t Fry Day: Oklahoma, West Virginia Join the List of States Protecting Minors from Indoor Tanning
... were multi-year campaigns that required extensive public and lawmaker education about indoor tanning misconceptions – for example, that melanoma is not an issue for young people. In fact, studies show using an indoor tanning device before the age of 35 increases a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 59 percent. As our Oklahoma team will tell you, personal stories resonated most with lawmakers during this year’s campaign. Traci Stackhouse and Ashley Watts had very different melanoma stories, but had the same message: preventing children from using indoor tanning devices will save lives. Traci is a two-time melanoma ...
California Bans Tanning Bed Use for Under 18
... their rating of indoor tanning equipment from probably carcinogenic to humans to definitively carcinogenic to humans. Melanoma incidence rates have been rising for the past 30 years. An estimated 75,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with melanoma this year and 12,000 people will die from the disease. It's important to ensure our children are protected early on because individuals who use indoor tanning devices at a younger age have a 75% increased risk for melanoma and a 69% increase of early onset basal cell carcinoma than those who never use indoor tanning. What's even more exciting is that a ...
President Carter's Diagnosis Highlights Importance of Increased Federal Funding for Cancer Research
This morning, Former President Jimmy Carter bravely sat in a room full of reporters and announced that he has melanoma , which has been found on his liver and now in his brain. He begins radiation treatment this afternoon, and his doctors will continue to conduct scans to determine where the melanoma originated. Our thoughts are with him and his family as he begins treatment and fights back against this disease. President Carter ... out , when Mr. Carter was president the research infrastructure was just being put in place to study how to utilize the immune system to treat melanoma. This led to the development of immunotherapy drugs over the past several years, one of which is the melanoma drug Former President Carter ...
Don't Fry Day: New Hampshire Wants to Protect Teens from Tanning Beds
... but one family's story particularly stood out, that of Jason Jay Farley . At the young age of 30, Jay lost his life to Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma. He fought a 10-month battle. As his parents wrote in an op-ed to the Eagle Tribune : Many years earlier, when Jay and his friends wanted ... he used a tanning bed for the first time. We didn't know then that using indoor tanning devices before age 35 increases the risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by 59 percent. Jay's parents Brenda and Gary were staunch advocates for the New Hampshire legislation, ... testimony and media interviews. We credit their courage and passion with helping to pass the bill. In addition to Brenda and Gary's voices, melanoma survivors submitted letters to the editor in support of the legislation to prohibit indoor tanning by those under 18. ACS CAN volunteers ...
Massachusetts Moves to Protect Teens from Indoor Tanning
... and their skin cells are dividing and changing more rapidly than those of adults. In fact, indoor tanning use before the age of 35 increases melanoma risk by 59 percent. Skin cancer is the most common of all cancer types. According to one estimate, about 3.5 million basal and squamous ... as some people have more than one. This year the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 76,380 newly diagnosed cases of melanoma in the United States, the most deadly type of skin cancer. Nearly all skin cancers could be prevented by limiting unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. When they do occur, most skin cancers can be treated successfully if detected early even melanoma. As states continue to work to enact tanning restrictions, ACS CAN is also calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to finalize ...
Minnesota Taking Steps to Protect Teens from Indoor Tanning
... be the end of it. No big deal," said Megan Ramey, a 25-year-old cancer survivor from White Bear Lake, Minn. Megan was diagnosed with stage III melanoma at age 20 by her local physician when she was home on a break from college. In addition to removing the irritated mole on her hip, she had ... And it's even more alarming when you couple it with the fact that people who use sunbeds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, by 59 percent. That's why 33 states currently regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors and 17 ... We're committed to working with the Minnesota legislature to pass this legislation so more women like Megan avoid life-threatening battles with melanoma. Minnesota Taking Steps to Protect Teens from Indoor Tanning ...
Don't Fry Day: Louisiana, Minnesota Protecting Minors from Indoor Tanning
... important to avoid indoor tanning beds -- especially important for youth. People who use sunbeds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, by 59 percent. Melanoma is also the second most common form of cancer for young women ages 15-29. Louisiana's legislature and governor heard this message loud and ...
Don't Fry Day
... it's also important to avoid indoor tanning beds, especially for youth. People who use sunbeds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, by 75 percent. Melanoma is also the most common form of cancer for those ages 25-29. That's why the FDA announced earlier this month that it will reclassify ...