Sunscreen Increases Skin Cancer Risk?

[Mike J]

Okay, so I don't altogether know about this but here is the article. Thoughts?

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/st...aem_4VJr6gDuYg3Z19Oi5xT9Kw&triedRedirect=true

 

[GypsmJim]

If you don't go out in the sun, you probably don't use sunscreen and you probably don't get skin cancer.

The more you go in the sun the more you use sunscreen and the more you get cancer. Maybe not because of the frequency of sunscreen but the frequency of out in the sun.

As a youth I was in the sun a lot and never used sunscreen. I got burned quite often. I got skin cancer at age 70. My doctor said stay out of the sun but use sunscreen if you have to be in the sun.

Show me a study and I'll develop a statistic to prove anything.

 

[Mike J]

I
I'm not arguing just kind of, hunh? Something I don't think I've ever shared here is my mother died of bone cancer at the age of 53. Before she had bone cancer she repeatedly had skin cancer cut off. Not scientific but I've always wondered if there was any correlation between the two. When I was young we lived in Forest Park, GA right under the flight pattern of the planes coming in & out of the airport. She seemed to think that might have something to do with it. I don't usually discuss what happened to her because honestly it was just a sad, horrible thing that I can't do anything about. So anyway, I hate cancer.

 

[Cholo]

What timing! I've literally spent about 90 minutes today reading about the best sunscreens, both the good and the bad, from now on referred to as SC's. FWIW: Consumer Reports rates almost all the chemical SC's higher than the few safer mineral based SC's. They don't take into account how dangerous the chemical SC's are. One takeaway from their report was that just about all of them drastically overrate the SPF factors. IOW a 50 SPF is actually a 30 SPF because there are no hard rules.

I've used standard SC's for years while riding my motorcycles. I know how not to burn, but it's taken its toll on my face and head as I'm being treated for numerous pre cancer spots in that area and continue to find more. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'm still undecided after all that research I have some Blue Lizard mineral SC that's supposed to rate a 50 SPF. Consumer Reports rated it a 15 SPF.

In the meantime, I'll be using the mineral based BL SC while knowing it's only about a 15 SPF. I have way too much pre cancer skin stuff going on to add the bad chemicals to it.

Now, you should see what my arms look like! Ugh...

 

[Mike J]

I find myself thinking the old folks that worked the fields may have had it right. long sleeved shirts, long pants, big hats with wide brims. That is probably the only safe way.

 

[s4s4u]

One needs to be careful of anything they put in or smear on their bodies. Do the research on sunscreens. Some are absolute

 

[Cholo]

I find myself thinking the old folks that worked the fields may have had it right. long sleeved shirts, long pants, big hats with wide brims. That is probably the only safe way.

That's what I'm doing now! At least I've got a decent looking straw cowboy type hat that I like and some long sleeved white tee shirts. That's what I did in FL while on the beach in late May.

It worked fine on the beach, but I didn't wear them just running around the beach town and my head got scorched. I mean it looked like my shoulders were blowing bubble gum!

 

[GypsmJim]

I'm not arguing just kind of, hunh? Something I don't think I've ever shared here is my mother died of bone cancer at the age of 53. Before she had bone cancer she repeatedly had skin cancer cut off. Not scientific but I've always wondered if there was any correlation between the two. When I was young we lived in Forest Park, GA right under the flight pattern of the planes coming in & out of the airport. She seemed to think that might have something to do with it. I don't usually discuss what happened to her because honestly it was just a sad, horrible thing that I can't do anything about. So anyway, I hate cancer.

Mu Great Uncle died of bone cancer - spinal. He was not an outdoor person, so never got sun burn.

His other statistics - a stationary engineer before stokers. He shoveled coal his whole life. A heavy smoker. Had prostate problems that his doctor treated with his own pills he sold and refused to give him surgery.

Years later I read that prostate cancer can lead to bone cancer.

I dunno. We know a lot but there is still more that we don't know.

 

[Fox Mike]

Summers for me are spent allowing as much sunlight as possible to strike my body. I am 89+ and have never used a sun blocker. A good friend of ours, who happens to be a very black lady, kids me yearly about trying to get as dark as her.

 

[ArizonaTea123]

For decades scientists and doctors have said "stay out of the sun, the radiation will kill you!"

Now, most Americans suffer from chronically low Vitamin D3 levels and skin diseases, rashes.
So now they're saying that a little sun every day is good and healthy for you.

How about that?

 

[s4s4u]

Summers for me are spent allowing as much sunlight as possible to strike my body. I am 89+ and have never used a sun blocker. A good friend of ours, who happens to be a very black lady, kids me yearly about trying to get as dark as her.

My Dad never wore a hat outside. It was probably okay when he had hair, but he lost most of that long ago. Mowing and gardening, and fishing, out in the sun for hours, no hat. Last year he underwent 5 hours of surgery on his scalp, removing cancer. It went well, but now they found more and they are going to "scalp" him again in July. They had to stretch his skin and even graft some from his shoulders to fill in the voids.

Some sunlight is good for you, but too much may kill you.

He just celebrated 92 years on this earth in May

 

[Mike J]

Mu Great Uncle died of bone cancer - spinal. He was not an outdoor person, so never got sun burn.

His other statistics - a stationary engineer before stokers. He shoveled coal his whole life. A heavy smoker. Had prostate problems that his doctor treated with his own pills he sold and refused to give him surgery.

Years later I read that prostate cancer can lead to bone cancer.

I dunno. We know a lot but there is still more that we don't know.

Mom smoked when she was young. She grew up in an alcoholic home so her early life was rough. After marrying my dad & coming to Georgia in the 50's she became a Christian & quit smoking. She didn't smoke or drink, attended church regularly & tried to be good to whoever she came into contact with. She would go out to a park in the evenings & walk for exercise. That was what she was doing when she realized her back was hurting & she needed to get it seen about. There are some things I think we just aren't meant to understand.

 

[ArizonaTea123]

Makes you wonder how our ancient ancestors that lived near the equator dealed with the sun.
Most humans that have developed near the equator have dark brown to black skin and dark eye color.
People that lived up north (less sunlight) developed lighter skin and pale eye color.
I can tell you that my Irish ancestry doesn't like the sun. I wear a hat and long sleeved shirts in summer.

My wife who is a Pacific Islander is always complaining about dry skin. It cracks in the desert heat and dryness. She's always using lotion.
If she spends too much time in the sun she turns into a chocolate bar.

I on the other hand have oily skin. To protect from harsh cold Irish winters.....if I spend too much time in the sun I turn into a boiled lobster and develop a low fever.

 

[Mike J]

Our family is a mix. Mostly Welsh, English, Irish, Scottish, some French with a touch of Cherokee thrown in for good measure. I have seen the time I was working on a white rubber roof of what would be an Amazon warehouse in the summertime cutting holes & setting curbs for HVAC units. We were working six twelves. I came in from work & took my shirt off. My wife started chewing on me about not wearing my shirt when I was on the roof. I informed her that I wore my shirt all day. She seemed a bit surprised.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Yeah, I spent too much time in Texas, Arizona, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, etc. And, I have been badly sunburned years ago. To date, I have only had one skin cancer 'operation,' Squamous cell carcinoma. I need to have a checkup, though, because I've got several questionable areas. I bought sleeves for both the arms and legs to wear outside - although I seldom do. Big floppy hats with flaps to protect the neck, too. I need to buy some better quality hats, though. These don't breathe, and I want something that does. Either boonies or cowboy, I haven't decided yet.

 

[WAYNO]

I have had dozens of skin cancer surgeries, some quite invasive and extensive.
As we speak, I am undergoing 6-weeks of radiation on my neck muscles, 5-times a week.
I do not burn. I always wear a hat. I seldom use sunscreen. My sister, 4-years older, has used sunscreen prudently. She's covered with cancer too.
Bottom line... they don't know what causes or prevents these cancers and they are still guessing.
Just be smart. Don't overdo anything.

 

[mirglip]

One needs to be careful of anything they put in or smear on their bodies. Do the research on sunscreens. Some are absolute

Smear chemicals all over yourself and get cancer. Who'd a thunk it? Some people were telling me sunscreen causes cancer 26 years ago. The media was silent then.

 

[Jim Walsh]

As others have noted my past indiscretions are catching up with me. I just had MOHS surgery on two locations and I have a dermatologist keeping an eye on me. I rarely ever burned but I never wore sunblock, I just turned more bronze than an Irishman has a right to…

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

My bride is 3/4th Italian. Her skin was a beautiful, dark olive color when we married. After our second child was born I built her a swimming pool. She loved to lie in the pool and sunbathe. All of a sudden her skin started to wrinkle. Advice from her BiL led her to use Retin-A. She slathered it on, and it helped. But...

Within 3 years her skin began to lose its color...doctor diagnosed it as vitiligo. After researching Retin-A, I discovered that ointment was a vitiligo accelerator. Within 15 years, she lost all of her skin pigment and now could be mistaken for Johnny and Edgar Winters' sister. She's incredibly sensitive to this (as anyone would be).

Now she covers up every part of her body, in part to hide the pigment loss but also to protect her very sensitive skin from the sunlight. We'll never know, of course, if Retin-A was the culprit, but....

 

[vito]

I've been told my more than one dermatologist that my several dozen skin cancers that I have had were primarily the result of excessive sun exposure during my childhood. As a redhead I would get bad sun burns several times each summer, and my first skin cancer showed up when I was 40. Two were melanoma, the rest were basel cell or squamos cell cancers. I was told that using sunscreen was a good idea, but that for me the damage had already been done in my first 16 years or so, so most of the time I don't bother with any sunscreen at all. When I use it, I primarily use Nutrogena because it is not greasy, dries quickly and seems more skin lotion than others that I have tried. Supposedly it is 50 spf but who knows. I'm 83 and guess something other than skin cancer will be what does me in.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Use zinc oxide. Yes, the white stuff life guards use on their nose in the movies.

Put a dot of it on the back of one hand. Squirt another dot or two of hand lotion on it and stir it with your finger. Then use that finger to rub it on your cheeks and nose until it disappears. Now turn your hands back to back until they are both smeared equally. That is enough to do the backs of your hands and lower arms. Just rub it in/on until you don't even see it any more.

You'll still feel it after it dries a little. Your skin feels DRY instead of sweaty and greasy. No sunburn.

Wear hats, neckerchief, long sleeves.

Yep, lifeguard here 5 years and burnt to a crisp every summer till I was about 25. Still road motorcycles the rest of my life hands in the sun all day every day. I get stuff cut off, froze, and treated over and over the last couple years.

 

[rcs9250]

I learned years ago in a seminar that our skin is a sponge. Even in a shower, that soap you rinsed off, not all of it, some was absorbed by your skin. And then there’s these “mens body washes”. How gay does it get.
And then there’s a ton of chemicals females coat their bodies with.
The cancer treatment industry loves it.

 

[diyj98]

I spent a number of years as a whitewater river guide in my youth with my skin baked brown all summer. The first time I saw a dermatologist, he said "you spent a lot of time in the sun". He could tell from the sun damage. On my yearly visits he freezes or cuts off a number of spots. I don't really use sunscreen now, but I mow in long sleeves, fishing gloves, and a hat. I also fish with my skin covered as much as possible now.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

My mother had several skin cancers through the years. I didn’t think about it that much as she grew up on a farm, in New Mexico.
Now my sister is going through the same thing. Every year for the last few years she’s had to have pre cancers froze off and Squamish cancers cut off averaging one a year. This year it’s two of them, one even on her belly. She never wore 2 piece swimsuits so it’s a mystery where that came from.
I’ve been religious about seeing a dermatologist yearly have had several precancerous ones froze off, this year I had a few more precancerous froze off and 2 that had biopsies one of which is skin cancer. Going in shortly to have it cut off. It’s on my arm, the one that faces the window when I’m driving.
Recently I’m hearing about shirts that have some kind of sun screen fabric on them.

 

[Mike J]

That's what I'm doing now! At least I've got a decent looking straw cowboy type hat that I like and some long sleeved white tee shirts. That's what I did in FL while on the beach in late May.

It worked fine on the beach, but I didn't wear them just running around the beach town and my head got scorched. I mean it looked like my shoulders were blowing bubble gum!

I haven't done it while running around town. When we go to see my sister & her husband at Pensacola I wear a rash shirt & a hat when we go to the beach. Sams club had some that were pretty nice with the piece of cloth that comes down & covers the back of your neck (it can be worn with the flap up or down). I bought one with a wide flat brim but the top is mostly mesh. They had others without the mesh.

 

[Mike J]

I haven't had skin cancer yet. I have had a couple of growths that concerned my wife. I had them taken off & biopsied, so far so good.

 

[Skeet 028]

Blonde haired Blue eyed WHITE boy here. Grew up on the rivers and Chesapeake Bay...commercially crabbed fished oystered from the age of 9. When not on the water I was farming... long pants T shirts mostly...baseball cap. Go to the beach...holy Crapo...burn with a wet T shirt//My mother sometimes put Coppertone on me...even my ears would burn. No skin cancer...yet. I have a best friend back in Md...farmer...had a spot on his ear..15 yrs ago...my wife(ER RN) told him to have it removed. Finally did 3 yrs ago...1/3 ear is gone...last year, cancerous spot on his lung removed. Another spot on the other ear...last 6 months he has gone from 200 lbs to 132 last week and has another spot on his neck...I'm mightily concerned for him...Seems once something like cancer starts...it runs everywhere....my real scare was acid reflux....even after controlling the acid...developed into esophageal cancer. My Doc tried a new procedure on me...an ablation of the esophagus...cleaned up the cancer in the esophagus and kept it clear for over 12 years now. He was amazed...He even wrote a paper on it in the AJM...Cancer is a terrible hateful disease

 

[Mike J]

Blonde haired Blue eyed WHITE boy here. Grew up on the rivers and Chesapeake Bay...commercially crabbed fished oystered from the age of 9. When not on the water I was farming... long pants T shirts mostly...baseball cap. Go to the beach...holy Crapo...burn with a wet T shirt//My mother sometimes put Coppertone on me...even my ears would burn. No skin cancer...yet. I have a best friend back in Md...farmer...had a spot on his ear..15 yrs ago...my wife(ER RN) told him to have it removed. Finally did 3 yrs ago...1/3 ear is gone...last year, cancerous spot on his lung removed. Another spot on the other ear...last 6 months he has gone from 200 lbs to 132 last week and has another spot on his neck...I'm mightily concerned for him...Seems once something like cancer starts...it runs everywhere....my real scare was acid reflux....even after controlling the acid...developed into esophageal cancer. My Doc tried a new procedure on me...an ablation of the esophagus...cleaned up the cancer in the esophagus and kept it clear for over 12 years now. He was amazed...He even wrote a paper on it in the AJM...Cancer is a terrible hateful disease

Praise God, you made it through esophageal cancer. A friend of mine had that. We lost him about six years ago.

 

[Crockett12]

Here are my thoughts!
I'm nearly 80 years old and fair skinned. I used to allow myself to get sunburned the first time out in the sun after winter time then I'd somewhat tan the rest of the year!
Now, I'm on a 6 month schedule with my dermatologist to get spots frozen off all over my head, face and neck! Sometimes I have to have that Dr, visit sooner than 6 months because of something flaring up! Most spots are benign but occasionally the Dr finds one that is pre-cancerous and would have killed me if not addressed! Most are just frozen off but some are cut off surgically!
I've also had the face creme (Floroplex) done 3 different times over the last 10 years and it's painful! It works progressively being applied every day for 2 to 3 weeks (depending on what type of creme) and it attacks the sun damaged spots more and more each day! I'll attach a picture of my face after using the creme for 3 weeks and believe me, you don't want to experience it because it hurts!
So -- I'll take the sunscreen over all these cancer scares!

 

[deac45]

I have often wondered how much genetics figures in. Personally, I am skin cancer clear so far at 65 years old. Not even any suspicious spots removed or biopsied. Same for my parents and three siblings. And we all have lived an active outdoor life working and playing outdoors year round. Mom was good to keep us kids covered in Sea and Ski when at the beach, but we seldom used it around home.
Mom had a friend at church diagnosed with a bad skin cancer...on her buttocks. She asked her doctor how that can be as she could assure him that part of her anatomy had never seen the sunshine!
I don't remember but a couple times being badly sunburnt. Maybe that makes a difference. Who knows.