Healthcare Hotline: Utahns get 'double whammy' for skin cancer risks

SALT LAKE CITY — While the Beehive State is known for its scenic beauty and year-round outdoor lifestyle, spending too much time under the bright Utah sun can be hazardous to one's health.

Questions about issues people should be aware of regarding the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer will be answered today from 10 a.m. to noon during the monthly Deseret News/Intermountain Healthcare Hotline. Dermatologists Brad Rasmussen and Jason Hansen with Intermountain Healthcare will answer calls.

From the Salt Lake area, call 801-236-6061. Elsewhere, the toll-free number is 1-800-925-8177.

Local health experts warn that exposure to the sun's strong rays can be a "double whammy" for those whose skin absorbs the harsh, damaging ultraviolet light.

"In Utah, we're an outdoor-loving people," said Hansen, a dermatologist at Intermountain Memorial Clinic and LDS Hospital. "In the summer we have intense UV light (and) in the winter with the high altitude, we still have intense UV light on very reflective snow surfaces."

He said the ultraviolet light may damage skin cells "such that they can … turn into skin cancer."

Hansen said people who favor tanning booths are putting themselves at virtually the same risk for skin cancer as if they were in direct sunlight.

"By tanning, you only enhance the ultraviolet damage to your skin," he said.

A study showed a 75 percent increase in the risk of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, in those who had been exposed to UV radiation from indoor tanning before the age of 35, Hansen said.

He said more than one million people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S., and approximately one in five Americans will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.

"By far the majority of skin cancers are … nonmelanoma skin cancers," he said.

The most common type is basal cell carcinoma, which develops from the abnormal growth of cells in the lowest layer of the epidermis or skin. The other cancer is squamous cell carcinoma, which involves changes in the cells found in the middle layer of the epidermis.

Melanoma occurs in the melanocyte cells that produce pigment and is less common, but more dangerous. It is the leading cause of death from skin disease.

Numerous factors may be involved in how susceptible a person is to getting skin cancer, said Rasmussen, dermatologist at Intermountain Salt Lake Clinic and LDS Hospital.