CDC: Half of young adults get sunburned

Melanoma rates have been increasing for at least three decades. About 76,000 cases will be diagnosed in U.S. adults this year, and about 9,200 people are expected to die of the disease, according to the cancer society.

The CDC's Plescia said tanning beds are driving "an epidemic in the making."

Others shared that concern.

"It's the sunburn you got when you were 18 that leads to the cancer you get when you're 40. That sunburn will come back to haunt you," warned Dr. Zoe Draelos, vice president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Danielle Itgen, 22, said skin cancer runs in her family but she still likes to sunbathe in the summer — while wearing sunscreen. "I feel like when I'm really pale, I look sick," she said during a visit to Miami Beach.

Elizabeth Garrido, 40, used to sunbathe every day when she was younger and still goes to the beach twice a week to soak up the rays.

Does she worry about skin cancer?

"Not at all," the Miami Beach resident said. "What's going to happen is going to happen. ... Besides, I like the beach. It's therapeutical."

Associated Press writer Suzette Laboy in Miami contributed to this report. Online: CDC reports: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr