Sunscreen and skin cancer?

Jul 8, 2014

Diana T.

Hey beauties a study recently came out from the karolinska institute in Sweden that states sunscreen is actually blocking our ability to produce vitamin D and it is this deficiency that is leading to skin cancer - as opposed to the popular belief that the sun's harmful UV rays cause skin cancer - and that there is actually no link between UV rays causing skin cancer and/or sunscreen protecting from skin cancer - since I know we all have been taught the opposite of what this recent study is suggesting just wanted to get the community's thoughts and opinions on this study - feel free to google it the article recently came out last month in "the independent" journal published in the UK.

Jul 8, 2014

Traci L.

I just want to no how anyone can think UV rays aren't damaging,you can fry a egg on the street in a matter of minutes on a hot day ,people with sun damaged skin look at least 15 years older than someone who has protected there skin,and every time you get sun burn you disrupt your DNA that leads to cancer cells forming,you only need 10 min of natural light a day to get the benefits of vitamin D so why take a chance with the rest of the time ,I get if you don't wanna use a chemical sunscreen but there are plenty of natural sun protection out there

Jul 8, 2014

Shelley W.

I just completed my journey with skin cancer. I wear sunscreen year round...but kept missing one crucial area on my back for application and that is where my growth was found. In all the years of me wearing it I never had a vitamin d deficiency and I've lived in some pretty frigid areas over the years ( Berlin, Germany being one of them during winter) and northern California where sun is often in short supply. Here in Florida where I currently reside there is a high-rate of skin cancer diagnoisis. Vitamin D deficiency wasn't an issue with any of the patients I met at the Mayo Clinic where I had treatment. A majority blamed not being protected by sunscreen and doing stuff like tanning beds and slapping oil on the skin at the beach to get deeper tans. I'm no scientist or a doctor but I'm no fool. I don't trust that study out of Sweden...I have a nice chunk of skin on my back that is missing to disprove their crazy theory. And meeting a woman during radiation therapy who spent her younger years sunbathing without protection...we're both the same age but she looks 15 years older than me because her skin is one big blotchy sunspot. She had just completed chemo and was finishing up her radiation when I met her. Stage 4 cancer skin cancer that spread to her organs internally. All for the sake of vanity. Nah...I'm cool. I'm going to wear sunscreen from head-to-toe till the day I die.

Jul 8, 2014

Alyx T.

Agreed with Shelley. They have done studies like this before, but never been able to prove it. My uncle had skin cancer on his forehead, right at his hairline. He would wear sunscreen everyday year round, but wouldn't go into his hairline and one summer got a bad burn, which then once it healed it turned into a patch of skin cancer. He had to struggle with that on and off for 5 years. I will always wear sunscreen and I don't trust this at all.

Jul 8, 2014

Diana T.

Thank you all for your responses - I always like to hear the opinions of educated individuals like yourselves! From what I have studied and know UV radiation is extremely damaging like you said traci definitely - and also Shelley I do know family members who got skin cancer and they all say the same it was from sun exposure so I don't know if I believe everything that article stated - but I do know that vitamin D deficiency is a bad thing and can also lead to cancer - and titanium dioxide (which is used in many products as a sun screen) is also carcinogenic and trace amounts if it can be toxic to humans - so that is why I even bothered reading the article to see if it touched on either subject and it did mention the vitamin D deficiency so I do think there is some truth to the article but I do agree that the benefits of sunscreen may outweigh the risks - so I personally will continue to use sunscreens (probably stick to more natural sources) and just take vitamin D supplements if I feel it necessary but I just thought it was an interesting study that went against what is currently supported.

Jul 8, 2014

Shelley W.

Cool...I'm glad you're not going to stop wearing some form of protection Diana. Watch out for the vitamin d supplements though...sometimes too much of a good thing can backfire on ya. As long as you are getting an decent amount via diet you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Just get yourself tested to see if you have a vitamin d deficiency before popping pills. Its always interesting to read scientific studies so thank you for posting the deets about this one.xxx

Jul 8, 2014

Diana T.

True that too much of anything can be bad so hopefully I won't have to take the supplements but maybe when I'm older if I'm not getting enough vitamin D then we'll see if I should start but for now I think sunscreen and daily walks to school in the hot TN sun is enough for me : P.

Jul 9, 2014

Emily W.

Everyone is quick to jump on the vitamin D deficiency bandwagon as a reason to justify everything from skipping sunscreen to baking in a tanning bed. With a balanced, normal diet and an absence of genetic illness, a normal human absorbs enough solar radiation sitting in their house near a window on an average day to adequately process vitamin d from the foods they consume.

The only time vitamin d deficiency warrants any kind of deliberate exposure is in severe cases (often linked to chronic malnutrition or extreme geographic location) in which case the individual is under the care and observation of a physician.

I have had three different skin cancers a total of four times. All of them are a result of UV exposure. Had I forgone sunscreen out of some unfounded fear, I would be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy right now instead of maintenance biopsies.

Diana, if you could link to that study so I can read it, I would appreciate it.

Jul 9, 2014

Diana T.

No problem Emily this is where I first heard of the article on this website: http://theunboundedspirit.com/scientists-blow-the-lid-on-cancer-sunscreen-myth/
But it's more of a summary of the findings more than anything on this link

Jul 9, 2014

Emily W.

Thanks Diana, I will try to find the article in my university's databases. That "news" article is extremely one-sided and clearly has an agenda, given that it hasn't been fact checked ("no evidence that sunburns cause skin cancer"; I have about 400,000 peer-reviewed medical journals full of studies that refute that statement) and doesn't actually cite its sources (the links at the bottom are too general to count as proper references).

I don't think that the opinions of a single Swedish study (which the methods used are unknown at this point and had a limited sample size) and the opinion of two rogue dermatologists (one of which is speaking out of her area of expertise, unless I misread and she is in fact an environmental toxicologist as well) are enough to justify throwing sunscreen in the can. That's comparable to watching Dr. Oz and declaring oneself an expert in dietary nutrition.

Jul 9, 2014

Emily W.

I will try and post a link to the actual study, if I can find it.

Jul 10, 2014

Diana T.

Thnx Emily - yeah I've heard other theories with regards to vitamin D deficiency from other doctors that have posted videos on YouTube n things of that nature but when I saw that an actual study came out then it caught my eye.

Jul 10, 2014

Diana T.

Here is "the independent" journal's take on the study: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/major-study-suggests-mortality-rate-higher-for-people-who-stay-of-the-sun-than-those-who-don't-9338516.html.

Jul 10, 2014

Diana T.

Here is the link to the actual study from the Swedish institute: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/joim.12251/asset/joim12251.pdf;jsessionid=ABCE0BEE345CF872A9B82A773046BEA5.f01t02?v=1&t=hxfh10t8&s=18dabb8768bccb8b19adcc655aa638dcc00d22f8.