Study: New Summer Trend May Double Skin Cancer Risk

Every summer, teens and adults alike go to the beach or the pool to sunbathe and get a tan to achieve that lovely, sun-kissed glow. However, a new summer trend is worrying experts who say it can double the chances of acquiring skin cancer.

Fox 2 News reports that "sunburn art", the new craze made popular by teens, is quickly spreading like wildfire among beach-goers across the nation. The idea is to create a body design using sunscreen and making it visible by having the body extremely sunburned.

Dr. Christopher Obeime, a dermatologist at St. Vincent Health, explains that severe sunburns not only increase the risk of skin cancer by 50 percent, but it can also make the skin age faster. 

CBS News adds that photos being posted and shared on social media are only making the craze even more popular as the hashtag #SunburnArt trends everywhere. This has alarmed the Skin Cancer Foundation.

A statement released today by the foundation's senior vice president Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, asks the public to cease practicing "sunburn art" because the possible aftermaths can be painful and lethal. The statement emphasizes that sunburns lead to severe skin damage, advanced skin aging, and a lifetime risk of skin cancer. It also stresses that teens who have suffered five or more sunburns can increase their lifetime melanoma risk by 80 percent.

TIME Magazine writes that the treatment for "sunburn art" is no different to that of a regular sunburn. 

Dr. Melissa Piliang, a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic, says she has yet to see a patient intentionally burning himself for art. She has, however, seen patients who have practiced other fads like "farmer's tan", and patients who have accidentally gotten sunburned, like children who played under the sun for too long.

Dr. Piliang encourages the public to protect themselves at all cost. She mentions adopting a complete protection regimen from the sun, like applying sunscreen with SPF 30, using a cover up, or searching for shade when the heat from the sun becomes unbearable, to lower risk of getting sunburns.

Melanoma may account for only less than two percent of all skin cancer cases, as noted by Cancer.org but it is extremely fatal and is the main cause of deaths among skin cancer patients. If this fad continues, the American Cancer Society fears an estimated 73,000 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed this year alone.