How easy is it to get skin cancer by tanning?

Hah, I don't WANT TO. It's just I tanned for 2-3 hours this weekend and that's sorta a lot for me. It just happend to be nice out this weekend.

btw, i'm 13. if that matters.

It's not like it's easy to get skin cancer. Normally the elderly get it. It's unusual for young people to get it. Your chances are increased if you've burned severely more than once. My mom is 75 and she just had a spot removed from her cheek. She's never tanned, but very fair skinned. When we were kids, she'd take us to the beach and she'd sit under a big umbrella. I've never seen her with any kind of tan. A friend of mine fiddles in her garden and has her tea on the porch on nice days. She had a spot removed on her chest; however, she's almost 60.

The truth is there's no simple answer to this question.
Some people sail through life going to the beach and sunning themselves all summer and get great all over tans and never have a problem. Other's are very conservative, but still end up with cancer, and it can appear is some very obscure places on the body that you might not immediately think of.
You certainly increase the risk by staying out in the sun without a suitable SPF cream, or by using sunbeds and lamps, and the incidence in people with this lifestyle choice is certainly on the increase. The risk also increase for all adults over 40 years old.
However, there are many many other factors that make a play on the likelihood of getting skin cancer, and these include genetics (family history), whether you're a regular smoker or drinker (though at you're age you certainly should not be), your diet and whether you take regular exercise etc etc etc.
The best advice if you are going to enjoy the sun is to always use a good SPF cream (and remember just because it says SPF50 that doesn't mean you won't tan), and not to stay in the sun for too long at anyone time.

It can take years for skin cancer to develop, but the fastest growing cancer for those in the twenties is skin cancer.

So think about it. What will you feel like in ten/twenty years time if you find out you have skin cancer?

Tanning doesn't automatically give you cancer, but it can be a risk, so why not copy celebrities and use a fake tan? And if you want to know more about why we tan, and who started the fad, go to www.after-cancer.com and put Coco Chanel into Search window.

Verite R

The only cancer that is increasing in incident rate is Melanoma! With the highest rate of increase in Women 20 - 30. On average in your lifetime you have about a 1 in 7 chance of getting skin cancer. Your risk increases by 50% if you use tanning booths or frequent tanning and sever burns.

Skin cancer is related to the amount of UV ray exposure during youth (before 18 yrs old).

So why risk it?