Boarding Schools for Girls

A new study has revealed that the majority of tanning salons appear to be ignoring advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding teen use of tanning beds. Though these business are not violating any laws, a Sept. 21 article by Jennifer Warner of WebMD Health News indicates that they may be putting young girls at increased risk for skin cancer:

The FDA recommends but does not require that indoor tanning bed operators limit teens to three or fewer tanning bed session in the first week. But researchers found only about 11 percent did so, and 71 percent of tanning bed operators said they would allow a teen to tan seven days a week.

"Exposure to UV radiation from indoor tanning lamps has been linked with both melanoma and squamous cell cancer, and first exposure before age 35 years may increase melanoma risk by as much as 75 percent," write researcher Latrice C. Pichon, PhD, MPH, of San Diego State University and colleagues in the Archives of Dermatology.

Researchers say the popularity of indoor tanning with adolescent girls in recent years may also be behind a recent increase in melanoma rates among U.S. women aged 15-39.

Labels: health, tanning, cancer

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An 11-member panel of Canadian health care experts has determined that young women who smoke tobacco or who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for developing breast cancer later in life. According to an article by Canwest News Service writer Sharon Kirkey, inhaling tobacco smoke early in life can result in cancer decades later:

"Even moderate exposure to passive smoking, such as living or working with a smoker early in life, increases a woman's risk of breast cancer when she is in her 30s, 40s and 50s," panelist and University of Toronto public health expert Dr. Anthony Miller says. ...

After reviewing ... more than 100 studies ... the panel concluded that all women who smoke, particularly young women, are at increased risk of breast cancer, and that even young women who don't smoke are at increased risk if they're exposed to second-hand smoke.

"An estimated 80 to 90 percent of women have been exposed to tobacco smoke in adolescence and adulthood," says panel chairman Neil Collishaw, of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. "Those women face an increased risk of breast cancer because of that exposure."

In addition to the heightened likelihood of developing breast cancer, teens who smoke are at increased risk for suffering from a wide range of health problems and engaging in a variety of dangerous behaviors.

Labels: health, teenagers, girls, cancer, smoking

Posted By: E.B.W. 1 Comment

Granddaughters of women who eat high-fat diets while they are pregnant may be at greater risk for breast cancer, according to an animal study from Georgetown University.

• Dr. Sonia de Assis gave one group of pregnant rats a high-fat diet while a control group were fed a normal one.
• If both maternal and paternal grandmothers ate the high fat diet, their granddaughters had a 30% greater chance of breast cancer.
• If only one grandmother did, their risk was 20% greater than normal.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
 

Labels: health, abortion, cancer

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