sunscreen causes skin cancer

Sunscreen or not, there is a pretty logical link between too much sun and skin cancer. Light contains high intensity UV radiation which, with enough luck, can cause mutations in skin cells. The mutated cells may in turn become cancerous. Pretty simple really.

As for the holes in the ozone layer; they are caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Chlorofluorocarbons were invented in 1928 (Source). This is the reason it is pretty unlikely that the holes in the ozone layer have always been there.

So, your f*cked if you do and your f*cked if you don't.

Hm.

Nice options.

One way of putting it...

Not really.

Has anyone determined that sunscreen is in fact bad for you?

(Hi cyphercat! Just noticed your avatar. That's you, right?)

No, but that's what the originator of this thread is claiming.

Right... but until the claim is substantiated somehow, we're fucked if we don't but fine if we do. (Apply sunscreen, properly...)

Hi Soz! Yep, that's me

I did some Googling yesterday after I read this thread, and I found no reputable sources making the claim that sunscreen is linked to skin cancer. The Skin Cancer Foundation doesn't think it is.

I only found one site that even referred to this idea, but it said a meta-study of a bunch of other studies found no link whatsoever. They mentioned that it can seem linked because people at the highest risk are likely to be big users of sunscreen; but there's no actual link.

Might not be scientific, but every person I've known who developed skin cancer spent a LOT of time out in the sun, without sunscreen.

Not saying every person who spends time in the sun gets skin cancer, but not everyone who smokes a pack or more a day gets a smoking related disease...but they are more likely.

My ex-sister in law died of skin cancer....would bake hours and hours in the sun, play tennis, work...no sun screen, just baby oil. She literally fried herself in the hot sun. She had some Native American blood, so could get dark, she thought that protected her.

My husband, who is dark also, just had something removed from his face, not cancer thank God, but was caused by the sun.

I'm about as fair skinned as that cutie pie cypher cat. I would dream of sitting around in the sun.

cancer is a disease of change, for instance, women get more breast cancer, in large part, because monthly our hormones shift greatly, promoting new growth of cells...the more your skin is forced to change, the greater your chance for cancer. Your skin darkens and toughens to PROTECT itself from the sun, not because it thinks it looks nice. When we were less evolved, our bodies were covered with more hair, which protected us from the sun. We change color in the sun because our body is attempting to minimize the suns damage to itself. If we lost our ability to tan, we would suffer from burns from being in the sun, and we would immediatley realize we are damaging ourself. Since instead, we tan to one degree or another, we don't realize we are still damaging our skin.

Tan skin is damaged skin.

This has been a very interesting discussion to follow. I greatly believe that skin cancer is related to sun exposure. I do not think that it is the final and only reason that people get skin caner, but I do think it is a factor. It has been proven that there is a correlation. I do also think that some people are genetically more likely to develop skin cancer as well.

As far as sunscreen goes, I wear it! I'm very fair skin and skin cancer has a history in my family. And those that have developed it spent a great deal of time in the sun. I will do everything that I can to try to prevent it.