Sunlight and Melanoma: The surprising connection

[Guest guest]

Sunlight and Melanoma

 

The Surprising Connection

 

*By William Campbell Douglass, MD*

<http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/sunlight-melanoma.html#author>

 

Sunlight may be the best thing for melanoma. That's right, in spite of

what you've been reading, the sun doesn't cause melanoma, in fact, it's

actually good for you, as many studies have indicated.

 

Now two more studies are showing the benefits of the sun. Needless to

say, this news has left scientists and dermatologists scratching their

heads. After all, what else is there to do when what you've been

preaching to the masses--that sunlight causes cancer and will kill

you--ends up being flat out wrong?

 

Let me just give you a quick rundown on these articles--both of which

appeared in the February issue of the /Journal of the National Cancer

Institute (JNCI)/. One evaluated the hypothesis that UV radiation

increases your risk of developing lymphoma. But after studying about

7,000 subjects, the researchers concluded that the opposite is actually

true: increased sun exposure *reduces* the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

 

The other study evaluated the supposed link between sun exposure and the

chances of surviving melanoma. The researchers concluded that increased

sun exposure actually increases the survival rate from melanoma.

 

So, what could be the cause of such phenomena?

 

Misconception

 

Researchers Kathleen Egan, Jeffrey Sosman, and William Blot expressed

their ideas about it in an accompanying editorial in the same issue of

the /JNCI/. When they start out with a claim like this one: " Solar

radiation is a well-established skin carcinogen, responsible for more

cancers worldwide than any other single agent, " it's no wonder they

would scratch their heads over these latest findings.

 

And, of course, they're not alone. This misconception pervades the

mainstream. In an article published in the /London Telegraph/, Professor

Jonathan Rees, a dermatologist at Newcastle University, said, " The facts

of this are that ultraviolet light is the major known cause of skin

cancer. "

 

Melanomas and Others

 

What Rees said may be technically true--the major known cause of skin

cancer may well be ultraviolet light. But the type of skin cancer most

of these writers are referring to is not melanoma, so the claim paints

an inaccurate picture. It's important to make the distinction between

melanoma and other skin cancers. Melanoma is a more serious form of skin

cancer. It's malignant, and it can spread to your internal organs, often

leading to death.

 

But 90 percent of skin cancers are non-melanoma cancers. The most common

forms are basal and squamous cell carcinomas, which are much less

serious. They're benign and are easily cured by simple outpatient

surgery. These are the ones caused by solar radiation. Melanomas, on the

other hand, are most likely caused by lack of sunlight and excess

artificial light.

 

But dare I say there's hope for the mainstream? I don't want to be too

hasty in jumping to conclusions, but the /JNCI/ editorial did

acknowledge two well-known--though rarely acknowledged--facts: that

melanoma is usually found in areas of the body " where the sun don't

shine " and that vitamin D may be important in preventing melanoma.

 

The authors said, " Evidence is beginning to emerge that sunlight

exposure, particularly as it relates to vitamin D synthesized in the

skin under the influence of solar radiation, might have a beneficial

influence for certain cancers. "

 

Known for Years

 

You don't say.

 

It amazes me how something known for years, even in the halls of

politically correct science, can be ignored by the medocracy until

another study is done. Then, voila! It's big news all over again.

 

The scientific truth about sunlight and cancer is out there--it's just

not easy for the average person (or the average doctor, for that matter)

to find.

 

A close look at the /Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the U.S.,

1950-1994/

reveals the amazing truth about sunlight and cancer. Since you won't

find this important document at your local newsstand, I'll explain it to

you briefly. Among whites in the U.S., there is a striking

difference in

the number of cases of many types of cancer--breast, prostate, and

colon, for example--between the northern latitudes and the southern

latitudes. The higher the latitude in which you live, the more likely

you are to die of cancer. In other words, New York

bad, Birmingham

good.

And what's one of the major differences between New York

and Birmingham?

 

New York gets

a whole lot less sunshine.

 

Toss Your Sunscreen

 

What excessive sun exposure does do is cause injury to the inner layer

of the skin, the dermis, which, in turn, leads to wrinkling of the outer

layer, the epidermis. If you're thinking that that happens with age

(regardless of the sun), you're right. But sun exposure can speed up the

process, causing the skin to age prematurely and to become loose and

leathery. This is called solar elastosis (SE).

 

When researchers at the University

of New Mexico

investigated melanoma,

they found a marked *decrease* in the disease in patients with solar

elastosis. (This information is from one of the /JNCI/ articles I told

you about.) In other words, more sun exposure equals less incidence of

melanoma. And for those patients who did have melanoma, the subsequent

mortality from the disease was approximately one-half as high among

those patients with signs of SE. Now, I'm no logician, but it seems to

me that if SE is caused by sun exposure and if people with SE have half

as much melanoma as people with normal skin, then it's logical to

conclude that sunlight prevents melanoma.

 

In light of these remarkable findings, shouldn't people seriously

reconsider the effectiveness and logic of using " protective "

sunscreens?

What are they protecting you from, a long and healthy life?

 

Besides the research I mentioned above, I've told you before that the

sun is a major source of vitamin D. Not having enough vitamin D can

result in osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis,

among other things. So when you slather on high-SPF sunscreens, not only

are you increasing your risk of melanoma, you're also increasing your

risk of developing all of the conditions that can arise from a vitamin D

deficiency because you're literally blocking vitamin D synthesis in the

skin.

 

There is a fierce resistance to this obvious fact by the sunscreen

manufacturers and the dermatologists who have a reputation (and, in some

cases, a sinecure) to protect. Both groups stress sunburn as an

important factor in melanoma formation since that's all they have left

as a reason to sell you sunscreen lotions. This is a very leaky boat in

which to carry their message because (1) millions of people get

sunburned every year but very few contract melanoma, and (2) if a

melanoma appears, it's still most likely to appear in areas not exposed

to the sun.

 

In the /London Telegraph/ article I mentioned earlier, Jean King, the

director of education for the Cancer Research Campaign, severely

criticized researchers for defending sunbathing. She said, " There's a

very clear and agreed public health message on this issue which we

should be careful not to undermine. "

 

Ah yes, an " agreed public health message " --the new paradigm of

science

that has no scientific justification. Sounds just like fat making you

fat. Or fluoride being good for your teeth. But the fluoride paradigm

looks like it could be shifting sooner than later.

 

**

 

William C. Douglass II, M.D. is editor of /The Douglass Report/.

Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2006, Healthier News, LLC. All

rights reserved.

[Guest guest]

True story: My mother once killed off some skin cancer on her face with just pure aloe vera gel. I don't know what type of skin cancer it was...

 

Cyndi

 

 

 

Sotirakos, Erika T. <ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS

Bowman, Sharon R CONTRACTOR - CHERRY ROAD TECH. <sharon.bowman1; Paschalidis, Jenean <JENEAN.PASCHALIDIS; RealSimple

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 5:32 am

[RealSimple] Sunlight and Melanoma: The surprising connection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunlight and Melanoma

 

The Surprising Connection

 

*By William Campbell Douglass, MD*

<http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/sunlight-melanoma.html#author>

 

Sunlight may be the best thing for melanoma. That's right, in spite of

what you've been reading, the sun doesn't cause melanoma, in fact, it's

actually good for you, as many studies have indicated.

 

Now two more studies are showing the benefits of the sun. Needless to

say, this news has left scientists and dermatologists scratching their

heads. After all, what else is there to do when what you've been

preaching to the masses--that sunlight causes cancer and will kill

you--ends up being flat out wrong?

 

Let me just give you a quick rundown on these articles--both of which

appeared in the February issue of the /Journal of the National Cancer

Institute (JNCI)/. One evaluated the hypothesis that UV radiation

increases your risk of developing lymphoma. But after studying about

7,000 subjects, the researchers concluded that the opposite is actually

true: increased sun exposure *reduces* the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

 

The other study evaluated the supposed link between sun exposure and the

chances of surviving melanoma. The researchers concluded that increased

sun exposure actually increases the survival rate from melanoma.

 

So, what could be the cause of such phenomena?

 

Misconception

 

Researchers Kathleen Egan, Jeffrey Sosman, and William Blot expressed

their ideas about it in an accompanying editorial in the same issue of

the /JNCI/. When they start out with a claim like this one: "Solar

radiation is a well-established skin carcinogen, responsible for more

cancers worldwide than any other single agent," it's no wonder they

would scratch their heads over these latest findings.

 

And, of course, they're not alone. This misconception pervades the

mainstream. In an article published in the /London Telegraph/, Professor

Jonathan Rees, a dermatologist at Newcastle University, said, "The facts

of this are that ultraviolet light is the major known cause of skin cancer."

 

Melanomas and Others

 

What Rees said may be technically true--the major known cause of skin

cancer may well be ultraviolet light. But the type of skin cancer most

of these writers are referring to is not melanoma, so the claim paints

an inaccurate picture. It's important to make the distinction between

melanoma and other skin cancers. Melanoma is a more serious form of skin

cancer. It's malignant, and it can spread to your internal organs, often

leading to death.

 

But 90 percent of skin cancers are non-melanoma cancers. The most common

forms are basal and squamous cell carcinomas, which are much less

serious. They're benign and are easily cured by simple outpatient

surgery. These are the ones caused by solar radiation. Melanomas, on the

other hand, are most likely caused by lack of sunlight and excess

artificial light.

 

But dare I say there's hope for the mainstream? I don't want to be too

hasty in jumping to conclusions, but the /JNCI/ editorial did

acknowledge two well-known--though rarely acknowledged--facts: that

melanoma is usually found in areas of the body "where the sun don't

shine" and that vitamin D may be important in preventing melanoma.

 

The authors said, "Evidence is beginning to emerge that sunlight

exposure, particularly as it relates to vitamin D synthesized in the

skin under the influence of solar radiation, might have a beneficial

influence for certain cancers."

 

Known for Years

 

You don't say.

 

It amazes me how something known for years, even in the halls of

politically correct science, can be ignored by the medocracy until

another study is done. Then, voila! It's big news all over again.

 

The scientific truth about sunlight and cancer is out there--it's just

not easy for the average person (or the average doctor, for that matter)

to find.

 

A close look at the /Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the U.S., 1950-1994/

reveals the amazing truth about sunlight and cancer. Since you won't

find this important document at your local newsstand, I'll explain it to

you briefly. Among whites in the U.S., there is a striking difference in

the number of cases of many types of cancer--breast, prostate, and

colon, for example--between the northern latitudes and the southern

latitudes. The higher the latitude in which you live, the more likely

you are to die of cancer. In other words, New York bad, Birmingham good.

And what's one of the major differences between New York and Birmingham?

New York gets a whole lot less sunshine.

 

Toss Your Sunscreen

 

What excessive sun exposure does do is cause injury to the inner layer

of the skin, the dermis, which, in turn, leads to wrinkling of the outer

layer, the epidermis. If you're thinking that that happens with age

(regardless of the sun), you're right. But sun exposure can speed up the

process, causing the skin to age prematurely and to become loose and

leathery. This is called solar elastosis (SE).

 

When researchers at the University of New Mexico investigated melanoma,

they found a marked *decrease* in the disease in patients with solar

elastosis. (This information is from one of the /JNCI/ articles I told

you about.) In other words, more sun exposure equals less incidence of

melanoma. And for those patients who did have melanoma, the subsequent

mortality from the disease was approximately one-half as high among

those patients with signs of SE. Now, I'm no logician, but it seems to

me that if SE is caused by sun exposure and if people with SE have half

as much melanoma as people with normal skin, then it's logical to

conclude that sunlight prevents melanoma.

 

In light of these remarkable findings, shouldn't people seriously

reconsider the effectiveness and logic of using "protective" sunscreens?

What are they protecting you from, a long and healthy life?

 

Besides the research I mentioned above, I've told you before that the

sun is a major source of vitamin D. Not having enough vitamin D can

result in osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis,

among other things. So when you slather on high-SPF sunscreens, not only

are you increasing your risk of melanoma, you're also increasing your

risk of developing all of the conditions that can arise from a vitamin D

deficiency because you're literally blocking vitamin D synthesis in the

skin.

 

There is a fierce resistance to this obvious fact by the sunscreen

manufacturers and the dermatologists who have a reputation (and, in some

cases, a sinecure) to protect. Both groups stress sunburn as an

important factor in melanoma formation since that's all they have left

as a reason to sell you sunscreen lotions. This is a very leaky boat in

which to carry their message because (1) millions of people get

sunburned every year but very few contract melanoma, and (2) if a

melanoma appears, it's still most likely to appear in areas not exposed

to the sun.

 

In the /London Telegraph/ article I mentioned earlier, Jean King, the

director of education for the Cancer Research Campaign, severely

criticized researchers for defending sunbathing. She said, "There's a

very clear and agreed public health message on this issue which we

should be careful not to undermine."

 

Ah yes, an "agreed public health message"--the new paradigm of science

that has no scientific justification. Sounds just like fat making you

fat. Or fluoride being good for your teeth. But the fluoride paradigm

looks like it could be shifting sooner than later.

 

**

 

William C. Douglass II, M.D. is editor of /The Douglass Report/.

Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2006, Healthier News, LLC. All

rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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