Jul 29, 2008 6:05 pm US/Eastern
More Young Women Are Being Diagnosed With Melanoma
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
For years, we've been warned about the dangers of the sun, but one critical group isn't getting the message.
More and more young women are being diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Sally Thorner talked with former Miss Maryland Brittany Lietz about how being bronzed and beautiful nearly took the beauty queen's life.
For years, Brittany Lietz, a young Anne Arundel County woman, dreamed of winning the coveted crown of Miss Maryland.
In 2006, her dream came true. But before she was a beauty queen, Lietz was a tanning queen. Before she hit the beach, she hit the tanning salon.
"At the end of two years, I was going four-five years a week, 20-25 minutes a time," said Lietz.
Then, at the age of just 20, she got the shock of her life.
"My mom noticed the mole on my back and it was about the size of a nickel," said Lietz.
Nervous and scared, Brittany put it off for nine months before getting it checked.
"I went to the doctor and within five minutes my dermatologist told me she was almost positive I had melanoma," she said. "So many emotions were running through my head all at the same time. I was in shock."
Brittany had more than 20 suspicious moles removed and was left with a 14-inch scar. She's part of a growing population of young women diagnosed with the most dangerous form of skin cancer, melanoma.
"I can't really describe into words what it feels like to have anybody tell you that you have cancer, or that something is going to take your life that you did to yourself," said Lietz.
A just-released government study shows new melanoma cases in younger women have spiked 50 percent since 1980 with no increase in younger men.
Why? Researchers say women may be spending more time outdoors and in tanning beds.
"If I hadn't gotten it checked when I did, it would have killed me," said Lietz.
Dr Susan Kesmodel is a surgeon at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center.
"It doesn't have to be a death sentence," Dr. Kesmodel said.
She says a lot of people avoid getting their skin checked because they don't want bad news.
"But the earlier we find these things, the better their survival is," she said.
About 62,000 melanoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States. More than 8,400 people die of the disease, and those numbers keep going up.
"I'm here to set the record straight and tell you 100% it can and will happen to you if you don't prevent it," said Lietz.
Lietz uses her status as a "Miss Maryland" to warn young people about skin cancer. She testified in Annapolis about the dangers of tanning salons.
Her personal struggle with cancer inspired her to go into nursing, a career she's pursuing today.
"I almost made the ultimate mistake of paying for it with my life, but I learned from it. If you do go out in the sun and you do use tanning beds, you are almost 99% going to get this disease," Lietz said.
From Sally:
"I was diagnosed with non-invasive melanoma six years ago. To help get the message out, my dermatologist and I teamed up with a local artist to write a children's book. "Franny and Freddy Get Fried" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of sun exposure. It's due out later this summer.
Read Sally's Blog
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