My sister is 27 years old and just had her first baby. She just got diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer - Papillary Carcinoma. She has been in tanning in tanning beds since she was 15 years old. I am 25 years old and have also been tanning since I was 15. I was wondering if this has anything to do with it?
Hi, Thanks for writing in. There is a possibility of tanning beds causing cancer of the skin. A link connecting papillary carcinoma thyroid to tanning beds is unconfirmed. However, I have come across patients who spent a lot of time on tanning beds for years and have developed papillary cancer thyroid. The original researches show tanning to be an underlying cause of melanoma which is a violent form of skin cancer. There is also a particular type of melanoma involving the eyes called ocular melanoma and many patients admit to having spent years using many years on tanning beds under the sun therefore making it a cause. Please do not worry.