i am such a loser, so naive and down right stupid. i started going to the solarium when i was 20. im 22 now. a girl i was at uni with was like its a great way to get a tan. everyone told me the risks but i didnt listen. i didnt think it was that bad. the first year, i went for about 6 months, the 2nd year, i went for three months. i started going every second day for 2 weeks to build up the tan, then i went once a week after. anyway, here in australia, we have a girl who just died of melanoma. she was all over the news. she did only 20 sessions in her teen years and just died at 26. it was very very sad. she sent the message out about solariums and now the government has stepped in. its been a real wake up call for me. i am completely frightened and im scared im going to end up like that. the girl who runs my local solarium said she has been going there every week since she was 17 and now shes 35. thats why i thought it cant be that bad. but now im frightened. i mean, im from australia and the message here is SLIP, SLOP, SLAP. slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. and here i am going to a solarium. we learnt about the sun every single year at school mainly because the hole in the ozone layer is basically above australia and we have one of the highest incidents of skin cancer. australia is really dangerous when it comes to the sun. the sun is dangerous wherever u go but its worse here. its worse in the south that it in the north and the south is colder and im from the south. i just wish i wasnt so stupid and listened to the tv ads and teachers at school and all the campaigns that go on. anyway, im just venting.

i understand how you feel, but going to tanning beds doesn't automatically guarantee you'll get melanoma.... i certainly would stay away from them from now on though!

i have a family history of melanoma, and i used to go to tanning beds all the time in my twenties. there just wasn't enough information out there, and i really just didn't know any better. now that i know, i take precautions as much as i can when i'm going to be out in the sun, and i especially try to guard my children from the sun (reasonably though, a little sun each day is healthy)! it's all i can do. it's all you can do as well. take precautions when you are going to be in the sun, pay attention to any changes in your skin, and live your life. :)

hey, thanks for your reply :)
i know that by going to them, doesnt automatically mean you will get melanoma. i mean people smoke all their life, yet dont get lung cancer. i guess you have to be really unlucky. i dont have many freckles on my body either. i still have sessions left over from last year. i was going to use them up this december when its summer here but now i dont think i will go. im heading up north for new years with my boyfriend and its going to be really hot. we are spending 10 days at the beach and i was going to tan for that. i didnt really know the real dangers of it, didnt think it was that bad. the girl that died, she said that she didnt blame the solarium for her cancer but said it contributed to it. she said she spent most of her life tanning on the beach because she lived close by. i havent been to the solarium in about 6 months, but im still slightly tanned. i think my skin has been stained a little. can your skin colour change forever. its not a dramatic change, im back to white but i still have that bit of colour in me. i asked my boyfriend what he prefers on me, tanned or white and he said white without a doubt. i just have a low self esteem. being tanned makes u look thinner.

hey, thanks for your reply :)
i know that by going to them, doesnt automatically mean you will get melanoma. i mean people smoke all their life, yet dont get lung cancer. i guess you have to be really unlucky. i dont have many freckles on my body either. i still have sessions left over from last year. i was going to use them up this december when its summer here but now i dont think i will go. im heading up north for new years with my boyfriend and its going to be really hot. we are spending 10 days at the beach and i was going to tan for that. i didnt really know the real dangers of it, didnt think it was that bad. the girl that died, she said that she didnt blame the solarium for her cancer but said it contributed to it. she said she spent most of her life tanning on the beach because she lived close by. i havent been to the solarium in about 6 months, but im still slightly tanned. i think my skin has been stained a little. can your skin colour change forever. its not a dramatic change, im back to white but i still have that bit of colour in me. i asked my boyfriend what he prefers on me, tanned or white and he said white without a doubt. i just have a low self esteem. being tanned makes u look thinner.

oh man, i know what you mean! i looked SO much better with a tan! it's funny, but i even looked healthier when i had a good tan.... funny how the things that can kill us are so appealing that way! :)