Why don't pros get skin cancer?

[Golden Retriever]

According to studies you could get skin cancer for just spending one weekend in the beach. However the pros are playing and practicing under the sun for 6 hours a day for up to 2 decades starting from age 10 (when the skin is much more delicate), yet nobody that I know of has got skin cancer. Are the studies flawed or they are using some kind of spaceage suntan lotion?

 

[Andres]

According to studies you could get skin cancer for just spending one weekend in the beach. However the pros are playing and practicing under the sun for 6 hours a day for up to 2 decades starting from age 10 (when the skin is much more delicate), yet nobody that I know of has got skin cancer. Are the studies flawed or they are using some kind of spaceage suntan lotion?

The key word there is COULD. It's true, a weekend on the beach COULD get you skin cancer ... But 97% of the people who lives in beach cities, or tan often, doesn't. Why?

Some skins are more sensitive and receptive to those types of diseases. It's a small ammount, let's say like 3% of the total population.

According to studies, drinking coffee, smoking, drinking alcohol and stress can get you hemorroids... but the actual percentage of people getting hemorroids in the whole world isn't that big...

Edit: (Well... maybe I was wrong about the % of ppl with hemorroids, but u get my point, right?)

 

[sotua]

According to studies you could get skin cancer for just spending one weekend in the beach. However the pros are playing and practicing under the sun for 6 hours a day for up to 2 decades starting from age 10 (when the skin is much more delicate), yet nobody that I know of has got skin cancer. Are the studies flawed or they are using some kind of spaceage suntan lotion?

I don't think they forget the suntan lotion, ever. And you're talking statistics. It isn't a *fact* that if you stand X amount of time in the sun you get skin cancer.

 

[Fee]

There are different types of skin cancer. We'll see if any players develop any of those cancers in their lifetimes. There may also be a genetic pre-dispostion for or against developing any type of cancer. So many variables in this field, hard to make any definitive statements really.

We do know that sun exposure causes wrinking and premature aging. We also know that the right type of sunscreen (containing either avobenzene, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide in the active ingredients) applied properly (thickly, before you get dressed and go out in the sun so that it has time to sink in to your skin) can prevent wrinkling and cancer. This issue is very important to me.

You need about 15 minutes of sun per day to provide Vitamin D. Anything after that is potentially damaging, so take care of yourself.

 

[Frodo Baggins]

it is a serious disease..The pro's better check thier skin for any kinds of Suspcious Moles.No matter what!!! Daily if possible..Better yet I'll check thier skin for them.. !!!! Skin Cancer is preventable if caught early!!!

 

[pound cat]

it is a serious disease..The pro's better check thier skin for any kinds of Suspcious Moles.No matter what!!! Daily if possible..Better yet I'll check thier skin for them.. !!!! Skin Cancer is preventable if caught early!!!

They do check it every day...they have daily massages so somone is looking at their bodies...all over.

Even the retired pros don't have the leather l, too much sun for years look..eg .MacEnroe, Vilas, the Aussies, and they were playing in the era of sun block, what's that?

The current sun block thing may very well be another pharmaceutical industry crock. Plus if you don't get enough sun you get a vitamin D deficiency. But then the vitamin companies make money from that.

 

[lucky leprechaun]

Probably because they are ten times healthier than your average slightly obese normal person.

 

[dubsplayer]

They probably don't think about the consequences yet because they're all still so young. When I was in Miami I was chatting with Nalbandian's cousin while he was practicing and he kept nagging David to put on a hat, telling me that he (the cousin) worries David will get skin cancer. David, being his normal grumpy self, kept grumbling at the cousin to stop nagging him. Then the cousin told me that David, at least, puts on suncreen beore a match or practice, but it gets sweated off in mere minutes, and he won't reapply during play/practice because it makes the racquet slippery.

 

[arosen]

A lot of the practice is done at night, or when the sun is at its least active. Also, a lot of matches are played late. Some players use sunscreen. Some get blotches or suspicious skin areas removed quickly. They all retire in 30s or earlier, that's when skin doesnt regenerate as well anymore, but they stop playing so exposure stops as well.

 

[Golden Retriever]

Probably because they are ten times healthier than your average slightly obese normal person.

10 times healthier doesn't protect you from skin cancer.

 

[dubsplayer]

A lot of the practice is done at night, or when the sun is at its least active. Also, a lot of matches are played late. Some players use sunscreen. Some get blotches or suspicious skin areas removed quickly. They all retire in 30s or earlier, that's when skin doesnt regenerate as well anymore, but they stop playing so exposure stops as well.

Practicing at night??? Not at any tourney I've ever been to. And I go to 5 or 6 a year. The practice courts are packed, smack dab in the middle of the day. And a much higher percentage of matches are played during the day, then at night, too.

 

[wyutani]

why dun pros get skin cancer? its becos they have thick skin....

 

[breakfast_of_champions]

generally people dont get skin cancer until they are older.

 

[croatian sensation]

I've been thinking that myself during the whole AO...not why don't they get it now..since it takes some time to develop it...but more like why do the girls play in the tinyest outfits possible (Benesova for example) at 1 p.m under the biggest ozone hole in the world!?
I'm pretty sure they apply serious amounts of sunscreen.. and which can hold for hours (I'd use SPF 100 if I was them..which would technically give me 25 hours of sun protection lol) but they sweat a lot...which wears off the sunscreen, so I think covering a bit more skin would be wise. Especially in Australia.

 

[The Ripper]

One of my coaches is 65 y.o., of Thai descent, 35 years teaching. He keeps himself completely covered (even gloves) while teaching in the sun and goes to his dermatologist regularly. And he does occasionally have cancerous spots removed, which are painful and take a while to heal! So for him it has been no picnic. I'm guessing he went without precautions for years so the last 10 or so caught up with him.

 

[lucky leprechaun]

Didn't Rafter cover himself up with goo all the time?

 

[Kobble]

Dendtritic cell vaccines.

 

[Skppr05]

is it true that only suncscreens with an SPF of 50 and above are the only ones that are effective?

 

[Fee]

is it true that only suncscreens with an SPF of 50 and above are the only ones that are effective?

No, that is NOT AT ALL true. In the US, the SPF rating has been a cosmetic term, mostly unregulated. That is due to change this year and the new highest ratings will be 30+.

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread and it kind of dismays me. Here is an article that should clear it up:

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/article.asp?PAGETYPE=ART&REFER=SUN&ID=31

 

[doriancito]

caucasians get skin cancer not tan people, i mean federer has a probability of getting it so has roddick, agassi i doubt since he is Iran desendant

 

[Dan007]

caucasians get skin cancer not tan people, i mean federer has a probability of getting it so has roddick, agassi i doubt since he is Iran desendant

Yeah, people with whiter skin(caucasians) have a better chance of getting a skin cancer than people with a darker skin.

 

[Andres]

Yeah, people with whiter skin(caucasians) have a better chance of getting a skin cancer than people with a darker skin.

That's true. Black people with skin cancer, are very rare.

 

[Deleted member 6835]

sunscreen?

 

[Steve Huff]

Fee--nice article. For those who think you have to be old to get skin cancer, you're wrong. I'm an RN. When I've been forced to float to an Oncology Unit, the majority of melanoma patients I've seen have been young women in their 30's. Melanoma's are one of the deadliest skin cancers if not caught early. Basil cell cancer's are more common. They are normally slow growing and more easily removed. Studies have shown that redheads have the highest incident of skin cancer. So, looking at the pro's, I imagine McEnro, Mark Woodford, Patty Schnyder should be especially careful in the sun. A couple of years ago, wasn't it Nalbandian that got burnt really bad and really had a hard time with it as he got to the semi's or quarter's.

 

[dubsplayer]

Didn't Rafter cover himself up with goo all the time?

It was Zinc Oxide - which blocks anything. But just on his face. And by the second or third game of a match he had already sweated most of it off.

 

[mdhubert]

I think their skin adapt to the sunny conditions. When you look, they are not even that tanned...

 

[wyutani]

I think their skin adapt to the sunny conditions. When you look, they are not even that tanned...

its genes mate'....it all genes....

 

[pound cat]

What I find really stupid is the number of pros who practive with no shirt on...showing off the bod eg Safin. I'm sure they don't stop to have someone apply sunscreen/.

 

[arnz]

I will volunteer to check Hantuchova, Sharapova, or Ana Ivanovic's skin at any time (and their entire body for that matter). Health is extremely important to me

 

[PurePrestige]

They make sport sunscreens you know. I use this stuff, the name I don't recall at the moment its in my tennis bag. Its a spray bottle that is sweat proof SPF 30+ sport sunscreen of some sort. It works better than the lotions and is just a spray so its not too oily. Works great, i've never gotten burned with it.
I assume the pro's know some much better sweat proof or sport designed sunscreens.

 

[sureshs]

What about the eyes? Playing in the sun the whole time means getting all the UV rays, which can lead to cataract.

Recreational players can use glasses, but the pros don't. Contact lenses my help, I don't know.

This is a very useful thread. I never thought about these issues before.

Is there anything you can do AFTER playing in the sun to minimize the risks of skin cancer or the damage is already done?

 

[wyutani]

look at Patrick rafter's face mate'...his face is like covered in some UV-protectin thingy, white...that's how you avoid skin cancer...hahahaha...no secret guys...

 

[Fee]

What about the eyes? Playing in the sun the whole time means getting all the UV rays, which can lead to cataract.

Recreational players can use glasses, but the pros don't. Contact lenses my help, I don't know.

This is a very useful thread. I never thought about these issues before.

Is there anything you can do AFTER playing in the sun to minimize the risks of skin cancer or the damage is already done?

Yes. Read the article that I linked in my previous post. Ignore just about everything you have read in this thread. It's like myth central in here.

 

[Skppr05]

They make sport sunscreens you know. I use this stuff, the name I don't recall at the moment its in my tennis bag. Its a spray bottle that is sweat proof SPF 30+ sport sunscreen of some sort. It works better than the lotions and is just a spray so its not too oily. Works great, i've never gotten burned with it.
I assume the pro's know some much better sweat proof or sport designed sunscreens.

yea, the spray sunscreens are great. The lotion ones, if not used for awhile (about 3 motnhs) begins to congeal leaving the oil on the top and the rest of the substance on the bottom

 

[Mike Danger]

this reminds me of the seinfeld episode where Keith Hernandez meets Jerry and George gets refered to as the Chucker.

"you think with all these teams flying around there'd eventually be a plane crash and wipe out a whole team....."

 

[armand]

The human body is highly adaptable. It adapts to viruses, repeated motions, different diets, its environment etc and certainly the sun which has been around since before the beginnings of life.

Simply: Tennis players have built up an increased immunity to the suns effects since they're in the sun so long and never lose their tans. That's what a tan is all about; it actually has a function, it's not just to make a person more attractive.

Of course sunblock and after-sun lotions help too.

 

[treo]

I've heard of pros and teaching pros developing scar tissue on their eyes from sun exposure and requiring surgery to remove it.

 

[dennis10is]

During high school my high school coach had skin cancer, in college my coach had skin cancer, in grad school, the head of the coaching department had skin cancer. They all wore long sleeve t-shirts, and big floppy hats while in the sun, plenty of lotion but they all had to have numerous pieces of skin removed. All were in their 60's.

 

[BERDI4]

As adely says, they get used to it. Being so much time in the sun, they immunize and they get a tan that protects them. The worse is being 5 days in the office and suddenly go out in the weekends to play tennis when you are all white.
If you live all the time in cold weather you ger used to the cold. If you live in hot weather you get used to the heat.
That's all

 

[alienhamster]

There are different types of skin cancer. We'll see if any players develop any of those cancers in their lifetimes. There may also be a genetic pre-dispostion for or against developing any type of cancer. So many variables in this field, hard to make any definitive statements really.

We do know that sun exposure causes wrinking and premature aging. We also know that the right type of sunscreen (containing either avobenzene, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide in the active ingredients) applied properly (thickly, before you get dressed and go out in the sun so that it has time to sink in to your skin) can prevent wrinkling and cancer. This issue is very important to me.

You need about 15 minutes of sun per day to provide Vitamin D. Anything after that is potentially damaging, so take care of yourself.

Well, just to complicate these matters a bit here . . .

There is actually recent research I read somewhere (can't find a link now, sorry) that suggests that people may be OVER-applying sunscreen and/or not getting enough sunlight. Apparently, some internal cancers (inside the body's organs such as the intenstinal track, colon, etc.) seem to be PROMOTED by lack of sunlight. Not that skin cancer isn't a serious issue, because it is. But the research suggested that inadequate sunlight may be an even more serious issue because skin cancers are the easiest to detect and often the least malignant out of other types of cancer.

Bottom line is, YOU NEED SOME SUNLIGHT EVERY DAY. But I think Fee's suggestion above is best--keep it to about 15 min. max just to be safe.

 

[Duzza]

look at Patrick rafter's face mate'...his face is like covered in some UV-protectin thingy, white...that's how you avoid skin cancer...hahahaha...no secret guys...

ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS RUB IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE!! WHY PAT WHY

 

[Duzza]

are freckles a sign you might be doing a lot of damage to your skin?