Brittany Leitz is a beautiful woman who has used her talents and natural beauty to succeed as Miss Maryland, as a Redskins cheerleader, and as a public spokesperson. Brittany also has melanoma. Just a year after her melanoma surgery, Brittany competed for and won the title Miss Maryland 2006. Part of her motivation was to bring more awareness to skin cancer detection and prevention. When she was crowned Miss Maryland on July 1, 2006, Brittany Lietz became a woman on a mission to educate others about the dangers of unprotected exposure to the sun’s often deadly rays.

Her message: “I don’t want anyone to go through what I have. I keep reminding people that skin cancer can happen to you. You’re not immune to this,” she said. She has made a special effort to speak before audiences of teenagers. “Teenagers just don’t listen to their parents. That’s why it’s our job as skin cancer survivors to step up,” she said.”This is such a preventable cancer. Wear a sunscreen of a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 every day. Avoid tanning beds and get screened by a dermatologist regularly.

Brittany has brought her passion for skin cancer awareness to a variety of audiences. She’s encouraged her fellow Miss America contestants to stop tanning, testified before legislators in states considering bills to limit access to tanning salons by minors, and spoken to numerous groups, most commonly high school students. “As bad as my melanoma was, I also have been very fortunate to serve as Miss Maryland, which gave me a forum to educate my peers about the risks of indoor tanning”. With the Miss Maryland program, I am proud to say that all of my Miss Maryland sisters do not use the tanning beds anymore because of my crusade against using them.”

Four years later, Brittany’s impact across the nation is everywhere! Her story was profiled on national and print news media, on the American Academy of Dermatology website, and in the NIH Magazine “Medline Plus”. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation (www.melanomaresource.org), and has been featured in two of the best websites on melanoma: the Aim at Melanoma Foundation (http://www.aimatmelanoma.org.) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (http://melanomaresearchalliance.org/).

Has her crusade made a difference? You bet! There are many areas where she has been a catalyst for making changes and increasing awareness. While it is not possible to know how to attribute her message to the public with the responses at the government level, substantial changes are now going on in the United States, in Canada, and in Great Britain. Here is a summary in North America:

FTC ACTIONS AGAINST TANNING SALOONS:

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Indoor Tanning Association has been charged with making false health and safety claims about indoor tanning. “The messages promoted by the indoor tanning industry fly in the face of scientific evidence,” said David C. Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The industry needs to do a better job of communicating the risks of tanning to consumers.”

The FTC complaint alleges that in March 2008, the association launched an advertising campaign designed to portray indoor tanning as safe and beneficial. The campaign included two national newspaper ads, television and video advertising, two Web sites, a communications guide, and point-of-sale materials that were provided to association members for distribution in local markets. In addition to denying the skin cancer risks of tanning, the campaign allegedly also made these false claims:

1.Indoor tanning is approved by the government;
2.Indoor tanning is safer than tanning outdoors because the amount of ultraviolet light received when tanning indoors is monitored and controlled;
3.Research shows that vitamin D supplements may harm the body’s ability to fight disease; and
4.A National Academy of Sciences study determined that “the risks of not getting enough ultraviolet light far outweigh the hypothetical risk of skin cancer.”

The complaint also alleges that the association failed to disclose material facts in its advertising.Under its settlement with the Commission, the association is prohibited from making the misrepresentations challenged in the complaint, from misrepresenting any tests or studies, and from providing deceptive advertisements to members. The settlement also requires that future association ads that make safety or health benefits claims for indoor tanning may not be misleading and must be substantiated.

Further, the order requires that certain future advertisements from the association contain disclosures. Ads that make claims about the safety or health benefits of indoor tanning are required to clearly and prominently make this disclosure:

“NOTICE: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation may increase the likelihood of developing skin cancer and can cause serious eye injury.”

FDA ACTIONS:

This spring, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is examining its options regarding indoor tanning regulations and different ways of informing consumers about the potential health risks of UV exposure.

The FDA will weigh the recommendations of a special scientific advisory panel – to be discussed in an open hearing – this March. Among the suspected areas of review are the Class 1 status of tanning beds (at the lower end of risk when it comes to medical devices), warning signage and the current Sunlamp Standards.

The FDA will weigh the recommendations of a special scientific advisory panel – to be discussed in an open hearing – this March. Among the suspected areas of review are the Class 1 status of tanning beds (at the lower end of risk when it comes to medical devices), warning signage and the current Sunlamp Standards.

IN CANADA:

Also,the Canadian Dermatology Association has launched a TV and radio public service announcement, “Indoor Tanning is Out,” that explains how the ultraviolet (UV) rays from tanning beds can be up to 10 to 15 times higher than those that radiate from the midday sun.

IN MARYLAND:

Brittany serves on the Advisory Board of the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation based here in Maryland. My friend Bob Nicolay has been an ardent advocate for regulating tanning facilities in the state of Maryland. Through testimony and written support, the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation was actively involved in passage of the “first in nation” complete ban on teen tanning with regulations unanimously approved on November 10,2009 by Howard County, Maryland’s Board of Health. Effective November 12, the regulations prohibit “minors’ access to indoor tanning devices as well as regulate the sanitary conditions and operation of tanning facilities.” Currently, at least 31 states regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors. For more information, go to their website: www.melanomaresource.org.

All in all, Brittany Leitz was successful in her mission and her public message really made a difference on many levels. Indeed, I believe she is a “gamechanger”! Thanks Brittany…

See my other blogs about skin cancer prevention and the risks of indoor tanning.

Here is a nice summary on preventing skin cancer. For anyone who is at risk for sunburning, and who wants to be healthy for a lifetime and prevent melanoma and other forms of skin cancer, this is a very informative video produced from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Here’s more information from our companion website, patientresource.net:

Skin cancers are broadly classified as melanoma and nonmelanomas. More than 1 million cases of nonmelanoma are diagnosed each year, making it the most common cancer in the United States. Melanoma occurs less frequently, with approximately 60,000 new cases diagnosed in 2007. The number of people affected by both types of skin cancer has increased substantially over the past several decades. Increased exposure to the sun is thought to be the cause of this increase.

Melanomas and nonmelanomas are cancers that originate in the outer layer of the skin, or the epidermis. The epidermis is made up of three kinds of cells. Skin cancers are defined by the type of cell from which they develop. Squamous cell carcinoma arises from squamous cells, — thin flat cells that make up the top layer of the epidermis. Basal cell carcinoma develops in basal cells — round cells that lie beneath the layer of squamous cells.

These two types of skin cancer are referred to as nonmelanoma to distinguish them from melanoma, which develops in melanocytes. Melanocytes form the bottom layer of the epidermis and determine the skin color of an individual. Nonmelanomas are relatively slow growing and rarely spread (metastasize). In contrast, melanoma cells are much more likely to invade nearby lymphatic vessels and/or spread to other parts of the body, making them potentially more harmful. They are the focus here.

This video discusses the link between vitamin D deficiency and cancer. It is an informative interview with Cedric Garland from Moores Cancer Center and Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California at San Diego. The particular focus in this video is about cancer prevention and screening.

See my other blog which includes a very thorough video about vitamin D deficiency being more prevalent in women with breast cancer:

“What Does Vitamin D Have To Do with the Breast Cancer Risk?”

Brittany Lietz was Miss Maryland in 2006 and went on to the Miss America Pagent. Her public platform was about prevention of sunburn and the dangers of using tanning booths. As a model, Brittany used tanning booths regularly. She developed a melanoma that was detected early, but has had multiple biopsy (with resultant scars) for moles on her body. She attributes the development of her melanoma to the use of tanning booths and warns teenagers and young adults to be careful in the sun and not to use tanning booths. This is a compelling story of a talented young woman who exposed her skin to natural and artificial ultraviolet irradiation to tan her skin and paid the price with the development of a melanoma before she turned 20 years of age!

I recommend this video to anyone who uses, or is thinking about using, artificial tanning in a tanning booth. Although popular, tanning beds have risks. Watch this video and be aware of the risks before you step into a danger zone.

See my other blog “Cancer Risk of Tanning Beds Equal to Tobacco and Arsenic!“

Here is an informative ABC News segment on sunscreen labels and how they may not accurately describe the information you need as a consumer. See my related blog:

“Cancer Risk of Tanning Beds Equal to Tobacco and Arsenic!”

Here’s information from our companion website, patientresource.net, about treatment options for skin cancer:

The treatment of skin cancers depends on whether the lesion is a nonmelanoma or a melanoma. Several treatment options are available for nonmelanomas, and the choice depends on many factors, such as the location and characteristics of the tumor (size, depth, and location); the individual’s age, general health condition, and personal preference; and the potential cosmetic result.

Generally, this can be accomplished by excision of the skin cancer with a small margin of the surrounding skin. The surgeon and the pathologist will generally verify that the skin cancer is generally removed with a “quick stain” during the operative procedure. If there is still residual tumor, then more skin must be excised. For melanomas, surgical treatment involves a wider excision of skin surrounding the melanoma in an amount that varies according to tumor thickness. The goals are to remove all cancerous tissue and to minimize the likelihood that the cancer will recur (grow back). Surgical excision is usually the preferred treatment for both types of skin cancer.

In addition to surgical excision of a melanoma, dissection (removal) of lymph nodes that contain cancer cells may also necessary. Surgery is the most effective treatment in this circumstance. If a melanoma is thick or has spread to one or more lymph nodes, the physician may recommend adjuvant therapy after the surgery, which is treatment given after the primary treatment.

The goal of adjuvant therapy is to kill cancer cells that are not yet detectable, and this treatment increases the likelihood that the melanoma will not recur. Adjuvant therapy may include biological therapy (also called immunotherapy) or radiation therapy or both. At present, there is no documented benefit of chemotherapy after surgery. When melanoma is metastatic at the time it is diagnosed, a combination of surgery and radiation therapy may be recommended to eliminate the primary melanoma as well as control the metastatic disease.