A surprising number of melanoma survivors continue using tanning beds even after recovery from the condition, reports a new study from researchers at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven.
For the study, researchers reviewed health records from 27,120 participants of the 2010 National Health Interview Survey. They found that 171 of those participants had previously experienced melanoma. Of that group, 2 percent claimed that they continued using tanning beds and 15 percent said they made no effort to curtain sun exposure.
"Overall, melanoma survivors did take more precautions against melanoma than the general population," said lead researcher Anees B. Chagpar. "Still, these results are really depressing. So much more could be done to protect against a recurrence of this deadly skin cancer."
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