None and I never have. I don't quite believe it is as harmful as they say. In my years of swimming and being in the sun, I've know no one who died of skin cancer from the sun. However they did come out with a report that they were worried about the sunscreen products especially on children. They were worried about the way the mothers lather the stuff on their kids. They said it could be more harmful than the sun.

That is really interesting about the sunscreen being harmful. I feel that almost anything that we make to "protect" ourselves from certain things we eventually find may be harmful to us. I have also never met anyone who had skin cancer from too much sun exposure. But I am not opposed to trying to protect myself to some extent. This supposed risk has not kept many people out of the sun.

The sun gives you vitamin D and the people who stay out of the sun better take supplement D There is populations in the world whom are in the sun all the time and have no problem.

Emma and Sugarhouse,
You are very fortunate that you don't know anyone who has died from skin cancer. I know all too many who are dealing with these diseases. My husband, his father and his brother all have had basal cell carcinomas removed. In my husband's case over a dozen and counting, leaving scars on his ear, neck (twice), nose, shoulder, bicepts, back and leg. Although genetically predisposed these were all in part caused by sun exposure when he was young.
But my husband's skin cancer is nothing compared to the melanoma killing my father, also caused by sun exposure when he was young. Although his melanomas were caught relatively early, and treated aggressively, it comes back every time we beat it down. He has two massive scars on his scalp, one from the removal of his primary, which involved removing a 3-inch square of his scalp and scraping down to the skull. His second scar runs from the top of his head to his ear. They used that incision to remove the melanoma tumor in his brain that was impacting his movement on his left side. Now he has at least limited use of his left arm. The tiny scar on the back of his head, where they biopsied the tumor in the center of his brain is nothing compared to those scars, but because of that tumor's location they cannot remove it and we had to adapt to the loss of his short term memory as a result of that tumor.
And then there is my husband's coworker who died of melanoma a couple of years ago leaving a young widow and two small children.
So you can consider yourselves very fortunate for not knowing anyone with skin cancer. But instead of relying on your own limited experience, I encourage you to really educate yourselves with facts. For anyone interested the Skin Cancer Foundation has some great sources for real information.
Here are just a few facts:
â¢Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
â¢Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
â¢Treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers increased by nearly 77 percent between 1992 and 2006.
â¢Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
â¢One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
These come from the linked website, which cites their sources.

Here is a link that might be useful: Skin Cancer Foundation

My husband also had basal cell carcinoma. He never ever went out in the sun without a shirt. He may have as a child but not often and never as an adult. He was very self conscious. My step son had what the doc diagnosed as pre cancer all over the bald area of his head. He wore a cap for awhile but eventually quit and it's never turned into anything and he works outside.

Maybe the cancer your family had was hereditary.

Certainly it is possible that the skin cancer in my husband's family could have a genetic component, but they were farmers and did a lot of work outside, so that is also a factor.

My father is in no way related to my husband's family, except through marriage (me) so his cancer is not linked to theirs. It does increase my risk three-hundred percent compared to someone without a family member with melanoma.

So you bet I am under a tarp, a hat, long clothes, sunscreen, the works as much as possible. We live in Southern California and participate in lots of outdoor activities year-round so sun safety lifestyle for us.

Feel free to believe whatever you want, but it has been proven that UV radiation is a carcinogen. (1)
Given that 80-90% of skin cancer is attributed to UV exposure (2) it is irresponsible to tell others that sun safety is unnecessary simply because it hasn't impacted you. And downright dangerous to spread unsubstantiated stories that "they" say sunscreen is dangerous.

(1) National Toxicology Program. Report on Carcinogens, Twelfth Edition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program. 2011: 429-430. http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/twelfth/profiles/UltravioletRadiationRelatedExposures.pdf. Accessed February 12, 2012.)

(2) Parkin DM, Mesher D, P Sasieni. Cancers attributable to solar (ultraviolet) radiation exposure in the UK in 2010. Br J Cancer. 2011; 105:S66-S69

Oh I believe you but I still don't think the danger is as bad as it's represented. My family were not farmers, but they were outdoor people. My mom was a field hand when she was young, then had vegetable gardens, my immediate family camped and swam.

I wonder if skin cancer will go down in years to come, since the younger generation are glued to their electronics and stay inside more than we did. If it does, then cancer from the radiation emitted from our electronic items will cause that kind of cancer to go up. Any way you look at it we are in trouble. LOL

This post was edited by EmmaR on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 15:47

stay hydrated and apply the sun protective creams to escape from sunburn which causes skin cancer.