Running Causes Cancer

By Cedric Jaggers/Running Journal/July 2009

Remember you heard it here first: RUNNING CAUSES CANCER. You don’t believe me? I can prove it. Just ask my doctor. He recently cut a basal cell carcinoma off my head, and it wasn’t the first one -- there was the one on my arm, the one on my back, the one on my leg. How does that connect to running causing it? Probably indirectly, but really it can be connected due to exposure to sunlight. Sunlight gives you big doses of Ultra Violet light, in two types called UVA and UVB. If you Google basal cell cancer, one definition you will find states that “Basal cell carcinomas are the result of sun damage to the skin The sun damage usually occurred years before the cancer began. Ten to 40 years can pass between the time of sun exposure and the development of skin cancer. Sun damage is permanent and irreversible.” Let’s put two and two together.

Let’s look at a hypothetical runner who started running back in the 1960s. Back then runners didn’t wear hats, and during the summer usually wore T-shirts with the sleeves cut out, and if they were guys, frequently no shirt at all. Anyway, this hypothetical runner never wore ‘suntan lotion’ because it was greasy and besides, who needed it anyway? Hats and sunglasses -- Ha, forget that. Just put on the shoes and shorts and head out and run. This runner, like many others ran after work in the afternoon sun, and on weekends ran morning races and afternoon long runs in varying degrees of sunshine. Usually a lot of sunshine. I sort of resemble that guy.

Forty years or so later that guy and others of the baby boomer generation are finding out at the doctor’s office the consequences of lots of years of unprotected sun exposure. Cancer. They cut them out and if they get it all they tell you it will be alright. Let’s hope they are right.
There is another unexpected consequence of long years of sun exposure (besides the leathery skin some folks get) and that is cataracts. It turns out that UV exposure (like you get from sunshine) also contributes to the development of certain types of cataracts. Seems this runner has had cataracts removed from his eyes in the past couple of years. Maybe squinting when you are running into the sun doesn’t provide much protection. Ouch.

Where does all this lead us? Running causes cancer and cataracts if you do it for a long time, so none of us should run, right? Wrong. Those of us who didn’t know any better are paying the consequences of running without sun protection and without eye protections. But most runners now are not as old as those of us who started running in the 1960s or 70s. You can learn from our mistakes and take better care of yourself when you run.

A few simple things will go a long way to help keep you away from the dermatologist and the eye doctor. First, always use sunscreen on exposed areas of your skin. If you think a tan looks good you need to re-educate your mind. A tan is only an indication of skin damage. Skin damage will almost inevitably lead to one of two bad things: (1) leather like skin (best case) (2) skin cancer (worst case). There is no such thing as a ‘healthy tan.’ Want to look like you are 60 or 70 when you are 30 or 40? Get yourself a good ‘healthy tan’ every year. It is a sure fire way to add years to your apparent age.

There was an interesting article in our local newspaper last week by John Mailander Fareell, reprinted from the Miami Herald. He pointed out that tanning beds are not any safer than any other kind of sun tan (see the above paragraph for sun tan effects). He also pointed out that sunscreen with an SPF of 15 gives you 75 minutes of 93 percent skin protections while an SPF of 30 gives you 150 minutes while blocking out 97 percent of the sun’s burning rays. How long are you going to run? How much protection do you want and need. If you don’t care if your skin gets old and leathery or if you get age spots or cancer from sun exposure, then don’t use sunscreen.

If you do care, then use sunscreen and protect yourself. The same holds true for protecting your eyes. Forget so called cosmetic sunglasses. Make sure your sunglasses block at least 99 percent of UVB rays and at least 95 percent of the UVA rays. If the sunglasses don’t mention it, they don’t do it.

Until I had my first cancer removed from the top of my head (yes, those of you who know me know there is a big bald spot there) I never wore a hat when I ran. Now I do. Until I had my cataracts removed, I never wore sunglasses when I ran. Now I do. This is a cautionary tale. Do as I did and get cancer and cataracts if that is your choice. But if I had it to do over again, knowing what research has shown, I would have always worn protection from the sun -- a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

Okay, back to the title. Running Causes Cancer. I hope it got your attention. Running itself doesn’t cause the cancer or the cataracts, but exposure to the sun when we run surely can. So can sunbathing on the beach, pool or tanning bed. We make our choices. We hope you make good ones and we’ll see you running down the road for years to come. Maybe you’ll have on sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.