On TikTok, videos with the subject tag «uvindex» have gone viral.
The trend is for young people who want a quick tan to sunbathe when UV radiation is at its highest.
This makes Thea Kvikne (25) from Balestrand react.
According to Lommelegen UV radiation is electromagnetic radiation with higher energy and shorter wavelength than visible light.
As a 17-year-old, Kvikne got the type of cancer melanoma, better known as mole cancer.
Melanoma is according to The Cancer Society the most serious skin cancer. 90 percent of all types of skin cancer are related to UV rays from the sun and solarium.
– That tan is not worth it. In the worst case, you lose your life for it, says Kvikne to Dagbladet.
UV alerts are meant to warn about when the sun is at its strongest. When the UV index is three or higher, it is recommended to use sunscreen. If it is eleven, you should avoid the sun.
UVI-Forecast Norway shows day by day when the UV radiation is at its highest.
– I think it’s pretty scary that people use the UV alerts that way. They warn for a reason, says Kvikne.
The case was first mentioned in Bergensavisen.
Life-threatening consequences
Secretary General of the Norwegian Cancer Society, Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross, reacts strongly to the trend.
– There is no tan that is worth risking skin cancer for. It is natural that we want to look fresh, but I wish we could rather think that “I am nice as I am”, Ross says to Dagbladet.
She adds that the consequences can be life-threatening.
– A trend where the focus is on streamlining tanning and tanning of the skin with strong radiation and rapeseed oil, will lead to more young people later risking developing skin cancer.
INFLUENCE: Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross encourages influencers to promote positive advice on sun and health. Photo: Jorunn Valle Nilsen
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– Totally random
What turned out to be mole cancer first started as a lump on Thea Kvikne’s foot.
– I thought it was a wart and had it removed because it hurt so much when I had to put on my football boots, she says.
Due to the color and appearance, the doctor chose to forward the samples to be on the safe side.
Two weeks later, Kvikne received the shock message.
– It was completely coincidental that I not only let it go further, but then it bothered me when I played football and therefore it had to go.
Tough time: Just when it was at its worst, Thea Kvikne was very lonely. She did not get the opportunity to be social with friends. Photo: Private
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Two operations
Fortunately for Kvikne, the cancer was discovered early. She therefore escaped chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Still, she had to undergo two surgeries.
– I had to transplant skin from my stomach, because I did not have much to take off from the foot. They also found signs of spread in the lymph nodes in the left groin, and therefore had to remove this, says Kvikne.
SKIN TRANSPLANTATION: Skin from the abdomen was used to cover what they had to remove on the foot. Photo: Private
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Norway at the top of the world
When it comes to the incidence and mortality of mole cancer, Norway is at the top of the world. This is one of the most common forms of cancer in the age group of 25 to 49 years.
Skin cancer comes in a number of subgroups. The most common is to divide it into melanoma and non-melanoma.
In 2021, 1279 men and 1164 women contracted melanoma in Norway.
This is one of the most increasing cancers, and clearly one of the most serious.
– It does not have to be that way. Melanoma is a form of cancer that is easy to prevent with simple measures, says Stenstadvold Ross.
– Be fair to your skin
Kvikne knows what the consequences of careless tanning can lead to.
– I hope young people follow the good advice on sensible sunbathing and the use of sunscreen. I treat no one to go through what I did, and I was not through the worst, she says.
The general secretary of the Norwegian Cancer Society encourages people to be outside, but that one must have respect for the strong sun.
– Be careful not to get sunburned – and be a little nice with your skin, then well. Do not let it fry in the most intense rays in the middle of the day, says Stenstadvold Ross.
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