The hottest days of a Seattle summer beckon to local sun worshippers. Clad in bikinis and board shorts, they're desperate for golden tans to chase away the winter blues and snow-white skin.

While summer is the ideal time to have fun in the sun, it is also the time of year to be reminded of the ever-present danger of skin cancer and the best ways to protect yourself from one of the fastest-growing cancers in young adults.

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Although the first two are more common, melanoma is the most likely to lead to death in young adults and is the second most common form of cancer in women in their 20s.

This increase in skin cancer can be attributed to both environmental and aesthetic factors. One explanation is depletion of the ozone layer, which filters out ultraviolet light before it reaches the Earth's surface. Because global warming leads to ozone layer depletion, more ultraviolet light is present in the planet's atmosphere than a century ago.

Yet the primary factor in the increase in skin cancer cases is the desire of young people to be tan, said Dr. Daniel Berg, a UW professor of medicine in dermatology. However, in today's world, there are plenty of other ways to achieve a golden tan color, such as sunless self-tanners and spray-on salon tans.

"The sun you get in high school, college and even earlier appears to be the most important in predicting whether you'll get skin cancer later on," Berg said. "For all the kids out there who are valuing a tan, I would strongly recommend a spray-on tan . . . rather than trying to get it through ultraviolet radiation."

Although an influx of tanning beds has given people the opportunity to work on their tan all year long, Berg believes the effects are equally harmful as natural sun exposure. Tanning beds and solar rays contain ultraviolet light, which is responsible for both tanning and skin cancer.

The likelihood that a person will develop skin cancer is influenced by total amount of sun exposure and number of sunburns. One serious sunburn can increase the risk of skin cancer by an astounding 50 percent.

"It's not a one-to-one correlation," Berg said regarding how quickly skin cancer manifests itself after a sunburn. "The equivalent question would be when the pack of cigarettes you had when you were 18 would cause lung cancer. You can't pinpoint any individual sunburn or sun exposure. It's all cumulative."

Although skin cancer is typically found in older adults, in recent years it has become more common in young people. In an average week Berg treats one to two patients in their 20s or 30s.

Some people are especially susceptible to skin cancer, including those with a family history of the disease, fair hair and complexion, or skin that burns easily. However, protecting skin is a fairly simple task that could prevent future health problems.

"The American Academy of Dermatology recommends an SPF of 15 or higher," Berg said. "What I recommend is a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks UVA and UVB, and I would recommend a higher number."

Junior Sarah Phan understands the importance of sunscreen and has done research on the subject. She found the drugstore selection to be overwhelming, but after some Internet research she discovered which SPF was right for her. She also found an added benefit to protecting her skin.

"I read somewhere that you get 80 percent of skin damage before you're 18 and sun exposure is the greatest factor in creating wrinkles," Phan said. "That really freaked me out, so now I make sure I always have my SPF on me."

It wasn't until her sophomore year at the UW that Phan became cautious about sun exposure, although she has always avoided tanning beds. Even in the winter, she uses an SPF 15 moisturizer daily.

"My mom always hassled me growing up to put on sunscreen, but I never did because I wanted that nice tan," Phan said. "Once again, Mother was right."

Senior Lauren Crackel is familiar with the dangers of skin cancer. Her grandmother used to have cancerous patches burned off her skin annually. A native Hawaiian, she spends a lot of time outdoors in the sun when she goes home for breaks.

"I do worry about getting skin cancer, but that's why I use a good SPF and put it on especially during the peak sunshine hours," Crackel said. "Being from Hawaii, I know several people who have had and do have some form of skin cancer."

After discovering that she didn't like tanning beds, Crackel began to experiment with self-tanner to keep a tan during the gray Seattle winters. She recommends investing a little more money and using higher end self-tanners, like Aveda's, for a more natural look.

The next time you plan on spending a day in the sun, remember to rub on the SPF and use spray-on or self-tanners to get a healthy pseudo-sun shade. After all, nobody wants to become one of these statistics: One in five Americans will get some form of skin cancer in their lifetime, and one person dies of skin cancer in the United States every hour.