Maui Babe, Tanning Beds, and the New Melanoma Vaccine

If you were a teenager in the early 2000s, you probably remember the smell of Maui Babe. I slathered it on at Rockaway Beach every summer with the confidence of a girl who’d never heard the word “SPF” from anyone but her mother, and kept the bronze going the rest of the year with a Beach Bum tanning package.

I’ve since had more than a few moles removed, and these days I’m diligent about the dermatologist, but I still can’t believe I ever laid in tanning beds on purpose.

So when news broke last week that a new personalized melanoma vaccine from Merck and Moderna cut the risk of the cancer coming back by 42%, I did a little happy dance. It’s made from each patient’s own tumor and given after surgery, alongside their usual treatment.

For now, it’s meant for people who’ve had melanoma, and it’s waiting on FDA approval. But that’s more of us than you’d think. Melanoma is more common in women than men before age 50, and plenty of women my age grew up thinking a base tan counted as sun protection. Researchers are also testing similar vaccines for other cancers, so this could be the first of many.

None of this undoes the tanning beds, and a vaccine doesn’t mean any of us get to skip the sunscreen. But for someone with several nasty scars from atypical moles, it’s hard not to feel a little hopeful.

I’ll keep going to my skin checks either way. It’s just nice to know my teenage self might end up with more options than she ever deserved.