Sunburned as Children; Doomed as Adults?

If we had lots of sun as children, and several minor burns, are we doomed no matter what we do now (in our 30s and up)?
A.W.

Dr. Steven Q. Wang, director of Dermatologic Surgery and Dermatology and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Basking Ridge, N.J., replies:

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun plays a major role in the development of skin cancer. There is strong evidence that chronic, or long-term, UV exposure can induce the development of actinic keratosis (a precancerous condition) and two forms of skin cancer: basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer.

In contrast, current evidence suggests that intermittent and intense UV exposure plays a major role in the development of most subtypes of melanoma. Lentigo maligna melanoma, a subtype of melanoma commonly found on the face and scalp of elderly men and women, is related to chronic UV exposure.