Getting your sun tan on is no longer seen as the main culprit behind skin cancer. According to the latest studies, the number of moles that you have could be a better indication of your risk factor.
According to Times:
“The authors of the research paper maintain sunshine causes only a small proportion of melanoma cases. They believe health warnings would be more useful if they focused on people who have more than 100 moles, and taught them to check regularly the moles for changes in shape, size or colour.”
One is good, but two are better when working towards your health.
Use these combinations to reach each goal faster and reap the promised health benefits sooner.
1. Protect your heart
Green Tea + Lemon
2. Boost brainpower
Exercise + Music
3. Rev Immunity
Pot Roast + Carrots
4. Flush Fat
Burger + Frozen Yogurt
5. Save Your Eyesight
Salad + Avocado
6. Build Muscle
Weights + Stretching
7. Avoid metabolic syndrome
Meditteranean diet + nuts
8. Fight Fatigue
Eggs + Orange Juice
9. Bolster your memory
Curcumin + Black Pepper
10. Sidestep skin cancer
Caffeine + Cardio
According to Sympatico.ca
Want to keep that summer glow year round? Then apparently you’re not alone. A fake website that claims to give computer users a tan through their screens has garnered more than one million views. Computertan.com was set up by a skin cancer charity to promote the idea that skin cancer kills. When users on the site try to access the free 5-minute test tan, they are warned: “Don’t be fooled - UV Exposure Can Kill.” Read more…
Be Label-Conscious:
Make sense of the fine print on your sunscreen tube
Chemical Sunscreens
Ingredients like benzophenones, salicylates, and cinnamates form a protective film to -absorb UV rays before they penetrate the skin’s surface.
Physical Sunscreens
These work by reflecting the sun’s UV rays. Look for zinc oxide or titanium oxide.
Photoaging
Skin damage caused by sun exposure — like fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, and the leathery texture seen on folks playing shuffleboard in Boca Raton.
SPF (Sun Protection Factor)
The number that tells you how much longer a sunscreen will keep you from burning than no protection at all. Say you normally turn pink after 10 minutes without sunblock. SPF 15 would shield you 15 times as long as that — or for 150 minutes — before you start to burn. Read more…
Due to the pursuit of the sun kissed look, many younger women continue to receive diagnoses of the most dangerous form of skin cancer- melanoma. While the numbers are rising among young women, the cases among men have leveled off.
This is an issue of great concern and could be a foretell of a much larger number of melanoma cases in older women.
One of the culprits is the tanning bed. As it has become popular to look golden all year round, women are spending more of their free time getting their tan on. Another major cause is recreational sun bathing without proper protection. Women must remember to reapply!
“About 62,000 melanoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, and more than 8,400 people die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Previous studies have shown that the rate of new diagnoses has been increasing among adults overall, but it was unclear what was happening with younger adults.”
Click here to read more about melanoma and how you can protect yourself.
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 5 /PRNewswire/ — While occupational risks are inherent in many jobs, workers who make a living toiling in the sun face an increased threat of skin cancer from repeated overexposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Now, new research finds that workers who need skin exams the most by nature of their occupation — such as construction, forestry, fishing and farming workers — are the least likely to get them.
In the study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology entitled “Reported skin cancer screening of U.S. adult workers,” dermatologist Robert S. Kirsner, MD, PhD, FAAD, professor and vice chairman of the departments of dermatology and cutaneous surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, and his colleagues used the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2000 and 2005 to estimate the percentage of U.S. workers who had ever had a thorough skin examination in their lifetime or during an appointment with a primary health care provider in the past 12 months.
“Previous studies have shown that total-body screening examinations are not frequently performed during routine health examinations by primary care physicians, even among potentially high-risk populations,” said Dr. Kirsner. “As dermatologists, we know that the early detection of skin cancer by routine skin examinations is crucial in successfully treating this potentially life-threatening condition — particularly for workers routinely exposed to harmful ultraviolet light. This study shows that workers who need careful monitoring for skin cancer due to the nature of their jobs are less likely to receive skin exams than workers in low-risk occupations.”
Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the NHIS is an annual, cross-sectional in-person household survey of U.S. workers. In 2000 and 2005, the Cancer Control Module was included as part of the NHIS and included questions on skin examinations that were administered to 19,702 and 18,422 employed participants, respectively. Questions included “Have you ever had all of your skin from head to toe checked for cancer either by a dermatologist or some other kind of doctor?” and “When did you have your most recent skin exam?”
Dr. Kirsner explained that data of all participants who reported a full-body skin examination were grouped into two categories — those who received a skin exam in the last 12 months and ever in their lifetime. Workers also were asked about their sun-protection behavior, if they reported going out in the sun for an hour or more, and, from their responses, were classified as “sun exposed” for the purposes of the study.
In addition, detailed employment information was coded by occupation and industry for all participants aged 18 years or older employed during the time of the survey. Occupations were grouped into four standard occupational categories — white-collar workers; service workers; farming, fishing, and forestry workers; and blue-collar workers. Workers were then subsequently grouped into eight industrial sector classifications — agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; services; and health care and social assistance.
“When we examined the data for the 38,124 total worker participants interviewed from the 2000 and 2005 Cancer Control Supplements, we found that the prevalence of both lifetime and 12-month skin examinations was low,” said Dr. Kirsner. “Only 15 percent of all U.S. workers reported ever receiving a skin examination during their lifetime, and only 8 percent of those who also had seen a health care provider in the past year reported that they had received a skin exam during that time.”
In addition, the data clearly showed that the rate of reporting skin cancer screening was lowest for high-risk occupations most likely to experience increased sun exposure. Specifically, in the 2000 and 2005 Cancer Control Modules, the prevalence of 12-month skin examinations among those who had seen a physician in the past year was lowest among farm workers (5.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively) and blue-collar workers (3.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively).
“When we analyzed the data by industry sectors, we concluded that agriculture, forestry, fishing, and construction workers reported the lowest rate of skin exams in 2000,” said Dr. Kirsner. “Although the number of agriculture, forestry and fishing workers reporting a skin exam increased from 2000 to 2005 — from 4.2 percent to 13.6 percent — the prevalence of skin exams among construction workers stayed essentially the same, from 5.2 percent to 5.6 percent.”
Dr. Kirsner added that occupational groups at increased risk for exposure to UV light on the job were less likely to have ever received a skin examination in their lifetime than the average U.S. worker (15 percent). This included farm operators and managers (10 percent), farm workers and other agricultural workers (7 percent), forestry and fishing occupations (3 percent), construction and mining trades (8 percent), and construction laborers (8 percent).
“Socioeconomic factors also were significant predictors of having a skin exam in the past year,” said Dr. Kirsner. “Specifically, younger black or Hispanic women with no health insurance, who were service, farm or blue-collar workers, and who did not use sun protection were the least likely to report ever having been screened for skin cancer. All patients, especially those that have occupations where they are exposed to UV light, should request that their physician provide skin exams during their routine exams.”
“In addition, developing and implementing local community health fairs that include screening programs targeting high-risk workers who are reporting low skin examination rates could help reverse this alarming trend,” commented Dr. Kirsner. “One way to receive a free screening is through the Academy’s National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Screening Program, where dermatologists volunteer to provide free skin cancer screenings in their communities. The public can visit http://www.aad.org to find a free skin cancer screening in their area.”
For more information about skin cancer, please visit the SkinCancerNet section on http://www.skincarephysicians.com, a Web site developed by dermatologists that provides patients with up-to-date information on the treatment and management of disorders of the skin, hair and nails.
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ — The 2007 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting and Exposition starts today at the San Diego Convention Center with pharmaceutical scientists from across the globe presenting the latest in medical discoveries.
The meeting — which marks the largest AAPS meeting to date, with more than 9,000 expected to attend — provides media the opportunity to speak with some of the world’s most prominent pharmaceutical scientists. Details regarding the 2007 key medical discoveries include:
First Reversible, Orally-Administered Male Contraceptive
New research presented at the AAPS Annual Meeting indicates that a new oral option for men to prevent pregnancy may be possible. The study shows the efficacy and side-effects of an oral contraceptive for males, which is similar to birth control pills currently available for women.
To date, effective male contraception has been restricted to physical methods, namely condoms and vasectomy. However, the research conducted by scientists at GTx, Inc., the Ohio State University, and the University of Tennessee provides the first male oral contraceptive that has been found effective in preventing pregnancy. Additionally, the option is reversible: after the medication is stopped, fertility is fully restored.
For 13 years, these researchers have been examining the reversibility of a compound that inhibits infertility by utilizing a non-steroidal hormonal therapy known as a selective androgen receptor modulator.
“Past clinical studies using testosterone for male contraception were not effective at preventing pregnancy without producing significant negative side- effects,” said James Dalton, Ph.D., AAPS Fellow and lead researcher at GTx, Inc. and the Ohio State University. “Our recent study was doubly successful because it completely and reversibly inhibited fertility without unwanted side-effects.”
In fact, the study proved that this male pill had positive effects on muscle and bone. Clinical trials are expected to begin in one to two years.
Health and Medical Benefits of Blackberry Extract
AAPS researchers at the University of Kentucky and Four Tigers LLC are developing three new products using extracts from the State Fruit of Kentucky — the blackberry. A study being presented for the first time at the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition found that blackberry extracts have high antioxidant properties and the potential to treat cancer and other inflammatory diseases. This research led to the development of three new medical products: a chewing gum to prevent gingivitis and periodontal disease; a topical cream for UV-induced skin damage; and a pill for various inflammatory diseases of the GI tract, such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
According to a paper published by Halvorsen and colleagues in 2006 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, blackberries have the highest antioxidant activity of 1113 fruits, nuts, seeds or vegetables tested.
“Some might think that eating handfuls of blackberries will produce the same results as these novel products, but that is not the case,” said Russell Mumper, Ph.D., AAPS Expert and Chief Scientific Officer of Four Tigers. “While eating blackberries is healthful, the body does not absorb them well. You’ve got to eat a lot of berries to give you an equivalent dose to what is found in formulated and concentrated blackberry extract.”
This research provides medical alternatives for the millions of Americans living with gingivitis, skin cancer and inflammatory diseases.
About AAPS
The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) is a professional, scientific organization of more than 13,000 members employed in academia, industry, government, and other research institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS provides a dynamic international forum for the exchange of knowledge among scientists to serve the public and enhance their contributions to health. AAPS offers timely scientific programs, on-going education, information resources, opportunities for networking, and professional development.
Editor’s Note:
All abstracts presented at the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition are available upon request. To register for the meeting or to set up an interview with a pharmaceutical expert, please contact Tom Huddleston, AAPS at (703) 248-4744 prior to the meeting, HuddlestonT@aaps.org, or Amanda Rich, at (305) 573-9955, arich@golinharris.com. Registration is complimentary for members of the media. For the period of November 11 — November 15, call the AAPS Press Room on-site in San Diego at (619) 525-6360.
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