Did you see the headlines linking sunscreen to skin cancer? Are you feeling confused about how to protect yourself and family from the dangers of sun exposure? These stories stem from a report by the EWG (Environmental Working Group). Many of these “fear driven” headlines would lead you to believe that it might be more dangerous to use sunscreen than not. Let me assure you, it is still best to use sunscreen, but you should use it wisely.
A statement from The American Academy of Dermatology says, “scientific evidence supports the beneficial effects of sunscreen” and sunscreen is “an important tool in the fight against skin cancer.”
It seems like a real shame to me that these reports are coming out now, at the beginning of the summer season, when we should all be doing everything we can to protect ourselves and our families from the dangerous effects of the sun. We need to take every measure possible to reduce our risk for developing skin cancer, and using sunscreen is still the first line of defense.
One thing you don’t want to do is buy into claims of 50, 80, and up to 100 SPF. These claims lead consumers into a false sense of security. And many people believe that if they use these high SPF sunscreens, they can put it on once and be protected for the entire day. This is not true.
I contacted the American Cancer Society for a comment. Here is the statement they sent me, from Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer…
Imagine how hard it would be to suffer with daily pain that can effect your entire body, unrelenting fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, along with depression and anxiety? Now try to imagine feeling this bad only to have friends, family, and even doctors tell you, “You don’t look sick!” or “It’s probably all in your head”. Sadly, this is what it’s like to be a person who suffers with Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a misunderstood, complicated, painful, chronic medical condition that affects millions of Americans, and May is devoted to bringing more awareness to it. It’s not known why, but women are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia much more often than men. Many women are not only suffering and living with Fibromyalgia but they are also blogging about it. You can learn more about this disease by reading some of the funny, frustrated, and sometimes heartbreaking posts written by these incredibly strong women. I hope you’ll take some time to check them out and show them some love.
How many times in the course of a day do you put yourself first? Let’s face it, women have a lot of trouble doing that. Somewhere along the line we became convinced that putting ourselves first was taboo, and rather than see the benefits of taking time for ourselves, we instead chose to feel guilty about it. In the long-run this type of behavior can catch up with us in the form of poor health, chronic illness, and even cancer.
The American Cancer Society wants us to stop ignoring ourselves, and start caring about ourselves and our health. But that’s easier said than done. So to help, they’ve launched the Choose You campaign, and it’s all about helping us keep our individual commitments to healthy living.
So…What is the Choose You campaign all about?
Choose You is a movement created by the American Cancer Society that encourages women to put their own health first in the fight against cancer. The movement challenges women to make healthier choices, and supports them in their commitment to eat right, get active, quit smoking and get regular health checks.
The Choose You Movement shines a light on a hidden issue: that while one in three American women will get cancer in her lifetime, about 50% of cancer deaths could be prevented if more emphasis were placed on early detection and healthier lifestyles including maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise and avoiding tobacco.
Ellen Pompeo, star of Grey’s Anatomy, is the official ambassador of the Choose You campaign…
Would you like to know how you can get started? It’s easy and fun, here’s what you do…
National Public Health Week: Can We Become A Healthier Nation?
I think many people living in the United States would be surprised to know that we are not one of healthiest nations in the world. Not even close.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) would like to change that, but they can’t do it alone. So during the first week of April, the APHA would like to bring more awareness to public health, and offer ways that we can all help this country become a healthy nation.
While the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, it lags behind many developed nations in important health measures. Compared with other developed nations, the United States has relatively low life expectancy, high infant mortality rates, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and persistent health inequities.
This is simply unacceptable. Since the early 1900s, APHA has vigorously promoted the need for universal health care coverage. However, while universal access to health care is vital to improving the health of our nation, it is just one element of reforming our health system. In order to more fully and effectively achieve a healthier nation we need to ensure the underlying social and economic conditions that allow individuals and communities to be healthy.
We must shift from a nation solely focused on treating individual illness to one that also promotes population-based health services that encourage preventive and early intervention practices.
What do you think? Can we become a healthier nation? Would you be willing to help us get there?
Higgs particles, dark matter, string theory, black holes, the big bang…What will scientists discover at CERN? I find this incredibly exciting. What do you think?
Scientists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) are celebrating after successfully colliding particles at record-breaking energy levels in what some are calling a new era of particle physics.
A team of scientists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) have achieved high-power collisions of sub-atomic particles in a bid to create mini-versions of the big bang.
Will we find out how the universe came to be?
And if you prefer RAP to physics, check out this YouTube Rap Video about the science behind CERN…
Not all breast cancers are created equal…And of all types of breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer is the most deadly (as well as on the rise). The reason it is so deadly is because it is virtually invisible.
So, what makes inflammatory breast cancer so much more deadly than other types of breast cancer?
For starters, it can not be detected with a mammogram. It might as well be called the invisible breast cancer. And without a method for early detection, this type of cancer is most always not diagnosed until the end stage (which brings the survival rate even lower).
Another obstacle with this type of cancer is…
Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are nothing like symptoms of other breast cancers. In fact, symptoms of this deadly form of cancer are often mistaken for mastitis (a painful but treatable condition). This type of misdiagnosis only further delays a woman’s diagnosis and treatment. By the time most women are diagnosed, their cancer has already spread.
Even a small amount of stress can have negative effects on your overall health and well-being. Can you spare six minutes of your time to reduce some of that stress? If so, give this a try.
Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for the next six minutes.
COLORFUL MEDITATION – For meditation and stress reduction is 6 minutes of continuous highly complex computer generated kaleidoscopic imagery with an original New Age ambient music soundtrack…
from www.cinemandala.com
Did you try it? Did it help? Let me know in comments.
I was honored to be asked to attend the Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Forum last week in San Francisco. And I have a lot of information to share with everyone. I’m going to start with an interview I did with Dr. Laura Esserman. If the name doesn’t sound familiar, she was one of the researchers behind the controversial change in mammogram recommendations. I wrote about it for BlogHer back in November in a post titled…
I guess the title of the post speaks to where I stand on the issue.
Although my feelings on this topic are contrary to Dr. Esserman’s point of view, I do think that she believes she has a woman’s best interest at heart.
Dr. Laura Esserman, a nationally known breast surgeon, is the director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the Mount Zion campus. Her work is devoted to developing new, more effective ways to care for and empower breast cancer patients during treatment and to tailor treatments using biology, personal preference and constant feedback regarding outcomes of care.
Shortly after Dr. Esserman spoke about her study to the attendees of the breast cancer forum, I had an opportunity to interview her.
My New Year’s resolution is about doing everything I can do to have more birthdays. At the moment the one thing that could keep me from doing that, is my blood pressure. I’ve had blood pressure and heart rate problems since my twenties, but now in my forties, I know I’m at a much greater risk for having a heart attack or stroke. So this year I plan on taking specific steps to hopefully lower my blood pressure. Like Morra Arrons-Mele, I would like to make these changes holistically. I’m still planning to take my medications, but even on medication my blood pressure is still not controlled.
Here are the steps I plan to take in 2010…
1. Continue to eat healthy, but kick it up a notch.
2. Reduce stress by using meditation and Reiki on a regular basis.
3. Get the Wii Fit and begin doing light exercising and yoga.
I’ll keep track of my progress by documenting my blood pressure and the days I’ve used any of the above steps.
Well, that’s my “more birthdays list.” I hope you’ll join me at the American Cancer Society’s Official Birthday Blog, by sharing a list of your own.
Here are some tips for making and promoting your Bday List and supporting the American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays campaign…
1. Create a list of things (could be one thing or many) you plan to do to stay healthy in 2010 and/or to help create more birthdays. This is your “my more birthdays list.”
2. Share your list on Facebook and/or Twitter (using the #mybdaylist hashtag). These could be anything from losing 5 pounds or eating more vegetables to training for a 10K or half-marathon.
3. Tweet and/or post messages on Facebook about the progress you’re making on your more birthdays list throughout the year. This will help you get support, tips, and encouragement from others who are trying to accomplish their more birthdays lists.
Stem Cell Research: Mixing religion, science and politics equals controversy.
This week president Obama announced the release of 13 new embryonic stem cell lines to be used for research. Scientists are hopeful that this research could someday treat or even cure diseases like Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and spinal cord injuries (just to name a few). But this decision isn’t without controversy.
Although, I have a hard time understanding why there is such a big controversy. If you consider the two-day old embryo to be life, then wouldn’t you want that life to have some sort of meaning? When the alternative to research is the trash, isn’t there more dignity in research?
This is a one minute video that demonstrates what is currently happening to unused frozen embryos “LIFE” from fertility clinics. These are the same embryos, that could be used to advance scientific research and to save lives…
I wrote about my feelings on stem cell research back in 2007, and my feelings are still the same. I believe the unused embryos that would otherwise be discarded from fertility clinics, should be treated with the same respect we give organ donation.
My name is Catherine Morgan...I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. I'm also a contributing editor for BlogHer Health & Wellness.
Welcome to my blog...I write a little bit of everything with an emphasis on healthy living, inspiration, nutrition, and health news. I hope you'll find topics that interest you here, and I would love to know what you think in comments. Thanks for stopping by.
