Cancer Care

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Many of us are aware of the value of sun protection in the fight against skin cancer, but we often fail to realize the gravity of this potentially deadly disease. Every 65 minutes someone in the U.S. dies of melanoma, an astounding statistic for a disease which is nearly 100 percent curable when caught and treated early.

The incidence of skin cancer is increasing every year and at the current rate, one in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer over the course of their lives. Sun protection alone is not enough to keep us safe. That’s why Olay and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) have partnered for “Skin Cancer Takes Friends,” a nationwide program offering women the opportunity make an appointment with one of more than 300 participating dermatologists nationwide for a free screening for themselves and a friend or loved one  so they can go together. Marcia Cross is the national spokesperson of this campaign; the Web site: www.skincancertakesfriends.com.

Fourteen dermatologists in the Chicago-area are participating.

Sun-Smart Cities Ranked By New Survey

Most Americans are familiar with the popular city rankings of the fattest cities, the fittest cities, the most livable cities and the most expensive cities. Now, in the first-of-its-kind survey, the American Academy of Dermatology has identified the cities that take sun protection seriously and those that fail to make the grade despite repeated health warnings.

The “RAYS: Your Grade” survey polled adults in 32 U.S. metropolitan regions spanning 29 states on their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward tanning and sun protection. Cities were then ranked based on the percentage of people who scored A’s and B’s.

Of the 32 cities and states ranked on their percentage of A and B grades, Washington, DC, was ranked No. 1, with 47 percent of its residents receiving A’s and B’s, followed closely by New York City which earned the No. 2 ranking. Dr. Baker also observed that Miami, Tampa and Los Angeles - each noted for year-round sunny weather - rounded out the top five rankings.

At the other end of the sun-smart spectrum, Chicago was ranked last of the 32 cities polled, earning the designation of the least sun-smart city and demonstrating the need for increased efforts to educate residents on the dangers of sun exposure. In this case, only 21 percent of Chicagoans received A’s and B’s on their tanning and sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.

Chicago ranked significantly lower than average when residents’ responses to 10 of the survey questions were examined. For example, Chicagoans’ laissez-faire attitudes toward sun protection were evident when comparing their answers about how much they worry about sun exposure to adults in other cities.

When asked if they agree or disagree with the statement “I prefer to enjoy sunshine and not worry about what I should do to protect myself from it,” 41 percent of Chicago respondents agreed, representing the highest number of respondents across all cities and 10 percentage points higher than the average of 31 percent. Similarly, approximately half of Chicagoans (49 percent) agreed with the statement “Given my skin type, I don’t worry too much about sun exposure” - far exceeding the 37 percent of all adults who agreed with this statement.

In addition, a high proportion of Chicagoans (40 percent) felt that the climate in which they live was a reason why they were not that worried about skin cancer - implying that somehow their short period of sun exposure during the summer months could not cause enough damage to their skin to develop skin cancer.
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“I was surprised,” said Dr. Charles Cutler, adding, “I did not appreciate the importance of covering up, using sunscreen, keeping my skin away from the dangerous ultraviolet rays when I was young.”

And he’s not alone. According to a new survey in Pennsylvania alone, 60 percent of people rarely wear sunscreen. Now the Pennsylvania Medical Society is trying to take action with a new section on their web site.
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Three Nassau employees participating in a melanoma awareness campaign Thursday were referred to their doctors for possible skin cancer, county officials said.

The three were among 42 employees screened by doctors in the fifth-floor county legislature room in Mineola before a noon news conference on melanoma awareness led by Legislators Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) and Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow).
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No tan is a good tan according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

That message was delivered at the unveiling of a new Summer Sun Safety guide by Darren Dick, president of the society’s Nova Scotia Division.

Nova Scotia currently has the second-highest rate of skin cancer in the country (PEI is first). The guide is an attempt to greatly reduce this preventable affliction.

Among the suggested actions are:

- reducing sun exposure when the UV rays are strongest, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

- using sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater

- wearing protective clothing such as wide-brimmed hats and sun glasses with UV protection

- Acoiding tanning beds.

The guide was released by Sun Safe Nova Scotia, a coalition of several organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society.

source : hfxnews.ca

Most of us know the best way to protect yourself against skin cancer is to cover up and wear sunscreen, but you may be able to drink your way to safer skin as well.
“The use of sunscreens to cover up the best that you can from the sun, the use of hats during the day, and try to avoid the sun during the hours of 10 in the morning to two in the afternoon when the sun intensity is the greatest outdoors - that in combination with drinking tea — I think would be useful,” says dermatologist Dr. Bryan Chen.
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Bradley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BDY) is encouraging everyone to visit their dermatologist for skin cancer screening as the summer season begins. Bradley’s Doak Dermatologics subsidiary, in partnership with The Skin Cancer Foundation, established The Skin Cancer Screening Tour last year and has been providing complimentary screenings for the general public throughout the country. Almost 7,000 individuals were screened since the Tour started in March 2006.
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Stephen Jay Gould died in 2002, a prolific writer of popular science, teacher at Harvard and polymath. He was diagnosed with abdominal mesothelioma some 20 years before and was told the median survival was eight months.

Anybody diagnosed with such a disease should read his essay The Median Isn’t the Message, for it brings some sense of hope into an otherwise depressing world.
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When offered one wish, most of these children pick a vacation in Walt Disney World, to meet Mickey and Pluto and take a breather under the Florida sun.

Last spring, the Make-A-Wish Foundation Inc. of Connecticut got in touch with Carlos Brantley’s mother. The foundation wondered what would make Carlos happy.
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The Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia is calling for the mesothelioma drug Alimta (permetrexed) to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The call follows the news that Alimta (pemetrexed), a drug that has shown it can prolong survival time and improve quality of life to people with mesothelioma, has been rejected for listing on the PBS.

Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia secretary Terry Miller, said time is something people with this cruel and insidious disease do not have and they should not be forced to wait for affordable access to such vital treatment.

Whyalla Asbestos Victims’ Support Group chairperson John Arthur said he did not know of any local sufferers using the drug, mainly due to its cost.

“We are certainly for the push to list it,” Mr Arthur said.

“If it was on the PBS they (Whyalla sufferers) would give anything a go.”

He said there were no other drugs available which had similar effects on the disease.

“It would be great,” Mr Arthur said, if the drug was made available on the scheme.

Mr Miller said it wasn’t fair for people to miss out on gaining extra lie expectancy because of the drug’s cost.

“This drug has been shown to work for many people with the disease, giving them more valuable time with their loved ones and a better quality of life for the time they do have left,” Mr Miller said.

“People with mesothelioma are always having to wait for justice and it is not fair to ask them to wait any longer.”

It would cost $4million a year to list Alimta in the scheme.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital head of cancer services Dr Ken Pittman said Alimta was the first and only chemotherapy agent approved for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Dr Pittman said while Alimta was not a cure it was the only drug to have demonstrated a significant survival benefit in this difficult to treat disease.

It also reduced pain and shortness of breath, with manageable side effects.

Australia had the highest reported incidence of mesothelioma in the world since 1985.

About 600 cases are reported each year and the incidence will increase into the next decade, part due to Australia being the world’s highest user per capita of asbestos in the 1950s.

source : yourguide.com

LegalView.com, your resource for everything legal, has introduced a new glossary of terminology relating to the condition mesothelioma. This terminology reference is intended to add to LegalView.com’s full range of Mesothelioma resources. The glossary features hundreds of legal and medical terms and exists as a compliment to the site’s articles and legal information related to mesothelioma.
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