We're still basking in the hot sun, bronzing our bodies in tanning beds, and playing outdoors without slathering on the sunscreen. What will it take, I wonder, for our society to catch on, to take real steps toward preventing skin cancer?

It seems education isn't enough. Most of us know by now all it takes is one bad sunburn to increase our risk of skin cancer, yet we continue to collect burn after burn after burn. Perhaps like all habit-forming behaviors -- think smoking -- it takes something tragic in our lives to inspire change. When someone we know gets lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking or someone we know develops melanoma after years of sunbathing, maybe we get the hint. Maybe

Now, I know you don't personally know this young woman -- she calls herself Miss Melanoma -- but I suggest you read her story. And I recommend you take what happened to her -- she lost part of her foot to melanoma and is currently battling a spread of the disease -- and allow it to really sink in, allow it to motivate you to take cover from the sun, before something like this happens to you. Because it can.

Not all melanomas are alike, and the characteristics of a fast-growing melanoma skin cancer begin in skin tumors that are thicker, symmetrical, elevated, have regular borders or have symptoms, according to the conclusions of a survey study completed by Peter MacCallum Cancer Center researchers. They also note that the faster-growing melanoma is more likely to affect men 70 years or older and individuals with fewer moles and freckles.

"In summary, this study provides descriptive data on the spectrum of melanoma rates of growth and insights into subgroups of patients with melanoma that are associated with rapid growth," stated the researchers. "We propose that this information on melanoma rate of growth be incorporated into education programs for patients and health professionals."

The advantage of identifying the more aggressive melanoma will allow for more aggressive treatment. Details of the study will be published in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology. Of the different skin cancers, melanoma is the most serious and most often appears as a change in size, shape, or color of a mole. To learn more about melanoma, visit the National Cancer Institute's melanoma section and The Cancer Blog's melanoma and skin cancer category of posts.

If you live in the northern hemisphere, we are fully into the fall season. In the southern hemisphere, they are enjoying spring, and looking forward to the upcoming summer. To maximize daylight hours, we turn our clocks ahead one hour each spring, and turn the clocks back one hour each fall. However, this has become a bit of a debate in Australia, as Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is digging in his heels, locking his knees, and crossing his arms against his chest in refusing to follow fellow countrymen in Western Australia when it comes to considering the policy of instituting daylight saving time.

Beattie is well-intentioned but ill-informed in his concern that the extra hour of light might increase the already high risk of skin cancer in Queensland. Adding an extra hour at the end of the day -- or the beginning of the day -- depending on how you want to view it, will not increase skin cancer risks resulting from excessive exposure to sunlight. The hours of the day when the sun is most damaging, and most dangerous in increasing skin cancer risks, is the middle of the day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to The Skin Foundation, to reduce skin cancer risks, we need to protect ourselves year-round by staying out of the sun during peak hours of 10a.m. to 4p.m., by wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor SPF 15 or higher, wearing a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses, avoiding the use of tanning parlors and artificial tanning devices, keeping newborns out of the sun, teaching children good sun-protective practices, examining skin from head-to-toe once a month, having a professional examination annually, and avoiding sunburn.

For more information about skin cancer myths and fact, read Skin cancer myths debunked by dermatologists.

Knowing the skin damage that results from prolonged sun exposure needed to achieve the golden tan, many fair-skinned people are staying out of the sun and turning to spray on or sunless lotion tans. These fake tans are skin dyes that do not change or darken skin pigmentation the way the sun might, but do give a temporary look of a glowing tan complexion. Advances have been made to these products so that the olden days of orange palms and streaky uneven lotion marks from sunless lotions are a mere memory, but still, it's not a real tan.

What if you could achieve a real tan, a tan where the skin pigmentation actually changes and darkens the same as it would if you spent hours in the sun, without spending hours in the sun exposing yourself to the premature aging, wrinkling and increased skin cancer risk damages of ultraviolet (UV) radiation?

In addition, what if this product, in actually darkening the pigmentation of your skin, provided protection from UV sun damage?

Although still in the experimental stages, scientists are working on just such a lotion, using a plant extract called forskolin, that prompts the pigmentation of the skin to darken. While the efforts are said to be focused on the treatment of individuals with medical pigmentation disorders -- if forskolin proves safe -- could a commercial product using the same compounds that safely promote a darkening of skin pigmentation -- a real tan -- and skin cancer prevention -- be far behind?

Celebrities can bring awareness to cancer causes. Celebrities can attract money to cancer fundraisers. Celebrities influence our society in fashion and lifestyle trends. Whether you are one who thinks celebrities have too much influence, and wondering why there seems a global obsession with celebrity -- or you are someone who applauds the efforts of those who have risen to success in fame and fortune and take time to give back, there is no doubting celebrities have power. And even when celebrities aren't trying to make a difference, they do, by the simple fact they are a celebrity.

A news story out of Canada is reporting that young girls, inspired by fair-skinned celebrities like Australian actress Nicole Kidman, are rejecting the fashion standard that a tan makes you attractive and embracing what they are calling the pale and proud of it attitude. When it comes to reducing the rising incidence of skin cancer, this couldn't come as better news. Really good news since it is in the young where a shocking number of new skin cancer cases are being diagnosed, a trend that is fairly recent to our times.

In the majority of skin cancer cases, skin cancer develops on a part of the body most exposed to the sun. However, that is not always the case, and dermatologists suggest a regular self examination of your entire body skin surface.

To begin a self examination you will need a full-length mirror; a handheld mirror; and a private well-lit room. The full-length mirror allows you to exam the skin areas easily viewed and the handheld mirror gives you the chance to see skin areas not as easily seen, such as the back, scalp, underarms, genitalia, palms, soles, and areas between the toes and fingers. When you visit the Skin Care Physicians skin cancer self examination webpage, you will find an illustrated step-by-step guide, complete with body positions, to carry out a successful self examination.

The obvious danger signs of skin cancer are changes in the size, color, shape, or texture of birthmarks, blemishes, or moles. More specific, signs that should catch your attention are a sore that never fully heals; a translucent growth with rolled edges; brown or black streak underneath a nail; cluster of slow-growing, shiny pink or red lesions; a waxy-feeling scar; flat or slightly depressed lesion that feels hard to the touch or moles that bleed or itch. Photographs of suspicious looking skin growths and moles are also published on the skin cancer self examination webpage. To me, cancerous moles and lesions look nasty and seem easy to identify.

A final note from the experts, and another reason to perform regular self examinations -- if detected early, skin cancer is highly curable -- and the earlier skin cancer is diagnosed, the less scarring from surgical procedures when removing a cancerous growth.

For sun worshipper Shonda Schilling, being diagnosed with Stage 2 melanoma was an unbelievable shock and a life-changing wake up call to the dangers of too much sun. As a result, Shonda and her husband Curt Schilling -- former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher -- founded the Shade Foundation in a mission to eradicate melanoma through the education of children and the community in the prevention and detection of skin cancer and the promotion of sun safety.

The Shade Foundation provides shade structures for recreational areas on school grounds, and offers an extensive online resource of educational information and programs to raise awareness for sun safety. According to the American Academy of Dermatology and Shade Foundation, skin cancer is an unrecognized epidemic. Statistically, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and the diagnosis of younger adults with skin cancer has increased sharply. Half of all new cancers in the United States are skin cancers.

To be sun safe when going outdoors, they recommend sunscreen, a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. And stay away from tanning beds -- because occasional yet intense UVA exposure from tanning beds actually poses a greater risk of melanoma skin cancer than does spending long hours in the sun. To learn more about sun safe activities for kids and young adults, programs, educational materials, and creating shade, visit the Shade Foundation.