It's May. Summer is upon us. So is the hot sun. What a perfect time for an awareness month.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. So now is the time to learn a thing or two about a disease that is largely preventable, extremely deadly, and almost 100 percent curable when caught early.

Think about this:

Someone dies of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- every 65 minutes. Women ages 20-29 are most at risk, with melanoma ranking as the second most common cancer in this age group. But anyone, regardless of skin color or age, can develop skin cancer.

More than one million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year -- shocking considering the cause of the disease is no secret: skin cancer is caused mostly by too much sun exposure.

OK, how about some good news?

Summer Running: A Race To Cure Breast Cancer is a documentary about two amazing women who are fighting breast cancer. The film sheds light on this common disease and those dedicated to finding a cure.

Donate just 20 dollars and you can get this highly acclaimed documentary. Net proceeds go to cancer researchers at Johns Hopkins University and The University of Virginia.

"... a highly inspirational and moving film about women runners and breast cancer survivors. It also emphasizes the importance of grass-roots funding, and offers a hopeful look at cancer research. Highest recommendation!"
- Theresa Wells, RN / Runner

It feels like summer here in Florida. Our temps topped 86 degrees last week and this kind of heat prompts my little boys to request their favorite summertime activity: swimming.

My kids don't quite understand that the temperature outside is not the same as the temperature of unheated water. And so as soon as warm weather arrives, they dash for their suits and insist we make a trip to the neighborhood pool. I oblige, convinced they'll want to head home once they submerge their piggy toes in pure ice.

But somehow, the temperature doesn't register. They plunge right in, dunk their heads and kick and flop and float. They are happy as clams, quivering lips and all. I am happy too as I watch their joyous moments from the privacy of my lounge chair, tucked away in the shade that borders my kids' perfect playland.

Thanks to chemo, I am the mommy who hides in the shadows during any sunny event. It's been two whole years since my last dose of toxic drugs, but something about the sun and the heat and the residual effects of my infused poison causes my skin to produce red, itchy, unsightly bumps. It happened last year and already this year and I'm wondering now if this will be a life-long nuisance, if I will be seeking shade for the rest of my years.

It's all OK really. Secluding myself from the sun's rays is a pretty healthy venture. And I'm not a real pool enthusiast. Any my boys are old enough to swim independently. And it's peaceful in the shade. So I'm not bitter about this unexpected side effect of chemo -- it's called UV recall -- and I'm not complaining. I'm merely marveling at the power of the drugs that hopefully killed all the cancer in my body, the drugs that seem to creep back year after year, perhaps reminding me that in the whole scheme of things, red, itchy, unsightly bumps are not such a bad life condition.

OK, we all know young women get breast cancer. But the way some talk about the pair -- young women and the deadly disease -- it would seem finding a young one living with this type of cancer is like locating that needle in a haystack. Many a young woman -- like me -- have heard doctors and nurses and technicians and family and friends remark, "you are too young for the disease," and then dismiss cancer suspicions as needless worry.

The median age for women diagnosed with breast cancer is 65. But think about this fact, published in the Spring/Summer edition of Beyond: Live & Thrive After Breast Cancer.

More than 240,000 women in the United States age 40 and under are living with breast cancer. Each year in this country, more than 14,000 women 40 years old and younger are diagnosed with breast cancer, says Boston oncologist Ann Partridge, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

That's a lot of young women. That's a lot of breast cancer. And yet, mammograms still are not recommended for women under the age of 40.

Tomorrow, the second issue of Beyond: Live & Thrive After Breast Cancer hits newsstands. And I, for one, can't wait to pick up a copy of the Spring/Summer edition of this positively powerful publication.

If you read the first issue -- the Fall/Winter magazine released in October -- you know what this glossy book has to offer. There are personal stories and interviews, shared wisdom and sound advice. There are exercise tips and health tips and survival tips. There are stories about chemo brain and fertility and relationships. There is information about breast cancer research and resources and products that are tried and true.

I want to tell you so much more -- but really, I want you find out for yourself just how moving and soothing this magazine can be.

So plan to get your copy -- tomorrow -- and tell all your friends to do the same. If you need a gift for a loved one newly diagnosed or someone who has long survived this disease, try this on for size. Buy a few copies and donate them to your favorite doctors' offices -- a fresh magazine can do wonders for any waiting room. Share one with a neighbor, a relative, a new acquaintance.

Do what you can, will you -- to both reap the benefits of this solid source of inspiration and help sustain the life of this magazine? Because magazines are only as strong as the readers who embrace them. And trust me, this is one catch we cannot afford to lose.

Seven years ago, my husband and I owned a Mustang GT. A black one with black leather interior. Our car was clean and waxed and clear of clutter. It was small and sporty and we loved it. Others loved it. We were cool. We thought so, anyway.

We don't think we are so cool now, however. We are happy, with our two children, our dented and dirty Honda Odyssey mini-van, and all the gear -- books, toys, wet wipes, a scooter, a Big Wheel, and even a little potty -- that fills the vast space of our latest vehicle. But I am not sure anyone would ever call us cool as we cruise around town in our family ride.

My husband, John, dreams of getting another Mustang. And he's primed our three-year-old son for the same dream. Danny can spot a Mustang a mile away, regardless of its year, its color, or its condition. He loves a rag-top. He prefers yellow. And he promises to buy his daddy a black Mustang as soon as he wins the lottery.

I told John last night that Ford is about to release a new Mustang, with both the exterior paint and interior stitching trimmed in pink. "Let's get it," John said, without hesitation. He isn't worried he'll look less than macho in a pink Mustang. He just wants one. And while his intentions faded a bit when he learned Ford will offer only V6 models, he still thinks a pink pony car is a cool concept.

Not everyone likes the idea of a Mustang marketed at women, says analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids who adds that the Mustang is an iconic brand based on a special mix of speed and testosterone. Ford should not mess with success, he believes.

But Ford expects its Warriors in Pink trim package, slated to release this summer, to be nothing short of a success -- in more ways than one.

A portion of Mustang profits will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research. Ford has long been a sponsor of this organization and over the years has donated $87 million. In addition, the pink initiative could attract new buyers to the car, marked by slipping sales in recent months.

While all details have not been released, the newest Mustang will be available in a few colors, and customers will have the choice of convertible or hardtop.

The second issue of the magazine Beyond: Live & Thrive After Breast Cancer will hit newsstands March 20.

The magazine, one of many targeting individuals with manageable conditions and diseases, such as allergies, heart disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, stands out as an upbeat, positive, feel-good package of information and inspiration.

University of Mississippi journalism professor Samir Husni says magazines of this sort that succeed are the ones offering up a good dose of chicken soup for the soul. This is definitely a magazine good for the soul.

Beyond editor Martha Miller Johnson calls the magazine a purveyor of hope and information, a source of reliable facts, figures, and features for the growing community of survivors living with breast cancer. Beyond is for "the women who has been through her initial treatment and now sees her life through a different prism," says Johnson.

"Her body's changed, her skin's changed. To her, it's not a death sentence; it's a condition she just has to live with. More and more women are living with breast cancer."

The soon-to-be-released publication spotlights breast cancer survivor Deanna Favre with husband Brett Favre and includes stories about breast cancer and black women, chemotherapy and weight gain, and the most important questions to ask your doctor.

Why pick up a copy of Beyond's Spring/Summer issue this March 20? Because breast cancer attacks so many aspects of our well-being, says one survivor of the disease.

"It's your identity, it's your sexuality, it's your womanhood. Fertility. For many of us, it throws us into menopause early," she says. "Every aspect of your emotional and psychological well-being is impacted by cancer and the treatment. So that kind of puts it in its own category, I think. So you combine that with the fact that there are so many women going through it, and I think you do have a market there for something like this."

I couldn't have said it better.

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?

Sunscreen, designed to protect the user from sun skin damage might actually cause sun skin damage if applied incorrectly and infrequently. University of California Riverside chemists examined the effects of sunscreen lotion on the skin and found that after a period of time, the lotion or cream is absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. If more sunscreen is not applied to block ultraviolet radiation (UV), the sunscreen that has been absorbed into the deeper layers of skin creates additional oxidative damage as UV rays are able to penetrate through to the deeper layers where the sunscreen has been absorbed. When sunscreen is applied often, this does not happen.

There is only one practical solution at this time and that is to apply sunscreen lotion or cream often, about every two hours or after sweating or swimming. Researchers suggest another potential solution would be for sunscreen makers to mix sunscreen with antioxidants because antioxidants have been shown to reduce UV-induced damage to the skin. UC has published an in-depth explanation with photos of effects to the skin following the sunscreen experiments here.

Health care coverage for working Americans is like a brittle tree in a hard wind -- and the larger limbs are beginning to snap. Between the years 2000 to 2005, 6.8 million more people became uninsured according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. Current data estimates 46.6 million people are without health insurance coverage. As employer-based health insurance continues to fade, government programs are taking up the slack -- up to a point. But given the lack of funding, there is only so much that can be offered.

In a statement issued by the Center for American Progress, "These problems did not just happen: they resulted from flawed economic and health policies which force Americans to work more for less. When it returns after Labor Day, this Congress should act to mitigate these problems by passing a straightforward minimum wage increase and extend health funding for programs like the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Moreover, policy makers should recognize the need for major change, such as providing affordable health care to all Americans and taking action to address growing income inequality."

Some are calling for a government-based universal health care system that guarantees health care coverage for all Americans. Others are suggesting a mix of private and public health care coverage. What ever the solution, there certainly needs to be one.

We can start with a shift in perspective and change in expectation. If you are working full-time for a company, presumably your efforts are helping that company make a profit. Health insurance coverage should not be viewed as a luxury benefit, nor should the largest burden of health insurance premiums be shouldered by the employee whose earnings just meet living expenses. Yet, this is happening every day in this country. The hard wind continues to batter the brittle tree.

Personally, I am not sold on a government-run, government-backed universal health plan simply because I have covered too many horror stories about rationed care in other industrialized countries. It seems a combination of programs might be the solution but the government and our elected officials certainly need to be held accountable for implementing programs that insure all Americans.

American Public Health Association Georges Benjamin is quoted by United Press International as saying, ""This is the worst news we've had all year. Our nation is not secure if we're not healthy."

When the First Lady of Surfing, Rell Sunn was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, she was told she had months to live. She lived each day as if it were her last -- with complete passion and compassion -- and lived another 15 years.

When I posted that each year during the Luau & Longboard Invitational event to raise money for the Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center, the Rell Sunn-Queen of Makaha Award in memory of Rell Sunn is given to honor the person or organization that best displays the qualities of compassion, unselfishness, aloha spirit and dedication in the fight against cancer -- I went in search to learn more about Rell Sunn.

I hesitate to bring this up, as the hot dog is a bonafide American icon, associated so closely as it is to the all-American pastimes of baseball and backyard barbeques -- and to sacrilegiously make the suggestion or malign the hot dog on any level I realize puts me at risk of having my patriotism brought into question.

Still, knowing this, I have chosen to throw pickle relish caution to the wind in the name of science and better health.

According to University of Nebraska researchers (you note I point directly to the researchers as the originators of this news) some hot dogs might cause DNA mutation and increase colon cancer risks. Not all hotdogs, but they cannot tell you at this time which hotdogs are a cancer menace.

Hot dogs do not stand alone as culprits to cancer. Salted dried fish and soy sauce have been identified as potential offenders. But I am not nearly as skittish in mentioning the latter two.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that more than seven billion hot dogs will be eaten by Americans between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Statistics estimate the breakdown of hot dog consumption per American is 60 hot dogs a year.

Next? Brushing up on my French.

Summer surf and sand. Planning a day trip or weekend vacation at the beach? You could be putting yourself and your family at short-term and long-term health risk. From bacterial pollution to toxic chemicals, some of our beaches are dirty enough to cause serious concern.

In an effort to combat beach pollution, the Milford Environmental Concerns Coalition in Milford Connecticut, hosts a beachwater quality initiative called the Freedom Lawn Contest, recognizing local residents who show their commitment to protecting water quality by growing beautiful lawns and gardens without the use of chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers.

According to Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), every coastal state has a beach pollution problem. In 2000, the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) was passed by Congress, requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the current health standards by October 2005. The FDA missed the deadline, and indicates it will not be able to finish updating the standards until 2011. The NRDC announced it is suing the EPA for failing to modernize the standards as ordered by Congress six years ago.

The NRDC has published a 349-page report, Testing the Waters 2006: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, available as a PDF document.

I read something yesterday written by a reporter who is fed up with the treatment of celebrities in the media. She is tired of the spectacular headlines about babies born to celebrities and adoptions by celebrities and every-day struggles of celebrities that blur the fact that these same things happen to real people -- non-celebrities -- and are rarely covered in the news. Sure, some of the celebrity coverage may lead to awareness. The fact that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are talking of adopting another child may encourage others in the world to reach out to homeless children. But where is the news about hoards of women who gather and walk in search of a cure for breast cancer? And why was the coming-out announcement by former In Sync band member Lance Bass the top news story on CNN the other day? Because people pay attention to announcements like these -- and however disturbing it may be -- is causes a stir. And perhaps, like this reporter says, others will gain some strength from Bass and will tackle their own sexual orientation more openly.

A news story caught my attention the other night. Not because of the news -- initially -- but because of the names that were thrown around. Names like Kelly Ripa and Lindsey Lohan and Molly Shannon -- names that were not all that important in the scheme of the story I would eventually hear. But they hooked me. And then I learned about a great event that took place last Saturday in an effort to raise funds for ovarian cancer.

Super Saturday is a day-long summer fundraising event for the entire family -- created by Donna Karan and sponsored by In Style magazine. The day features a designer garage sale with more than 200 designers, a raffle, a carnival for kids, food and refreshments, and goodie bags. All proceeds -- from ticket sales and the garage sale and raffles -- go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Last year's event raised $2 million. And this year, the tally for the ninth annual event that took place in the Hamptons, is yet to be reported. What was reported is that the event was a success -- and celebrities were in attendance. And that made me pay attention.

When it comes to reducing sun exposure cancer risks, the information all gets a little confusing and seemingly contradictory in nature. We are told repeatedly to stay out of the sun, as this is the single greatest risk to the development of skin cancer. Campaigns are launched all summer long about the benefit of shade, of avoiding the sun, and the media makes headlines out of it in an attempt to raise awareness.

So if we are all doing what we are supposed to in reducing skin cancer risks by avoiding the sun, what do we make of the new study supporting University of California research that solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation reduces the risk of 16 types of cancer? UVB rays are what promotes the body's manufacture of the essential vitamin D that acts as a prevention to cancer risk.

According to study authors Cedric Garland and William Grant, "Enhancing vitamin D status appears to be the single most important simple thing people can do to reduce their risk of cancer, apart from avoiding tobacco and moderation in the intake of alcohol."

It might be a matter of practical common sense that moderation is the key. In the summer, researchers estimate it only takes 20 minutes of skin exposure to the sun to achieve the optimum levels of vitamin D derived from UVB rays. For darker skin, it can require over an hour to reach the same benefit. After that amount of time, it has no additional benefit. In addition, vitamin D supplements can supply a person's daily need for vitamin D.

So shade, sunscreen and covering up are still the best bets in skin cancer prevention. However, without sun exposure, the body is at risk for low levels of vitamin D, and the lack of vitamin D is linked to an increase in 16 different cancers.