WHAT IS SKIN CANCER?

Skin cancer is a tumor or growth formed by skin cells.  It is caused by skin damage from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. The cancer usually appears 10 to 20 years after sun damage.  A small number of skin cancers may be from other causes, such as exposure to certain chemicals.

EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES!

If detected early enough, nearly all skin cancers can be completely cured.  Follow these guidelines:
 

• Have a physician examine your skin once a year.  If you find a suspicious growth, see your dermatologist at once.
• Perform skin self-examination monthly. Examine all skin surfaces, including the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, and your scalp.
• Be alert to the signs of skin cancer. 
• Any sudden or progressive change in a mole's appearance
• Sore that doesn't heal
• Mole, bump or nodule that is scaly, lumpy, crusty, oozing or bleeding
• Pain, itchiness, tenderness or changes in sensation in a mole or growth
• Swelling, redness or spread of color into the skin near a mole or growth
• Raising of part of pigmented area of mole that used to be flat

A = Asymmetrical
         One half of the mole does not match the other half.
B = Border is irregular
         Edges of the mole are ragged, notched or blurred.
C = Color
          The mole's pigmentation is uneven or changes. Shade of tan, brown and black are present.  Blue, white
          and red may also appear.
D = Diameter greater than six millimeters. 
          Six millimeters is about the size of a pencil eraser.

Protect Your Skin 

Keep in mind that you need to take precautions year-round.  Any outdoor activity exposes you to the sun's harmful UV rays.
 

• Use sunscreens.  Those marked "SPF 15" or greater, preferably waterproof, are best ("SPF" stands for "Sun Protection Factor").  For sensitive parts such as lips, nose, and ears, use sunblock.
• When should you use a sunscreen?:  At the beach, even when sitting in the shade, because water, sand, and white concrete can reflect UV rays; year-round for outdoor activities; women can use them under makeup or try makeup products that contain sunscreens.
• Wear protective clothing.  Most skin cancers develop on uncovered parts of the body.  Wear a hat and long-sleeved shirt.
• Avoid exposure during the hours when the sun's UV rays are strongest: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Be careful when taking certain medications that may make skin burn more easily.  Some common examples are tetracycline, sulfa drags, thiazide diruretics, indomethacin, and retinA

The Latest Asthma Facts

  Asthma is chronic, life-threatening and on the rise.  By the year 2020, an estimated 29 million Americans will have asthma.  For adults, asthma is the fourth leading cause of work loss, resulting in nine million lost workdays each year.
  Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in the U.S.  Between 1980 and 1994, the prevalence of asthma increased 74% among children 5-to-14 years of age.  This adds up to 10 million lost school days per year.  Today, asthma affects one on every 20 children.  Low-income populations, minorities, and children living in inner cities experience disproportionately higher morbidity and mortality due to asthma.
  The Soap and Detergent Association has launched an extensive program to increase public awareness about asthma.  Educational materials and strategies have been developed in partnership with The American Lung Association and Emory University.  The latest Asthma Fact Sheet can be obtained by visiting www.cleaning101.com   Additional educational materials regarding asthma are also available through the Web site.

Does your water come from a public water supply, such as the water company in your city or town?  Or do you have a private water supply, such as a well or spring?  The questions to ask yourself are different depending on where your water comes from.

PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES

Before reaching your house, water from a public water supply is tested for over 80 different kinds of chemicals.  If they find problems, the company has to treat the water to make it safe or tell you that the water is unsafe to drink.

Every year, water companies give the results of these water tests to customers.  They mail reports or print them in a local newspaper.  You can also call your water company to ask what chemicals are found in the water and how they treat it to make it safe. Public water can become unsafe after it gets to your home from lead or copper pipes.  What kind of pipes do you have?

Lead pipes:  If your house was built before 1988, it may have lead water pipes or pipes joined with lead solder.  Lead pipes are dull gray and scratch easily with a key.

Copper pipes:  You may have copper pipes.  These are reddish-brown in color.
 

PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIES

You may have a private water supply, such as a well, for your drinking water.  Your well is your responsibility.  You need to make sure it is clean and safe. 

Test Your Well Water

HAS IT BEEN MORE THAN TWO YEARS SINCE YOUR WATER WAS TESTED?  You cannot see, smell, or taste most problems so you need to have your water tested at a laboratory.  Well water is usually tested for bacteria and nitrate.  You may want to have your water tested more often, or for other pollutants, like pesticides, if you have had problems in the past.  Call your local health department to find out how to have your water tested.

Take Care of Your Well

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR WELL IS? Find your well.  Is it uphill from animal pens, manure, pet waste, septic systems, dumps and places where chemicals are stored?

DO YOU KNOW HOW OLD YOUR WELL IS? If it is more than 20 years old, it may need a checkup.  You may need to test your water more often.

IS YOUR WELL IN GOOD SHAPE?
Be sure there is not a low area near the well where rainwater can collect.  Rainwater carrying pollutants can seep into well water.  Don't keep gas, oil weed killer or other chemicals in your well house. 

Aunt Sarah thought she was doing the right thing when she signed the paperwork to give her niece legal responsibility for her financial affairs.  Only when Sarah discovered that one savings account was depleted and a second was well on its way to extinction, did she realize something was badly wrong.

Sarah had become a victim --one of many ---of financial abuse of the elderly.  Older consumers lose millions of dollars each year because of financial exploitation.  This may be the result of an unknown con artist's scam or financial abuse by someone the victim knows well.

Financial exploitation is defined as the "illegal or improper use of an adult's resources or property."  The National Center for Elder Abuse in Washington, D. C. indicates that financial exploitation accounts for about "12 percent of all reported elder abuse cases."  This may be only a portion of actual cases, however, because victims often are too ashamed or embarrassed to report this type of crime.
If you think you have been swindled by a con artist who has gained your trust with a friendly and honest face or pleasant authoritative voice, ask yourself these questions?

• Has someone told you that you need home repairs and then demanded an immediate cash payment?  Has the person even offered to accompany you to the bank for a quick withdrawal?
• Has a stranger asked you to withdraw your money for any reason?
• Has a stranger asked you to put up "good faith" money so you can share in unexpectedly found valuables or cash?
• Has a stranger offered to "bless your money," remove a curse from it or perform a ritual that will cause it to increase in value?
• Have you received a telephone call or visit from an employee of a regulatory agency or bank examiner, who claims to need your help in trapping a teller who may have been withdrawing money from your account?

Before you withdraw your money and give it to any of these people, ask yourself if you are a potential victim of a scam.  In many financial exploitation cases, the culprit may be a relative, friend or caregiver to whom the elder has given his or her trust and confidence.  Precautions can be taken to reduce the risk of financial abuse.
 

• Screen references carefully of those people being hired to serve as a caregiver to an elderly person.
• Pay routine bills automatically from checking or savings accounts.
• Use direct deposit for benefit, pension or Social Security checks to reduce the opportunity for theft.
• Limit the authority when naming a power of attorney.  Monitor the agent's activity by requiring an annual reporting of income and expenses to an outside party.
• Assure that the elderly person is in regular contact with a number of friends and family members.  Be watchful of a caregiver who tries to isolate an older person.
• Communicate with the bank.  Financial institutions are in a unique position to have early knowledge of on-going financial exploitation of older consumers.