I'm a little tired of reading and writing about sunscreen. Maybe it's not the actual reading and writing that has me worn out. Maybe it's the realization that I keep reading and writing about sunscreen yet the information is just not sinking in with the masses of sun-hungry people out there -- according to the EPA, there has been a staggering 1,800 percent increase in malignant melanoma cases since 1930. Recent figures show a shocking rise in skin cancers among those in their 20s and 30s.

The experts at Canyon Ranch are weighing in on sunscreen. So here I go again, with some more about this tiring topic.

• Sunscreen contains unique chemical components which absorb ultraviolet (UV) light. When applied to the skin, the chemical molecules form an invisible, protective layer that repels the penetrating UV rays. It also helps prevent premature aging and pre-cancerous growths.

Most women who are faced with hair loss due to radiation or chemo usually get at least one wig and alternate wearing the wig with hats, bandannas, and scarves. Here are a few tips to get ready for wearing a wig and tips on choosing a wig.

If your hair is long, consider having it cut shorter so that switching to a wig or other head attire will be less noticeable. Once your hair begins falling out, many former patients advise shaving your head. This puts you in control of the situation and eliminates finding your hair all over the pillow or in the shower.

Some women rush out and buy an expensive natural hair wig and then regret it later because not only is it expensive but it requires a lot of upkeep. Synthetic wigs are less expensive and are easier to maintain and they look and feel natural. So keep in mind that six months after your last treatment you should have your hair back again. It may not be the same color and texture as before your treatments but it is natural.

Before starting treatments take a current photo of your hair and even save a swatch from the top front of your head in case you want to find a wig close to your present color. Use lighting near a window or outside to match the wig to your hair swatch or photo. if You want to purchase your wig before your hair falls out, measure your head with your hair slicked down. Always measure around the back of your head with a tape measure above your eyebrows and ears. If your head measures between size ranges, choose the larger size. You can also consider buying or using a hat sizer.

The wig will not look natural if it's pulled too far down in front and it should never be placed over your ears. Treat your wig like your own hair when styling and remember your beauty shop or hair salon personnel can always help you with styling your wig just like your own natural hair.

That's Fit blogger Jonathon Morgan wrote on May 25 about five sunscreen myths. In the spirit of Skin Cancer Awareness Month, it seems appropriate to mention this thought-provoking news here on this site.

I just heard a radio commercial about a certain sunscreen, claiming the product is so good consumers need only apply the lotion one time during an eight-hour time frame. It seems, according to the following list of myths, this is not exactly true.

Myth #1: Sunscreens protect all day.
Fact: Regardless of the SPF or what the label says, sunscreens must be reapplied every two hours because active ingredients in most products break down when exposed to the sun.

If you've ever visited the website My Breast Cancer Network, part of the Health Central conglomerate of health and medical information, you know the appeal of this site is its insightful navigation menu, comprised of three helpful locators -- Find, Manage, and Connect.

With a click on the Find button, you can search answers to questions, check symptoms, and locate resources. Choose Manage and you can take action, achieve goals, and resolve problems. If you wish to get advice, find support, and share your experiences, take a simple tour through the Connect community.

My Breast Cancer Network currently invites all viewers to connect with one another through a new feature: Show Us Your Chemo Style. You can simply visit this portion of the site and view photos submitted by others. Or you can submit a photo and caption of yourself, a friend, a family member. My Breast Cancer Network says it like this:

What does it mean to be confident during and after chemotherapy? Are you proud to be bald and beautiful? Does a wig, scarf or hat make sense for you and your style? We'd also love to see your new hair, as it grows back in. Share your favorite photos!

I did it -- go take a look -- and you can too.

We cannot be silent is one slogan printed on specialty clothing offered by a company called Privacy. Other slogans include United We Cure and Mission. Purpose. Cure.

The slogans say a lot -- but the accomplishments of Carolyn Jones, Founder and President/CEO of Privacy, say a whole lot more.

Think about this:

Jones lost her mother to breast cancer on November 16, 2000 during a time when too many questions about the disease were left unanswered and not enough options were available for women fighting for their lives.

Times have changed, in part due to outspoken pioneers like Jones, who are spreading the word and funding the cause.

Part of the Privacy corporate goal is to support medical research and to educate women about early detection and treatment.

"It is very clear that more information and research is needed due to the yearly increase in new cases nationally," says Jones who cites statistics such as this: every 12 minutes a woman in America will die from complications associated with breast cancer. And this: more than 1,500 new cases of male breast cancer will be diagnosed this year.

Privacy, a California-based company with a social conscious, offers for both women and men an assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, hats, recommended books, accessories, breast cancer facts, and even a contest or two. A portion of all profits are donated to breast cancer initiatives with an emphasis on low-income and uninsured populations.

Check it all out right here.

Not everyone buys into the power of pink when it comes to breast cancer.

Pink ribbons, pink teddy bears, pink hats, shirts, scarves, socks, purses, jewelry, magnets, and even cooking appliances have monopolized the breast cancer market. And some people just plain refuse to associate the disease with anything remotely sweet, soft, and soothing.

Think about this:

Annette`s Angels, founded in 2006 by the children of Annette Roberta, love and applaud the effectiveness of the flood of pink used to raise awareness about a disease that took Roberta after a 15-year battle.

But they refuse to embrace any color but black as they proceed to kick breast cancer in the butt. Black reflects their anger at breast cancer. And their power to fight it.

Annette's Angels are committed to fighting this terrible disease, and they invite us all to shop at their online store, where some items -- there's just no way around it really -- are pink. The angels will donate 50 percent of all profits to FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, the only resource of its kind for those facing genetic breast and ovarian cancers.

Skin cancer awareness month doesn't arrive until May, but Olay and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery have already chosen their spokesperson for the 2007 Skin Cancer Takes Friends campaign.

Emmy-nominated Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross will kick off a nationwide free skin cancer screening and education initiative to alert Americans about the importance of early detection and prevention in the fight against a disease that has affected her personally.

"I'm proud to be part of a cause that is near and dear to my heart," says Cross. "Having had two family members suffer from melanoma, I've come to understand the importance of skin cancer detection and prevention. Knowing what I know about the dangers of sun exposure, I take extra care to protect myself with a large hat, sunglasses, daily UV protection, and of course, an annual screening."

Cross has become an partner in the crusade against skin cancer so she can encourage people to protect not only themselves but their family members and friends too.

Beginning on April 1, log onto skincancertakesfriends.org to find a dermatologist offering free screenings in your area. Take a friend with you to your screening during the months of May, June, and July and each of you will pay not a penny.

Many people don't know just how dangerous skin cancer can be. Yet it's the most common form of cancer in the United States and the incidence of melanoma -- the deadliest form of the disease -- is rising faster than any other cancer. Right now, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetimes. And every 67 minutes, someone dies of melanoma.

Screening is a must for everyone -- regardless of skin color, ethnicity, age, or geography. So mark your calendar for April 1 if you'd like a free screening. If money is not an issue, make an appointment today.

Ho, ho, ho! Santa Claus arrives early and he is seriously underdressed for the season.

It's not the image of jolly St. Nick remembered from childhood, but it does reflect the spirit of generosity and giving. On December 16th, the sixth annual Santa Speedo Run, which started when a couple of guys thought it might be fun to spread a little holiday cheer and raise money for breast cancer charity, was held in Boston, Massachusetts.

Runners in little speedos, mostly red in keeping with Santa's signature color, donning Santa hats and white Santa Claus beards, benefited Ellie's Fund Care for the Caregiver program. The Ellie's Fund offers free support services, like daycare and meals, for local women undergoing breast cancer treatment. The Santa Speedo Run participants solicit sponsorships from coworkers, friends and family with 100 percent of the donations going to The Ellie Fund. For more holiday cheer, visit the Santa Speedo Run website here.

I'm sending off my wig to a new friend tomorrow. It's all wrapped and boxed and packaged and ready to travel from Gainesville, Florida to the east coast of the sunshine state where it will land in the hands of a young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

This new friend found me here -- on The Cancer Blog -- and we have been corresponding back and forth via e-mail about all sorts of cancer topics -- like surgery and pathology and chemotherapy and most recently, wigs. She asked me just the other day what type of wig I wore after I lost my hair to chemotherapy. I told her I didn't like full wigs, that they felt too unnatural, that I feared my little boys would rip them off my head in the middle of the grocery store. I told her I opted for underhair -- a hairfall of sorts made of plain, white, soft cotton on the top with hair hanging only from the sides and back. It is worn with hats, to cover the cotton part, and it feels quite secure -- although it did sail off my head at the beach one day, compliments of a strong breeze.

I told my new friend that I was completely happy with my choice. I told her the underhair is made of human hair and that customers get to choose the color, texture, length, and size. The wig can be washed, dried, curled, styled, and cut. It looks so real that some people didn't even know chemotherapy took my hair. It was the perfect disguise for me.

I led my new friend in the direction of this wig -- www.hiphat.com -- where she could order her very own handmade underhair. I told her to ask her doctor for a prescription for a cranial prothesis and to see if her insurance company would reimburse her some of the cost of this fairly expensive wig option. And then I realized it would be silly for her to do all this work and spend so much money when my wig is tucked away in my closet, sitting pretty on a nice styrofoam head, doing nothing more than collecting dust.

I don't need my wig anymore. But my new friend does. So tomorrow, it begins traveling her way. And she can keep it for as long as she needs it, for as long as I don't need it. Which I hope is forever.

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.

I wrote this journal entry one year ago today. It's one of many entries I look back on to remember my journey with breast cancer, to capture the emotions that preceded the ones I have now, to chart just how far I have come since the day of my diagnosis. This is one of my happier journal entries -- written at a time when I was coming back to life after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, when I was happy to be alive and in the company of two little boys whose simplicity inspired me.

My hats were once so important to me. Now they are scattered all over the floor of my bedroom closet. Once my daily camouflage for what cancer had done to me, my hats are now toys. Joey and Danny play with them and toss them around and wear them -- sometimes one at a time and sometimes they pile as many as they can on top of their little blond heads. The hats hold no real significance to them -- they are just playthings and while Joey can recall that I wore them at one time, the emotion wrapped up in the pale blue sleep cap and the black Nike ball cap and the yellow bucket hat is lost on him. I consider this a blessing -- that one day, he and Danny will likely have very little memory of this cancer adventure and that they may only remember what fun it was to wear so many hats.

A reader left a comment the other day on the Cancer Blog post death by cancer dims outlook of promise, hope, survival. It was positive and supportive and inspiring -- and sad too. The reader shared that her mother passed away in February after a year-long battle with gallbladder cancer. She wrote that her mother handled her diagnosis, chemotherapy, transfusions, medications -- and her final days -- with true grace. And this is a big deal. Because there is not much information floating around on the topic of this cancer. So this woman didn't have much to cling to. Like I do. As a breast cancer survivor, I have mounds of resources at my disposal. I have books and magazines and websites and blogs that devote generous coverage to breast cancer. There are walks and runs and yard sales and fashion shows and other fundraisers that make breast cancer survivors the lucky recipients of extensive research and study. I see pink ribbons all over town and license plates on the roads and clothing and hats and even tennis shoes that promote breast cancer awareness. I could go on -- and on and on.

Gallbladder cancer is rare. So perhaps that's why there is not an abundance of information on the disease that has no known cause or test to detect its presence in the body. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 8,750 new cases of gallbladder cancer and bile duct cancer (excluding bile ducts within the liver) will be diagnosed in 2006 in the United States. And about 3,260 people will die of these cancers in 2006. Of these new cases and deaths, about half are due to gallbladder cancer, which affects predominantly women and those who are older than 65. Diagnosis of this cancer is difficult because symptoms do not often surface until the late stages when aggressive treatment becomes necessary. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are typical treatment tools, along with palliative therapy to help control or reduce symptoms. There are also drugs currently under study in the areas of both targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

It's good to know that gallbladder cancer is rare -- and that it takes far fewer lives than breast cancer and other diseases -- but for the unfortunate ones who are diagnosed with this life-threatening illness, the lack of information and resources is a truly an unfortunate side effect.

Angela Lemke was a young woman of 33 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she went through a range of emotions in the challenges of cancer surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. She speaks about feeling sick -- physically, mentally and emotionally. Lemke admits she felt shame and embarrassment at no longer fitting in and looking different after chemotherapy hair loss.

Lemke became frustrated at the hair loss alternatives available, and with her sister-in-law, designed the Inspired by You Ponytail Hat. She loved wearing it as it made her feel like her old self again. Lemke now offers individually created ponytail hats for other women experiencing chemotherapy hair loss. At the time of purchase, a woman can choose from over 288 variable combinations in creating a customized ponytail hat.

You can find out more about Lemke's ponytail hats and create one of your own online at her website. At Inspired by You the motto is: Hope Matters ... Courage Counts!

The topic of my hair is often the subject of conversation -- and is a constant reminder that this brown curly hair I have covering my head is nothing like the straight blond hair I was born with, grew up with, was known for. Because my little boys have white blond hair, I am consistently asked by strangers, "Where did your boys get that blond hair?" "From me," is what I want to say because it's the truth -- but that would make no sense to anyone who does not know me, anyone who does not know that my hair -- that once looked much like my boys' hair -- was lost to chemotherapy and returned shockingly different. So sometimes I just chuckle in wonder with these strangers who may not expect an answer anyway. Or I tell them the story -- if they seem to really want in on the details of the mystery. Most people are surprised that my hair grew back like it did. I am not surprised -- I was warned that it might happen -- although it is still a startling discovery each time I look in the mirror, each time I look back at photos, each time I see gray hairs emerging through my dark hair -- gray that only slightly showed up in the midst of my blond locks.

The memory of my blond hair keeps popping up. My husband told me the other day that he had a dream about me -- I was in a restaurant, at a table, by myself. He was walking toward me. And I had blond hair. The rest of the dream is insignificant. The blond hair is significant. And the other day, I pulled my brush out of my purse. It hasn't been used in more than a year -- because I don't brush my curls at all -- and at the base of the brush, wound around the bristles, were long blond strands of hair. My blond hair. My old hair. The same hair I showed my friend who visited from Ohio last week -- the hair that was once on my head, was cut off in preparation of the great fallout, and is now kept in a ziplock bag.

I like my brown hair. I like my curls. But I miss my blond hair. I am sad that I no longer match my children, that I don't look like the bride in my wedding photo, that I will attend my 20-year high school reunion in two years and will wear a photo name tag that looks nothing like me. I like the familiar -- which is why I never wanted to show my bald head, why I covered my head with blond wigs and hats to keep my appearance as close to normal as possible. And then in a strange turn of events, my hair grew back in an unfamiliar fashion -- and somehow the question, "I see where your boys get that blond hair" flip-flopped into "Where did your boys get that blond hair?" It is all still new to me. I know one day it will become familiar and normal and not such a big deal. Some day. I hope.

The BBC News is reporting an unfortunate incident that happened in a pub in Old Catton, Norwich, where a woman was asked to remove her baseball cap. Liz White, 55, who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and suffering hair loss as a result of treatment, wears a hat to make herself feel more comfortable in public.

Monday night she was out with her husband visiting the pub when the barman gestured to her to remove her hat. The pub has a security policy in place that prohibits wearing hats inside the establishment. In the event a troublemaker needs to be identified later, management feels a hat might prevent a clear view of the person's features. Mrs. White said that while she had been trying to be so strong and positive about all she was going through in cancer treatment, the barman's insensitivity left her crying and feeling like a freak.

Mrs. White is quoted as saying, "I might have been a Calamity Jane years ago, but I really don't feel up to much nowadays. I just wished they had used some common sense." The pub owner wishes his employee had used more common sense too, and he wishes he had been there to intervene. As he said, "Rules are there to be broken at the end of the day."

Almost everyone in this story seems like a nice person, but sometimes, through a series of misunderstandings, things just go wrong and someone gets hurt when there was no real intention to inflict harm. And then again, there are insensitive people in this world who really seem intent on making other people feel bad, it's a mission on their part, as they are not very happy people. You have to try not to let them get to you. Focus on the kind people as the only ones who matter and whose words and actions you take seriously.

That's how I have learned to deal with insensitive people and unpleasant events. How do you deal with a person who is insensitive or who is obviously out to make life unpleasant?