I feel like I'm spreading a little hope when I wear my Brighton breast cancer bracelet. It catches others' attention and allows me to explain what all the dangling charms represent. That's hopeful. The dollars I spent on the bracelet help fund breast cancer research. That's hopeful. And the bracelet inspires me personally. It reminds me of my journey, of my path ahead. That's hopeful.

So this hopeful piece of jewelry turns out to be a perfect accessory. And so does the Color of Hope ovarian cancer bracelet -- a new, exclusive, charming piece created as just one of many items in a fundraising campaign for The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Presented by L'Oreal Paris, the bracelet features an "O" toggle clasp -- a symbol of love, endurance, life, and "O"varian cancer.

The Color of Hope bracelet, available in sterling silver with cubic zirconia or 14K white gold with diamonds, is available online for a limited time.

Other L'Oreal Paris fundraising products -- sporting the ovarian cancer color teal -- include make-up items for the eyes, face, and lips, a body lotion, and a teal RAZR phone program.

Because You're Worth It has been the L'Oreal Paris slogan for more than 30 years. It represents a celebration of women and was created as part of a mission to give back to women and to empower them as they make educated choices about their well-being. And so in the spirit of well-being, the company strives to help women fully understand a disease that strikes about 20,000 women each year in United States -- and kills nearly 15,000 of them.

L'Oreal Paris honors women and the pursuit of their health through The Color of Hope initiative. Because they're worth it.

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.

Strange things have happened to my skin ever since I encountered surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation for breast cancer. I developed an allergic reaction to the Tegaderm tape and latex used during and after my lumpectomy. My entire chest and one underarm were covered in red, itchy, burning, blistery bumps that oozed and then dried up. It took weeks of misery and a bunch of creams, lotions, and drugs to calm my skin and my anxiety too. Then I became allergic to an antibiotic while I was hospitalized for chemo-induced fever and low blood counts. The same horrible skin reaction again covered my chest and this time, my back also. It happened again a few months ago after a trip to the beach and I can only imagine that it was some combination of salt water, sunscreen, and chlorine that prompted this attack. I am still not sure of the cause. But it struck once again recently after a trip to my neighborhood pool. Sunscreen and chlorine were again my possible enemies. So I am staying away from all possible culprits now -- the tape, latex, certain antibiotics, sunscreen, salt water, and chlorine. And of course, the sun too. Perhaps treatment has made my skin even more sensitive than it already was. Perhaps something else is at fault. Regardless, I am now ultra careful about anything I put on my skin. I avoid most everything -- except for Dove soap and sometimes some fruity smelling lotion for my legs -- and I look for anything that is targeted for delicate skin.

So an advertisement in a magazine caught my eye today -- an ad for a hypo-allergenic deodorant that is highly recommended by dermatologists and oncologists. Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal Spray Mist and Roll On are both extremely gentle and also very effective. They are 100 percent natural and are fragrance free. They last for up to 24 hours, do not stain, and are good for one year. Like some deodorants that merely mask odor, these actually kill the bacteria that causes odor. Naturally Fresh Deodorant seems like a great find to me -- and it can be found CVS, Target, GNC, Hannaford Bros., A&P, Harmon Stores, Drug Fair, and Kerr Drug in the United States and Shoppers Drug Mart, Jean Coutu, and GNC in Canada.

At the end of March, we told you about nine lawsuits filed in a California court against the makers of five of the most popular sunscreen brands in the U.S. -- Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, Neutrogena and BullFrog -- accusing sunscreen makers of misleading consumers on how well their lotions block the sun's harmful rays, putting millions of people at risk of skin cancer.

Over the weekend, over 166 separate news stories have been filed about these lawsuits. At first I wondered why now, over two months after the news first came out about the lawsuits, suddenly the peaked interest. Are we short on new health news? Maybe.

However, with all the additional coverage, I was able to learn that the accusations might not be a matter of exaggerated claims alone, but a scurrilous attempt to skirt the laws in deliberately misrepresenting the value of sunscreen products for the purpose of profit at the expense of human lives in increased skin cancer risks. Have we just come to a time when we might as well assume that all companies deceive and that our government seems incompetent to protect its citizens? Maybe so.

Here's how this whole situation happened, and why there are now nine lawsuits filed against some of the biggest names in sunblock lotion products. Sunscreen makers claim their sunscreen lotion is waterproof and acts as a sunblock. Years ago, the FDA wanted the claims changed to read water resistant instead of waterproof and sunscreen instead of sunblock. Because the FDA has never imposed the changes, the big name sun lotion makers chose to go with the more descriptive wording that made the lotions sound more effective than they were in actual fact. To some, it might seem a matter of semantics but words have power. The change from sunblock to sunscreen and waterproof to the more accurate water resistant could mean a potential difference in profits. What's at stake? Years of consumer health.

If you don't think staying out in the sun for long periods of time puts you at greater risk for skin cancer -- or that a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen are all you need to be safe from the damaging rays of the sun -- you might be interested in what MoleMap, a melanoma surveillance program in Australia, discovered during a study of New Zealand farmers and skin cancer rates. I was surprised -- and not in a good way -- by the results of the study.

According to the study, these farmers take sun safety very seriously and observe most of the advised sun safety practices of wearing wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, protective clothing and sunscreen. Yet, with all those preventive measures, half of the New Zealand farmers, or close family members, have been diagnosed with skin cancer. The unavoidable truth is that the work they do requires them to be out in the sun for as long as eight hours a day.

MoleMap general manager Gavin Foulsham is quoted as saying, "We are getting absolutely hammered with ultraviolet rays from the hole in the ozone layer, and our skies are very clean, so we don't get the protective benefits of pollution either, which ironically caused the hole in the first place." The farmers are being asked to pay close attention to any changes to the skin that could indicate skin cancer and to get it checked right away. For all of us who are not required to work outdoors, this is a cautionary tale of why it is essential to take sun safety seriously and to stay out of the sun for long periods of time.