When I describe the cancerous lump I found in my breast almost three Novembers ago, I explain that it felt like a hard, frozen green pea. The port used for chemotherapy infusions and sewn under the skin near my collarbone? It looked like a bottle cap popping up for all to see. My kids called it a stone. I had to numb my skin prior to treatments -- the needle inserted into the center of the port was just too big and painful. I slathered on my numbing lotion prior to each dose of drugs. Imagine the size of a quarter. I used twice this much. I was wimpy.

There's something about visual descriptions that help us remember some of the more important things in life. Here's a good one:

According to Jeffrey Dover, MD and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, we must not skimp when we apply sunscreen. How do we know if we are cutting ourselves short? We should be using a shot-glass full of sun protection to cover our bodies. Anything less is not enough.

Recently, a relative of mine lost his wife to a hospital-acquired infection after a successful cancer surgery. She had been expected to make a full recovery from the cancer.

Such infections are on the rise. A recent media report states that a drug-resistant form of staphylococcus, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA), may be infecting as many as 5 percent of hospital and nursing home patients. This rate is about ten times the rate previously estimated.

What can you do to protect yourself or a loved one during a hospital stay? Some tips include asking staff and visitors to wash their hands often and asking the doctor to wash any stethoscopes used. Before a surgery, be sure to ask your surgeon about the hospital's infection rate, about showering or bathing daily with chlorhexidine soap three to five days before the surgery and about the necessity of an antibiotic treatment an hour before the surgery.

My relative who suffered this tragic, unnecessary loss of his wife has started a non-profit organization to educate the public, ODEE PD Health Safety Initiative. From the ODEE educational materials, perhaps the most important piece of advice on how to protect ourselves, changing our attitude:

Protecting ourselves begins with changing our mindset. Maybe we are not accustomed to speaking up! Much as we are impressed by the care our doctors and hospitals can give us, we must not be timid about letting them know our concerns for safety in the hospital.

Today, more than ever, we need to speak up and speak out. We cannot accept the fact that deadly hospital infections exist and threaten our safety. We can be polite, but also must be very firm and persistent. We cannot be shy or feel funny about speaking up.

For more tips on how to protect you or a loved one against hospital-acquired infection, see HospitalInfections.org, Protecting Yourself.

A new website assesses the effectiveness and safety of almost 800 sunscreens. The suncreen screening site was put together by the Environmental Working Group and gives detailed information about many sunscreen products. It also groups them by the types of harmful rays they're meant to protect against.

SPF numbers on sunscreens only cover UVB, the type of rays most responsible for burns. UVA is far less responsible for burning, but still can raise skin cancer risk. Only one sunscreen in five has effective UVA protection. There are ingredients that protect well against UVA, but sunlight can break down and make them ineffective if they are not formulated well.

Watch out for the commonly misleading claims -- all day protection, waterproof or chemical free products. You can check the website for sunscreens that are recommended and ones to be avoided.

Slathering on sunscreen protects us from the dangers of the sun. Right?

Nope, say experts who insist protective clothing and hats are the best way to cover up against UV rays, prevent skin cancer, and minimize the aging effects of the sun.

Think about this:

Most of us rely on sunscreen for skin cancer prevention. But one doctor from Zurich who just finished reviewing sun protection strategies around the world says although the predominant mode of sun protection is sunscreen, this method can be abused in attempts to extend time spent in the sun.

A new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that postmenopausal women who eat healthy amounts of plant food rich in estrogen-like compounds called lignans may reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.

Lignans are found only in certain foods. Lignans only come from plant foods, such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans. The best source of lignans are flax seeds.

The study, including over fifty eight thousand French women, showed that they had a 17 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer if lignans were part of their diet compared with women having the lowest dietary lignan levels.

A diet containing lots of plant food is hypothesized to offer a breast cancer prevention strategy, however, if you have already been diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer it is best to talk to your doctor before going on any high lignan diet. The jury is still out on whether it can help with lowering the risk of recurrence and if it is safe for ER positive breast 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.

Breast cancer drug tamoxifen, designed to cut recurrence in women with estrogen-receptor positive disease, has been shown to continue working long after women stop taking the drug. And two studies suggest it might also offer long-term protection for healthy women with high risk of developing breast cancer.

One such study found the drug decreases risk of hormone-sensitive breast cancer by 39 percent over 20 years. Another shows a 34 percent decrease for up to eight years after the therapy concludes.

Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, one study -- the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study, or IBIS -- looked at 7,145 women at high risk of breast cancer. And for the first time, clear evidence has surfaced in support of the merits of tamoxifen after the completion of treatment.

IBIS study participants took either a daily dose of tamoxifen or a placebo for five years. At the eight-year mark, 87 women who took the actual drug were diagnosed with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer. And 129 women in the placebo group were diagnosed with the same disease.

In the second study, researchers from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London investigated 20-year data on 2,471 healthy women at high risk of breast cancer who took tamoxifen for six or seven years. Similar results were found.

Despite the benefits of tamoxifen as a preventative treatment, the drug is not currently approved for this use in the UK, where breast cancer is the most common form of female cancer.

A type of brown marine seaweed contains brown algae called poly-phenols (BAPs), that might protect against skin cancers caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. UVB radiation in sunlight is thought to be responsible for most cases of non-melanoma skin cancers diagnosed in the United States.

Research has shown that BAPs are strong antioxidants and have many anti-cancer properties. The animals that were fed the brown algae in their diet had a reduction of skin tumors up to sixty percent.

The study was led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. "These compounds seemed to be dramatically effective at fairly low doses both orally and topically" says principal investigator Gary D Stoner.

The potential link between a high cholesterol level and increased cancer risk is not a new one, nor is the idea that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs might offer a protective benefit for men when it comes to prostate cancer.

However, a new research study completed by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health offers up additional information that suggests while cholesterol-lowering statin drugs will not prevent prostate cancer, drugs that lower cholesterol might reduce the risk of men developing advanced prostate cancer, according to a CBS newscast this evening that cited the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Dec. 20, 2006 issue; Vol. 98: pp. 1819-1825.

The analyzed data revealed that men diagnosed with prostate cancer were half as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer if they were taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, and the longer the drugs were taken, the better the protective benefit.

At this time, it is a preliminary conclusion. "It is premature to recommend the use of statins for the prevention of advanced prostate cancer," stated the researchers. They are calling for additional research to support their findings, and to clarify that there are not other reasons for the difference in advanced prostate cancer outcomes.

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.

In the past year, I have had three severe skin reactions characterized by red, itchy, burning bumps that start on my chest and without fail climb over my shoulders and onto my back. They last for a few weeks, are irritated by the Florida heat, and have had no known cause -- until today when I visited my dermatologist for a skin cancer screening and briefed her on this bizarre condition that has kept me away from sunscreen and out of the swimming pool and in hiding from the sun. I have suspected that sunscreen, chlorine, the sun -- or some combination of the three -- have been my potential irritants. So I've been avoiding them altogether. But I learned today that the sunscreen and the chlorine are not to blame. That leaves the sun, which is the most likely culprit -- and only because I have received chemotherapy with one very toxic drug. Adriamycin.

My dermatologist told me about a phenomenon called UV Recall that is associated with Adriamycin. Apparently the toxicity of this drug, even though administered long ago, can be recalled, causing a reaction when the UV rays of the sun soak into my skin. Sunscreen may help, my doctor told me, but she cautioned me that it is just a screen -- it does not offer full protection. And she said the best suncreen option would include zinc oxide. I think for me, though, staying out of the sun is my best bet. It's not ideal -- it means I will remain on the fringe of the swimming pool, hiding in the shade, while my boys swim their little hearts out. And tropical vacations will be off my wish list. And I will seek outdoor fun mostly after the sun goes down. But this is okay -- I knew there were long-term side effects of chemotherapy drugs. I am just thankful for now that my heart has not been compromised -- a side effect of both Adriamycin and the drug Herceptin that I have also received. And it's also not a bad thing that the steps I must now take to prevent skin reactions are also the steps that protect me from skin cancer. So in some sort of round-about way, my inconvenient skin issues may just help me stay healthy. And that's just fine with me.

The new cervical cancer vaccine has certainly brought to light a great deal of information about one of the major causes of cervical cancer -- the human papilloma virus, HPV. According to statistics, 50 percent of sexually active adults are infected with HPV. In most cases, a woman will not experience any symptoms if she has contracted HPV through sexual activity, and HPV resolves itself in most cases. However, in a small number of cases, a woman infected with HPV will go on to develop cervical cancer.

University of Washington researchers have released a report stating that the proper use of condoms can offer effective protection against infection from the human papilloma virus, HPV, about 70 percent of the time for young sexually-active females. Condoms need to be used with every sexual encounter. The researchers of this study emphasize that the practice of using condoms does not afford 100 percent protection.

The new cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, is reported to offer 100 percent protection from HPV infection, but is only recommended for young girls before they become sexually active. Condoms might provide some protection for women already sexually-active and not candidates for the cancer vaccine.

Right here in Gainesville, Florida -- at the University of Florida to be exact -- the vaccine for cervical cancer is now available for college students. This vaccine -- called Gardasil -- could prevent women from contracting the human papillomavirus (HPV) which can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Almost 30 of the more than 100 different strains of HPV are sexually transmitted -- and sometime in their lives, 50 percent of sexually active men and women will contract genital HPV infection. Many will not know they have it and will spread it unknowingly to sexual partners. Protection can come in the form of Gardasil which is approved for use in women between the ages of 9 and 26.

Women who are not sexually active are the best candidates for this vaccine because it is clear that they have not yet been infected. The vaccine is not effective for women who already are infected with HPV. And those who don't know if they are infected can determine if they have HPV through a routine Pap smear. If they do not have HPV, the vaccine is indicated. Once the vaccine is indicated, it is delivered in three separate doses over a six-month period of time. Each dose costs $120 -- which may discourage students from this option.

About 9,700 women in the United States will develop cervical cancer in 2006 and this cancer will kill 3,700 of these women. This vaccine -- if received well by young women who can afford it -- should prove a breakthrough in cancer research and prevention.

The summer months are upon us which means lots of ball games, boating and fishing trips, beach vacations, and outdoor fun. That back yard swimming pool soon becomes the refuge from the heat.

Now is a great time to educate your child on the importance of lathering up with sun screen. This could keep them from getting the number one cancer in the world, skin cancer. Skin cancer is not just a cancer for the older generation. Skin cancer statistics show a rise in younger adults, teens, and children. Steps for early precautions could mean prevention.

Some employers are understanding while others are not so accommodating when it comes to an employee's need for a more flexible schedule or time off from work while they undergo the rigors of chemotherapy, surgeries and other cancer treatments. According to the Disability Rights Legal Center at Loyola Law School, cancer can be considered a disability, and cancer patients treated unfairly have remedies through laws that protect the disabled.

"In fact, people with cancer face a lot of employment discrimination," states Eve Hill of the Disability Rights Legal Center. Barbara Schwerin, who heads the Cancer Legal Resource Center, estimates they get about 300 calls from cancer patients each month. Because of the extreme fatigue, and other disabling side effects a cancer patient can suffer from cancer surgeries and treatments, patients often worry if they will lose their job in the process. Schwerin reassures them that they often have legal rights that will protect them from less understanding employers. Really, the last thing a cancer patient needs to worry about -- while they are fighting to stay alive and survive cancer -- is whether they will have a job or a roof over their heads and food in the pantry.