Summer Skin Cancer Message

Recently a friend posted a very impactful message on her Facebook page (thanks, Lisa!) that I would like to recommend. The youtube video is called "Dear 16 year-old Me", and shows real people who lives have been deeply affected by melanoma, and the message they would love to go back in time and send to themselves (and their loved ones) before they started purposefully sun tanning to "look healthy".

Many people are unaware that the skin cancer MELANOMA is a very serious cancer. Because it looks like a simple little funny-looking mole on the skin, there is often the assumption that a quick skin biopsy will fully take care of the issue. Not so! While these cancers start in the pigment-producing skin cells, they can invade locally and then break off and metastasize to the liver, lungs and even the brain.

Melanoma skin cancers kill roughly 8000 people in the United States every year, and show up in an estimated 100,000 people annually. (Numbers on this vary greatly, partly because although melanoma cases should be reported to central cancer registries, many providers are unaware of this these reporting requirements.)  I know in my practice, I have seen younger and younger patients (not just because I am growing older!) with this scary diagnosis. Did you know that using a tanning bed before you turn 35 will cause a 75% increased risk of developing this cancer? Other risk factors include blistering sunburns in childhood, living at higher altitude (>2300 feet), family history of melanoma, fair skin, red or blond hair and more than 5 sunburns in your entire lifetime.

Remember the ABCDE's of Melanoma:
Asymmetry
Border (that looks irregular)
Color variation (including reds, blacks or blues)
Diameter (>6mm)
Elevation  (you can feel it as a bump above the skin)

And ultimately, remember this- if all your "moles" look the same, and ONE looks different- please go get that one checked out. Just like Sesame Street, if "one of these things is not like the others" then it "doesn't belong"!

BOTTOM LINE: Please, watch the video- the message is very effective. And remember to wear sunscreen and protective clothing this summer!

Modeling credit: A. Lampert (who will wear more sunscreen next time...)

Pop Tart and Candy Diets

Ready to lose weight? Step up to the newest diet craze- the Peanut M&M diet! Can you imagine a diet that will let you eat this delicious candy and still lose weight? Okay, hold on right here. I could go on and actually give you details of how my new Peanut M&M diet will work- but be prepared to hear something like eat ONLY the green ones- then clip on your pedometer and don't eat the yellow ones till you've walked 2500 steps. So what's my point?

Last week, I was at a wonderful talk by registered dietitian, Daniela Knight, and one of the participants asked what she thought about the "Pop Tart Diet". (BTW, for fun, I googled pop tart diet and sure enough, came up with not only a diet but a youtube video explaining the supposed health benefits of pop tarts.) I loved her response- "Oooh, doesn't that sound enticing? Wow! A diet where you eat pop tarts! Way more fun than eating more fruits and vegetables, right?" But the audience was hooked, and all wanted to know details of the "diet". So here's the thing- ANY weight loss program CAN include pop tarts (or donuts, or peanut M&Ms), but if that is the mainstay of the calories in the diet, you are not going to feel so great. Your body (obviously) needs a balance of nutrients and vitamins that ideally comes from multiple colors of produce plus a protein source. Weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you burn off. Period. So yes, you COULD eat six strawberry pop tarts per day, with as much water and diet sodas as you can hold, and you would be on a 1200 calorie per day diet. For most people, that would result in weight loss- BUT- you would be seriously lacking in protein, fiber, calcium, B Vitamins, Vitamin C...get the picture? No energy. None!

Am I saying NEVER eat a pop tart? No! Daniela (my favorite dietitian) would tell you immediately that NO food is "bad". Treats like pop tarts and M&Ms we need to limit, not ban. What IS a healthy way to lose weight? Fruits & veggies galore, with enough protein (eggs, meat, chicken, fish or nuts) at each meal to equal a daily total of roughly one gram per kg of your body weight.

Now, if I wanted to get RICH, I'd go back to my color-coded peanut M&M diet...but don't forget walking the mile in between color changes...

BOTTOM LINE: Yummy treats like pop tarts or peanut M&M's can be INCLUDED in any healthy diet- but should be the occasional bonus, not the mainstay!

Healthy Teens, a Music Video, YouTube and STDs??

What can healthy teens, a music video, YouTube and STDs have in common? The 12 Days Of April- aka. "GET TESTED!!" Wonderful teens Catherine "Cat" Butler, Kat G., Nate & Connor McLauchlan all agreed that posting a video on YouTube that featured teens singing about STDs might just be an effective way to reach their peers with an important message. Huge thanks to Dona LeBlanc for her beautiful voice and creative playscape, as well as to her son, Matt for his participation in our dress rehearsal and creative costume additions. Kudos to Richard Lampert, our videographer and computer expert, for his time, talents, and humor. Thanks to Coni for her artwork, and to all the teens' parents for having open minds about letting their kids help other teens with an awkward topic!

So why SING about sexually transmitted diseases? Well, why not? Songs creep into your brain and often crop up years later when something triggers a memory. Picture this-in the middle of a frat party in December, the 12 Days of Christmas starts playing, and instead of "Five Golden Rings" the reminder "Most STDs are SILENT- GET TESTED!" pops into a few mildly intoxicated brains! How great would that be?

Click this to see video: http://www.jillgrimesmd.com/audiovideo-12days.html

BOTTOM LINE: We've got to think out of the box to find new methods to teach people the facts about sexually transmitted diseases so they can make educated choices and preserve their health and fertility.