Since the market is not giving us much of anything positive to talk about recently, I thought I would try my hand at a health tip this month. Hopefully the market will start improving soon. Probably when we start to get some encouraging earnings reports.

I recently had 2 skin cancers surgically removed. One from my nose and one from behind my left ear and several pre-cancer spots frozen. This was my first visit to a Dermatologist and these were some of the things I learned. Arizona has over 300 days of sunshine per year, as opposed to New York that has an average of about 150. Even on a cloudy day, you are exposed to about 75% of the suns harmful rays. When driving in your car the sun-rays come through the windows. White concrete, sand, water and snow can reflect up to an additional 85% of the suns UV radiation. A sunscreen with SPF 15 is good for only 2 hours and sunscreen with SPF 30 is only good for about 4 hours. Some of the recommendations the Dermatologist suggested, which I have already adopted, and hope that you will too are:

1. Wear protective clothing. Wear a broad brimmed hat with a 4-inch wide brim and tight weave on the top and brim, to block the sun. Baseball caps or light weave is not recommended. Be sure your sunglasses have a UV coating.
2. Use sunblock, not sunscreen, everyday. Sunblock should include zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and a chemical called Parsol 1789. Use SPF 30 or higher.
3. For lip protection, especially on the lower lip, Shade Stick 30, Blistek 30, Chapstick Ultra 30, Vaseline Lipbalm 30.

I guess all this boils down to the same idea that a sign in my dentist office says, "You don't have to floss all of your teeth, just the ones you want to keep." A sign in a Dermatologist office could read, "You don't have to protect all of you skin, just the skin you want to keep." If you have any spots on your hands, arms, face, neck or legs that look suspicious, get to your doctor early. Because I can guarantee you, the first visit I had to the Dermatologist was not a pleasant one. Hopefully these hints have been helpful.

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