Yes, you can get it “down there,” and women are three times as likely as men to die of it.  Melanoma doesn’t require sun exposure to grow; it can grow anywhere the skin has pigment, including where the sun don’t shine.  Have any bumps, pigmented lesions, itching, or sores that don’t heal checked out.   Get tested for HPV along with your Pap smear, since that common virus makes you more vulnerable, as does a previous melanoma anywhere or atypical moles.  Your doc is supposed to check while you’re in the stirrups at your annual, but it couldn’t hurt to ask “You check for vulvar cancer, right?”

Your friends may be going to the beach or on trips this summer, but you’ve been taking care of Mom and Dad – supervising meals, shopping, home repair, and doctor visits; handling bank accounts, taxes, complicated benefits, and medical bills; researching living arrangements, selling real estate, or cleaning out the homestead or storage space.  Maybe your siblings are sitting on their butts, maybe your seniors are making hurtful comments, saying crazy things or accusing you of stealing.  Bottom line – this sucks and (more…)

I know Oprah’s telling us that in order to stop overeating we have to figure out what’s eating US –is it anger, boredom, sadness, fear?  Okay, I get it.  But still – wouldn’t it be nice if we could take a pill that would make us feel full and not WANT to eat?!  Three new weight loss drugs are under review by the FDA right now and one of them, lorcaserin, is looking REAL good, no increase in blood pressure or heart valve problems.  About 50% of the study participants on lorcaserin lost 5% or more of their body weight and even more were able to keep it off the next year.  Dr. David Katz, of Oprah Magazine fame, was not impressed, however.  “Better daily use of feet and forks holds far greater promise for sustainable weight loss.” he said.  Sigh.