10-08-25
There are many risk factors for
basal cell carcinoma, the most
common type of skin cancer in
people with European ancestry.
Generally speaking, the biggest
and most obvious risk is
cumulative exposure to sunlight.
But a new study published in
the Archives of Dermatology
reports on some interesting
specific risks: People who have
red hair, who belong to a higher
socioeconomic group with more
education, who received a skin
cancer diagnosis at a younger age
and who had a cancerous lesion on
their upper body are all at
apparent greater risk of
developing multiple cancers over a
lifetime.
Basel cell carcinoma is among
the least dangerous of cancers
(especially if detected early),
but it is also among the most
expensive to treat, in part
because it tends to recur.
The finding that patients of
higher socioeconomic status and
education are at greater risk
might be explained, said
researchers at the Erasmus Medical
Center in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, by the nature of the
patients' lifestyles: They tend to
spend more time in the sun
tanning, exposing more of their
skin to ultraviolet rays for
intermittent periods. And they
tend to live longer than poorer,
working-class folks, thus having
more time to develop lesions.
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
The skin of the average adult
weighs roughly 8 pounds and covers
22 square feet. A standard doorway
encompasses 21 square feet.
GET ME THAT. STAT!
Obesity rates have started to
decline and level off for many
adolescents, according to a UC San
Francisco study, but the
improvement is not across the
board. Among white and Asian
youth, obesity rates appear to
have peaked in 2005 and have now
declined (based on 2008 numbers)
to 12 percent for white youth and
13 percent for Asians.
The overall rate for Hispanic
youth also peaked in 2005, and it
has leveled off at 26 percent.
More problematic are the rates
of obesity for American Indian
girls and black girls, which have
climbed to 23 and 22 percent,
respectively. These two groups are
more than three times as likely as
white girls to be severely obese
(a body mass index at the 99th
percentile).
NUMBER CRUNCHER
A single cheese quesadilla from
El Pollo Loco (126 grams) contains
420 calories, 207 from fat. It has
23 grams of total fat or 35
percent of the recommended total
fat intake for a 2,000-calorie
daily diet.
It also contains 60 milligrams
of cholesterol (20 percent); 810
mg of sodium (34 percent); 35
grams of total carbohydrates (12
percent); 2 g of dietary fiber (8
percent); and 19 g of protein.
MEDTRONICA
Center for Medical Consumers
Medicalconsumers.org
A no-nonsense site for a
nonprofit patient advocacy group.
The specialty here is reviewing
published medical studies, and
then providing a critical
analysis. A good source for second
opinions.
DOC TALK
Doc in a Box -- a small health
care center, usually with high
staff turnover
STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM
It may be poor solace in the
moment, but a new study finds that
antagonistic people, particularly
those who are ultra-competitive
and aggressive, tend to have
greater thickening of the neck
artery and an increased risk of
heart attack and stroke.
PHOBIA OF THE WEEK
Ranidaphobia -- Fear of frogs
OBSERVATION
Poisons and medicine are
oftentimes the same substance
given with different intent.
-- English physician and
educator Peter Mere Latham
(1789-1875)
EPITAPHS
At last, a year-round resident
-- On the tombstone of Robert G.
Rogers, West Chop cemetery,
Vineyard Haven, Mass.
To find out more about Scott
LaFee and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and
cartoonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at
www.creators.com.
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