HOW COFFEE
PROTECTS YOU, AND 11
OTHER SURPRISING
WAYS TO STOP THE
MOST COMMON
CANCER
1. All doctors are not
created equal: When
researchers from Emory
University School of
Medicine looked at the
records of more than 2,000
melanoma patients, they
found that those whose
growths had been diagnosed
by a dermatologist were more
likely to have earlystage cancer — and to
survive their disease — than
those who'd been diagnosed
by another kind of doctor. It
may be that dermatologists
are more skilled at finding
smaller tumors — and less
likely to brush them off as
"nothing."
2. So-called harmless basal
cell cancers aren't always so
Joy feelings magazine
harmless:True, the growths
are usually easy to remove,
but of the million new cases
each year, about 5 to 10
percent can be resistant to
treatment, recurring over and
over and requiring more
extensive surgery. And some
basal cells can be very
aggressive, damaging
the skin around them and
even invading bone and
cartilage. That's why if you
have a suspicious growth,
you should see a doctor
promptly. "You want it
removed before it disfigures
your face," says Kishwer
Nehal, M.D., director of
Mohs and dermatologic
surgery at Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center.
3. Your daily coffee fix may
help you fend off skin
cancer: For each cup of
caffeinated java that you
drink every day, there's a 5
percent drop in your odds of
developing nonmelanoma skin cancer later in
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