life, researchers recently
reported. Down a couple of
Starbucks' venti coffees at 20
ounces apiece, and you may
score a 30 percent drop in
risk (or more — researchers
didn't ask study participants
about more than six cups a
day). "It's possible
coffee's antioxidant effect
helps to protect against skin
cancer," says Ernest L. Abel,
Ph.D., professor of OB-GYN
at Wayne State University
School of Medicine. "But
part of it may be that people
who drink a lot of coffee tend
to stay indoors more."
4. You can see a
dermatologist
for wrinkles a lot faster
than for mole checks: In a
study from the University of
California, San Francisco
School of Medicine,
researchers posing as patients
called more than 800
dermatologists across the
country to see how long it
would take to get different
Joy feelings magazine
kinds of appointments. The
disturbing results: When
"patients" asked for
a Botox treatment, the typical
wait was eight days. But
when their request concerned
a changing mole, it went up
— to 26 days, on average.
Doctors may argue that the
current state of health
insurance has driven them to
sometimes favor cosmetic
patients, who pay in full on
the day of treatment
(insurance companies can
take months to reimburse
with only a fraction of the
fee). Still, a changing mole
isn't a trivial symptom. Make
sure the receptionist knows
why you need an
appointment. If that doesn't
work, ask your primary-care
doc to intervene or to
recommend another
specialist.
5. SPF is only half the
story: By
law, sunscreen labels must
list the familiar sun
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