See those little blips on the picture to the right -- the ones between the thumb and index finger? Those are RFID (radio frequency identification) chips, some of which are being used as implants into humans for several kinds of tracking purposes.

If you have one, though, watch out -- those chips may cause skin cancer according to some reports this week that cited medical studies stating as much.

RFID was to become the savior of having full medical records available in many patients by a simple read of the chip using a wireless radio scanner, as those tiny chips contain a vast amount of data for their size. But then, a growing amount of tumors were found in mice which had been implanted with RFID chips. Would you trust one, regardless of the personal security implications?

Talk about cancer news that sounds like it comes from the future. In new research, using high-speed liquid injectors to get light-activated cancer-fighting drugs into the body without the need for needles.

Many patients would probably hooray something like this, and without using the limitations of needles -- some of which don't penetrate tumors effectively -- the targeting increased such a system would have sounds rather intriguing.

Of, and if you don't like needles, that goes away as well. I wonder if this will make it to market anytime soon?

According to a study in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, patients seeking to have a potentially cancerous mole evaluated by a dermatologist have to wait longer than those seeking Botox treatments for wrinkles.

The researchers report that dermatologists in 12 cities offered a typical waiting time of eight days for a patient seeking Botox for wrinkles, compared with a typical wait of 26 days for a patient requesting an evaluation of a changing mole.

The lead author, Dr. Jack. S. Resneck, Jr., says, "We need to look further and figure out what is leading to shorter wait times for cosmetic patients." This study did not examine the causes.

One explanation, according to The New York Times article covering the study, could be that the demand for medical dermatologists outstrips the supply. Other dermatologists quoted in the article said that financial incentives plus obstacles in receiving payment from insurance companies might have a role in varying wait times.

In a recent column by Dr. Leslie Baumann, Baumann addresses the risks of tanning addiction. According to Baumann, tanning addiction is not 'just in your head'.

Baumann cites a study where doctors used substance-abuse screening techniques to examine frequent beachgoers and found that over 50 percent of the beachgoers in the study showed signs of dependence. Researchers theorize that UV exposure stimulates endorphin-like production and therefore, a sense of heightened well-being. From an evolutionary perspective, this trait would be adaptive as it would encourage adequate levels of vitamin D.

Baumann adds that since we can access adequate vitamin D through supplements now, these are the best bets for those at high-risk for skin cancer. If you're going the sun route, it only takes 20 minutes a day to generate the needed vitamin D levels.

Mixing antioxidants and sun exposure can be dangerous to your health. A new study, published in the September issue of The Journal of Nutrition, details a French study revealing that antioxidant supplements won't protect women against skin cancer -- and they may actually increase the risk of developing the disease.

A team of French researchers assigned almost 7,900 women and more than 5,100 men to take either an oral daily capsule of antioxidant or a placebo that looked the same. The antioxidants included low levels of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, selenium, and zinc. What they found: the incidence of all skin cancers was higher in the group of women who took the antioxidant.

While there is one limitation to this study -- it did not take into account sunscreen use and its effect on the use of both antioxidants and the sun -- it does serve as another reason to stay out of the sun.

The FDA proposed a new regulation on Thursday governing retail sunscreens, including adding a new label warning consumers about the risk of skin cancer linked to sun exposure.

The FDA proposed testing and rating a product's level of ultraviolet A protection. UVA is responsible for tanning and UVB for burning. The FDA hopes to clarify that both UVA and UVA are dangerous. Currently, the sun protection factor or SPF rating, only indicates the level of UVB protection.

The proposed warning would remind consumers that sunscreen use should not be used as a reason to extend time spent in the sun and that UV exposure increases the risk of skin cancer, premature skin aging and other damage. The new UVA rating system would use a scale of one to four stars, with four stars representing the highest UVA protection available in an over-the-counter sunscreen.

Anything that can help us increase our understanding of sun and skin health is a step in the right direction.

Do different races have different outlooks on the possibility of developing skin cancer? With so many skin pigments among the world's human races, it would make sense for darker-skinned citizens to proclaim that they are more protected from skin cancer than from light-skinned individuals.

At least in Florida, this is the thinking. White Hispanic teens, when surveyed, were more likely to use tanning beds and less likely to consider themselves at risk for skin cancer. White Caucasian teens, though, were more apt to use some kind of protection to help them battle overexposure to sunlight.

The research here seems to indicate that differences in knowledge and behavior between races with white skin (but with different racial backgrounds) have an effect on skin cancer development(s). Prevention measures are a least partially to blame here, as well as early (and often, faulty) gathering of knowledge related to the risks of developing skin cancer.

My sister has skin cancer -- the basal cell variety. She has two spots, both on her chest, each one scheduled to be surgically removed in a few weeks. If it were me with this new diagnosis, I'm sure I'd be freaking out, maybe because I've already had breast cancer and tend to panic about any cancer or maybe just because I'm a worrier by nature. But my sister is taking her cancer news in stride, and I am too -- because now that I've done a little research, it seems this type of cancer is pretty easy to beat.

Here's a little refresher lesson on the skin: The skin is the largest organ in the body, and is made of three layers -- the epidermis (top layer), dermis (middle layer), and subcutis (deepest layer). For the purpose of this post, let's focus on the epidermis.

The epidermis has three layers -- an upper, middle, and a bottom layer. This bottom layer is comprised of basal cells. This is where basal cell cancer begins.

Last Tuesday, a U.S. appeals court ruled that terminally ill patients do not have a constitutional right to experimental drugs that are not approved by the FDA. Advocacy groups were seeking access to unapproved medicines that have cleared early safety tests. Early safety tests usually include 20 to 80 people.

"The FDA's policy of limiting access to investigational drugs is rationally related to the legitimate state interest of protecting patients, including the terminally ill, from potentially unsafe drugs with unknown therapeutic effects," Judge Thomas Griffith wrote in Tuesday's majority opinion.

The Abigail Alliance, one of the groups fighting for such access, was founded by Frank Burroughs to advocate for the right of the terminally ill to access experimental drugs that have cleared early safety tests.

One in five Americans will get skin cancer. Those are scary statistics, but the first step in fighting any condition is knowing about it and how to prevent it. Obviously, one of the main things you need to do when you have skin cancer is protect yourself from the sun, but your diet also plays a key role. Here are some suggestions for avoiding skin cancer through eating:

• Cut back on alcohol -- heavy drinkers are 65% more likely to get skin cancer
• Polyunsaturated fats are considered a good fat, but they can also weaken your immune system so don't assume you can go crazy on the vegetable oil
• Antioxidants are consistently linked to a decreased chance of cancer. To up your antioxidant intake, try to eat lots of the following: berries, oranges, spinach, grapes, kale, broccoli, beats, red peppers, carrots and much more. If you already have a healthy diet full of fruits and veggies, you probably won't need to make any changes.
  

Skin care is not just a woman's domain when it comes to long term skin health. Men need to be aware of the various products and methods that are required to prevent against skin damage and skin cancer. Many spas are now offering skin care regimes targeted specifically at men, but with a bit of research and dedication it is easy to create your own regime at home.

First it is best to find a line of skin care products that are not too harsh on the skin. So many products that are available for men are filled with heavy scents and harsh astringents. Men's skin, especially in the neck are, is every bit as sensitive as a woman's skin. A good shaving gel and a clean sharp blade are the best way to begin skin care. Next follow up with a good sunblock with at least an SPF factor of 15. Men of all ages need to be aware of sun protection. Skin care diagnoses outnumber those of prostate and lung cancer. Moisturizing the male skin is as important as shaving. Many moisturizers also contain sunscreen, making this step an easy combination with sun protection. Exfoliating the skin is also a must for men. Many men shy away from this step, thinking it to be far to feminine for them. However, by sloughing off the dead skin cells to promote new cell growth many precancerous cells are removed from the face. While shaving is a natural exfoliant for the face, the neck area still needs to be addressed.

A skin care regime need not be expensive or time consuming, but a daily commitment to it is every bit as important for a man as it is a woman.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School say the active component of marijuana may enhance the virus that causes a rare type of skin cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma. While most people are not at risk of developing this cancer, AIDS patients are transplant recipients are. It's the weakened immune system that puts some at risk for this disease. And these are the people who should discuss with their doctors the costs of using marijuana medicinally or recreationally.

It may take only small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the ingredient that gives marijuana users a "high" -- to cause cells to become infected and then multiply, according to a study reported in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research.

Previous studies have indicated this very same association between marijuana use and Kaposi's sarcoma. But this study shows THC itself is the driving force.

Summer is in full swing and there is no better time to have a reminder about checking yourself for skin cancer signs than now. In addition to ensuring those moles are benign, are there other things you can do to make sure you're safe from skin cancer? Some simple self checks are a great starting point.

Irregularly-shaped skin blemishes that are reddish-brown to brown in color should be checked out, and if those moles have any of the characteristics below, someone qualified like a regular physician, dermatologist or even oncologist may need to take a closer look.

• Bleeding
• Itching
• Rapid growth
• A sore or area that won't heal
• A scaly or crusty growth
• Rough patches that feel like sandpaper

How much do you know about protecting your skin? How often should you apply it? How much should you use to cover your whole body? What kind of rays does sunscreen protect against? UVA? UVB? Both? If these questions have left you scratching your head, check out this quiz from Fitsugar.

Here are some quick sunscreen facts:

• When you don't use enough sunscreen, the sunscreen you did apply is not nearly as effective.
  
• UVA Rays can pass through windows and contribute to aging of the skin. UVB rays cannot pass through windows and can cause skin cancer.
• SPF 15 blocks out 93% of harmful rays. Impressive, huh?

Finding an unusual mole can be scary, especially if you don't know the difference between 'normal' and 'abnormal'. I had one a few years ago on my back, and it turned out to be normal but it freaked me out a bit.

Here's a handy visual guide from Fitsugar on how to tell what's normal and what's not when it comes to moles. In a nutshell, look for:

• Uneven colouring
• Asymmetric shape
• Jagged (as opposed to smooth) border
• Diameter -- it should be no larger than a pencil eraser

If your mole has one of the following characteristics, don't panic. It could be nothing but the point is, you never know. Just see your doctor.