Congratulations to Iowa Masonic Health Facilities for being named one of the best nursing homes of 2013 in the US News and World Report. Iowa Masonic Health Facilities has received and maintained the highest rating attainable from both the federal Medicare and the state regulatory authorities.  We are known for our excellent care and highly qualified and compassionate staff, and we have a reputation for providing sensitive, individualized care.

With Memorial Day over and temperatures climbing, summer is just about upon us.   The season is a good reminder of the need to focus on sun safety and skin cancer prevention.  Like most ways to reduce your risk for cancer, the preventive steps may be easy but committing to them isn't.  It may be difficult to make the right choices, especially for teen-agers and young adults, because the risks and consequences seem remote and improbable.  However, the facts tell us otherwise.

Skin cancer is on the rise among young people between 18 and 39; the Skin Cancer Foundation says the rates of skin cancer have grown by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men over the past 40 years, despite an increase in knowledge.  Why?  Perhaps looking good now triumphs protecting oneself to be healthy later in life. Too many people who spend time outdoors still fail to regularly and properly apply sunscreen. Whether you seek a tan inside or outside, tanning is dangerous.  In the last decade, tanning salons have become popular, especially among teens. The ads from tanning salons appear around this time of year and offer student discounts. Tanning may seem like just another example of typical teen-age vanity, but this behavior is dangerous.

People who begin indoor tanning at a younger age have a 75 percent higher risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.  "Tanning bed use during high school and college conferred a higher risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) than did tanning bed use between ages 25 and 35," said Dr. Mingfeng Zhang, a research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  In fact, just one indoor tanning session a year while the subjects were in high school or college boosted their risk of developing BCC by 10 percent, and those who tanned indoors more than six times a year had an 82 percent higher risk of developing BCC than non-tanners.   It is estimated that 2.3 million teens visit a tanning salon at least once a year.

Regardless of age, we all must be more vigilant.  Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States; indeed, it is the fastest-growing cancer, affecting more than two million people each year.  One person dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease, and an estimated 8,790 people will die from it this year in the United States.  In Iowa alone, 980 new cases of skin cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year.  To reduce your risk of skin cancer, follow these sun safety tips:

·         Regularly apply sunscreen.  Use sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 or higher, and remember to reapply.  Sunscreen should be reapplied at least every two hours and after swimming or sweating.  Make sure to use an ounce - two tablespoons -- of sunscreen on your face and enough to generously cover your body.  If one bottle lasts you all summer, then you're not applying enough!

·         Although you can get sunburned at any time of day, the sun's rays are strongest between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.  Stay out of the sun during these hours!

·         Don't forget to slip on your shades!  Wear sunglasses with 100 percent ultraviolet ray absorption to protect your eyes and their surrounding skin.

Even when you're serious about protecting your skin, you may sometimes want the glow of a tan. Luckily, many bronzers and sunless tanning products are widely available on the market from high end retailers to local pharmacies.

And parents, you are wise to protect your children early on and teach them safety habits as they grow more independent.  They may fight you now, but when they are in their 30s and 40s and beyond, they will love you for it.  For those of us who are older, it's never too late to start making the right choices.  Start each day with a moisturizer with sunscreen and get your children and grandchildren in the habit, too. Be sure to follow these tips every day and have a wonderfully safe summer!

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on a report he requested from the Government Accountability Office, "Health Insurance: Seven States' Actions to Establish Exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."  Iowa is one of the seven states included in the report, which is available here.

"This report highlights the complexity states face in setting up exchanges and how CMS' workload will increase dramatically in getting exchanges off the ground.  The challenges that need to be overcome by October 1, 2013, remain significant."

Conventional thinking has flown out the window for advertisers who want to attract women to their product, according to a new report from the University of Manitoba and University of Michigan.

The report is based off of three studies that conclude blatant, in-your-face content featuring thin, young models actually turn off a woman's desire for the product; subjects saw the pitch as too transparent. This recognition alerted an individual's defense mechanism, which actually boosted self-esteem. But when and an idealized model was used to sell a product with more subtlety, subjects were more prone to want the product and be the woman in the advertisement.

"So, this study has some mixed good news, but there's still an avalanche of negativity pulling down our girls and young women; according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, roughly 70 percent of girls in middle and high school, and even as young as fifth grade, say idealized images of women in magazines guide their sense of the perfect body," says women's advocate Stacey Rowcliffe, author of "Female Fusion: Different Flowers from the Same Garden," (www.staceyrowcliffe.com).

"There's even a blog called 'thinspiration,' or 'thinspo,' which features young women and girls writing about ways and experiences in losing massive amounts of weight. With this kind of mindset, a girl is never skinny enough and often results in anorexia, bulimia and an imprisoning sense of never being good enough."

Rowcliffe says the primary influence on a girl's life is the older woman raising her; she offers three perspectives in which older women may offer advice to girls and young women:

• Past pains shape character and provide inner strength: Many people may think of Christina Aguilera as a pampered pop diva; however, in reality, she has worked hard and endured a difficult home life as a small child. As a 10-year-old, she had already gained a reputation as a little girl with a big voice. Later, after having become a world-famous celebrity, she cited domestic violence in her home as a reason for her enduring drive and passionate voice. Just as muscle is developed and built with tension, so too challenging situations builds and defines character.

• Keeping it real ... Young women need to understand that much of what is seen on television and internet ads, billboards and in magazines has been altered far beyond what is real. Digital imaging has made it possible to remove cellulite and other flaws before an image is finalized. There are videos available that show just how much a model is transformed before being photographed, and the before-and-after images are drastically different. Additionally, cosmetic surgery plays upon the fears of young and beautiful women who still feel the need to implement botox, breast implants, facelifts, nose lifts, cellulite removal, tummy tucks, butt implants and the like. Women were created to be beautiful; once that is realized, her inner beauty will shine.

• Relationships (among family, friends, boyfriends & sisters): Every issue, belief, attitude or assumption not only shapes the relationships between you and other human beings; it shapes the relationship you have with yourself! The above points - accepting past pain and being honest with yourself and others - are intimately linked to your relationship with others. How you treat others is a measure of who you are. If you are obsessed with trying to be the prettiest and thinnest girl in class, it's a clear sign you are not comfortable in your own skin.

About Stacey Rowcliffe

Stacey Rowcliffe is nearing completion of her master's degree in clinical psychology. She lives in Billings, Mont., with her two children, Brittney and Ryan, who both have Type 1 diabetes. "Female Fusion" is her second published book. Rowcliffe believes that no matter what people are battling, their mindset and response determine the paths their lives take.