Cancer Awareness !!!

1. Babies: Cases of pediatric melanoma have increased 100% in the last 20 years! (Michigan State Medical Society)

Almost everytime I'm outdoors, I see babies or small children in their strollers with their faces and heads unprotected from the sun. And while I do notice more small children than ever with hats on their heads, there seem to be triple that amount without.

All it takes is a little awareness to keep a hat on and to make sure the back of the stroller is to the sun. When 80% of the sun's damaging UV rays happens in the first 18 years of life, parents can give the gift of life twice ... once giving birth, and the second protecting their skin.

2. Teens: 2.3 million teenagers (part of 30 million Americans) use tanning beds. Ultraviolet rays are the primary factor in developing skin cancer and are 15 times greater in a tanning booth than outdoors. Up until now, there have been very few warnings about health risks in tanning salons.

Finally, legislators are trying to change that. 25 states across the country want to restrict youth access to indoor tanning facilities. In addition, if passed, this legislation would require parental consent for anyone under 18, along with the listing of potential health consequences in these salons, and licensing by the state.

This is a potentially life-saving public issue and any help parents can give both at home with their children and in their support of their representatives can only help save lives.

3. Women ages 20-29: They're adults but they're still somebody's children. Melanoma is now the second most common cancer in this age group.

While it is best to get kids started early on the habit of using sun protection, better late than never. you know how to talk to your children best, but if you see a tan on your daughter, you might ask how she came to it...beach? tanning salon? Or, fake tanning lotion which of course would be Choice No. 1 other than, perhaps, no tan at all.

4. African-American or Asian children: The risk for melanoma isn't as high as with Caucasian children, but it can be more deadly because a lesion or irregular mole can't be seen as easily.

Talking with them at all ages about sun protection and teaching them what to look for is and examining them regularly is vital.

5. The perfect tan. For years, the perfect tan was looked at as the way to look healthy, attractive, thinner (believe it or not), and possibly even rich (if you have time to lounge in the sun, you really must be well off). And the warmth of the sun feels good. There's no doubting that.

The perfect tan is still sought today. Lines form around some of the more popular tanning salons, grown women included.

But now we have information we didn't have. Irrefutable information. It's hard to ignore it and worse, later on, if we're one of the unlucky ones, what do we say to ourselves - and our families? It's just a little extra effort for potentially a longer and healthier life. Is the perfect tan worth losing all that?

Lynn Rosenberg lost her husband to skin cancer and has made it her mission to educate and inform consumers about sun protection. She has also created a line of UV Umbrellas and Hats. For more information, visit: LYNN ROSE is the founder of Soleil Chic UV Umbrellas. After a long career as a pianist-vocalist-composer and award-winning screenwriter, Lynn changed her career after losing her husband to malignant melanoma. SOLEIL CHIC umbrellas have been seen on THE TODAY SHOW as well as in the hands of celebrities like Cate Blanchett. Soleil Chic umbrellas are endorsed by top doctors including a dermatologist, rheumatologist, plastic surgeon and professor of anatomy and neurobiology. The Mayo Clinc recommends Lynn Rose's umbrellas as well. Top resort/spas such as the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, and The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui, carry her products. Soleil Chic's worldwide customer base continues to increase every day.