Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sunscreen is more than SPF

coppertone
When you read a sunscreen label, don't skip the fine print — and don't forget to read between the lines.

Consumers who want to save their skin this summer need to be vigilant, sun protection experts say, because confusing, sometimes misleading labels still line drugstore shelves nearly two years after the Food and Drug Administration proposed new labeling rules. Companies that make the products say they comply with current rules.

The new rules could be finalized by September, says FDA spokeswoman Rita Chapelle. Companies will then have up to 18 months to comply, she says.

In the meantime, consumers are stuck with current labels, which usually emphasize, in big letters, just one fact about a product: its SPF, or sun protection factor. That fact is good to know. Link

Experimental Lymphoma Cancer Vaccine: Promising Results

lymphoma cancer symptoms hodgkins photo picture
A vaccine that uses cancer cells against themselves significantly slows the progress of a deadly form of blood cancer, a researcher said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

In patients with follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the vaccine -- dubbed BiovaxID -- nearly doubled the time before the disease recurred, compared with a control drug, according to Dr. Stephen Schuster of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. Link