The caffeine in coffee as well as in tea, soda and chocolate may be responsible for lowering the risk of Basal Cell Carcinoma ( BCC ).

A twenty year study has shown an inverse relationship between coffee drinkers and those who develop BCC.

“These results really suggest that it is the caffeine in coffee that is responsible for the decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma associated with increasing coffee consumption,” Jiali Han, associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston as well as the study’s lead author, said in a press release. “This would be consistent with published mouse data, which indicate caffeine can block skin tumor formation. However, more studies in different population cohorts and additional mechanistic studies will be needed before we can say this definitively.”

Along with sunscreen, limiting sun exposure and regular check-ups, caffeine could be an enjoyable way to help prevent skin cancer.

The idea that getting a battery of medical tests to rule out all types of cancer is not only ineffective but can cause harm.

Certainly, the rationale behind screening seems obvious. The earlier cancers are diagnosed, the more often lives will be saved, right? With enough screening, we might even stop cancer.

If only. Finding cancer early isn’t enough. To reduce cancer deaths, treatment must work, yet it doesn’t always. Second, it must work better when started earlier. But for some cancers, later treatment works as well. (That’s why there is no big push for testicular cancer screening — it is usually curable at any stage.)

And some of the worst cancers aren’t detected by screening. They appear suddenly, between regular screenings, and are difficult to treat because they are so aggressive.

Biopsy, exploratory surgery , radiation and chemotherapy as the result of positive or abnormal results from screening, pose dangers and have side affects of their own to be seriously considered.

Dentists may be the un-utilized answer to America’s health care woes.

Trips to the dentist could include some basic primary screening of patients.

It seems that people will forgo trips to their primary care physicians in a tight economy but trips to the dentists remain a high priority to consumers of health care.

Dentists could perform such primary care as blood pressure monitoring and blood screening for high cholesterol and diabetes; catching symptoms early.

Based on those findings, the researchers determined that 26 percent of U.S. children did not see a general health care provider (physician, physician assistant, nurse, nurse practitioner), but more than one-third (7 million) of those children did visit a dentist at least once in 2008.

One-quarter of U.S. adults did not visit a general health care provider, but nearly a fourth (13 million) of those adults visited a dentist at least once in 2008.

Eighty-five percent of the adults and 93 percent of the children had health insurance. This suggests that many of those who did not see a general health care provider may have had access to general care, but chose not to seek it, the researchers said.

Beyond getting a colonoscopy starting at age 50, what can you do to prevent colorectal cancer? A lot, it turns out. The good news is that colorectal-cancer-preventing habits are nearly identical to those that help your heart.

There are ways to prevent colorectal cancer and a few dietary and lifestyle changes is all it takes.

Avoid red meat

There’s something about eating red meat—a lot of it—that seems to harm the intestines.

Numerous studies have linked red-meat consumption to a higher risk of colorectal cancer, as well as diets heavy in processed, salted, smoked, or cured meats such as bacon, sausage, and hot dogs.

If you just can’t live without red meat, limit yourself to two 4-ounce portions each week, but choose lean cuts, trim the fat, and don’t char it on a grill.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology meets in Chicago and will review a new study which suggests that 3 year intervals are safe for Cervical Cancer Screening Tests.

Most women aged 30 and older with normal Pap and human paillomavirus (HPV) test results can safely wait three years until their next set of cervical cancer screening tests, according to a new study.

Such co-testing is currently recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The guidelines note that women with certain risk factors for cervical cancer may need more frequent testing.