Skin Cancer

There are many types of cancers however one we hear so little about is "skin cancer"
Skin cancer is the growth of abnormal skin cells mostly caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun and/or tanning beds.
It triggers mutations or genetic defects that lead to the skin cells multiplying rapidly and forming malignant tumours.

There are three main types of skin cancers;
Basal Cell Carcinoma
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Melanoma

We can't hide completely from the sun on a hot day, especially if we are on holiday but what we should do is use a strong sun screen and often.

In my own personal opinion I believe tanning beds should be made illegal, not only can they cause skin cancer but they can give you unhealthy skin too.
Places that advertise the use of tanning beds are encouraging bad habits and risks to your health.

Stop killing yourself with your insecurities and love the body you already have!

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I had the opportunity of interviewing a Judy Cloud, a woman who was diagnosed with skin cancer.
Here are my questions and her answers.

Name: 
Judy Cloud

Age: 
49

When were you diagnosed with skin cancer?
I was diagnosed with skin cancer in 1995.  I went to see a dermatologist about a small area on my face - it was approximately the size of a pencil eraser, and it would bleed, scab over, then continue the process, never fully healing.  The dermatologist said I had cancer and he was going to do radiation on my face.  Since the area was right under my eye, I told the dermatologist I’d like to get a second opinion.  When I went back to work after the appointment, one of the attorneys I worked with said he’d call his friend, who was a plastic surgeon.  An appointment was scheduled, and I was in to see the plastic surgeon within a week or two.  He told me I had skin cancer, and he scheduled me for surgery. 

What treatment have you received?
I had two additional surgeries between 1995 and 2005, removing several cancerous spots with both those surgeries.  I then switched jobs and had really bad health insurance for years, and then lost my health insurance for a time, so I could not treat with my plastic surgeon during this time even though I had more spots that needed removed.  Once I switched jobs again and got good health coverage I returned to see my plastic surgeon, and he scheduled me for my most-recent surgery, which was in September 2015.  During that surgery, I had 23 places removed, ten by excision (meaning I had ten places on me that had stitches) and 13 by laser.

What is your prognosis for the future?
As far as prognosis for the future, once a person has skin cancer, they are at greater risk for recurrence.  I am keeping a close eye on my skin and am hopeful that I do not have to have another surgery, especially one as invasive as my last surgery was, but my prognosis is currently unknown.

Do you know the cause of your skin cancer?
Both my plastic surgeon and the dermatologist with whom I currently treat have told me that my skin cancer is caused by over-exposure to the sun and tanning bed use when I was younger.  I’m not here to take on the tanning bed industry, but I think people should do their research and make an informed decision on the dangers of tanning.  When I was younger, we didn’t have the benefit of the knowledge about the dangers of tanning and over-exposure to the sun that we have now.

What advice would you give to another person in your situation?
My advice to others would be to not go to tanning beds and be more careful with sun exposure.  People cannot completely avoid the sun, but they can use sunscreen and limit time in the sun.  Having a tan isn’t worth dying for.  Also, people should also keep a close eye on their skin, and have anything that looks out of the ordinary checked by a dermatologist.  People can’t fix the damage they’ve already done to their skin, but they can take good care of their skin from this point forward - their future self will thank them!

Dragon's Den Interviews

Dragon's Den is a television series.

Dragon's Den is a show where entrepreneurs with business ideas pitch them to the wealthy investors known as "The Dragons".

If you feel you'd like to apply for the show visit https://www.innovate-design.co.uK and click on the "request info pack"

The pack includes; the investing for profit guide, patent advice & how to patent an idea, confidentiality agreements and idea submission forms.

I wish all budding entrepreneurs the best of luck for the future!

I have recently been in contact with several people who appeared on the show, some who received investments from a dragon(s), some who were offered investments but turned them down and some who were rejected however all entrepreneurs I've spoken to went on to build their business and make it a success.

My first interview is with the Blue Badge Company, a company that enchances independence in the everyday lives of people with disabilities. 40% of the people working for the company have domestic responsibilities or a disability of some sort. The staff consists of many wonderful and talented people and let's not forget the team mascot who is a beautiful white dog called Bodhi.

   

                                                                              Blue Badge Company 

It all started in 2011 when two friends sat in the bedroom of a small house in Bristol, hand stitching specially designed wallets for disabled parking permits. Fed up with what we saw as the universally dull, clinical products available to disabled consumers, my friend, a Blue Badge holder, and I aimed to create colourful display wallets that would inject some style into the disability market. Thanks to better healthcare and an ageing population, the number of elderly and disabled consumers is growing fast, but until now they have been largely overlooked by major retailers and been limited in choice to dull, clinical products that say more about their disability than personality and tastes. We set up Blue Badge Company to change this and happily high street stores seem to be waking up to the growing demand from disabled consumers for stylish and desirable products.

The Dragons loved our brand and products, but I declined Touker Suleyman’s offer as he wanted to take our manufacturing overseas, and we are all about being Made In The UK! So I left the den empty handed, but thankfully Blue Badge Company has been reaping the benefits ever since. The show made far more people aware of our beautiful products and orders have flooded in ever since.

We are proud to be UK manufacturers and all of our parking permit holders are handmade in our workroom in Bristol. About 40% of our workforce either has a disability or is a primary caregiver, which ensures the team has a first-hand appreciation of various disabilities from mental health issues to physical impairments. I believe a company is only as strong as the team behind it. Providing work for people who find it more difficult to access employment really boosts personal confidence and team moral.

Our best selling product so far has been our Navy Drill parking permit cover, which is popular with kids and adults, men and women alike! We are also seeing more and more orders come in for our practical cushioned lap trays that come in fabulous fabrics to brighten up the everyday!

We are really excited to keep innovating to improve people’s experience of everyday life. We have just launched a new range of colourful folding walking sticks with matching carry cases, as well as toiletry bags and purses, ideal for storing everything from lipstick and shower gel to painkillers and medical equipment that our customers need to have with them at all times.

Please visit Blue Badge Company at:

www.blue badge company.co.uk ______________________________________________ 

What is your business name? AWAKE Chocolate

Contact details - Matt Schnarr, co-founder and managing partner

When and why was the business established - Founded in 2012 to provide people a great tasting alternative to coffee and energy drinks. 

What products do you sell - AWAKE Chocolate bars and bites. AWAKE Energy Granola (sold in 2,000 Walmart USA stores, see www.awakegranola.com)

Where are your products manufactured - Made in Canada

What was your experiences of being on Dragons Den - It was and continues to be great. David Chilton invested in our business and continues to be a great friend, mentor and advisor. 

What are your plans for the future of the business - Continue to launch great tasting ways to wake up. Grow our awareness and distribution across North America. 

AWAKEChocolate.com 

AWAKEGranola.com (NEW!)

What Is AWAKE Video

Hyper Activities Video

AWAKE on Dragons Den

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Adam Croft

Adam Croft, is an author and actor who has won critical acclaim plus 3 Amazon bestsellers.
His "Kempston Hardwick mystery books" have been adapted into audio plays starring well known people on British television.

I personally have read two of his books; Too Close For Comfort and Rough Justice.
Too Close For Comfort is about a murder squad trying to solve the murder of a known prostitute.
Its a little bit short but still a good read with a little twist and mystery along the way.
Rough Justice is about a paedophile who has been found dead, the story makes the reader won "is it justice or something else".
While reading this book I was gripped intensely to each and every page.
I was addicted to this book.

Name
Adam Croft

Age
29

Occupation
Author

When did you first become interested in writing
I always have been. I've written stories ever since I was young. I don't remember a first story, as such. It's always been a part of me. I remember writing pirate stories for my brother when I was about 7, and writing scripts for my own soap opera on an old electric typewriter when I was about 11.

How many books have you published
Nine fiction books so far, plus a few non-fiction

Which has been your favourite material to write to date
Probably my psychological thrillers. They're a lot of fun and allow me to write from a first-person perspective and make bizarre things happen to ordinary people.

If you weren't a writer what would you be and why
Dead.
Because I would never do anything else.

Adam Croft
Author and playwright
Could you kill your wife to save your daughter? 
Get my worldwide bestselling psychological thriller, Her Last Tomorrow.
*4x international bestseller*
View my books on Amazon
View my plays at my publishers' websites: Lazy Bee |TreePress

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Pee Wee Pumps

Michelle Holbrook is the creator and founder of Pee Wee Pumps which are "high heeled shoes" for babies aged 0-6 months.

Would you let your baby wear high heeled shoes?
Please comment below with your own personal opinions.

Michelle kindly agreed to an interview.

Name:
Michele Holbrook

Business Name:
Pee Wee Pumps

Location:
Pennsylvania-USA

Contact Details:   info@peeweepumps.com 
855-510-0151

When and why did you start this business:
The idea for Pee Wee Pumps first originated in 2009, when founder Michele Holbrook first came across a pair of high heel infant crib shoes.
After telling herself that if she ever had a baby girl that she’d buy them, she was blessed with a beautiful daughter in 2012.
However, she wasn’t able to find the original infant crib heels, and after searching endlessly for a pair, she finally found one on an online auction site.
But to her dismay and disappointment, they were flawed when she received them.
They just wouldn’t stay on her daughter’s feet!
Determined to fix the problem, Michele went right to work modifying the structure of the tiny and fashionable high heels infant crib shoes.
After two years of brainstorming, she finally came up with a totally new design that caters to your baby.
The flexible soft shoe with a collasible heel that will form to your daughter’s foot, whether it’s narrow or wide, while its adjustable strap allows the shoe to stay on and provides a comfortable fit.
They are considered to be a Fun Photo Prop or Cute Fashion Accessory.

Do you cater for both sexes:
We only sell high heels for little girls at the moment

What age group are they aimed at:
0-6 months ONLY

The Pole

When we think of pole dancing, most of us assume its what women do in X-Rated films but that is not always true.

There are four types of pole;
Pole Erotic
Pole Artistic
Pole Fitness
Pole Sport

Pole Erotic is a type of pole dance mainly used within the sex industry and it involves swinging around a pole in lingerie and high heels.
Pole Artistic is a performance art, it combines dance and acrobatics centred on a pole.
Pole Fitness is an extension of pole dancing that uses the pole as a versatile piece of exercise equipment; it improves muscle tone, flexibility, coordination and posture.
Pole Sport is the next level up from Pole Fitness and involves training hard for various competitions.

With all fitness programmes and sports there is the issue of safety.
Before you perform don't drink alcohol, take medications that impair your judgement, use oils or lotions or body make-up.
Don't take part if you have an injury.
Use a crash mat, a grip aid and stay hydrated.
Become CPR certified and make sure that your boss or tutor is CPR certified too.

There is lots of stigma against "the pole" and I'm here to share some information I have gathered and an interview that took place between myself and my good friend Kelly who is a POLE FITNESS DANCER.

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This is Kelly's story...

We call it pole fitness!
We do it in levels from bronze to diamond.
Each level you learn different moves starting to invert from silver and then do inverted moves in gold upwards.
Each level we do the moves to a dance which can be sexy, fast, slow etc dependent on the moves.
We then do showcases to show to our nearest and dearest what we've learnt.
I've joined pole to show myself I can... after my operations and never thinking I'd have the leg strength, it makes me feel like I've over come hurdles.
I go once a week at the moment but I hope to up it to twice a week.
I dance at pole effect in Worcester, UK.
I have gained confidence, flexibility and strength.
The sport is very challenging due to pole burn and bruising!!
The more you do a move though the better the pain barrier becomes.
I hope to keep going after my next operation in the summer and one day want to be able to tutor at least bronze level.

(I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Kelly the best of luck with her next operation and I hope she reaches her goal of becoming a Pole Fitness Tutor one day)
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Scotland's Real Life Rapunzel

15 year old Aaron Fernando is a remarkable young lady who has suffered at the hands of bullies, not just girls but boys too.
And why, because Aaron stands out for having beautiful 4ft 4in length hair.
Aaron has kindly agreed to talk to me about being Scotland's Real Life Rapunzel.
As a result of being bullied Aaron is now homeschooled.
Bullying happens for many reasons, in Aaron's case its because of her hair so this blog is to raise awareness on the subject of bullying.

Here is here own story... (And her mother Suzanne's story too)

PRETTY Aaron Fernando reckons she could be Scotland's very own Rapunzel with her lustrous dark locks measuring in at a very impressive 4ft 4ins.
She not only sits on it but it comes down to her CALVES.
Now 15-year-old Aaron, of Ardrossan, Ayrshire, is wondering if indeed she holds the Scottish record for having the longest hair in the land. 
Mum Suzanne, 43, and big sister Jordan, 18 - who both boast waist length hair - think Aaron's hair may well take the lead.
Suzanne said: "I was reading an article last week about a girl in Wales with hair measuring 3ft 6ins which was thought to be the longest hair in Wales. I had never measured Aaron's hair before but I knew her's was longer. So we got out the measuring tape and were amazed to see it was 4ft 4ins long."
Aaron who is 5ft 4ins tall laughed: "I'm only 12 inches taller than my hair. I love having long hair and I've got no plans to have it cut. We've all got long hair in our family, even my dad..
"It can be a pest but the good points outweigh the bad. I usually have it tied back in a plait, because if it was left loose in a wind, it whips around like crazy not just lashing my face but anyone standing near me and that can be pretty painful.
"But my hair's not tuggy, I brush it from the bottom up twice a day.
"I also wash it twice a week which takes about an hour each time using shampoo and conditioner, and once a month I give it an Aussie Miracle hair mask. I also massage the ends with Argan oil and Green teabags."
But Aaron insists she's not a slave to her hair and doesn't spend a fortune on products to keep it in tip top condition.
She smiled: "What wee girl doesn't love the fairy tale Rapunzel? I remember my mum reading it to me saying "Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair..."never thinking that one day I might be Scotland's answer to Rapunzel."
But as well as admiring glances, she's also faced bullies and bitchy comments because she chooses to be different.
Mum Suzanne said: "Aaron is home-schooled by qualified tutors because at school - both primary and secondary - she was bullied rotten. It became very nasty and I could see my wee girl getting more and more miserable, her self confidence ebbing away, and I couldn't sit back and do nothing.
"Of course the bullying was reported to the schools, both Kilbirnie Primary and St Matthew's Academy in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, but it wasn't getting any better, so we chose to have her schooled at home by qualified tutors, and she has blossomed. It wasn't just girls who were giving her a hard time, but boys too and it was getting nastier and nastier.
"It was jealousy and the fact that her long hair singled her out, but she never once thought of chopping it off."
Aaron nodded: "No I'd never cut my hair in fact I'd love to be a hair model. I'd let the stylists do anything they wanted to it - except cut it.
"I don't go to the hairdresser. The only person who is allowed to cut my hair is my mum and she trims it about every six weeks."
Her crowning glory can be an expensive commodity with the family going through vacuum
cleaners at an alarming rate.
Suzanne said: "Well it's not just Aaron's hair. We've all got long hair including my husband Kes. He's from Portugal and works as a computer analyst and while my hair and Jordan's doesn't grow beyond waist length, Kes and Aaron's hair grows so quickly.
"It clogs up the vacuum cleaner and we have to buy a new one every six months. In the shower the drains are cleaned every day. We've also got two dogs, a Labrador and a Patterdale terrier as well as two gerbils, so we're quite a hairy family." 
Aaron said: "Having hair as long as mine doesn't hold me back in any way. I love hanging out with my friends, we go shopping and play games. I love horse riding, I play the guitar, I do archery, go to the gym and love music.
"When I go swimming I just tie my hair up. I am really very busy and of-course I see people looking at my hair, but most are really nice.
"I'm a pescatarian, which means I only eat fish - not meat - and of-course the fish oil is very good for hair, nails and skin
"But I eat a lot of veg and take supplements so my body gets all the nutrients it needs. This is just the way I've been brought up. We live healthily and we're all very active so I think that's the reason we all have such good shiny hair.
"It feels strange to think that my hair is seen as anything other than normal, because that's what it is to me.
"But just like Rapunzel I love to let down my hair."

Hinduism

There are approximately 4,200 religions in the whole world and my friend Monica has kindly agreed to discuss with me her religion which is Hinduism.

What is Hinduism?
A religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, which developed from Vedic religion.

Do you have a God?
Lord Krishna

Do you worship animals?
We worship cows

Are Hindus forbidden to eat meat?
Hindu people do not eat beef or meet on Monday and Tuesday, some people are pure full vegetarian

Do Hindus have a bible?
We have holy books, one is called geeta ramayna

What is the "dot" on a Hindus forehead?
That's called tica it is for blessing and peace

Do Hindus have commandments?
Same as the ten commandments in Catholic religion.

Why do Hindus not wear shoes in the temple?
to show reverence

What happens inside a temple?
We do prayers

What clothing do Hindus wear?
Ladies wear sari and men wear dhoti

What happens at a Hindu wedding ceremony?
A Hindu wedding is Vivaha or "Kalyanam"(Sanskrit: विवाह Tamil: கல்யாணம்) and the wedding ceremony is called vivaah sanskar in North India and Kalyanam in South India. Hindus attach a great deal of importance to marriages. The ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days. The bride's and groom's home - entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof - are sometimes decorated with colors, balloons,and other decorations.
The rituals and process in a Hindu wedding vary widely. Nevertheless, there are a few key rituals common in North Indian Hindu weddings -Kanyadaan, Panigrahana, and Saptapadi, which are respectively, giving away of daughter by the father, voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify union, and taking seven steps with each step includes a promise to each other before fire. However, these rituals aren't essential part of South Indian Hindu weddings were exchange of garland is main ritual, along with it tying of "Tali" around bride's neck.
The North Indian Hindu wedding ceremony at its core is essentially a Vedic yajna ritual. The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the fire-deity (or the Sacred Fire) Agni, where as in South Indian tradition reciting holy chant with or without Sacred Fire is very common form of ritual, in the presence of family and friends. The ceremony is traditionally conducted entirely, or at least partially in Sanskrit, considered by Hindus as the language of holy ceremonies. The local language of the bride and groom is also used.
The pre-wedding and post-wedding rituals and celebrations vary by region, preferences or the resources of the groom, bride and their families. They can range from one day to multi-day events. Pre-wedding ceremonies include engagement (involving vagdana or betrothal and lagna-patrawritten declaration), and arrival of the groom's party at the bride's residence, often in the form of a formal procession with dancing and music. The post-wedding ceremonies may include Abhishek, Anna Prashashan, Aashirvadah, and Grihapravesa - the welcoming of the bride to her new home. The wedding marks the start of Grihastha (householder) stage of life for the new couple.
In India, by law and tradition, no Hindu marriage is binding and complete unless the ritual of seven steps and vows in presence of fire (Saptapadi) is completed by the bride and the groom together. This requirement is under debate.
A Hindu wedding is regionally called vivaha (Hindi: विवाह), (Bengali : বিবাহ), (Kannada: ಮದುವೆ (Maduve)), (Telugu: పెళ్లి (pelli), మనువు (manuvu).