This Pill Could Save Your Life

If you are driving along Interstate 376 from downtown Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh International Airport, you will pass a building on the left side of the highway with a large round, white object atop one of the buildings alongside  the higway.  It looks like some sort of enormous pill.  In fact, that is exactly what it is: an aspirin tablet The pill is the symbol of the Bayer company which manufactures the world-famous Bayer aspirin. It is a fitting symbol of a drug that for many years has been known to be effective in helping to prevent various medical conditions such as colon cancer.  Its effectiveness in staving off a heart attack is well-documented and many physicians advise their patients at risk of a heart attack to take a small aspirin a day for that very purpose.

What was not known until recently is that aspirin may also be effective in preventing the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma. The very name, melanoma, strikes fear in the hearts of anyone who knows even a little bit about the potentially damaging effects of over exposure to the sun's rays.In a recent study, researchers at Stanford University found that post-menopausal women who took aspirin at least twice a week were 30% less likely to develop melanoma.

While not yet definitive, according to the study's author, Dr. Jean Tang, "aspirin may have a chemo-preventive effect against the development of melanoma."

Although aspirin appears to have many beneficial effects, it also is known to cause gastrointestinal bleeding in some people. So, before starting any aspirin regimen, consult your own physician.