We are all lucky enough to be living in Australia, which boasts one of the best lifestyles in the whole world.  We are also unlucky enough to live in Australia which also boasts one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the whole world.  Unfortunately, as is often the case in life, you have to take the good with the bad.

The reality is that 1 out of 2 of us is going to get cancer at some point in our lives.  If you look at the person nearest you right now (or the person you see next if you are alone), then the odds are, you or they will get skin cancer.  This is quite sobering when that person you just looked at is a loved one.  So, the message here is an important one.

There are two things to know about skin cancer:

1. Sun burn and  Sun damage will significantly increase your odds of getting skin cancer
2. If you do get skin cancer, early detection and treatment will dramatically affect your outcome. (Outcome = quality and length of life).

This means you should do two things:

1. Protect your skin against Sun damage
2. See you doctor for regular skin checks. And have any mole, freckle, spot or skin blemish that looks suspicious or that changes in appearance checked immediately.

I’m sure we have all heard the messages about how we can protect our skin from the Sun.  The slip, slop, slap message has been well publicised over the years.  The importance of reducing exposure between 10am and 2pm (when the UV rays are at the highest), wearing a shirt, a broad-rimmed hat and sunglasses and applying sunscreen cannot be overstated.  What has been less well publicised is that we often don’t use our sunscreen correctly.  

So, I thought it would be timely to highlight some important points about applying sunscreen.

1.  We need to be more generous with how much we apply.  The research shows that many of us apply our sunscreen too sparingly.  As a guide, we should use 2 teaspoonfuls of sunscreen per arm, 2 for our face and neck, 4 per leg and 6 for our back and shoulders.  Often, if sunscreen hasn’t worked it is because we haven’t applied enough
2. Sunscreen should be applied 20 minutes prior to Sun exposure to allow it to bond with the skin.
3. Sunscreen should be reapplied every 2 hours whilst you are in the Sun, regardless if the packaging says it lasts longer than 2 hours.
4. Sunscreens work on a principle of extending the time it takes for your skin to burn.  But, with time in the Sun even with a sunscreen, your skin can still burn and reapplying does not start the timer again.

As always, our team are available to answer all of your questions about Suncare and sunscreens.  So, if you have any questions, or would like assistance in selecting the best sunscreen for you, please come in and see us.

Children’s Brain Cancer

I’m sure we’d all agree there are not many worse things in life than children seriously ill with life-threatening disease.  Of late, I’ve become increasingly aware of some alarming information that stunned me.  Quite simply, children’s brain cancer is the biggest killer of children in our society.  It’s not car crashes, drowning or the number of other tragedies that come to mind.  On top of this, 4 out of 5 children who are diagnosed with brain cancer don’t make it to their teens.  Most stunning of all, children’s brain cancer research receives the least funding of all of the major cancers that we hear about. 

Wouldn’t you think finding a cure for the biggest killer of children would be at the top of the list?

Well-funded research has changed outcomes in many forms of cancer.  Some cancers have gone from a death sentence to 85% survival rates because the research has produced better treatments.  Children’s brain cancer treatment has hardly changed for the past 30 years.  Meaning only 1 out of 5 children survive and those that do are left affected by the treatment for the rest of their lives.

There is a group based here in Perth in the upper floors of the new children’s hospital that have brought together the best brains in this area in the world to right this wrong.  They are privately funded (rely on donations) and are starting to produce results that show these children do not have to die.  I have a personal connection through friends who have a young child affected by this condition and who actively lead the fund raising for this research group.  

We are looking to get involved in helping them out through our own fund raising and casting out the net to anyone we know who may be interested in donating to a very good cause.  The kicker here is that every dollar we raise magnifies to $10 as successful early research brings in the big pharma companies that will fund proven concepts.  But they need to be proven and that takes money.  There will be more to follow on this, but if you are interested in helping out, let me know.

Services at your pharmacy

At the Palm Springs Pharmacy we can help you with more than just your medicines.  We are proud to offer you our expert services across a variety of health areas.  Our highly trained and caring pharmacists work with you and your doctor to help you and your family reach the best possible health outcomes.

Home Medicine Review and In-store Medicine Review - Sit down one on one with a pharmacist to review your medications. We can help you understand your medicines better and address any problem areas.  We can do this in the pharmacy or in the comfort of your own home.

Naturopathic Services - Take the time to meet with one of our naturopaths to address a specific issue or review the overall health of your body.  Through our Port Kennedy Pharmacy our naturopath team is available to help.  Phone 95246909 to make an appointment.

Home Delivery Service - Can’t get to us? No problem, we will come to you!  If you would like your medicines delivered please just call the pharmacy on 9593 1998.

Podiatry Services - Foot care, particularly for diabetics, is a crucial part of good health management.  Through our Warnbro Pharmacy we offer podiatry services that are funded by both Medicare and private health insurers. 

Sleep Apnoea - Do you snore? Do you feel overly tired during the day? Does someone else tell you that you stop breathing when you sleep?  If you answer yes to any of these questions you may have sleep apnoea.  We can help you have this properly assessed and treated.

Websterpacked medications - Are you or someone you know struggling a little to manage your medicines?  Taking the right pill at the right time can be challenging when you are taking multiple medications.  We can make this easy for you by providing your medications prepacked according to time and day. 

Compounding - If you require a medication specifically tailored to you we can compound it for you.  From bio-identical hormones to veterinary products to discontinued medicines, we can help.

Influenza Vaccination - If you can’t get to your GP for a flu jab, we can do it for you right here in the pharmacy.  No appointments necessary, a number of our pharmacists are accredited to provide vaccinations.

Worker’s Compensation - We offer direct billing on approved worker’s compensation claims. Avoid the inconvenience of having to personally claim money back from insurers and let us do it for you.

Weight Loss Advice and Support- Obesity is an increasing concern within our community. If you would like advice and guidance on what works best, please speak with one of our pharmacists.

Medical Equipment Hire and Sales - Crutches, Wheelchairs, Walkers , Walking sticks, Gophers, Commodes, Shower Chairs, reaching sticks and more. We have access to a complete range of medical equipment.

Statutory Declarations / Witnessing Documents - Our pharmacist team is able to assist you with statutory declarations and certifying copies of official documents.

Absence From Work Certificates - If you are too sick to go to work and can’t get into your doctor, we can provide a 1 day absence from work certificate.

NDSS – National Diabetes Services Scheme - We are also a Diabetes Australia accredited sub-agent. We can provide subsidised needles, pump consumables and blood testing strips on your NDSS membership.

Price Matching - We realise there is significant variation in pricing on many items across different pharmacies.  We are a locally owned family pharmacy focussed on quality service and are opened the longest hours of any pharmacy in our region. We also don’t have the buying power of the larger national pharmacy groups.  However, we are committed to offering the best price possible.  If you find a cheaper price on any item we stock at another pharmacy we will PRICE MATCH whenever possible.  Please speak to me or one of our team about this as we are happy to assist you with better pricing.

As always, our pharmacist team is on hand from 7am until MIDNIGHT to assist with all of your medication and health related queries.