Decisions about breast cancer screening just got tougher for women in their forties. On Monday, the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF), a government-sponsored panel of clinicians and preventive medicine experts, released new guidelines that for the first time recommend against annual mammography for "normal risk" women in that age group.

Instead, it recommends they have the test every two years. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? The problem is that the recommendation conflicts with those of almost every other major U.S. health organization. They include the the American Cancer Society, which is strongly critical of the USPSTF. Why the disagreement?

Note: Dr. Nimesh P. Nagarsheth, is a women's cancer surgeon practicing at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey. He's also a rock drummer in a new rock band started by six cancer surgeons to raise money and awareness to fight gynecologic cancers. It's called N.E.D., which stands for "no evidence of disease"--a good thing after cancer treatment. We asked him about the healing power music and about N.E.D. He replied:

It might--if your mom or sister has had breast cancer, finds a new study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "If a woman has a family history of breast cancer, she can feel especially good about breastfeeding," says lead author Alison Steube, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The finding: high-risk women who breastfed were 59 percent less likely to develop breast cancer before menopause over the next 8 years.

"Breastfeeding is good for mothers, not just for babies," says Dr. Steube.

getty images

Tanning beds are as carcinogenic as asbestos and tobacco, the International Agency for Research on Cancer determined today. They elevated the risk from 'probably carcinogenic' to the highest cancer risk category--group 1--'carcinogenic to humans.'

But a little thing like that won't keep the powerful U.S. tanning bed industry from trumpeting the safety--even the health benefits--of lying down while powerful lights pummel your body with carcinogenic UV rays. "The UV light from a tanning bed is equivalent to UV light from the sun, which has had a group 1 classification since 1992," says Dan Humiston, president of the Indoor Tanning Association, which has "always emphasized the importance of moderation when it comes to UV light from either the sun or a tanning bed."

Tempted to believe him? Couldn't swing that Maui getaway this year but want to look great? Inspired by Sarah Palin's tan? Don't be fooled: Tanning beds are really, really, really bad for you. Consider:

• Individuals who use tanning devices before age 30 are at a 75 percent increased risk of skin melanoma -- the most dangerous form of skin cancer, causing about 8,650 deaths a year in the US alone.
• "Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA doses compared to those they receive from sun exposure" says Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, vice president of The Skin Cancer Foundation. In the Foundation's response to the IARC's announcement, she refers to tanning beds as coffin beds.
• "Many tanning beds emit UVA rays, which don't burn but penetrate to the deeper layers of skin, increasing the risk of DNA damage and skin cancer," says Jessica Wu, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles and an expert for EverydayHealth.com.
• According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, tanning beds increase not only your risk of melanoma but also premature aging, eye damage, direct injury to blood vessels, collagen breakdown, age spots,and oh yes, basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers.
  

"Sitting in the sun is less dangerous than a tanning bed," says Dr. Wu. "At least at the beach, after a certain amount of time your skin burns, and you go indoors." Even moderate exposure can cause permanent damage, she warns.

That doesn't make the sun safe, of course. While vitamin D is a good thing, you can get it with just a few minutes in a sun, as well as through dietary sources, such as fish and low-fat milk. And there's no such thing as a safe tan--unless it comes from a bottle.

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Lori Hope, author of Let Me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You To Know, was a guest on the TODAY show's series on cancer and blogged for Health Beat on 5 Things to Say--and 5 NOT to stay--to Your Friend With Cancer.  This is from her blog, what helps. what hurts. what heals:

For John, with love, gratitude, and always hope

Because this blog is about hope - it is intended to inspire hope and promote healing - I try to stay away from news that stings. Yet the third verb in this blog's name is "hurts", so how can I neglect to address a part of life that is as real as birth?

When I entered my first tanning bed at the age of 16, I thought I was doing a good thing and avoiding the dangers of the sun. The tanning salon perpetuated that idea, claiming that tanning beds were a safer way to get my daily dose of vitamin D than soaking up the sun. My mom felt otherwise--but she's my mom and I was 16. Of course I wasn't going to listen.

But as I've come to learn, Mom is always right. I had no idea that, just like sun tanning, a tanning bed put me at risk for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. I was just trying to look good for junior prom.

Today's teens who want to get that faux glow for prom have a much tougher time of it than I did. Seventeen states are considering laws banning indoor tanning for children under 14 (unless it is deemed medically necessary) and also requiring teens between the ages of 14 and 17 to have a signed consent form from their parent or guardian.

That's great and all, but what about adults who insist on tanning? I've heard various reasons why people well over the age of 18 continue to tan, from it being a favorite summertime pastime to using it to disguise figure flaws. But with over 62,000 adults getting diagnosed with skin cancer every year, perhaps it's time to pass a law requiring adults to sign a waiver before setting one pale foot in a tanning bed. Having to stop and acknowledge that what you're doing is bad for your health may be cause enough to stop and think twice.

My prom days ended over 10 years ago now (sigh), and I have not set foot in a tanning bed since. I also make sure my daily moisturizer has sunscreen in it and I cover up at the beach. I've learned to listen to my mom, about my skincare regimen at least, mostly because her skin does not look like that of someone who's approaching her mid-50s.

--Jennifer Merritt

Producer

Hi, All. I'm Lori Hope, and I'll be on "The Today Show" this Monday, June 8, sharing advice about how to support people with cancer, based on the research I conducted for my book, Help Me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know, the myriad responses of my readers, and my personal experience as a cancer survivor.

Thought I'd share a few tips with you here. For more info, check out my website, blog, or book. And please let me know if you have other tips to share. Thanks!

What NOT to say to your friend with cancer 

1. "You poor thing, I feel so sorry for you." People with cancer need compassion, not pity. Pity implies hierarchy, while compassion puts you on the same level.
2. "What's your prognosis?" Prognosis is a medical term and it makes most people with cancer think about how long they might survive. Even if they're positive thinkers, they may not want to think about how long doctors indicate they're going to live.
3. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." This might seem like a helpful statement. But according to my research, that statement is one of the least helpful. When people have cancer they may feel so overwhelmed that they can't focus on what they need. Offer something specific -- run an errand, give a foot rub, weed their garden.
4. "My aunt [or anyone] died of breast cancer." Tell positive stories, never scary stories, about other people who have had cancer. More than anything, people with cancer need hope, and horror stories dash hope.
5. "At least they caught it early [or "at least" anything]." Your friend needs to know you're acknowledging his pain and taking it seriously. If you say, "At least you don't have to go through chemo..." or something similar, you minimize what he's going through. He may discover what's good about his situation himself, but doesn't want to hear it from you.
   

NEXT: 5 Things You SHOULD Say to Your Friend with Cancer

During National Women's Health Week, May 10-16, iVillage celebrates a healthier you with its Health Is Beautiful campaign, because nothing is more beautiful than living a healthy life.

In honor of Mothers Day and to kick off the week iVillage teamed up with with Look Good...Feel Better, The Estée Lauder Companies' Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to give two of their patients a personalized makeover from Estée Lauder Global Make-Up Artist Rick DiCecca and hairstylist Eivind Bjerke.

iVillage Chief Content Executive Angela Matusik revealed the makeover results on NBC's TODAY show and explained the importance of the Health is Beautiful initiative. 

Watch the segment from TODAY

Farrah Fawcett, the television actress bravely dealing with anal cancer, now has a new cancer-related challenge: While previous reports had indicated that she was "stable" and gearing up for a reality TV show to document her life and medical treatment experience, she now reportedly has been re-hospitalized from a complication from a routine treatment. There are also indications that her cancer has spread to the liver. No matter the news, I am sure that Ms. Fawcett will continue her courageous and determined fight.

Also, I don't know how many of you saw the recent reports about Jade Goody, the British reality TV star who tragically died after a very public battle with cervical cancer. In her final month she managed to get married and say very meaningful and poignant goodbyes to her young sons while under a constant media glare.

-Photo by Getty Images-The public nature of Ms. Fawcett's and Ms. Goody's medical struggles serve as a reminder that cancer does not care about celebrity status and that the "cancer experience" has commonalities we can all relate to. When cancer strikes an individual, it fans out to families, friends, and even social media communities. There is nothing entertaining or easy about being a patient or a caregiver for a loved one battling with cancer. That being said, perhaps there can still be a silver lining of hope--even after devastating news--and the will to live life to the fullest.