My little family of four and I have already blasted through 12 bottles of sunblock since early May. At nine dollars a pop ... the cost is certainly adding up. But then I think about the investment I make each day, and the price it will prevent us all from paying some day in the future. Here's a short list in no particular order.

• Painful Sunburns -- Ouch!
• Freckles
• Moles
• Leathery Skin
• Sunspots
• Flaking
• Chemotherapy -- Not cheap!

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It seems that patients seeking an appointment with a dermatologist to ask about a potentially cancerous mole have to wait substantially longer than those seeking Botox for wrinkles. In a study published online on Tuesday by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the average wait time for someone with a suspicious mole in Boston was a horrendous 55 days longer than someone wanting to smooth out their wrinkles.

Even when patients reported a changing mole and were willing to pay out-of-pocket for a dermatology visit, the median wait time was 18 days longer than for botox in the 12 metropolitan areas that the research was conducted.

While I have no opinion on botox treatments, I do feel that the priority should be placed on the patients with life threatening concerns ... as one of those people who has to track color changes or irregular borders (yes, I was blessed with moles) and who has regular biopsies, I know that waiting is the worst part. And, while waiting times of a few weeks or more for a suspicious mole may not add up to significant progression of skin cancer if it is, indeed, present ... it's the not knowing that people have a hard time dealing with.

We are constantly told that early detection of cancer is key ... something is clearly wrong here.

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Most of us have some kind of birthmark somewhere (whether it's a tiny freckle or big "strawberry patch") and obviously most birthmarks are totally harmless. If anything, they give us character! But it's good to know the different kinds of skin discolorations because there are a few that aren't so harmless, and can signal a more serious underlying issue.

The most common potentially dangerous "birthmark" would be the mole, which looks like a raised freckle. Usually harmless, they just need to be watched closely for any changes in case they're developing into skin cancer. Other dangerous skin indicators are bluish puffy birthmarks (cavernous hemangiomas) because they can indicate vascular problems, and having several light tan marks called "cafe-au-lait spots" could signify neurofibromatosis -- a genetic tendency to develop skin tumors. And, according the article, that's it! The rest of the them are just there for looks.

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