FRIDAY, July 11 (HealthDay News) -- A chemically modified form of interferon improves the chances that melanoma patients will survive and have no recurrence of the skin cancer, according to a new report.

Dutch researchers, who published their findings in this week's edition of The Lancet, said their study found long-term treatment with pegylated IFNa2b cut the risk of a recurrence by 15 percent over a four-year period.

Allow me to be your poster child for what not to do when outside.

I'm the first to advise all to wear sun screen, not to sunbathe in direct sunlight with no protectant and to generally avoid prolonged exposure to the sn.

So off I trot, out to our deck having slathered my kids in a very high factor sunscreen about 15 minutes before hand. The huge umbrella is up and I sit beneath it, watching my children splash in their little pool. A couple of hours and a nice lunch later, I put everyone down for naps and continue my day.

I have melasma, or what is sometimes called 'mask of pregnancy' or 'pregnancy mask'.

I got it in my third pregnancy and my OB/GYN told me it would probably go once I gave birth. 'Probably' being a key word! Nearly two years later it is still here.

Melasma is a tan or brown patch that women often get in pregnancy (although men can get it too) and can be made worse by sun exposure. It's usually on the face, particularly the cheekbone and forehead area. That's exactly where I have mine. Some women do not lose the melasma after birth and I'm one of them.