A Self-Congratulatory Mountain out of a Statistical Molehill
You may have heard in the news this year that the US's cancer deaths had decreased for the first time. It was played up pretty big and included a rare visit by President Bush to Bethesda's National Institute of Health to proclaim, "Progress is being made!" The same president who cut the National Cancer Institute's budget by $72 million between fiscal years 2005 and 2007.
Since record keeping began 70 years ago, each year the number of cancer deaths have risen or remained the same. But in 2003 "only" 556,902 died of cancer. This was a decline of 369 people over the previous year. In 2004, we lost 553,888, a decline of 3,014 over previous year. This "big" drop represents just over 1/2 of 1 percent. Unfortunately, this pattern seems to be more of a statistical hiccup as opposed to any great breakthrough. Better screening and awareness has helped and is certainly true in my immediate family.
The American Cancer Society's (www.cancer.org) own publication, "2007 Cancer Facts & Figures" tends to be accurate and shows 570,280 deaths for 2005, an increase of 16,392. 564,830 deaths for 2006, a decline of 5,450 and an estimate of 559,650 for 2007, which is a decline of 5,180 over the previous year. Certainly difficult to draw the kinds of conclusions and trumpet the kind of success that the media and politicians claim.
According to government data, the average age of US cancer patients at death is 73 years. This varies by cancer type and other factors. The average age at death is 69 years for breast cancer, 71 for lung cancer and 75 for cancers of the colon and rectum. So with our baby boomer population heading into these age groups, we expect to see a growing statistical mountain.
Doug on 01.29.07 @ 01:49 AM PST [link]
There are so many things about spending a day skiing that just feel so good. I am not sure if it is the fresh mountain air, the beautiful snowy mountains framed by a bright blue sky, the easy exercise that lightly burns the thighs, the exhilaration of sliding down the hill, the hot lunch on a sunny patio, or a one-on-one day with Nick, that makes it such a great day.
Lying on a massage table with my face pressed into the donut pad, I was trying to relax. Still suffering from a head cold, she reminded me that I couldn’t cough or move at all. Not wanting to take any painkillers that day, I described to Dr. Mateki where my shoulder pain was located as she chased it down my arm with tiny needles. 
When I began experiencing severe pain through my shoulder and right arm, my oncologist sprang to action prescribing painkillers. I walked out of his office with prescriptions for Vicodin, Oxycodone and Ibuprofen 800mg. Though I was thankful for the pain relief, my new-found health focus forced me to research the damage that these drugs can do. Unfortunately,all of these are hard on your liver and kidneys.
A strong antioxidant, a mood elevator, a boost in cognitive function, a youth potion and the potential to reduce chronic disease? Yah, but how does it taste going down? Research is showing that chocolate has many benefits to our health. Touring a chocolate factory in Cologne, Germany last month, we got to see how the process goes from bean to fermentation to crush and then to butter. The resulting cake or butter has a wealth of flavonoids similar to those found in green tea and red wine. These compounds help to thin the blood, lowering bad cholesterol and increasing the good cholesterol levels. A recent Harvard study showed that people who eat chocolate on a regular basis have 1/5 the heart disease rate of those who abstain.
6,500 speakers including three in each seat and even from the balcony, you feel like you are in the middle of it. So the greatest sound system, pumping out the greatest music, all choreographed to acrobatic stunts and surrealistic video. Screens on the walls and four coming down from the ceiling showed psychedelic images and pictures of the boys from Liverpool. Dancers and acrobats entered and exited from the ceiling, the floor and the sides of the small intimate stage. This is Cirque Du Soleil’s interpretation of the music by the Beatles called LOVE.