Michael Crichton was a master storyteller who managed to intergrate science, technology, medicine, and environmental issues into compelling, controversal,  and thought provoking stories. He wrote books (State of Fear) I couldn’t put down, movies (Jurassic Park) that scared me, and televisions series (ER) that captivated me.

One of his last books, Next, dealt with the issued of DNA, biotechnology and the ownership of disease. Here, he talks with Charile Rose about these topics and also environmentalism….

After a private battle with cancer, Michael passed away today at the age of 66. He will be missed.

Michael Crichton
1942-2008
RIP

Post from: Healthbolt

Sounds a little far fetched but doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London recently diagnosed a case of ovarian cancer in a 74-year-old woman after she presented with thickened skin on her palms. According to the medical team, this thickening, known as palmar fascitis, could be linked to cancer and further tests revealed an ovarian mass that, happily, was successfully treated with chemotherapy.

Turns out the patient was suffering from a phenomenon called paraneoplastic syndrome. This is where the symptoms displayed, such as palmar fascitis, arthritis, or even nerve problems, seem unrelated to cancer but are a direct result of chemicals secreted by the cancerous tumour.

Rare but true…

(source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Here’s the scoop:

At 8:00 EST, when the show begins, log into Pink Ribbon Review and have a real-time conversation with blogger Karen Lynch about the event — real time, live, as it happens. She’ll have live coverage and commentary about the event — and you can add your two cents, too!

Her “live” blog will be displayed in a viewer window on the main Pink Ribbon Review website (thanks to software provided by CoveritLive). It’s like instant messaging — except you don’t need a user name or password — and you can watch the conversation, view photos, send in comments, or participate in polls. There’s no downloading … just have her website loaded at 8:00 EST and watch the magic unfold…

Post from: Healthbolt

Guys, this one’s for you (although I’d imagine the findings would hold true – or at least be similar – for womenfolk as well.)

Harvard scientists have found a cheap disease-fighter that you probably (hopefully) already do: Flossing your teeth!

In their research, they found that out of 50,000 guys, those with gum disease had a 30% to 50% greater risk of kidney, blood or pancreatic cancer. Why? Possibly because the inflammation caused by gum disease can egg on the growth of cancer cells.

The key, of course, is to floss daily. And brush, too. Ahem.

This has been your Healthbolt Easy Health Tip of the Day. Go forth with fresh breath and shiny teeth, m’friends.

Post from: Healthbolt

• Serve sauerkraut at your next picnic. A Finnish study found that the fermentation process involved in making sauerkraut produces several other cancer-fighting compounds, including ITCs, indoles, and sulforaphane. To reduce the sodium content, rinse canned or jarred sauerkraut before eating.
• Coat barbecue food with a thick sauce. Grilling meat can create a variety of cancer-causing chemicals. But researchers from the American Institute for Cancer Research found that coating the meat with a thick marinade and thereby preventing direct contact with the charring flames reduced the amount of such chemicals created.
• Every time you go to the bathroom, stop by the kitchen or water cooler for a glass of water. A major study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1996 found that men who drank six 8-ounce glasses of water every day slashed their risk of bladder cancer in half. Another study linked the amount of water women drank to their risk of colon cancer, with heavy water drinkers reducing their risk up to 45 percent.
• Have a beer tonight. Beer protects against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, known to cause ulcers and possibly linked to stomach cancer. But don’t overdo it. Drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks a day may increase your risk of mouth, throat, esophageal, liver, and breast cancer.

Okay, so I might skip on the sauerkraut and also the BBQ (hey, it’s winter in New Zealand) but I could, I guess, work on having a beer tonight.

Meanwhile,  I’d recommend that you head over to RD.com and have a read of the complete list. It might surprise you, or not.

And do let us know what you think are the four top ’simple ways to help prevent/reduce the risk of cancer.’ 

Post from: Healthbolt

So…with the Relay for Life walks on this summer’s schedule, are you going to participate? Have you formed a group with friends or coworkers to walk? If not, and you’d still like to get involved, head over to Second Life next weekend. There you can create a mini version of yourself and interact with some new online pals. What’s more? You can buy a little virtual Relay t-shirt to put on your virtual self. Last year alone, selling these “t-shirts” hauled in a fabulous $118,000 for the American Cancer Society! Cool, huh?

However you care to participate – virtually or otherwise – remember to support the American Cancer Society next weekend, July 19. You never know if some day you or someone you know may need their ACS’s support.

Post from: Healthbolt

Farrah’s spent the last couple of years fighting not only the cancer with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but also the tabloids and paparazzi in an effort to protect her privacy. Having cancer is bad enough, but having to live it out in the eyes of the paparazzi and tabloids that ‘enthusiastically ‘ announce to the world that ‘”Farrah’s Cancer Is Back!” (as the National Enquirer did in 2007) must be the pits.

Seems it’s okay for the media to parade Farrah’s health all over the news in an effort to sell papers and make money but when Farrah decides to do it herself by participating in a documentary (On a Wing and a Prayer) about her treatments, it’s another story. For example, yesterday’s ABC News headline read ‘Farrah Fawcett Cashing in on Cancer Battle?’ which makes it sound like Farrah has no right to “…tell all about her battle with cancer in an upcoming documentary — and potentially make millions in the process.”

Why is that?

Post from: Healthbolt

Well, from the looks of it, Patrick Swayze has taken those words to heart. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, Patrick has no intention of hidding in the corner. He’s undergone radical chemotherapy treatment at the Standford University Cancer Center in Palo Alto and the word is that the tumor has shrunk but not as much as his doctors had envisioned.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer with the 5 year survival rate of around 5% of those in the advanced stages. However, if diagnosed at the earlier stages and treated aggressively as Patrick’s has been, the five year survival rate can increase to around 17-25%.

Seems these days Patrick is standing well away from the corner. In fact, he’s standing center stage, soon to start working on a new show for A&E called ‘The Beast’.

Post from: Healthbolt

But blogging is a new frontier and scientists are curious as to how engaging in this medium might help those suffering from live threatening disease such as cancer.

Maybe they should ask British blogger Adrian Sudbury who started Baldy’s Blog eighteen months ago right after he was diagnosed with leukaemia. The blog is a study in human resilience and dignity as Adrian shares his newly shattered world with us. From the initial diagnosis to dealing with chemotherapy and then finally deciding not to seek further treatment, Adrian writes with honesty, emotion, sadness, and humor.

Adrian was recently told by doctors that he might only have months or weeks left but he is determined to spend this time helping others have a chance at life. How? By educating people about bone marrow donation and by lobbying the British government to create better information campaigns to encourage donors.

In his blog, Adrian wrote…

I have one last little mission before I die.
I’m determined to try and educate more people about what it is like to be a bone marrow donor.
There are still 7,000 people – children and adults in the UK alone – who are waiting to find a match.
Without your help they have no hope.
At least I was given a chance.

Blogging his last days

Post from: Healthbolt

We’ve been talking quite a bit about the intriguing topic of longevity lately. And if living to a ripe old age is on your “To Do” list, you may want to consider gaining a higher education.

So, does that mean those with a college degree will live longer than their less-educated counterparts? Perhaps.

Epidemiologists from the American Cancer Society and scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) teamed up to analyze the data and death certificate information of more than three and a half million deaths which occurred between 1993 and 2001. During that time period, an evident gap emerged between those in different educational brackets. The most educated folks saw a significant decrease in death rates from causes such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc, while the death rates for the least educated groups remained nearly unchanged.

This is the first study to look at recent socioeconomic inequality trends concerning death rates from all causes, as well as from several of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Potential contributors to this discrepancy? Less educated folks have fewer financial resources to help them stay healthy, including health insurance and stable employment, and they also tend to be less educated on health matters. What’s more, this group is three times more likely to be a current smoker than those with college degrees. And with smoking comes issues like heart disease, lung disease and cancer.

With such an unnerving discovery, we’re left wondering: what can be done to change this?

What would you do if you were the president? How would you bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots, at least from a health standpoint? Or is this issue simply too far gone and hopeless? Weigh in – we’d love to hear your ideas…

More reading:
The Washington Post
American Cancer Society

Image: Newscom

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