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Have you ever sat somewhere and marveled at how quiet it was? You are acutely aware of sound because it is so unusual to be without noise. We always hear hum from machines, the rumble of traffic, a plane, or other people talking. Modern noise pollution is subtle, inconspicuous, and more dangerous than we realize.
My high school teammate Tommy called to tell me that the father of one of our friends had died at home. I was devastated by this news. As a typical teenager, I believed that we and all those around us were immune to the misfortunes of sickness and disease. Our friend’s father was 35 years old and had no history of cardiovascular disease. We later learned that the day before he died he had developed aching in his left arm and slight nausea, but believed this to be only the fatigue of hard work. He had mistaken cardinal symptoms of myocardial ischemia (not getting enough oxygen to the heart muscle) for minor aches and pains.
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Left untreated, sleep disorders can reduce your daytime productivity, increase your risk of accidents, and put you at risk for illness and even premature death.
Women are diagnosed with more new cases of cancer each year than men. However, men have more cancer mortality. For both genders a lot of these cases are preventable. The American Cancer Society estimates that out of the 555,000 Americans who will die of cancer this year, approximately 170,000 will die because of tobacco use, and 19,000 will die of causes related to excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, approximately one-third of the cancer deaths are related to poor nutrition, obesity, inactivity, and other lifestyle factors and could be prevented. A healthy lifestyle lowers your lifetime risk of cancer dramatically. Research suggests that only about 20 percent of all cancers are caused primarily by genetic factors.
The most common-occurring cancers among women (other than skin cancer) are those of the breast, lung, and then colon. The order changes when you consider cancer deaths. In females, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, followed by breast and then colon cancer. Although most people fear cancer, few people realize that an individual’s risk of certain types of cancer changes with each decade of life.
20s
Most women during their 20s are thinking primarily about their career and finding a life mate. Cancer is usually not a primary concern. However, cervical cancer is a foremost risk during this decade. Most women are familiar with the Pap test, the most widely used screening test for cervical cancer. It can detect precancerous changes in cervical cells; these can be treated before aggressive cancer develops. The American Cancer Society recommends annual Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer when women become sexually active or at age 18 (whichever comes first).
Read more about Cancer risks during each decade of life – Women …
Are you looking for an Internet site that’s user-friendly and dependable? Medlineplus (www.medlineplus.gov) is your source. Brought to you by the U.S. government’s National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, it’s one of the best resources for general medical information. Included are health topics, a medical encyclopedia, directories, organizations, and the latest medical news. You can access information about various diseases and conditions and pharmaceutical drugs.
Last year when Meredith started getting symptoms of a sinus infection, this 44-year-old teacher and busy mother of three opted to call her doctor’s office and describe the symptoms to the nurse instead of going in for an evaluation. After speaking with the doctor, the nurse called in a prescription for antibiotics to the local pharmacy. A few months later when Marilyn was preparing for the family’s vacation, she again called the nurse and asked for several refills of the antibiotic “in case she became ill.”
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Recently a man in his late 40s or early 50s began sharing his story of how he was lifting a very light box at his newly constructed home. All of a sudden a sharp pain originated from his lower back and shot down his leg. “That pain was so bad that I had to call off work for the next couple days,” he said. “Since that happened I haven’t been able to ride in a car for very long because the pain begins again and radiates down my leg.
Sarah,* 24, wakes up every morning and immediately taps seven times on the edge of her bed; she’s compelled to perform this ritual like clockwork, out of fear that if she doesn’t, something terrible will happen to her or her family. Seven is Sarah’s safe number; she eats her meals only at 7:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m., repeats words compulsively under her breath seven times in a row, and on the rare occasions she gets up enough courage to leave her apartment, Sarah paces herself frantically to be sure she takes exactly 77 steps to reach the corner store. Sarah also lives in fear that she has contracted AIDS and can spread it to others, even though she’s never been sexually active.
When I think of cancer, my mind takes a stroll down memory lane. I see scores of women and children-women diagnosed with breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer; children fighting leukemia, bone cancers, or muscle sarcomas.
During a routine examination I found an enlarged kidney containing a renal cell cancer in one middle-aged woman. Another patient’s pelvic adenopathy alerted me to the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.
Read more about Arsenal of Prevention …
New research confirms what nutritionists have said for years–eating lots of high-fiber foods is a great way to protect your health. That might sound like an outrageous claim. But according to researchers conducting the biggest-ever study into the relationship between diet and cancer, it’s the truth. For 15 years the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has examined the dietary habits of more than 400,000 people in nine European countries. EPIC researchers released preliminary results from their long-term cohort study at a nutrition conference last year in Lyons, France.