Exercise & Prostate Cancer Risk

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

EXERCISE & PROSTATE CANCER RISK

---

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

---

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

---

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

---

---

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

---

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

---

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

---

http://doctorwascher.com

---

Copyright 2007 – 2009

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

10-25-2009: HPV Virus & Risk of Breast Cancer

10-18-2009: Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome (Symptoms after Gallbladder Surgery)

10-11-2009: Vitamin D & Falls in the Elderly

10-4-2009:   Surgery, NSQIP, Complications & Death

9-27-2009    Stress, Heart Disease, Exercise & Death

9-20-2009:   Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival

9-13-2009:   H1N1 Swine Flu Update

9-7-2009:     Green Tea, Aging & Lifespan

8-30-2009:   Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diet & Fiber

8-23-2009:  Update on Prostate Cancer and Cryotherapy

8-16-2009:   Exercise Improves Lymphedema Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009:   Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009:   Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009:   Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:    Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009:   Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009:   Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009:   Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:    Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009:   Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009:   Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009:   Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009:   Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009:     Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009:   Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:    Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009:   Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009:     Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009:   CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009:   Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009:    Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009:    Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009:   Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009:   Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008:   Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:    Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:    Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:   Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:   Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:   Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:    Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

While this rather small clinical study raises the possibility that high levels of aerobic exercise throughout the week may significantly decrease the risk of prostate cancer (and may decrease the likelihood of high-grade tumors in men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer), a larger prospective, randomized clinical research trial, with long-term follow-up, will be necessary to confirm the results of this small study. Small studies, such as this one, may come to erroneous conclusions due to their small sample size, and their limited follow-up of patients. Moreover, all survey-based research studies, such as this one, are susceptible to potential biases. Finally, this study’s finding that exercise reduces prostate cancer risk may only be indirectly true, as other dietary or lifestyle factors that are more common among men who exercise regularly may actually be responsible for the decreased prostate cancer risk observed in this clinical study.  Having listed all of these disclaimers, we know, without a doubt, that regular aerobic exercise improves overall health and decreases the risk of premature death. Thus, there are many good reasons to engage in regular exercise, including the possibility that doing so might reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer.

The authors of this study found that the men who exercised regularly (at least 9 METS, or metabolic-equivalent task hours, per week), when compared to the men who did not regularly exercise, had a markedly lower risk of prostate cancer. In fact, the men who vigorously and regularly exercised had a whopping 65 percent lower risk of prostate cancer when compared to the men who lived sedentary lives. Additionally, even moderate levels of exercise (3 to 8.9 METS per week) were associated with a lower risk of aggressive high-grade prostate tumors among the men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer (86 percent risk reduction for high-grade tumors).

An intriguing new clinical research study, just published in the Journal of Urology, raises the possibility that regular aerobic exercise may, indeed, be associated with a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer. In this study, 190 men who were undergoing prostate gland needle biopsy completed a validated lifestyle and exercise history questionnaire. Statistical adjustments were then made for known prostate cancer risk factors, including age, ethnic race, body weight, prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, family history, and digital rectal examination (DRE) findings.

While several different risk factors have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer, male gender, increasing age, and being an African-American male are the three most important known risk factors for this disease. As none of these major risk factors can be eliminated, it is unlikely that prostate cancer can be completely eliminated, either. However, there is some clinical evidence to suggest that specific lifestyle and dietary modifications may reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. One lifestyle factor that has previously been proposed to potentially reduce prostate cancer risk is exercise. However, the results of previous clinical research studies have provided contradictory evidence regarding the role of exercise in prostate cancer prevention.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, and the second most common cause of cancer-associated death in men. In 2009, an estimated 192,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 28,000 will die from this disease. Based upon current trends, 1 in 6 males will go on to be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetimes.

Updated:  11/01/2009

To ensure imported food safety, federal agencies must focus their resources on high risk foods and coordinate efforts, according to a report released last week by the Government Accountability Office.

The report, submitted to the US Congress and obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, assesses how the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are addressing challenges in overseeing the safety of imported food.

It also assesses how the FDA utilizes resources by working with other entities, such as state and foreign governments, and attempts to determine how the FDA is using its Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting system to oversee imported food safety.

US agriculture generates more than $1.5 trillion per year in economic activity and provides an abundant food supply for Americans and others. There are continuing concerns about the vulnerability of US agriculture to the deliberate introduction of animal and plant diseases by those wishing to harm American citizens.

“The big problem is money be spent to monitor food products being imported into the United States. So far, the budget for food safety is minimal when compared to other government programs. For example, politicians push for vaccinating millions of Americans against what they characterize as a deadly flu epidemic, yet they do not seem concerned over a very real threat to all Americans — contaminated food,” said political strategist Mike Baker.

Federal agencies also have been conducting vulnerability assessments of the agriculture infrastructure; have created networks of laboratories capable of diagnosing animal, plant, and human diseases; have begun efforts to develop a national veterinary stockpile that intends to include vaccines against foreign animal diseases; and have created new federal emergency coordinator positions to help states develop emergency response plans for the agriculture sector. However, the United States still faces complex challenges that limit the nation’s ability to respond effectively to an attack against livestock.

CBP, FDA, and FSIS claim they have taken steps to address challenges in ensuring the safety of the increasing volume of imported food. For example, CBP maintains that the system importers use to provide information to FDA on food shipments; FDA electronically reviews food imports and inspects some foreign food production facilities to prevent contaminated food from reaching U.S. shores; and FSIS employs an equivalency system that requires countries to demonstrate that their food safety systems provide the same level of protection as the U.S. system.

However, gaps in enforcement and collaboration undermine these efforts. First, CBP’s computer system does not currently notify FDA or FSIS when imported food shipments arrive at U.S. ports, although efforts are underway to provide this information to FDA for air and truck shipments.

“This is a problem we see with law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies and other government entities,” claims former police detective and Marine intelligence officer Sidney Frances.

“Whenever we see multiple government agencies involved in one single function, there will almost certainly be some kind of Snafu,” he added.

This lack of communication may potentially increase the risk that unsafe food could enter U.S. commerce without FDA review, particularly at truck ports. Second, FDA has limited authority to ensure importers’ compliance with its regulations. Third, CBP and FDA do not identify importers with a unique number; as a result, FDA cannot always target food shipments originating from high risk importers.

Finally, CBP faces challenges in managing in-bond shipments–those that move within the United States without formally entering U.S. commerce–and such shipments possibly could be diverted into commerce. FDA generally collaborates with select states and foreign governments on imported food safety. FDA has entered into a contract, several cooperative agreements, and informal partnerships for imported food with certain states, and some state officials told GAO that they would like to collaborate further with FDA on food imports.

However, citing legal restrictions, FDA does not fully share certain information, such as product distribution lists, with states during a recall. This impedes states’ efforts to quickly remove contaminated products from grocery stores and warehouses. FSIS has begun to make available to the public a list of retail establishments that have likely received food products that are subject to a serious recall. FDA is also expanding efforts to coordinate with other countries.

In particular, through its Beyond Our Borders initiative, FDA is pushing the US government to station investigators and technical experts in China, Europe, and India, to provide technical assistance and gather information about food manufacturing practices to improve risk-based screening at U.S. ports.

According to FDA, inspectors will analyze food shipments using criteria that include a product’s inherent food safety risk and the importer’s violative history, among other things, to estimate each shipment’s risk. A 2007 pilot test indicated that the system improved FDA’s ability to identify products it considers to be high risk while allowing a greater percentage of products it considers low risk to enter U.S. commerce without a manual review.

Health Report:

Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome (Symptoms after Gallbladder Surgery)

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

Updated:  10/18/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

POST-CHOLECYSTECTOMY SYNDROME (SYMPTOMS AFTER GALLBLADDER SURGERY)

An estimated 20 million Americans have gallstones (cholelithiasis), and about 30 percent of these patients will ultimately develop symptoms of their gallstone disease. The most common symptoms specifically related to gallstone disease include upper abdominal pain (often, but not always, following a heavy or greasy meal), nausea, and vomiting. (The upper abdominal pain often radiates around towards the right side of the back or shoulder.)

n Severe inflammation or infection of the gallbladder (cholecystitis)

n Blockage of the main bile duct with gallstones (choledocholithiasis), which can cause jaundice or/and bile duct infection (cholangitis), as well as pancreatitis

n Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

n Bile gastritis (inflammation of the stomach)

n Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)

n Hypersensitivity of the nervous system of the GI tract

n Abnormal flow of bile into the GI tract after removal of the gallbladder

n Excessive consumption of fatty and greasy foods

n Painful surgical scars or incisional (scar) hernias

n Adhesions (internal scars) following surgery

n Retained gallstones within the bile ducts or pancreatic duct

n Stricture (narrowing) of the bile ducts

n Bile leaks following surgery

n Injury to bile ducts during surgery

n Infection of the bile ducts (cholangitis), incisions, or abdomen

n Residual gallbladder or cystic duct remnant following surgery

n Fatty changes of the liver or other liver diseases

n Chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic insufficiency

n Abnormal function or anatomy of the main bile duct sphincter muscle (the “Sphincter of Oddi”)

n Peptic ulcer disease

n Diverticulitis

n Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

n Stress

n Psychiatric illnesses

n Tumors of the liver, bile ducts, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, colon, or rectum

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

---

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

http://doctorwascher.com

Copyright 2007 – 2009

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

All rights reserved

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

10-11-2009: Vitamin D & Falls in the Elderly

10-4-2009:   Surgery, NSQIP, Complications & Death

9-27-2009    Stress, Heart Disease, Exercise & Death

9-20-2009:   Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival

9-13-2009:   H1N1 Swine Flu Update

9-7-2009:     Green Tea, Aging & Lifespan

8-30-2009:   Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diet & Fiber

8-23-2009:  Update on Prostate Cancer and Cryotherapy

8-16-2009:   Exercise Improves Lymphedema Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009:   Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009:   Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009:   Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:    Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009:   Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009:   Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009:   Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:    Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009:   Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009:   Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009:   Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009:   Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009:     Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009:   Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:    Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009:   Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009:     Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009:   CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009:   Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009:    Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009:    Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009:   Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009:   Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008:   Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:    Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:    Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:   Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:   Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:   Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:    Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

Carbon dioxide is first and foremost a plant food. In fact, plants take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use the energy from sunlight to combine the CO2 with water to yield glucose, the simplest sugar molecule. Carbon dioxide is also the source of all organic — this word just means “contains carbon” — molecules synthesized by plants. Without carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there would be no organic molecules synthesized by plants. The less carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere, the fewer organic molecules synthesized by plants. All animals depend on plants to synthesize essential organic molecules. Without the organic molecules synthesized by plants, the animal world could not exist. Without plants, there would be no biosphere.

Several million years ago, a disaster struck the terrestrial biosphere: there was a drastic reduction in the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere.

The flowering plants evolved to be most efficient when the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 1,000 parts per million. But the percentage had dropped to a mere 200 parts per million. Plants tried to adapt by evolving a new, more efficient way of using the little remaining CO2. The new mechanism, the C4 pathway, appeared in grasses, including corn and wheat, which enabled these plants to expand into the plains. If the carbon dioxide percentage had stayed low — or worse, had decreased further — the entire biosphere would have been endangered.

Fortunately for the plants and the rest of the biosphere depending on them, a wonderful thing happened about 150,000 years ago: a new animal species, Homo sapiens, evolved. This creature was endowed with a huge brain, enabling it to invent a way to help the plants with their CO2 problem. Gigantic amounts of carbon had been deposited deep underground in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas. Not only were these reservoirs of carbon locked away in rock, but they were in forms of carbon that the plants could not use.

These wonderful humans, however, worked hard to help the plants. Not only did the humans dig the coal, oil, and natural gas, bringing it to the surface, but they converted these raw materials into the only form of carbon that plants could use: carbon dioxide. Due to the diligent plant-saving efforts of the humans, the CO2 atmospheric percentage is now at nearly 390 parts per million. Were humans to continue in their biosphere-rescuing efforts at the present rate, the CO2 level will be returned to normal in a mere few hundred years.

The cap-and-trade bill is designed to stop this effort to save the biosphere. This is a profoundly evil act. In the words of the Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, anyone who supports the bill, or any measure aimed at reducing the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is “guilty of treason against the planet”!

Those who want to reduce the use of fossil fuels are the mortal enemies of the biosphere. They must be stopped at all costs! Write your senator at once!

The astute reader will have noted that Krugman actually accused those who opposed the cap-and-trade bill of “treason against the planet.” What I have done is use well-known science to show that, from the biosphere’s point of view, it is the cap-and-trade bill that is “treasonable.” Remarkably, Krugman assumes that the climatic conditions of a mere century or so ago are the “natural” ones that must not be changed. A very anthropomorphic point of view is being used to denounce humanity. An ultraconservative reactionary political position is being called “progressive.”

Frank J. Tipler is Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University. He is the co-author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford University Press) and the author of The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead and The Physics of Christianity both published by Doubleday.

I was once a leader in forming a scientific consensus. In the late 1970s, most cosmologists believed the universe could not accelerate. Our experimental evidence for this belief was very weak, so we appealed to “expert opinion.” In the late 1990s, we discovered dark energy, the stuff that is accelerating the universe, and I now regard “scientific consensus” as a synonym for “wrong.” But at least we “experts” in this wrong cosmological consensus had genuine accomplishments in cosmology, unrelated to our wrong opinion on dark energy, to justify the claim that we were in fact “experts.”

I am struck by the lack of similar accomplishments by the leaders of the AGW “consensus.” In fact, it is the leading opponents of AGW who have genuine scientific achievements in the field of climatology. Last year, Reid Bryson, the “father of climatology,” and a leading AGW skeptic, passed away. Bryson’s actual achievements are the hallmark of a genuine scientist as opposed to the work done by AGW advocates.

A true scientist demonstrates his knowledge by using it to make predictions which can be confirmed or refuted. Bryson successfully predicted, in December 1944, that the so-called “Caine Mutiny Typhoon” would hit Adm. William Halsey’s Third Fleet. This storm was so-named because the novel The Caine Mutiny was based on what happened to the Fleet when it was struck by the typhoon. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and was later made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart.

Reid Bryson later wrote of his experience with the Caine Mutiny Typhoon in the October 2000 issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. From weather reports, he realized that a typhoon had formed and a trough of low pressure could cause it to curve toward the Third Fleet. He ordered up a reconnaissance aircraft, which located the storm’s eye, and estimated that the surface wind speed was a very strong 140 knots. Bryson radioed this observational data to Fleet Weather Central at Pearl Harbor, who responded with “we don’t believe you.” The Third Fleet did not receive Bryson’s warning. The typhoon hit the fleet, sinking four ships and killing nearly 800 men.

This was not Bryson’s first experience with meteorologists who disdained scientific evidence for their own gut feeling. In August of 1943, Bryson was stationed at Fleet Weather Central. He was asked to make a weather prediction for Marcus Island, where a carrier-based air strike was scheduled for August 23. Applying standard physics to the data available to him, Bryson concluded that a typhoon that Fleet Weather Central had been monitoring would curve and hit the U.S. task force as it was launching its strike. Bryson recalls that the senior meteorologist at Pearl said, “Nonsense! Typhoons don’t curve. Change that forecast.”

The forecast was changed. The typhoon curved. The task force was hit. Lives were lost. Bryson wrote that he was astounded that a forecast based on the laws of physics would be changed on the basis of nothing but argument from authority.

For the Caine Mutiny Typhoon, there was plenty of evidence available to the Third Fleet that a typhoon was about to hit. From 1802 to the present, American naval officers have used Nathaniel Bowditch’s The American Practical Navigator as a guide to everything nautical, in particular as a guide to signs of impending tropical storms. Such signs were present in abundance shortly before the Fleet was hit. The meteorologists of the Fleet told Bryson that they warned Halsey, but he rejected their advice with the scornful “I don’t believe you.”

The Fleet meteorologists were lying through their teeth. As is made clear in the 2007 book Halsey’s Typhoon by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, the fleet meteorologists did not believe the typhoon was anywhere nearby. The Bowditch signs were there, and Halsey knew them, but he deferred to the meteorologists who believed the typhoon was far away. The fleet meteorologists, like “scientists” who believe in AGW, were covering up failed past predictions. They were willing to smear the reputation of America’s greatest admiral in order to protect their sorry asses. (Full disclosure: my father was on Adm. Halsey’s staff.)

But why did Halsey believe the meteorologists against the evidence of his own eyes? The report of the Board of Inquiry on the disaster answers that question. Halsey simply accepted the authority of his chief meteorologist, against his own experience. The report listed the “qualifications of this “expert” — his degrees, the numerous courses on climate studies he had taken, his years flying over hurricanes. But in contrast to Bryson’s successful forecasts, two of which I have described above, not one correct forecast was mentioned by the Court of Inquiry! I find this extraordinary. Imagine picking an admiral on the basis of the prestige of an officer’s education. Halsey himself had two famous victories, the Battle of Guadalcanal and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. I admire Halsey immensely, but he was wrong to give any weight at all to mere academic credentials, rather than performance credentials like his own. For true scientists, one knows the achievements, not the academic credentials. Albert Einstein discovered relativity (everyone knows E = mc²), he discovered the photon, and he discovered gravitational waves. But where did Einstein go to school? Who cares?

What counter-intuitive predictions have the Global Warmers ever made? I invite you to look. I myself could not find a single counter-intuitive prediction made by any major Global Warmer. But I have found cases of them trying to cover up failed predictions.

In The Caine Mutiny, Van Johnson’s character, faced with disaster due to the obviously false predictions made by the ship’s captain (Bogart’s character), tells the crew to ignore the orders of the man with rank but no performance credentials, and saves the ship.

Perhaps we should do the same.

Frank J. Tipler is Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University. He is the co-author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford University Press) and the author of The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead and The Physics of Christianity both published by Doubleday.

Yes — the daily high in London is now a state secret!

Actually, this disappearance of temperature records has been going on for some time — not only in Britain, but also in the United States. Why would American and British climate “scientists” not want outside scientists to see the raw data upon which their predictions of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) are based?

Why would Bernie Madoff not want outside accountants to see his day-to-day “earnings” data?

The raw temperature data is bad news for AGW. The United States Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) has in the past provided the raw data from the temperature-taking stations in the U.S. Here is a graph of their raw data:

Not much global warming evident in the raw data, is there? This data set was originally available from a NASA website based at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, but the data disappeared some time ago. Fortunately, the raw data set was archived by a Tasmanian(!), John Daly. The Australian Michael Hammer has analyzed this raw U.S. data. If the above data is smoothed over five years, the result is this:

Once again, not much global warming is present (vertical axis is degrees Fahrenheit.) As Hammer points out, one can make it appear that there has been some global warming by fitting the data to a line, which is shown in red. But if one wants to believe that there was a rise in temperature early in the twentieth century, followed by a decrease late in the century, one can make this appear by fitting the data to a parabola, which is shown in green. The latter belief is obviously more plausible than the former, given the pictured raw data, because the high temperature 1930s is clear even to the untrained eye.

To obtain global warming, the believers in AGW at GISS add “corrections” to the raw data pictured above, obtaining the following five-year smoothed graph:

Wow! Clearly there has been enormous global warming during the past century! Myself, I would say that the “warming” is in the “corrections” to the data, and not in reality.

But if the raw data is declared a state secret, and not shown to those scientists like myself who are not supported by government climatology grants, then no one can question graphs “proving” global warming.

We can compare the above graphs with the latest raw data for the average temperature for the lower atmosphere of the entire Earth, measured by U.S. satellites, and recorded by the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH):

Once again, there is not much global warming in the raw data. Once again, a linear fit to the data would show a slight upward trend. Or one could model the data by a flat line from 1979 to 1998, followed by a huge jump up in 1998, followed by a straight-line decrease since 1998. The very fact that there are equally plausible alternative ways to model the raw data — most alternatives being inconsistent with global warming — is another reason why those climatologists who believe in AGW want to perform a disappearing act on the raw data.

There are, to their great credit, true scientists employed by government institutions. A “mole” inside the British CRU released the raw British data to Steve McIntyre, after McIntyre’s Freedom of Information requests for the data were repeatedly refused. CRU’s discovery that they had a “mole” led them to make all raw data unavailable to non-members of the AGW fraternity.

Steve McIntyre is not a professional climatologist at all, but a mining engineer who spends most of his career doing “due diligence” for mining claims. If you are thinking of investing in a mine, you want to be sure that the mine has not been salted with fake ore and you want to know that the mine has been independently checked to make sure the amount of real ore the mine promoters claim is there is actually there. McIntyre was such an independent mine checker.

Having some time on his hands a few years ago, McIntyre decided it would be fun to check a graph that was the smoking gun of AGW evidence — the infamous hockey stick graph first published in Nature, the leading British science journal. The hockey stick was supposedly a plot of Earth’s temperature over the past few centuries. The temperature vs. time graph was essentially flat until the twentieth century, where it shot up rapidly. The curve resembled a hockey stick, hence the name.

McIntyre requested the raw data and the algorithm used to analyze the data from the lead author and was surprised when this request was refused. The public release of this sort of information is required by law if one is selling a mine, but secrecy is allowed if one is selling a plan to take over the U.S. economy.

McIntyre managed to get the key data — most of it was available publicly from other sources — but the authors of the hockey stick have not released their algorithm to this day. What McIntyre thinks the algorithm does is give enormous weight to any data set that shows recent global warming, and very little weight to those data sets showing recent global cooling. With such an algorithm, McIntyre was able to generate a hockey stick from random noise. A committee of the National Academy of Sciences and a separate committee organized by the leading U.S. academy of statisticians concluded that indeed the hockey stick was a statistical artifact, not evidence of real world global warming.

Imagine what the outcome would have been if the raw data had been secret. We would still believe in hockey stick climatology. The Medieval Warm Period, which is confirmed by historical records from all over the world but which was not present in the hockey stick, would have gone down the memory hole.

What truly shocked me was the fact that many of the leading scientific organizations — in particular the American Association for the Advance of Science (which publishes the leading U.S. science journal Science) and the National Academy of Science — supported the hockey stick authors’ refusal to make their algorithm public. The leading “science” organizations are now officially opposed to checking “science” that supports the party line.

The public — and true scientists who are not members of the inner party — are expected to accept their leaders’ decrees on faith. In other words, the leading U.S. “science” organizations are no longer in the science business.

How did we ever come to this? Government financing of scientific research caused it.

“It has been confirmed by science” is an enormous argument in support of any position, and all politicians know it. This is why Karl Marx called his system “scientific socialism.” In any new field of research — climatology was a new field thirty years ago — scientists differ enormously. Some scientists will think global warming is occurring, some will think not. Of those who believe that the Earth is warming, some will believe that humans are the culprits; others will think that natural forces are responsible. Step in the politicians.

They realize that there is an enormous advantage to them if the public believes in AGW. So they initially provide research grants only to those who agree with them. Excuse me — the politicians provide grants only to competent scientists who just happen to agree with them. These AGW scientists, the only ones with federal grants, are much more likely to get university jobs, since universities are now almost wholly dependent on federal money. These new professors of climatology, mainly true believers in AGW, teach their students to believe in AGW and make sure that only true believers can get grants and thus tenure at universities.

Soon there are none but true believers in the field: a consensus has been reached! (Gary Taubes in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories details how similar politician guidance occurred in nutrition science during the 1950s and 1960s. Taubes argues that the resulting bad advice on nutrition is one of the causes of today’s obesity epidemic.)

Unfortunately, the facts stubbornly refuse to confirm AGW. So the leaders of the field now start to “correct” the data to show an AGW signature. These climatologists are not conscious frauds. They truly believe in AGW, and thus truly believe that the data must show AGW. So they “correct” the data until it does. This sort of unconscious fakery occurs all the time in science, because a scientist must really, really believe his theory to be true. If he didn’t, he never would invest the time needed to develop the theory. Einstein spent ten years developing general relativity.

This phenomenon of scientists “correcting” the data to confirm a pet theory is well known. Isaac Asimov based a mystery novel, A Whiff of Death, on it. Eugenie Samuel Reich describes a real-life recent condensed matter physics example in Plastic Fantastic. In the past, what has saved science from these frauds by true-believer scientists is independent experimental checking by skeptics.

Sadly, this mechanism has been corrupted in all areas of science. The editors of the leading science journals, for example Nature and Science, are no longer outstanding scientists — as was the case before federal funding — but people who took the job after they failed to get tenure at any research university. Such people are a poor judge of scientific quality. Recently, an editor of a major physics journal came to my own university and bragged that one of his predecessors had rejected a paper on relativity by Albert Einstein! People are now given tenure even in the hard sciences because of their political reliability, rather than for their achievements.

This is not a good idea. Years ago, in my own state of Louisiana, Governor Huey Long appointed as his medical czar a doctor whom Long knew would find “scientific” reasons to support the governor’s policies. This doctor was, however, an incompetent surgeon. When an assassin shot Long, his medical czar was chosen to perform the operation to remove the bullet. Long died.

American politicians have followed Long’s example in climate science. In passing cap and trade, the House is following their politically reliable climate doctors’ prescription. We can only hope the United States’ economy will not suffer Long’s fate.

Frank J. Tipler is Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University. He is the co-author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford University Press) and the author of The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead and The Physics of Christianity both published by Doubleday.

He had never been married to or even cohabiting with the boy’s mother. The two had a brief affair and when the mother had the baby in 1987, she told Hatley that the baby was his.

A couple of years later, the mother applied for and received public assistance. The state demanded reimbursement from Hatley who agreed to make those payments believing the boy was in fact his son. In 2000, DNA tests showed that Hatley was not the biological father. A court ordered that Hatley be relieved of any obligations for future support of the boy. However, this order did not relieve him of the back payments owed when it had been assumed he was the father so Hatley continued making those payments from the money he earned at his job of unloading charcoal grills from shipping containers.

In 2007, Hatley was laid off from his job. Unable to afford housing, he lived out of his car. Nevertheless, he continued to make child support payments to the state out of his unemployment benefits.

However, he fell behind in his payments, was found in contempt of court and jailed. He was recently released because he is indigent. Soon after his release, a judge relieved him from any obligation to pay the support on which he was in arrears – but which he never should have owed in the first place.

It is good that Hatley is free and relieved of any future financial obligations in the case. However, this does not rectify the injustice that he has suffered. It does not return the money he already paid out of his extremely limited funds nor does it make up for the thirteen months he spent in jail.

The Hatley case illustrates a crying need for an overhaul of the child support system. Firstly, there is the fact that poverty is not a defense against the failure to pay child support. Even if the child had been his, the facts are that Hatley was unable to adequately support himself and did not have the money to support the child. However, the law took a jobless, penniless man living out of his car to jail for not making child support payments. This is a modern day version of the old Victorian horror of debtor’s prison.

People should not go to jail in 21st Century America just for being poor – but Frank Hatley did and so have many others.

Of course, the case began because of a misidentification in paternity. Many observers would criticize the mother as a liar and see her as someone who should be prosecuted for what is often called “paternity fraud.” I do not. The mother was there at the time of the conception but it is unlikely that she was taking notes. Human memory is extremely fallible and this fallibility is exacerbated by the emotionality of questions involving sex and reproduction. Given these truths, a DNA test should be routinely taken before paternity is assigned. If the DNA test is negative, a man could still voluntarily agree to assume the role of the father – with the financial responsibilities incurred as a result – but it would be his free and informed choice.

That we need to fix this system is obvious when a man has been treated as a criminal and jailed for failing to provide money he does not have for a child who is not his.

Biofuels are all the rage these days, as illustrated by a particularly silly article that appeared in the New York Times recently. It claimed that homebrew biodiesel could significantly reduce the U.S. demand for imported oil.

There is no way that ethanol from sugar, corn, or biomass is going to make a significant reduction in the U.S. demand for crude oil. Do the numbers:

The U.S. currently consumes 9.286 million barrels per day of gasoline (388.6 million gallons/day). According to the Times article cited above, between 10 and 14 pounds of sugar will be required to make a gallon of ethanol. This means that to replace the current U.S. consumption of gasoline with ethanol, which we will assume for simplicity has the same energy content per gallon as gasoline (actually a gallon of ethanol has about 80 percent the energy content of a gallon of gasoline), then we would need about two million tons of sugar per day, assuming the low end of 10 pounds of sugar per gallon.

The total sugar production of the U.S. is currently about 8 million tons per year; Mexico’s production is slightly less. So we are about a factor of 100 too low in our sugar production. This is an enormous shortfall. Just to meet the 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol per year mandated in the 2005 law has required one-third of the entire U.S. corn crop. In other words, to supply twenty days gasoline consumption, we had to use a third of all our yearly corn production.

Biomass of any type just uses surface area that could be used for other production, like trees for wood. In Brazil, they are now razing the rain forests to supply the biomass. I think the rain forests are far more valuable to humanity as rain forests. Beside the nice trees, there are also the animals that live therein.

The bottom line: solar energy, which is the source of biomass/grain/sugar, is just too diffuse to provide the energy we need for transportation.

The only solution is nuclear energy.

A recent study by Los Alamos National Laboratories shows how to manufacture gasoline from water and CO2 from the air: a nuclear reactor’s energy is used to split the hydrogen and carbon off from the oxygen in water and carbon dioxide, and to combine the two elements to create gasoline.

Los Alamos estimates that with off-the-shelf technology, the price at the pump for nuclear-generated gasoline is $4.60 per gallon, and a $5 billion off-the-shelf reactor/synthetic gasoline complex could supply 18,400 barrels per day. So to provide for current U.S. gasoline needs, we would need 500 reactors and associated complexes — a total cost of 2.5 trillion dollars, slightly more than this year’s federal budget deficit. Los Alamos also argues that modest technological improvements would be expected to halve the capital cost of the reactors and to reduce the gasoline price at the pump to $3.40 per gallon, a bit less than last summer’s U.S. average price for regular. In Europe today, the pump price is between $5.00 to $6.50 per gallon, due to high European gasoline taxes.

We’ve got the capital. Since September 2008, we have spent — completely wasted! — some $4 trillion dollars trying to get out of the financial crisis, twice the capital required.

If we assume that capital is free, apparently the assumption of the Obama administration, then the cost of synthetic gasoline would be $2.20 a gallon — less than today’s pump price.

Furthermore, creating gasoline by using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would just endlessly recycle the CO2 between our cars and the atmosphere. There would be no net addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. If one believes in anthropogenic global warming — I don’t — the problem is solved!

But of course, the global warming crowd doesn’t believe in carbon dioxide-caused global warming anymore than I do. The Kyoto treaty gives no credit for replacing any carbon dioxide generating energy source with nuclear energy. The Los Alamos proposal, which would reduce America’s CO2 net output from transportation to zero, would not count as reducing carbon dioxide at all.

It would be even cheaper to get the carbon for synthetic gasoline from our abundant coal reserves, using the nuclear reactor to supply the energy for the synthesis, but I’ve described only the ultimate carbon neutral synthesis.

The problems associated with conventional reactors — namely nuclear waste — were all solved in the 1980s. And there is the promising thorium reactor, which has the added advantage of being incapable of producing bomb material — the laws of physics prohibit it, so we need not depend on signing treaties to keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists with thorium reactors — and whose radioactive waste is very quickly no more radioactive than natural uranium ore. There is no real problem with radioactive waste even with current uranium reactors, provided the plutonium in the waste is removed and used to fuel reactors. Many of our reactors now are “burning” plutonium from bombs that we had to decommission as required by a treaty with the Russian Federation. Either we burn the plutonium, or it will be around for thousands of years just waiting for terrorists to recycle into bombs. If the plutonium is removed, the remaining waste becomes no more radioactive than naturally occurring pitchblende (a uranium ore) after about a century.

For decades, nuclear engineers have proposed that the waste be stored permanently in the mountains of Nevada, where it will be forever kept away from the biosphere. The politicians — in particular Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and President Obama — won’t allow this. Instead, they prefer that the radioactive waste be kept in steel drums, where it is currently leaking into the environment in Washington State.

Biomass is, once again, dependent on solar power, which is itself too diffuse to supply the high intensity energy required for transportation. Only nuclear energy is sufficiently concentrated to supply the necessary energy in the amounts we need.

Non-physicists don’t think about energy correctly. Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, in one of his popular books, emphasized the correct way to think about energy: it is something that can be transformed from one form to another. Thus all current energy is ultimately nuclear energy, either nuclear fusion energy from the Sun or fission energy from nuclear reactors. Fission energy in turn is really stored gravitational collapse energy from supernovae, and solar hydrogen fusion is just the release of energy stored in protons created in the very early universe.

With synthetic gasoline we are just transferring the energy stored in uranium or thorium into the chemical bonds of hydrocarbons. The carbon and hydrogen are never used, just endlessly recycled through the atmosphere. In effect, using synthetic gasoline, we would run our cars on nuclear energy. But we are really doing that now.

With synthetic gasoline we need not incur the capital cost needed to switch to ethanol or hydrogen fuel cells or whatever. Ultimately these alternative stores of transportation energy would require a non-diffuse energy source, and the only such source is nuclear energy. So we will have to build the reactors anyway. Why not use a store of transportation energy that uses the current transportation infrastructure?

The free market would build the nuclear reactors, if it were allowed to do so. Only regulation and lawsuit threat keeps the CO2 and foreign oil problems unsolved. Instead of the free market, we have ridiculous government mandates for ethanol from grains. Even libertarians and conservatives like Newt Gingrich have bought into the anti-free market idea of mandating automobiles that run on multiple sources of energy. The free market knows that gasoline is the most efficient form of energy storage for transportation, given foreseeable technology, and won’t go along with Gingrich, T. Boone Pickens, and others without the application of government coercion.

Think of the alternative energy storage proposals as alternative scientific theories. Only false theories have to be imposed by force. People can always be persuaded to accept true theories.

Frank J. Tipler is Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University. He is the co-author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford University Press) and the author of The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead and The Physics of Christianity both published by Doubleday.

In his most recent PR thrust, this past Friday, he brushed the national fury aside by characterizing it as typical right-left drivel, and likened himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR, of course, instituted a number of socialist programs, primarily from Sweden, in the face of opposition. Most of the programs were temporary and none were aimed at destroying free-market capitalism by taking control of all economic activity. But Obama’s message was clear. Implementing his agenda is a foregone conclusion. What the American people want and what they have to say just doesn’t matter. If FDR got away with it, so will he.

That was followed by action. Back to business-as-usual on Tuesday, he addressed a group at the United Nations in a process intended to lead to a new international Cap-n-Trade agreement.

That so many of us are here today, is recognition that the threat of climate change is serious, it is urgent, and it is growing. Our generation’s response to this challenge will be judged by history. For if we fail to meet it boldly, swiftly, and together, we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe. No nation, however large or small, wealthy or poor, can escape the impact of climate change. Rising sea levels threaten every coast line. More powerful storms and floods threaten every continent. More frequent droughts and crop failure breed hunger and conflict in places where hunger and conflict already thrive. On shrinking islands, families are already being forced to flee their homes as climate refugees. The security and stability of each nation and all peoples, our prosperity, our health, and our safety are in jeopardy, and the time we have to reverse this tide is running out. And yet, we can reverse it. John F. Kennedy once observed that our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.

Even while protagonists continue the propaganda campaign, an already large and still growing number of people realize that the global warming scare is a hoax. Climate change is not man-made and there is nothing we can do that would have a significant impact on global climate. Carbon dioxide, made the villain in the fake battle, is not a pollutant nor is it threatening catostrophic global warming. The threat of rising sea levels, more powerful storms and floods, droughts and crop failures, shrinking islands and climate refugees are ideas popularized by Al Gore’s work of fiction, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Meanwhile, the climate seems to be in a bit of a cooling trend. Even this doesn’t seem to matter. We can only imagine that the election campaign in 2012 may sport a claim that rapid political action is already yielding positive results. Perhaps then, the army of unemployed, growing in response to Barack Obama’s leadership, will remind us of what we already know. BO is not FDR.

Health Report:

H1N1 Swine Flu Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

H1N1 SWINE FLU UPDATE

Influenza is a viral disease that has vexed mankind, and other animals, for thousands of years. The earliest definitive recorded observation of influenza in humans is contained in the writings of the renowned ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, nearly 2,500 years ago.

http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=87170 The evidence for substantial innate sex differences is mounting. I’ve long been a strong advocate for acknowledging this research, instead of trying to ignore it for ideological reasons, such as the postmodern feminist stance that all gender differences are culturally constructed. On the other hand, I usually take a very conservative approach, and write phrases such as “there are certain innate differences that cannot be ignored”. However, I don’t know if that conservative approach is warranted any more. As the research is progressing, it’s becoming increasingly clear that sex differences are substantial, and not limited to a few specific areas.

This doesn’t mean that we forget about culture, or the plasticity of the human brain that allows us to adapt to a range of situations–regardless of our gender. But it does mean that we need to start acknowledging that the very organ that filters our experience of life, and the “software” that runs that organ, are substantially different between an average man and an average woman. This also means that the inner experience of being a man is different from the inner experience of being a woman.

Recently, I was sent a very interesting link about new research that has been carried out to map the relationship between gender, testosterone and risk aversion (Gender differences in financial risk aversion and career choices are affected by testosterone. Paola Sapienzaa, Luigi Zingalesb and Dario Maestripieri, 2009). The strength of this research is that it connects a well known gender specific variable (testosterone) to a specific behavior (risk aversion). It is one thing to prove that there are innate biological differences between men and women, but it is far more convincing when a biological variable can be shown to directly affect behavior.

Let’s see what they say about the experiment:

Prior research has shown that testosterone enhances competitiveness and dominance, reduces fear, and is associated with risky behaviors like gambling and alcohol use. However, until now, the impact of testosterone on gender differences in financial risk-taking has not been explored. [...]

The researchers, using an economic-based measure of risk aversion, found that higher levels of testosterone were associated with a greater appetite for risk in women, but not among men. However, in men and women with similar levels of testosterone, the gender difference in risk aversion disappeared. Additionally, the researchers reported that the link between risk aversion and testosterone predicted career choices after graduation: individuals who were high in testosterone and low in risk aversion chose riskier careers in finance. [...]

Overall, men exhibited significantly lower risk aversion than women in the study, and also had significantly higher levels of salivary testosterone than women.

In other words, the levels of testosterone that men routinely have, lead to increased risk taking, compared to the levels of testosterone that women usually have. Women who have higher than normal levels of testosterone, approach the risk taking behavior of men, simply by having increased levels of this hormone.

This is not to say that there aren’t a range  of other factors that can increase or decrease risk taking, but those factors in no way detract from the result of the researchers.

Additionally, the study demonstrated that prenatal levels of testosterone, which are much higher in boys, have an impact on risk aversion later in life:

A similar relationship between risk aversion and testosterone was also found using markers of prenatal testosterone exposure.

At this point in time, it is irresponsible to maintain the claim that sex differences are completely, or for the most part, socially constructed. There are a number of cutting edge research fields that provide us with ample proof that innate sex differences not only exist, but are substantial:

1. Mapping brain structure and function using new imaging techniques such as PET (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
2. Studying the behavior of newborns or infants
3. Studies from the field of evolutionary psychology
4. Cross-cultural studies
5. Research that connects innate biological differences to specific behaviors (such as testosterone levels and risk taking)

Common sense has always informed us that men and women are different from the day they are born, and during the past couple of decades, science has finally caught with that insight.

Pelle Billing is an M.D. who writes and lectures about men’s issues and gender liberation beyond feminism.

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/09/10/risk-aversion-strongly-correlated-to-testosterone-levels/feed/ 3 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/09/07/green-tea-aging-lifespan/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/09/07/green-tea-aging-lifespan/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:19:29 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=87126

Health Report:

Green Tea, Aging & Lifespan

---

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

Updated:  09/07/2009

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

GREEN TEA, AGING & LIFESPAN

Many health claims have been made for green tea, and as with the vast majority of over-hyped fad foods and nutritional supplements, the majority of such claims will, inevitably, turn out to be overstated or false.  However, recent and ongoing clinical research continues to suggest that, at least in the laboratory environment, key chemical components of green tea (catechins) may indeed have potentially beneficial health properties.  Specifically, research in the areas of cardiovascular health and cancer prevention have suggested that green tea catechins might actually be able to decrease the risk of these two top killers, although, in the interest of remaining objective, not all research in these areas has been uniformly favorable.

Now, a newly published public health study of elderly Chinese adults suggests that increased green tea intake, at least in elderly Chinese men, may be associated with a potential increase in lifespan.  In this epidemiological study, just published in the British Journal of Nutrition, a total of 976 men and 1,030 women aged 65 and older were initially evaluated in 2006.  In addition to daily food intake questionnaires, the blood of these research volunteers was tested for telomere length, in an effort to identify any dietary or other lifestyle factors that might be associated with lifespan-lengthening preservation of telomere length.

Telomeres can be thought of as protective “caps” at the ends of every chromosome in our body.  With every division of the cells of our body, small pieces of our telomeres are lost.  After a certain number of cell divisions, our cells lose their protective telomeres and die.  This cumulative process of telomere loss and cell death (senescence), over the course of our lives, is thought to directly determine the potential lifespan of humans and other creatures, and has also been implicated in the process whereby many cancer cells become “immortalized.”  In addition to aging (due to cumulative telomere loss with each cell division), inflammation and other biochemical stresses (including increased dietary fat intake) on our bodies can also prematurely shorten the length of telomeres in our cells, resulting in a shortened lifespan and an increased risk of developing cancer (and, perhaps, an increased risk of cardiovascular disease as well).  Interestingly, the rate of telomere loss appears to be more rapid in men, and this is thought to be one of the most important biological factors underlying the generally shorter lifespan of men, compared to women.

Scientists can actually roughly estimate a person’s age by measuring the length of telomeres in their blood cells.  Moreover, variations in telomere length between individuals can also be used as a rough guide to potential differences in lifespan between such individuals.  In this innovative public health study, differences in telomere length among the 2,006 elderly research volunteers participating in this study were then matched to variations in the diets and lifestyles of these Chinese patients.

After adjusting for other health, lifestyle, and nutritional factors known to be associated with telomere length, the scientists conducting this study determined that a high level of green tea consumption was associated with longer telomeres in elderly Chinese men.  After measuring the average difference in telomere length between men who consumed the most green tea and those who consumed the least, the researchers calculated a potential lifespan difference of 5 year between these two groups of men (the effects of green tea length on telomere length in the elderly Chinese women was less significant in this study, however).  The researchers also determined that increased dietary fat and oil intake was also associated with a decrease in the length of telomeres in women (as has been noted in both men and women in previous studies, particularly in association with meat intake).

Therefore, in summary, the frequent consumption of green tea appears to be linked with longer telomere length, at least in elderly Chinese men.  This finding suggests that, on average, such men may be approximately 5 years “younger,” physiologically speaking, than their same-aged counterparts who rarely drink green tea!

This study, unfortunately, did not identify the same telomere protective effect for green tea in elderly Chinese women, although this finding does not exclude the possibility that women may also derive similar benefit from regular green tea consumption.  As it is already known that males lose telomere length more rapidly than females over the course of their lives, the gender-based differences in telomere length preservation observed in this study may arise from green tea catechins’ reversal of male-specific causes of increased telomere shortening, although this has not yet been scientifically confirmed.  (I should also add that Vitamin D, which has recently gained a great deal of research attention in the areas of cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well, has also been associated with telomere length preservation.)

I will delve much more deeply into the potential cancer prevention roles of green tea catechins and Vitamin D in my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” which is due to be published in early 2010.

---

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

---

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

---

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

---

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

---

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

---

http://doctorwascher.com

---

Copyright 2007 – 2009

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

8-30-2009: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diet & Fiber

8-23-2009: Update on Prostate Cancer and Cryotherapy

8-16-2009: Exercise Improves Lymphedema Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009:  Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

---

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/09/07/green-tea-aging-lifespan/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/22/update-on-prostate-cancer-and-cryotherapy/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/22/update-on-prostate-cancer-and-cryotherapy/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:17:11 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86847  

 

 

 

Health Report:

 

 

  

Update on Prostate Cancer and Cryotherapy

 

---

 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

 

Updated:  08/23/2009

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

 

 

UPDATE ON PROSTATE CANCER AND CRYOTHERAPY

 

The prostate gland is a walnut-sized gland that is attached to the bottom of the bladder deep in the male pelvis.  The prostate gland wraps around the male urethra as it arises from the bladder, and several ducts that run between the prostate gland and the urethra allow the prostatic secretions to be expelled into the urethra at the time of ejaculation.  These prostatic secretions, which constitute about 20 percent of the volume of semen, help to create the optimal chemical environment for sperm to thrive and migrate within the female genital tract, thereby enhancing sperm function. 

 

 

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer that occurs in men, and the second most common cause of cancer death in men. In 2009, an estimated 192,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and approximately 27,000 men will die of this disease.  Prostate cancer afflicts 1 out of every 6 American men during their lifetimes, and accounts for 25 percent of all cancer diagnoses in men (similar to the percentage of breast cancer cases among all cancer cases diagnosed in women).  As with the great majority of breast cancer cases, most prostate cancers appear to be stimulated to grow and spread by sex hormones produced by the gonads (and, specifically, by testosterone and other androgens produced by the testes, and by other tissues in the body). 

 

 

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the emergence of cryoablation as a treatment for prostate cancer (Cryoablation and Prostate Cancer). Cryoablation uses slender probes to freeze tumors and surrounding normal tissue, and has been proposed as an alternative to surgery or radiation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer. In July of 2008, I noted that, in most respects, cryoablation appeared to compare favorably with surgery and radiation therapy, although the incidence of impotence appeared to be much higher with cryoablation than with standard prostate cancer treatments. I also noted, at the time, that there was no prospective, randomized clinical research data available with which to make a credible and direct comparison between cryoablation and other more established treatments for prostate cancer. Now, a new prospective, randomized clinical research trial comparing cryoablation with radiation therapy has reported its early results in the journal Cancer.

 

 

In this Canadian study, 244 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer localized to the prostate gland were randomly assigned to undergo either standard external beam radiation treatment or cyroablation. These volunteers with prostate cancer were then followed for 3 years after completing their treatment. Because it is still too early to draw conclusions about cancer recurrence and survival in this group of prostate cancer patients, this preliminary report addresses quality-of-life issues related to these two forms of cancer therapy.

 

 

The men who underwent cryoablation reported more difficulties with urination than the men who were treated with radiation early after treatment, although these symptoms resolved over time. The cryotherapy group also reported significantly higher rates of long-term impotence when compared with the men who received radiation therapy. In fact, 3 years after treatment, there was a 13 percent greater incidence of moderate-to-severe sexual dysfunction among the cryotherapy group of men when compared to the radiation therapy group. 

 

 

The preliminary results of this prospective, randomized clinical research trial suggest that the main long-term quality-of-life difference between cryotherapy and radiation therapy is a significantly greater incidence of long-term sexual dysfunction following cryotherapy. 

 

 

As I concluded in my last update of cryotherapy for prostate cancer treatment, one year ago, the long-term benefits and risks of this form of treatment are not fully understood at this time, as we lack mature long-term prospective, randomized clinical research data with which to make prudent decisions about this treatment modality. Aside from a higher incidence of sexual dysfunction following cryotherapy, it is still too soon to tell if the long-term survival outcomes with cryotherapy will compare favorably with radiation therapy and surgery. Therefore, for now, I can only recommend cryotherapy for prostate cancer if it is performed within an approved clinical research trial. Stay tuned for further updates on this topic as they become available.

 

---

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

  

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

http://doctorwascher.com

 

Copyright 2007 – 2009

  

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

  

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

 

8-16-2009: Exercise Improves Lymphedema Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

 

 

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/22/update-on-prostate-cancer-and-cryotherapy/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/15/exercise-improves-lymphedema-symptoms-in-breast-cancer-survivors/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/15/exercise-improves-lymphedema-symptoms-in-breast-cancer-survivors/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:23:11 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86755  

 

 

 

Health Report:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise Improves Lymphedema Symptoms

in Breast Cancer Survivors

 

---

 

 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 

 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

Last Updated: 8/16/2009

 

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

EXERCISE IMPROVES LYMPHEDEMA SYMPTOMS IN

BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS

 

Arm lymphedema, or chronic swelling of the arm, occurs in 10 to 30 percent of women following treatment for breast cancer.  When the lymphatic drainage network in the arm has been disrupted by the surgical removal of armpit lymph nodes by the surgeon, or by radiation therapy to the armpit area (or, sometimes, following both types of treatment), the delicate network of lymphatic vessels that return excess tissue fluid back to the heart can become obstructed. This lymphatic obstruction can result in chronic swelling of the hand and arm.  Patients with significant lymphedema of the arm following breast cancer treatment may experience considerable swelling (edema), heaviness, stiffness and discomfort of the affected hand and arm.

 

Physicians caring for breast cancer patients have traditionally advised against heavy lifting following breast cancer surgery, for fear that doing so might increase arm lymphedema.  However, a new prospective randomized clinical research study calls into question the traditional advice against vigorous exercise involving the upper extremities, including lifting weights as a strengthening exercise.

 

This new study, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, included 141 breast cancer survivors with chronic lymphedema.  These women were divided into two groups, with a “treatment” group randomized to twice-weekly progressive weight training and a “control” group of women who were randomized to no weight training.  All of the women participating in this study were followed for one year, at the end of which the degree of arm lymphedema was reassessed.  Of note, all of the women who were randomized to the weight training group were required to wear custom-fitted compression garments when they were lifting weights.

 

Not surprisingly, the women who participated in regular weight training reported significant improvement in upper and lower body strength during the course of this research study.  Moreover, at the end of one year, both the patients and a certified lymphedema specialist reported a significant decrease in the severity and frequency of lymphedema symptoms among the patients who were randomized to the weight-lifting group.  At the same time, twice weekly weightlifting sessions had no significant effect on the extent of arm and hand swelling among these women with chronic lymphedema.

 

The results of this clinical study are good news for breast cancer survivors with chronic lymphedema.  Physicians who care for such patients should all be made aware of the results of this research study, and they should begin encouraging their lymphedema patients to engage in regular weight training (provided, of course, that there are no health issues that preclude lifting weights).  Not only does regular weight training appear to decrease the severity and frequency of lymphedema symptoms (based upon the findings of this study), but the added health advantages of such training also include increased strength and a decreased risk of osteoporosis as well.

---

 

 

 Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

  

 

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

 

 

 

http://doctorwascher.com

 

 

 

Copyright 2007 – 2009

 

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

All rights reserved

---

 

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

 

---

 

Arm lymphedema, or chronic swelling of the arm, occurs in 10 to 30 percent of women following treatment for breast cancer.  When the lymphatic drainage network in the arm has been disrupted by the surgical removal of armpit lymph nodes by the surgeon, or by radiation therapy to the armpit area (or, sometimes, following both types of treatment), the delicate network of lymphatic vessels that return excess tissue fluid back to the heart can become obstructed. This lymphatic obstruction can result in chronic swelling of the hand and arm. Patients with significant lymphedema of the arm following breast cancer treatment may experience considerable swelling (edema), heaviness, stiffness and discomfort of the affected hand and arm.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

 Dr. Wascher’s Biography

 Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

 

http://doctorwascher.com

 

 

Copyright 2007 – 2009

 

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

8-9-2009:   Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

 

---

---

---

---

---

---

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

---

The results of this clinical study are good news for breast cancer survivors with chronic lymphedema. Physicians who care for such patients should all be made aware of the results of this research study, and they should begin encouraging their lymphedema patients to engage in regular weight training (provided, of course, that there are no health issues that preclude lifting weights). Not only does regular weight training appear to decrease the severity and frequency of lymphedema symptoms (based upon the findings of this study), but the added health advantages of such training also include increased strength and a decreased risk of osteoporosis as well.

Not surprisingly, the women who participated in regular weight training reported significant improvement in upper and lower body strength during the course of this research study. Moreover, at the end of one year, both the patients and a certified lymphedema specialist reported a significant decrease in the severity and frequency of lymphedema symptoms among the patients who were randomized to the weight-lifting group. At the same time, twice weekly weightlifting sessions had no significant effect on the extent of arm and hand swelling among these women with chronic lymphedema.

This new study, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, included 141 breast cancer survivors with chronic lymphedema. These women were divided into two groups, with a “treatment” group randomized to twice-weekly progressive weight training and a “control” group of women who were randomized to no weight training. All of the women participating in this study were followed for one year, at the end of which the degree of arm lymphedema was reassessed. Of note, all of the women who were randomized to the weight training group were required to wear custom-fitted compression garments when they were lifting weights.

Physicians caring for breast cancer patients have traditionally advised against heavy lifting following breast cancer surgery, for fear that doing so might increase arm lymphedema. However, a new prospective randomized clinical research study calls into question the traditional advice against vigorous exercise involving the upper extremities, including lifting weights as a strengthening exercise.

 

Updated:  08/16/2009

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/15/exercise-improves-lymphedema-symptoms-in-breast-cancer-survivors/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/11/monogamy-is-not-natural-but-is-ideal/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/11/monogamy-is-not-natural-but-is-ideal/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:12:29 +0000 Denise Noe http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86702 The following letter to the editor that I wrote was recently published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We may disapprove of politicians getting into sex scandals, but we should not be shocked, regardless of the person’s moral beliefs. The simple truth is that monogamy is not a natural state for humans of either gender. Millions of years of natural selection mean that the human male is biologically programmed to spread seed, and the human female, biologically programmed to diversify it. We can rise above our biological tendencies, but we should not be too surprised when people act on them.

Some people took the above letter as promoting polygamy or at least the practice of having multiple sexual partners. It does no such thing. The truth is that monogamous marriage is a good ideal and should remain the ideal. For one thing, while monogamy is not a natural state for either men or women, jealousy comes naturally to both. If a person is in a committed relationship, respect and caring for the partner often means adopting the discipline of fidelity. Additionally, adherence to monogamy keeps down the rates of sexually transmitted diseases, problem pregnancies, and children raised in unstable situations.

What is natural is often not ideal and should not be what we strive to do.

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/11/monogamy-is-not-natural-but-is-ideal/feed/ 6 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/08/breast-cancer-recurrence-death-vitamin-d/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/08/breast-cancer-recurrence-death-vitamin-d/#comments Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:06:03 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86678  

 

 

 

Health Report:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death & Vitamin D

 

---

 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

 

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

 

 

BREAST CANCER RECURRENCE, DEATH & VITAMIN D

 

 

Based upon recent clinical research findings, Vitamin D is the only remaining vitamin that may have significant cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention properties. Recent large-scale prospective randomized clinical research trials have not only failed to identify a cancer prevention role (beyond a healthy balanced diet) for Vitamin E, Vitamin C, folate, and beta-carotene (a member of the Vitamin A family) supplements, but data from these trials have strongly suggested an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, at least in some sub-groups of patients, with supplements of several of these vitamins. 

 

Alas, as is typically the case with public health studies, the clinical data regarding Vitamin D is not without inconsistency, and the data on Vitamin D and cancer incidence has not been uniformly positive, either. However, multiple recent epidemiological and prospective clinical research studies have at least suggested that low levels of Vitamin D in our bodies may, in fact, be associated with a higher risk of developing certain cancers (look for a more comprehensive review of the data on Vitamin D and cancer prevention in my forthcoming book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race”). Moreover, decreased blood levels of Vitamin D also appear to be linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease as well.

 

Now, a newly published prospective clinical research trial suggests that decreased levels of Vitamin D in the blood appears to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence, and death due to breast cancer, in women previously diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. In this study, which has just been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 512 women with early-stage breast cancer, diagnosed between 1989 and 1996, were prospectively followed for an average of nearly 12 years. Blood was routinely collected from all women following their diagnosis of breast cancer, as a part of this clinical research trial. The women were then closely followed for recurrence of their breast cancer, and for death due to breast cancer and other causes.

 

As with other similar studies, a surprisingly large number of these otherwise healthy women were discovered to have decreased levels of Vitamin D in their blood. In 38 percent of these women, Vitamin D levels were significantly below normal levels, while another 39 percent of these women had mildly decreased levels of circulating Vitamin D. Among these 512 women, 116 experienced metastatic recurrence of their breast cancer during the course of this prospective clinical study, while 87 women died with evidence of recurrent breast cancer. 

 

The results of this prospective clinical study were rather compelling. The 10-year survival rates for these women with early-stage breast cancer varied significantly according to the level of Vitamin D in their blood. Survival at 10 years following breast cancer diagnosis was 74 percent, 85 percent, and 85 percent for women with significantly deficient, mildly deficient, and normal Vitamin D levels, respectively. Based upon the analysis of all of the data from this study, breast cancer patients with a significant deficiency of Vitamin D were observed to be almost twice as likely (71 percent increased risk) to experience a recurrence of their breast cancer, and they were 60 percent more likely to die, when compared to the patients who had normal levels of Vitamin D in their blood.

 

Although this clinical study included relatively few patients, it does, nonetheless, raise the possibility that a significant deficiency of Vitamin D may be associated with a worse prognosis in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Another related finding in this study was that very low levels of Vitamin D also appeared to be associated with breast tumors with more aggressive features when examined under the microscope, which is consistent with other studies that have suggested a link between “high grade” breast tumors and decreased blood levels of Vitamin D. At the same time, as I have already mentioned, the available data regarding Vitamin D levels (and the use of Vitamin D supplements) has not been consistent, and other clinical studies have failed to identify a link between Vitamin D and breast cancer risk. There is also some experimental data available suggesting that very high levels of Vitamin D in the blood may also be associated with poorer outcomes in women with breast cancer (similar findings have also been reported for excessive Vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease outcomes). Taken together, the data from these various studies strongly suggest that there may be a fairly narrow “optimal range” of Vitamin D levels in the blood that are associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer, a decreased risk of breast cancer recurrence (and death), and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease; and that excessively high or low levels of this vitamin may have adverse health effects in these areas.

 

The next obvious step is to conduct larger prospective clinical research trials that secretly randomize patient volunteers to receive various doses of Vitamin D, versus placebo (sugar) pills. There are several such studies already underway (or about to start), involving both cancer patients and patients without cancers. However, it will likely take another 10 years for mature data to emerge from these ongoing studies. Meanwhile, my advice is to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet. If you are a breast or prostate or colorectal cancer survivor, or if you have one or more risk factors for these cancers (or for cardiovascular disease), then you may also want to ask your physician to measure the level of active Vitamin D in your blood. If you are significantly deficient in Vitamin D, then your physician might consider the possibility of Vitamin D supplementation in conjunction with careful serial monitoring of your Vitamin D levels.

 

---

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

 

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

 

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

 

 

 

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

 

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

http://doctorwascher.com

 

Copyright 2009

  

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

  

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

8-2-2009:   Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

Updated:  08/09/2009

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/08/breast-cancer-recurrence-death-vitamin-d/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/02/honesty-dishonesty-brain-function/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/02/honesty-dishonesty-brain-function/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:15:50 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86596  

Health Report:

 

 

Honesty, Dishonesty & Brain Function

 

---

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

 

 

 

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

 

HONESTY, DISHONESTY & BRAIN FUNCTION

The related moral issues of honesty and dishonesty have been debated for thousands of years by philosophers and theologians, with an abundance of resulting theories about how people ultimately decide to confront moral quandaries in their lives. While virtually all of us will resort to at least modest acts of dishonesty from time-to-time, some of us, clearly, are more prone than others to engaging in deceptive and dishonest behaviors on a more frequent basis.

While some people, doubtless, engage in repeated acts of immoral, dishonest, or criminal behavior due to underlying mental illness or personality disorders, most of us routinely decline opportunities to behave dishonestly in our daily lives. However, some among us, including those without recognizable mental health problems, are somewhat more “morally flexible.” While the factors that help to determine the moral choices that we make as individuals are decidedly complex and nuanced, neuroscientists and behavioral experts are using new functional imaging tools to try and better understand which areas of the brain are activated when we engage in thought processes related to moral decision-making.

Functional MRI, a relatively new and powerful imaging technique, combines exquisitely detailed images of the brain with information regarding increased blood flow to specific areas of the brain. This melding of anatomic and metabolic information about the brain allows scientists to identify discrete areas of the brain that are activated while patients or research subjects are participating in specific behavioral tasks or thought processes. 

A new clinical research study from Harvard University, just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a fascinating new look at how the human brain approaches moral dilemmas during both “honest” and “dishonest” behaviors. In this study, volunteers were confronted with opportunities for modest financial gain, which could be maximized through dishonest behavior.

In this study, participants were asked to predict the outcome of random, repeated coin flips simulated on a computer. These research subjects were then compensated according to the number of their correct predictions (i.e., “heads” or “tails”), based upon self-reporting of the accuracy of their predictions. A “control group” of participants underwent functional MRI scans too, but they were required to provide all of their predictions (i.e., their guesses) of the outcome of the simulated coin flips in advance, thus removing any incentive to behave dishonestly. The remaining research volunteers were allowed to self-report their predictions after they had completed the coin flip exercise, which offered them an obvious opportunity for cheating. It should also be noted that the maximum available compensation offered was only $75. 

Functional MRI scans of the brain were performed on all of these research volunteers as they completed these tasks. Not surprisingly, more than a few of these research volunteers reported predictions that far exceeded the statistical possibility of guessing which side of the simulated coin would appear with each random coin flip, indicating widespread dishonesty among these participants.

When the results of the functional MRI scans were compared among the different groups within this study, some very interesting results were obtained. When compared to the control group of volunteers, the brain function of the participants who refrained from trying to deceive the investigators showed no evidence of activation of the higher cognitive centers of the brain that are known to play a role in judgment and moral decision-making. On the other hand, the brain function of the volunteers who behaved dishonestly revealed a completely different pattern of activity in the brain’s “judgment” centers, in the prefrontal cortex, when compared to the control group of volunteers. Among the research participants who displayed evidence of dishonesty, the prefrontal cortex’s judgment and control centers were activated when this group engaged in deception related to their coin flip predictions. Moreover, the degree of increased metabolic activity in these decision-making areas of the brain was proportional to the number of times that each participant engaged in deceptive behavior. A particularly fascinating result of this clinical study was that even when the “dishonest group” of volunteers momentarily refrained from engaging in acts of dishonesty, these same judgment and moral authority centers in the prefrontal cortex of the brain were still activated.

While the findings of this study cannot answer any of the philosophical, moral, and spiritual questions regarding why some people choose dishonesty over honesty, the results of this intriguing study provide important insights into how the moral decision-making and judgment centers of the brain may behave differently in people who routinely choose to behave dishonestly (and, particularly when some form of gain is potentially available) when compared to those who regularly resist such temptations.

The authors of this study point out two of the prevailing theories in cognitive psychology regarding how humans approach temptation, and regarding our readiness to either refrain from or engage in dishonest behaviors in hopes of gaining something valuable in return. According to the so-called “Grace Hypothesis,” honest behavior results because honest people do not perceive any temptation to behave dishonestly. A competing theory, the “Will Hypothesis,” states that honest behavior results from the active, intentional resistance of perceived temptation to behave dishonestly. Thus, the findings of this clinical study would appear to better support the “Grace Hypothesis” for the more honest volunteers, in that the judgment and moral decision-making centers in the brains of the volunteers who behaved honestly were not activated when these participants were offered an opportunity to increase their compensation by being dishonest. On the other hand, these same “executive function” centers in the prefrontal cortex of the participants who were dishonest lit up whether these people were behaving honestly or dishonestly, and could therefore suggest that the “Will Hypothesis” was more applicable to people who are intrinsically more predisposed to behave dishonestly when they perceive some potential gain (however small) from doing so.

While this study does not resolve the ages-old debate regarding what keeps “honest people honest” and “dishonest people dishonest,” it does offer a fascinating window into the divergent brain function of people who appear to occupy either category. It remains to be discovered, however, why people who are prone to behaving dishonestly do so in the first place, when the prevailing norm is virtually every culture and society throughout the world strongly favors honesty over dishonesty.

 

---

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

---

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

---

 

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

---

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

---

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

---

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

---

http://doctorwascher.com

---

 

Copyright 2009

  

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

  

All rights reserved

---

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

7-26-2009: Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

Updated:  08/02/2009

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/08/02/honesty-dishonesty-brain-function/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/25/coronary-artery-ct-scans-cancer-risk/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/25/coronary-artery-ct-scans-cancer-risk/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:08:34 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86484  

 

Health Report:

 

 

 

 

Coronary Artery CT Scans & Cancer Risk

 

---

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

CORONARY ARTERY CT SCANS & CANCER RISK

 

It has been estimated by experts that up to 2 percent of all cancer cases are caused by exposure to medical x-ray tests. Although it is believed that there is no completely safe level of exposure to x-rays, it is well known that exposure to increasing doses of x-rays, as well as undergoing repeated x-ray examinations, increases the risk of cancer formation. 

 

The increasing use of CT scanners (which can expose patients to significant doses of radiation) to screen asymptomatic patients for coronary artery disease has been a source of growing concern among many cancer experts. While the detection of coronary artery calcifications and coronary artery narrowing (stenosis) on multi-detector CT scanners are powerful predictors of future cardiac disease events, it remains unclear, at this time, whether or not this approach to coronary artery disease screening offers any significant clinical benefits to otherwise asymptomatic patients.

 

A newly published clinical research study, which appears in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, further quantifies the potential cancer risk associated with the use CT scans to screen for coronary artery disease.

 

Because there are no nationally standardized protocols for CT scan cardiac screening examinations, the authors of this study considered several commonly used CT scan protocols, and then calculated the actual dose of radiation delivered to patients with each of these scan protocols. Using long-term data derived from Japanese atomic bomb survivors, the researchers then estimated the added cancer risk to patients receiving coronary artery screening CT scans.

 

One important (and concerning) finding from this study is that radiation doses delivered to patients vary by more than 10-fold among the different CT scan protocols in common use throughout the United States. 

 

Based upon existing screening recommendations, the authors calculated the added cancer risk associated with adult patients undergoing coronary artery screening CT scans every 5 years between the ages of 45 and 75 years for men, and every 5 years between the ages of 55 and 75 years for women. Using the very conservative assumption that all patients are exposed to a dose of radiation equivalent to the average of all commonly used CT scan protocols, the authors calculated that the lifetime increased incidence of cancer was 4.2 new cases of cancer per 10,000 men, and 6.2 new cases of cancer per 10,000 women. Based upon the known effects of radiation to the organs contained in the chest area, approximately 71 percent of the cancer cases caused by CT scans of the heart would be in the form of lung cancer, while 20 percent of these “excess” cancers would be breast cancers induced in women. Another 12 percent of these radiation-induced cancers would be in the form of leukemia in men, while 4 percent of these otherwise preventable cancers would manifest as leukemia in women.

 

Unfortunately, there is currently no scientific consensus regarding the clinical benefit, if any, of using CT scanners to detect coronary artery disease in asymptomatic patients, as there is no high level clinical research data available to prove that this screening approach reduces cardiac disease events, or cardiac-associated deaths. Therefore, all that can be confidently said, at this time, about the routine use of CT scans to screen for coronary artery disease is that it is, undoubtedly, associated with a small but not insignificant risk of otherwise preventable cancers. Moreover, when you consider that the authors of this study used very conservative estimates regarding absorbed radiation doses in patients undergoing coronary artery screening, the actual cancer risk associated with many of cardiac screening CT scan protocols in current use is probably significantly higher than what this study predicts.

 

In my own case, I underwent two separate CT scans, to assess for both coronary artery calcifications and coronary artery narrowing (stenosis), as part of a “VIP Physical” in 2006. At the time, there was great enthusiasm for the routine use of CT scanners for this purpose. However, based upon the available data (including the data from this study), I have recently decided that I will not undergo any additional heart screening CT scans until and unless compelling clinical data comes along to suggest that the benefit from such scans outweighs their potential risks. If you have been considering undergoing a routine cardiac screening CT scan, my advice is to first discuss the data contained in this clinical study with your Internist or Cardiologist, and ask them to clarify both the potential risks and benefits, in your particular case, of undergoing a coronary artery screening CT scan. 

 

Meanwhile more research is needed to clarify what, if any, health benefits can be reasonably claimed for routine coronary artery screening CT scans in asymptomatic patients. Finally, in view of the immense variation in radiation doses associated with the various CT scanning protocols in common use today, professional radiology societies and boards should quickly work to reach a consensus on standardizing these protocols in such a way that unnecessary radiation exposure is minimized.

---

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

---

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

---

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

---

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

---

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

---

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

---

http://doctorwascher.com

---

Copyright 2009

 

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

All rights reserved

---

 

Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

7-19-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009:  Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

 

 

 

Updated:  07/26/2009

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/25/coronary-artery-ct-scans-cancer-risk/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/liberal-progressive-scientism-vs-religious-faith/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/liberal-progressive-scientism-vs-religious-faith/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:28:44 +0000 Thomas Brewton http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86412 Believing themselves to be guided solely by science, liberal-progressives swallow whole banquets of contradictory and unprovable hypotheses.

Liberal-progressivism’s mantra is that only logical positivism has a place in public discussion. Logical positivism is defined, in part, to exclude any proposition outside the realm of mathematics or outside of assertions that can be validated by reference to material things within the sensual perception of humans.

The human soul is considered not to exist, and spiritual inquires are dismissed as ignorance.

Spiritual religion, therefore, is excluded from public discussion and is dismissed as inadmissible for legal argument. Nor are moral values emanating from spiritual religion acceptable to liberal-progressives as valid criteria for public standards.

When a recognized scientist professes spiritual religious faith, the liberal-progressive community therefore reacts to expel him. An example of that exclusion is described in Ken Connor’s essay.

Is this dichotomy warranted?

All scientists, I believe it safe to say, accept mathematics as scientifically valid. Yet mathematics, in its higher branches, deals in a world of logic altogether outside the purview of tangible materiality. Even in high-school-level mathematics one encounters contradictory concepts such as square roots of negative numbers. This is particularly true in the world of nuclear particle physics and force fields, where whole schools of theory are based on unproved ideas such as string theory.

Scientists seeking ultimate answers to the origin, nature, and future of the cosmos have pursued a long series of mutually exclusive, speculative theories.  Liberals embrace these speculations as scientific truth, even though they have less basis in verifiable fact than 5,000 years of faith in God recorded in the Bible.

World history and pre-historical archaeology are scientific data. They record actual events involving real, tangible people. Moreover, these data tell us that all human societies, from tribal levels to national states, have, until the late 18th century, been founded upon paradigms of spiritual religion. Only since the French Revolution of 1789 and, more fully, since 1917 with the advent of the Soviet Union have political states been founded upon secular materiality. However bad some rulers may have been in earlier eras, none of them comes close to the mass brutality and savage slaughter of tens of millions of human beings exacted by the liberal-progressive political state.

?Outside politics, scientists have repeatedly come up against natural phenomena and laws of nature that are inexplicably contradictory. What exists seemingly could exist only in the mind of an all-powerful Creator God who makes laws of nature beyond the fathoming of human reason.

Every attempt to date to unify cosmological and nuclear particle theories has foundered on newly observed, unreconcilable, opposing sets of facts.  Seeking to bridge these gaps, cosmologists, nuclear particle physicists, and mathematicians have drifted far into the realm of abstract speculation. 

Science at the outer limits of knowledge, both at the cosmological and sub-atomic levels, has come increasingly to resemble the speculations of medieval scholastic philosophers dealing in doctrinal abstractions. 

Subatomic particles, found and unfound, and cosmological theories with strange names abound: bubble universe, worm holes, cold dark matter, big bang theory, string theory, superstrings, domain walls, great attractors, mini-black holes, Higgs fields, inflationary universe theory, leptons, bosons, muons, neutrinos, quarks, supergravity, tauons, supersymetry, etc. 

Existence of some of these is verifiable.  In other cases they are abstract theoretical concepts that attempt to explain inconsistencies in other theories, concepts that cannot be verified in the world we inhabit because the accelerators needed to produce sufficient energy would be larger than the earth, or because the predicted phenomena have never been found.

Liberal-progressives, nonetheless, accept any and all of these abstract and contradictory hypotheses, because they are said by mainstream media gate keepers to be scientific. Liberal-progressives, cocooned in their self-congratulatory religion of socialist materiality, see no contradiction between such speculation and the supposedly fact-based, empirical, inductive, scientific methodology of logical positivism.  Nor do they recognize the hypocrisy in championing these contradictions while denouncing 5,000 years of documented historical experience that supports the existence of God and the human soul.

The point is, not that we should dismiss scientific inquiry, but that only spiritual religious introspection, represented for religious Jews and Christians in the Bible, is a valid basis for standards of social conduct. God reveals His wishes for humanity through the Holy Spirit working in individual lives, not in particle accelerators or petri dishes.

Thomas E. Brewton is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. The New Media Alliance is a non-profit (501c3) national coalition of writers, journalists and grass-roots media outlets.

His weblog is THE VIEW FROM 1776
http://www.thomasbrewton.com/

Email comments to viewfrom1776@thomasbrewton.com

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/liberal-progressive-scientism-vs-religious-faith/feed/ 0 http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/hormone-replacement-therapy-hrt-ovarian-cancer/ http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/hormone-replacement-therapy-hrt-ovarian-cancer/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:29:33 +0000 Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS http://mensnewsdaily.com/?p=86409  

 

 

Health Report:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Ovarian Cancer

 

---

 

 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 

 

 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

Updated:  07/19/2009

---

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

---

 

 

 

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT) & OVARIAN CANCER

 

 

By now, regular readers of this column already know that combination hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs, which have been taken by millions of postmenopausal women since World War II, have been unequivocally linked to a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer and heart disease (see my other columns on this topic, if you are not yet aware of these findings from the seminal Women’s Health Initiative Study).  Now, a new prospective public health study from Denmark, which has just been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, strongly suggests that the risk of ovarian cancer may also be significantly increased by chronic HRT use.

 

In this newly published study, all Danish women between the ages of 50 and 79 years were followed between 1995 and 2005, using prospective public health databases. Altogether, a whopping 909,946 women were included in this study’s analysis.

 

After an average follow-up duration of 8 years, 3,068 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed. Using a national pharmacy registry, the researchers conducting this study were able to review all of the medications previously and currently taken by the nearly 1 million women who were included in this public health study.

 

When compared to women who had never used HRT, current users of HRT experienced a 38 percent increase in the incidence of ovarian cancer. Among women who had previously used HRT, the risk of developing ovarian cancer decreased with each passing year after discontinuing HRT. Within two years of discontinuing HRT, the risk of developing ovarian cancer had returned to the same level that was observed among women in the general population who had never used HRT. Interestingly, unlike the current data linking combination HRT with breast cancer, the increased risk of developing ovarian cancer with HRT use was associated with both combination HRT and with estrogen-only HRT.

 

Ovarian cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer, with approximately 22,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. Therefore, ovarian cancer accounts for fewer that 1.5 percent of all diagnosed cancers, overall, and approximately 3 percent of all cancers occurring in women. However, ovarian cancer is a fairly lethal disease, with a nearly 70 percent mortality rate based upon 2009 statistics from the American Cancer Society. Thus, even a relatively modest increase in the risk of developing ovarian cancer translates into a potentially significant number of deaths from this disease.   (The authors of this study calculated that one woman would go on to develop a preventable case of ovarian cancer for every year of HRT taken within a group of 8,330 women.) When the researchers applied these findings to the incidence of ovarian cancer in Denmark, they concluded that approximately 5 percent of the total number of cases of ovarian cancer in Denmark could be linked to the use of HRT.

 

Another finding of particular interest in this study was that the use of estrogen skin patches (transdermal HRT) and vaginal estrogen creams were also associated with a mild increase in the risk of developing ovarian cancer. I point this finding out, as there are advocates of these alternative forms of HRT who claim that they are not associated with any known cancer risk, unlike the more common oral forms of HRT. 

 

Thus, this enormous prospective public health study strongly suggests that HRT use, of any type, is associated with a small but potentially significant increase in the risk of developing ovarian cancer (unlike, I might add, low-dose oral contraceptive medications, which have been linked to a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer). On the other hand, the increased risk of ovarian cancer associated with HRT appears to essentially disappear approximately two years after discontinuation of HRT.

 

This is not the first clinical research study linking HRT to an increased risk of ovarian cancer, and the findings of this huge study further underscore the potentially adverse effects of HRT on a woman’s health. (Although this was not a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, the huge number of patients included in this study adds considerable statistical power to its findings.)  Indeed, since the ominous findings of the prematurely terminated Women’s Health Initiative Study were first revealed in 2002, I have counseled my own patients to avoid HRT if at all possible.

 

(Note:  The post-World War II marketing history for HRT is a fascinating but disturbing story of drug company hubris and the collective complicity of much of the mainstream medical profession, and it is a cautionary tale that I will be telling in a new book, due to be published at the end of 2010.)

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

---

 

 

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a widely published author, and a Surgical Oncologist at the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in Orange County, California

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

(Anticipated Publication Date:  March 2010)

 

 

(Click above image for TV36 interview of Dr. Wascher)

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send your feedback to Dr. Wascher at:  

 

 

rwascher@doctorwascher.net

---

 

Dr. Wascher’s Biography

Links to Other Health & Wellness Sites

http://doctorwascher.com

 

Copyright 2009

  

Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

  

All rights reserved

---

 Dr. Wascher’s Archives:

7-12-2009: Breast Cancer & Metformin (Glucophage)

7-5-2009:   Prostate Cancer & Green Tea

6-28-2009: Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)

6-21-2009: Red Yeast Rice, Statins & Cholesterol

6-14-2009: Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

6-7-2009:   Diet, Soy & Breast Cancer Risk

5-31-2009: Diet and Prostate Cancer Risk

5-24-2009: Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death

5-17-2009: Drug Company Marketing & Physician Prescribing Bias

5-10-2009: Hemorrhoids & Surgery

5-3-2009: Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)

4-26-2009: Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?

4-19-2009:   Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death

4-12-2009: Can Chronic Stress Harm Your Heart?

4-5-2009: Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?

3-22-2009: CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease; Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease

3-15-2009: Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

3-8-2009: Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?; Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children

3-1-2009: Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention; Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

2-22-2009: Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans; Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

2-15-2009: Statin Drugs & Death Rates; Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones

2-8-2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer; Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum

2-1-2009:   Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding); Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

1-25-2009: Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise; Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

1-18-2009: Cancer and Vitamins; Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

1-11-2009: Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals; Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

1-4-2009: Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk; Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood

12-28-2008: Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack; Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps

12-21-2008: Breast Cancer Incidence & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Circumcision & the Risk of HPV & HIV Infection

12-14-2008: Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Selenium Do Not Prevent Cancer; Postscript: A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome

12-7-2008: Generic vs. Brand-Name Drugs, Stress & Breast Cancer Survival

11-30-2008:   A Possible Cure for Down’s Syndrome?; Smoking & Cognitive Decline; Calcium & Vitamin D & Breast Cancer Risk

11-23-2008:  Breast Cancer & Fish Oil; Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment; Vasectomy & Prostate Cancer Risk

11-16-2008:  Vitamin E & Vitamin C: No Impact on Cardiovascular Disease Risk; Does Lack of Sleep Increase Stroke & Heart Attack Risk in Hypertensive Patients?

11-9-2008:  Statins Cut Heart Attack Risk Even with Normal Cholesterol Levels; Statins & PSA Level

11-2-2008:  Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer & Second Cancers; Sexual Content on TV & Teen Pregnancy Risk

10-26-2008:  Smoking & Quality of Life

10-19-2008:  Agent Orange & Prostate Cancer

10-12-2008:  Pomegranate Juice & Prostate Cancer

10-5-2008:  Central Obesity & Dementia; Diet, Vitamin D, Calcium, & Colon Cancer

9-28-2008:  Publication & Citation Bias in Favor of Industry-Funded Research?

9-21-2008:  Does Tylenol® (Acetaminophen) Cause Asthma?

9-14-208:   Arthroscopic Knee Surgery- No Better than Placebo?; A Healthy Lifestyle Prevents Stroke

8-23-2008:  Alcohol Abuse Before & After Military Deployment; Running & Age; Running & Your Testicles

8-12-2008:  Green Tea & Diabetes; Breastfeeding & Adult Cholesterol Levels; Fish Oil & Senile Macular Degeneration

8-3-2008:   Exercise & Weight Loss; Green Tea, Folic Acid & Breast Cancer Risk; Foreign Language Interpreters & ICU Patients

7-26-2008:  Viagra & Sexual Function in Women; Patient-Reported Adverse Hospital Events; Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

7-13-2008:  Erectile Dysfunction & Frequency of Sex; Muscle Strength & Mortality in Men; Cryoablation for Prostate Cancer

7-6-2008:  Sleep, Melatonin & Breast Cancer Risk; Mediterranean Diet & Cancer Risk; New Treatment for Varicose Veins

6-29-2008:  Bone Marrow Stem Cells & Liver Failure; Vitamin D & Colorectal Cancer Survival; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

6-22-2008:  Obesity, Lifestyle & Heart Disease; Effects of Lifestyle & Nutrition on Prostate Cancer; Ginkgo Biloba, Ulcerative Colitis & Colorectal Cancer

6-15-2008:  Preventable Deaths after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & St. John’s Wort

6-8-2008:  Vitamin D & Prostate Cancer Risk; Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of Kidney (Renal) Cancer; Antisense Telomerase & Cancer

6-2-2008:  Acute Coronary Syndrome- Do You Know the Symptoms?; Green Tea & Lung Cancer; Episiotomy & Subsequent Deliveries- An Unkind Cut

5-25-2008:  Early Childhood Screening Predicts Later Behavioral Problems; Psychiatric Disorders Among Parents of Autistic Children; Social & Psychiatric Profiles of Young Adults Born Prematurely

5-18-2008:  Can Statins Reverse Coronary Artery Disease?; Does Breast Ultrasound Improve Breast Cancer Detection?; Preventive Care Services at Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers

5-11-2008:  Smoking Cessation & Risk of Death; Childhood Traumas & Adult Suicide Risk; “White Coat Hypertension” & Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

5-4-2008:  Super-Size Me: Fast Food’s Effects on Your Liver; Exercise, Weight & Coronary Artery Disease; Contamination of Surgical Instruments in the Operating Room

4-27-2008:  Stents vs. Bypass Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease; The “DASH” Hypertension Diet & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; Testosterone Therapy for Women with Decreased Sexual Desire & Function

4-20-2008:  BRCA Breast Cancer Mutations & MRI Scans; Bladder Cancer Prevention with Broccoli?; Diabetes: Risk of Death Due to Heart Attack & Stroke

4-13-2008:  Breast Cancer Recurrence & Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Carotid Artery Disease: Surgery vs. Stents?; Statin Drugs & Cancer Prevention

4-6-2008:  Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Pap Smear Results & Cervical Cancer; Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection & Oral Cancer; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

3-30-2008:  Abdominal Obesity & the Risk of Death in Women; Folic Acid Pretreatment & Heart Attacks; Pancreatic Cancer Regression after Injections of Bacteria

3-23-2008:  Age of Transfused Blood & Risk of Complications after Surgery; Obesity, Blood Pressure & Heart Size in Children

3-16-2008:  Benefits of a Full Drug Coverage Plan for Medicare Patients?; Parent-Teen Conversations about Sex; Soy (Genistein) & Prostate Cancer

3-9-2008:  Flat Colorectal Adenomas & Cancer; Health Risks after Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT); Television, Children & Obesity 

3-2-2008:  Medication & Risk of Death After Heart Attack; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Mammogram Results; Selenium: Cancer, Heart Disease & Death

2-23-2008:  Universal Healthcare Insurance Study; Glucosamine & Arthritis

2-17-2008:  Exceptional Longevity in Men; Testosterone & Risk of Prostate Cancer; Smoking & Pre-malignant Colorectal Polyps

2-10-2008:  Thrombus Aspiration from Coronary Arteries; Intensive Management of Diabetes & Death; Possible Cure for  Down’s Syndrome?

2-3-2008:  Vitamin D & Cardiovascular Health; Vitamin D & Breast Cancer; Green Tea & Colorectal Cancer

1-27-2008:  Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer: Update from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

1-20-2008:  Testosterone Levels & Risk of Fractures in Elderly Men; Air Pollution & DNA Damage in Sperm; Statins & Trauma Survival in the Elderly

1-12-2008:  Statins, Diabetes & Stroke and Obesity; GERD & Esophageal Cancer

1-7-2008:  Testosterone Supplements in Elderly Men; Colorectal Cancer– Reasons for Poor Compliance with Screening Recommendations

12-31-2007:  Minority Women, Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer; Does Health Insurance Improve Health?

12-23-2007:  Is Coffee Safe After a Heart Attack?; Impact of Divorce on the Environment; Hypertension & the Risk of Dementia; Emotional Vitality & the Risk of Heart Disease

12-16-2007:   Honey vs. Dextromethorphan vs. No Treatment for Kids with Night-Time Cough, Acupuncture & Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer, Physical Activity & the Risk of Death, Mediterranean Diet & Mortality 

12-11-2007:  Bias in Medical Research; Carbon Nanotubes & Radiofrequency: A New Weapon Against Cancer?; Childhood Obesity & Risk of Adult Heart Disease

12-2-2007:  Obesity & Risk of Cancer; Testosterone Level & Risk of Death; Drug Company Funding of Research & Results; Smoking & the Risk of Colon & Rectal Cancer 

---

Dr. Wascher’s Home Page

---

 

 

---

---

---

]]> http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/19/hormone-replacement-therapy-hrt-ovarian-cancer/feed/ 1