Weight loss and Weight Chat Blog

The world mourns the loss of Paul Newman, a great actor, philanthropist and humanitarian. He was the embodiment of the Yiddish word “mensch,” meaning a person of great character, integrity and honor. And while it has been widely reported that his death was due to lung cancer and that he was, formerly, a heavy smoker, whether his lung cancer was caused by smoking is unknown. What is known is that smoking greatly increases one’s risk of lung cancer. But what’s also known is that up to 15 percent of lung cancer deaths occur in people who have never smoked. Moreover, lung cancer in never smokers is, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance, “the sixth biggest cancer killer in the United States.”
Over 215,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and the majority will die within 12 months. More people die […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

While the FDA dithers and the chemical industry stalls, now’s the time for you to act by reducing your and your family’s exposure to the toxic chemical bisphenol A, commonly referred to as BPA. That’s because the results of the first major epidemiologic study looking at the potential health effects of BPA in humans, published in the September 17, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) , found a significant relationship between the amount of BPA that people had in their body (as measured by its excretion in their urine) and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes (type 2 or what’s typically called adult onset diabetes) and abnormalities of liver enzymes (suggesting some type of liver damage). And while a study of this type cannot prove causality (that BPA actually caused these problems), it comes on the heels of many previous studies showing the […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

After surgery for colon cancer, you are still at risk, both for cancer recurrence and for development of another new colon cancer. Because of this it’s important for colon cancer survivors to be followed closely and monitored carefully. But new research has found that many such survivors aren’t getting the proper follow-up care. And it looks as though the fault lies more with the doctors than it does with the patients. If you or someone you love is a colon cancer survivor, it’s important to know the guidelines for follow-up in order to ensure you’re getting the right tests.
In the study, published online in the journal Cancer on September 8, 2008 - only 40 percent of colon cancer survivors who were followed for three years had all the right doctor visits and tests. But since 92 percent of patients had all the proper office visits, […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Many HealthTalk members, visitors and readers of this blog will be interested in an upcoming and unprecedented primetime, commercial-free, TV fundraising event this Friday night, September 5, 2008. The event is called “Stand Up To Cancer,” and the following information was taken verbatim from the Stand Up to Cancer Web site.
“On September 5, 2008 (8 p.m. EDT and PDT) ABC, CBS and NBC will donate one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising event aimed at rallying the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death. The special will feature stars from film and television who will perform as well as present filmed content giving viewers insight into cancer. Various screening tests will be demonstrated in novel and entertaining ways. Network news anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will report on potentially life-saving research, speaking with both patients and […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

The New York Times has initiated some controversy with its July 24, 2008 article entitled “What’s Lurking in Your Countertop?” The article reports on the finding of worrisome levels of radiation being emitted from some granite countertops that were tested in a few homes. But the controversy is not whether granite countertops emit any radiation, but how much and if some pieces are more radioactive than others.
That’s because granite naturally contains some uranium, which is radioactive and which decays into radon that can also be released (radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer). It’s generally thought, however, that the amounts contained in most countertops are very small and not enough to pose a significant health hazard. Most experts agree that this amount of radiation exposure is insignificant in comparison with the “normal” background radiation we are all exposed to all the time from […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Randy Pausch, the noted Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, has died at the age of 47 from pancreatic cancer. Pausch had become internationally known for his now famous Last Lecture, which was viewed by millions (you can watch it below) and was the subject of his #1 bestseller of the same name, which has already been translated into at least 30 languages. Since his diagnosis, Mr. Pausch had been treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and an experimental cancer vaccine. So what is it about pancreatic cancer that makes it so deadly?
Let’s start with some basic information. Pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed in about 37,680 Americans in 2008 and will take the lives of about 34,290 making it the fourth most common cause of cancer death after lung, colon, prostate and breast cancers. Because of its hidden location, lack of symptoms and absence of screening tests, […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

Yesterday was the first Monday of May, and although it happens this year to coincide with the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, it is also known in the skin cancer community as Melanoma Monday. Melanoma Monday, the first Monday in May, officially kicks off the American Academy of Dermatology’s month-long awareness program called National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. This year, the Academy’s campaign is called “See Spot…Check Spot…Save a Life.” It emphasizes the importance of self-examination of the skin, as well as having a partner check the parts of your body that are difficult to see like the back and the scalp.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with over one million new cases detected each year. About one in five Americans will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, most types of skin […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

I’m a regular blood donor and so I was pleased to read about the results of a study that should put to rest one of the myths about blood donation that keeps some people from giving. This is the false belief that frequent blood donation might lead to an increased risk of cancer. Proponents of this concept have argued that since the routine removal of blood leads to routine renewal of that blood, these extra cell divisions could lead to a higher risk of a mutation occurring in one of the new cells, which could, theoretically, lead to a blood cell cancer. But a large study has found the opposite to be true.
The study was reported on April 8, 2008 in the online version of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It looked at about 11,000 regular blood donors who had developed a cancer during […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so I thought I’d republish a posting from last year that helps dispel a few myths about this disease:
1- Colon cancer is primarily a disease of men. This is false. Colon cancer affects men and women equally, both in terms of diagnosis and death. Everyone must be aware of the risks of colon cancer.
2- Colon cancer will show signs or symptoms, so I don’t need to be screened. This is false. Most cases of colon cancer will not show any symptoms at all. And by the time colon cancer becomes symptomatic (change in stool, weight loss, pain, bleeding), the cancer is at an advanced stage. To avoid advanced colon cancer, you must undergo screening prior to the development of symptoms.
3- Colon cancer is a disease of the elderly, so I don’t need to be screened. This is false. Everyone needs screening beginning at […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

Recently, we’ve received a number of inquiries about whether there’s an increased risk of breast cancer in women who drink water from plastic water bottles, especially from those bottles that might have been left in a hot car. The assertion is that the heat in the car causes the plastic bottle to release harmful chemicals into the water, which is then consumed leading to inadvertent ingestion of potential carcinogens. This claim has been the subject of many waves of e-mails that get forwarded around the Internet, but which never come with any background or supporting information.
Some Web sites, like Snopes.com, have debunked these e-mails as nothing more than either a hoax or an urban legend. The origin, they say, is from overblown media reports of a master’s thesis written by a University of Idaho student whose research has never been confirmed and whose findings and conclusions have […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com