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Cancer and Environment |
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In May, the President's Cancer Panel released the 2008-2009 Annual Report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk.* The report brought good and bad news, along with recommendations for how to reduce our cancer risks both as a nation and as individuals. The panel gathered opinions from a wide range of governmental, industrial, and academic experts. They noted that while the overall incidence and death rate from cancer have decreased, about 1.5 million Americans developed cancer last year and over half a million died from it. And in certain populations, cancer rates are rising. Unfortunately, cancer can strike anyone at any time--however, reducing your risk factors is a great way to bring down the odds of it happening to you or your family.
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Salt and Heart Health |
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In February, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article* that highlighted salt as one of the major contributing factors to heart disease in the United States. The authors estimated that a 3g reduction in salt (or 2300mg reduction in sodium) intake per day per person would reduce annual new cases of coronary heart disease by 60,000-120,000 and heart attack by 54,000-99,000, thus saving $10-24 billion in healthcare costs each year. That's a lot of saved lives and a lot of saved money! In fact, the authors suggested that as a nation, the U.S. population would receive a benefit from reducing salt intake that is about equal to all the various anti-high blood pressure therapies combined.
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Rising Pregnancy Mortality |
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In January 2010, the State of California released data that showed an alarming increase in the rate of maternal mortality in the state, a tripling of the incidence of death either during pregnancy or within the first 6 weeks after birth. Much publicity was generated and much discussion ensued about the causes of this disturbing trend. When the causes were explored it seemed to come down to two main areas: the persistent increase in the national cesarean section rate and the increase in underlying maternal risk factors that contribute to complications--namely, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
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Heart Disease and President Clinton |
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Former president Bill Clinton experienced chest pain this month and after evaluation, cardiologists placed two coronary stents in his heart. Coronary stents re-establish blood flow through narrowed heart arteries that are vital to supplying the heart. Although this recent procedure was less serious than open heart surgery, it still carries risk--risk that, for the most part, can be avoided altogether through consistently healthy diet and regular exercise.
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Breast Cancer Screening Saves Lives |
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Recent controversies about mammography screening have left many women confused about when and if they should undergo mammography. Confusion about early detection is the last thing we need today, since breast cancer is becoming more common (expected to affect one in eight women) and early detection certainly leads to increased survival for women with invasive cancer.
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