Stop Cancer by Eating and Living Healthy

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Every year, millions of people are diagnosed with different types of cancer and millions also die from this disease. What’s sad is that people don’t have to die from cancer as 40% of cancers can be prevented while one third of cancers can be cured when diagnosed and treated early.

Cancer is defined as the irrepressible growth of abnormal cells in the body. The name of the cancer depends on where it originates. If it starts in the breast, it is known as breast cancer. If it starts in the brain, it is known as brain cancer. When one form of cancer spreads from one part of the body to other parts, it is called metastasis. The symptoms of cancer depend on the type of cancer a person has. Treatment is also dependent on the location of the cancer. Conventional treatment for cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), approximately 340,000 cases of cancer in the United States can be prevented each year only if more Americans will eat healthier food, exercise regularly, and limit their intake of alcohol. Such changes in one’s lifestyle could significantly decrease certain types of cancer including cancers of the colon, stomach, and breast. These lifestyle changes can decrease the number of cases of colon cancer by as much as 45%, stomach cancer by 47%, and breast cancer by 37%.

Aside from making healthier food choices, exercising regularly can help prevent many health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, as well as colon and breast cancer. Physical activity is advised regardless of one’s age as it helps prevent not only cancer but other non-communicable diseases as well. Getting at least two and a half hours of moderate physical activity in a week can greatly improve one’s health. Physical activity can be in the form of exercise, cycling, or even just walking.

Healthy habits such as quitting smoking, avoiding too much sun exposure, avoiding secondhand smoke, and preventing infections that lead to cancer are also factors that help reduce one’s risk of developing cancer.

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Ultrasound In the Palm Of Your Doctors Hand

Posted on March 1, 2011 by admin

Picture this: a doctor is at a luncheon when suddenly someone falls out of their chair and is convulsing. The doctor runs over to the person and quickly examines him. He suspects that the problem is fluid around the person’s heart but he can’t be sure without extensive testing. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out…a cell phone? You wonder why the doctor would pull out his cell phone, when suddenly you see that he’s also pulling out some sort of wand-like instrument. The next thing you know he’s performing an ultrasound, via his cell phone, right then and there.

Need an ultrasound? Turns out there’s an app for that! The FDA has recently approved an app called MobiUS. This is a medical ultrasound imaging system that allows doctors to use an ultrasound wand, and their smart phone, along with the app, to actually perform an ultrasound on a patient. And not only can the doctor look at the ultrasound then and there, no matter where he is, he can also analyze the images thanks to the app and, best of all, he can transfer the data wirelessly to whichever institution needs to have access to it. This means that the face of medicine is changing. No longer are doctors going to be forced to wait to diagnose someone until they’ve had a scheduled ultrasound, but they can do it right there, wherever they happen to be, no matter if they’re in their clinic with a patient or at a luncheon.

While it’s unlikely, at least as of yet, that this form of ultrasound will overtake traditional ultrasounds, it is a great option for doctors who work in remote areas. In many cases doctors who work in smaller towns and areas around the country are forced to wait for days, sometimes weeks, for their patient to get the ultrasound that they need. With this new ultrasound app that’s no longer a necessity. Now doctors who are concerned for their patients can perform an ultrasound right then and there, not only saving a huge amount of time, but also saving money as well. This app is only the start of things, by the rumblings heard in the medical community, and sooner rather than later we’ll likely find that doctors are able to do a host of other medical things via their smart phone or table PC.

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Getting Health Insurance

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

If you’re young, and your parents have health insurance that covers you, it’s very easy to take it for granted. You never have to worry about what you’ll have to pay for a visit to the doctors, or the price that it will cost to purchase your medications. As we get older, however, paying for medical bills becomes a serious situation, especially if you’re someone who winds up having some sort of condition that requires you to undergo medical care for a significant amount of time. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you have health insurance, but getting health insurance isn’t always easy for people.

Getting Health Insurance
There are a large number of general health issues that you may have that require that you visit a doctor, or a lab, or even hospitals, on a routine basis, and even if you don’t have any serious issues, everyone gets a cold or flu or pulled muscle one in awhile that require treatment. It may seem silly to go to your doctor for the sniffles, but you’d be amazed at how quickly the sniffles can turn into a full-blown lung infection. That’s why it’s important to get health insurance.

The first place to look is with your employer. Many employers have health insurance options available, even if the price of them seems uncomfortable. It’s true that the cost of health insurance has risen greatly, and it’s not a fun thing to have to budget. But would you rather pay a few hundred dollars a month, or thousands upon thousands of dollars if something goes seriously wrong?

If your employer doesn’t offer insurance, it’s time to look other places. There are, fortunately, a number of places that you can go to find health insurance, including your state. Many states have special health insurance available for people who qualify, so it’s always good to check to see if you do qualify for the insurance. If you don’t, then you can look to private health insurance companies. These companies offer medical insurance and often prescription insurance as well, which can give you all the coverage that you need. Once again, be prepared to have to pay a fairly stiff amount for it, but your health is important, and having coverage is also important. If you don’t have insurance and you wind up getting extremely ill, any income that you have coming in will be stopped, which can be even more painful than having to pay a few hundred dollars a month for insurance.

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Government Health Care

Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin

 

With rising medical costs, low coverage by insurance companies and high premiums you would think most Americans would welcome the government health care “health reform” but that doesn’t seem to the be the case. As with everything in America, people are afraid of change. Only thinking about the negative by what is told to them by media and not thinking of the positive. So many other countries have successfully been able to have a government health care why not America? Who does this really affect? Answer is simple, the big corporations that make tons off of charging high prices for medicine, they over priced hospital stays, and insurance companies who to them is just a big business and don’t really care about the people they insure. Unless they have to pay out money. Then they are likely to drop you. What other first world country will a person lose everything they own if they get sick? Canada? I don’t think so. Why is it that in Canada a person can get medicine for a faction of the price and in Mexico it is even less. Do you think the quality is any different? It is due to big corporations who make tons off your misfortunes. What a sad country we live in where an average person has to worry about getting sick. Isn’t it nicer to live life not ever worrying about possible medical bills? Not deciding whether or not you can afford to go to the doctor. Maybe this health reform is not the answer but surely there is a solution for the so called best place in the world to live.

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