Recently in Current Events Category

Many of us were surprised to read that the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending that women get their first mammograms at age 50, not 40--and, more shockingly, that doctors stop advising women to administer monthly self-exams on their breasts.

For followers of health trends, though, the recommendations are not so shocking.  There is an ongoing debate on the delicate line between "early detection" and "over-treating" in many aspects of health care, notably prostate cancer, in which men are often diagnosed and treated for cancers that run almost no risk of killing them.

Now, the arguments are being made that early mammograms save too few lives--and yield too many false positives--to justify continuing recommending them. 

This article in this morning's New York Times reported on skeptical reactions to the news--and many women saying that they would simply ignore the recommendations and continue to take preventative screening measures in their own bodies.

Fresh Living readers, what do you think?  Are you skeptical?  Relieved to get a 10-year free pass on mammograms?  Enraged at the idea of missing the chance to save even one life?  Tired of a preventative test-happy health care system?  Looking forward to your comments.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the "Big Guy" many regard as the best basketball player in history, announced today that he has cancer. A very rare variety of blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia. But apparently it's treatable--he was diagnosed last December-- and he is expected to make a full recovery. Three-point swish for that! We send our thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

Now, part two, this is a delicate topic to bring up with the news so fresh and the tragedy so real, but as a blood cancer survivor myself, this excerpt from an AP article caught my eye:

Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease. He is a paid spokesman for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which makes a drug that treats the illness.

Citing the way Los Angeles Lakers teammate Magic Johnson brought awareness to HIV, Abdul-Jabbar said he wants to do the same for his form of blood cancer, which can be fatal if left untreated.

And from the same article:

"I've never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives," he said at a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."

So, if I'm putting this together: He was diagnosed last year. He's going public with this information now. He's a paid sponsor for makers of the drug he's taking for the disease. 

Am I a horrible cynic to think that there's a link? And that this is actually nothing like Magic Johnson who came out about his illness at a time when it was a huge stigma and thought to affect mainly gay men and straight women? And when Magic came out I'm pretty sure he wasn't simultaneously raising awareness while being paid for it.

Those are all the facts I have, but something about it feels off to me. Even though, in fact I am someone who might directly benefit from new awareness and research dollars potentially going for the research of blood cancer.

As you well know, pharma companies are being questioned for showering doctors with vacations and gifts, and renowned medical journal companies like Elsevier are being discredited because they published articles--even entire new journals--by people secretly on drug companies' payrolls. Which brings up questions like: Should drug companies be allowed to advertise to the general public? Is wooing doctors to prescribe their drug harming patients who may not need that--or any--drug? Etc.

Bottom line: My heart is with Kareem for a full recovery, I applaud him for talking about this. And, also, I'd like more information the timing of his announcement and his arrangement with the company. It's a tough one for journalists, but it's an essential one for patients of all kinds.

[Image via: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4640518]

The Boston Globe reported this week that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is suggesting some significant changes to the Mass service to try to stem the spread of swine flu.  Click here for the whole article, but here are the basic facts:

• Communion wine, usually offered from a chalice that is sipped by every parishioner, will be suspended from the service so that flu germs can't be passed by sharing the cup.
• The ritual of "passing the peace," which typically involves a handshake or even embrace, will be replaced with a nod or bow at that moment in the service, preventing contact that might spread the flu.
• Holy water cisterns will be disinfected and changed more often, lowering the chances that someone's fingers dipped into the water might leave behind flu germs.

The Globe's religion reporter, Michael Paulson, pointed out that the changes are partially about preventing the spread of swine flu, but partially about easing the fears of some of the 300,000 Catholics in Boston who attend weekly Mass services but might be nervous to come because of the flu risk.

It's a fascinating manifestation of life with swine flu, and I wanted to put the question out there--has the swine flu changed your habits?  Are you bringing your own mat to yoga class?  Not offering your friends sips of a great new drink you're trying at dinner?  Staying home from work because your cubicle neighbor was coughing yesterday?  Staying home from church or synagogue?  Please share!

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Beverly Bunn, a dentist who attended the Angel Valley sweat lodge retreat in which three people  died and multiple others were hospitalized, is speaking out about her ordeal.  The video below, from CNN, is wrenching as Bunn describes the surreal scene, including her attempts to administer CPR to those who were in trouble...and being prevented from doing so by retreat workers.  I'm so glad that the reporter had the decency to say what we are all thinking:  "I'm sorry, Beverly.  I'm so sorry."



Click here for more on the Angel Valley incident, and sweat lodges in general.

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This weekend came news that a third person has died following an October 8 sweat lodge ceremony at the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona, Arizona.  The tragedy is frightening and incomprehensible: people in search of healing were instead...

The world is still buzzing with this morning's news that Barack Obama has won a Nobel Peace Prize. The first reactions, including the President's, were of surprise. Then, of course, opinions: "he deserves it," "he doesn't deserve it," "this cheapens the prize," "this is an...

These are some of the awesomely cool personal business cards I created and ordered from Moo.com, my new favorite create-a-card site. And nope, they're not paying me, I just think it's a great site and product. And a nice...

Last March, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement calling the ancient Japanese healing practice of reiki "superstition" that "finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief."The issue largely disappeared from most...

During last night's Emmy awards show, one winner chose to give people outside of Hollywood a small moment of inspiration. Yes, I know, "follow your dreams" couldn't be more cliche--but last night when Jeff Probst, who won for hosting "Survivor," said...

Monday is the United Nations' International Day of Peace, and events are planned around the world. One of them is "A Million Minutes for Peace," an effort to have as many people as possible pray or send good thoughts at noon...

We're sad today over the death at age 72 of Mary Travers, the soaring female voice of the 1960s' folk supergroup Peter, Paul and Mary.  Her wide smile and happily crinkled eyes were as distinctive as her sonorous voice, and...

"Gorgeous and strong" is how his "Dirty Dancing" co-star Jennifer Grey described Patrick Swayze, who died yesterday after an almost 2-year battle with pancreatic cancer.In his memory, I want to share this quote that he said to Barbara Walters in...

Did you see the article in yesterday's New York Times about the clean water crisis in Charleston, West Virginia and around the country?  Here are some of the alarming take-aways from this exhaustively-reported piece:"Most of today's water pollution has no...

This is something I wrote last year on the anniversary on my personal blog, and with my own permission, am reprinting it here. I had a close call on 9/11 and my heart extends to all those who mourn, close...

Our blog sister Diana Butler Bass on Progressive Revival had this to say about last night's health care speech by President Obama:"Tonight was about the moral "we."  President Obama delivered a hope-filled speech that called us to stop being part...

We've largely steered clear of the health care debate on Fresh Living (read why here), but I felt inspired to post this MoveOn.org video that's making the blogosphere rounds.  Not because we endorse the public option, necessarily, but because it's...

Fires in the Los Angeles area have "killed two firefighters, destroyed at least 21 homes and forced thousands of evacuations," according to an Associated Press article. Really sad and scary. That same article quoted a resident who came home to...

Later today, I'm driving out to outer Cape Cod for vacation, but first I have a stop to make--in Hyannis.  The fact that just as I'm arriving, the funeral procession carrying Senator Ted Kennedy's body is leaving is a coincidence. ...

Sigh. A while ago, my friend Jenn from the Tiny Choices blog expressed skeptism that SIGG bottles were all that safe, preferring to sip from glass or stainless steel. But I was like, "Oy, really? Another thing to worry...

As more years unfurl between us and the events of September 11, 2001, I've heard an increasingly louder cry each anniversary of "Enough!" Comments on Beliefnet and other sites say over and over that it's "time to move on," that...

This morning the nation mourns the loss of Edward Kennedy, the "Lion of the Senate" whose 46-year career as a Massachusetts Senator is one of the most storied in its history.  Kennedy died of brain cancer late last night at...

This morning the New York Post reported that Bernie Madoff, the Ponzi schemist who's serving 150 years for swindling $65 billion, is ill with pancreatic cancer. This afternoon the Prison Bureau released a statement, "While the NY Post story is...

I am one of zillions who really enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love" and am now excited that her next book is coming soon. Yay. This one, a recent interview with her in the New York Times tell us,...

Fresh Living is, as you know, a holistic health blog.  But we've--so far--refrained from a single post about the biggest health-related issue before the chattering class: health care reform.  There are reasons for that, including our desire to focus more...

Wow, all you need is love and the entire Beatles music catalog, digitally remastered. All you Beatles fans, take note: Your favorite songs--all 12 albums of them--have been cleaned up--pops and clicks removed and volume levels boosted--and for a limited...

Wow. I'm watching the Michael Jackson memorial and am blown away by the rawness and realness of Brooke Shields' eulogy. She has great stories to tell (she and Michael once had to sneak out of Elizabeth Taylor's bedroom while she...

Inmates at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison in the Phillipines, have produced a tribute video to Michael Jackson that's been viewed on YouTube more than three million times in the last five days. The...

Reports are spreading (the NY Daily News and ABC News so far) that "Charlie's Angels" '70s heartthrob Farrah Fawcett's long struggle with cancer might be coming to an end.  News reports say that friends and family are gathering at her...

Though the product has not been recalled, federal regulators are warning consumers that using the popular homeopathic cold remedy Zicam might be dangerous--or permanently harmful--to your sense of smell.  The New York Times reported on the warnings sent from the...

Elizabeth Edwards, in Boston over the weekend for a gala at Mass. General Hospital, gave a brief interview to The Boston Globe in which she talked about the kind of support that she's enjoyed through her years-long battle with breast...

Whenever a tragedy like the apparent loss of Air France Flight 447 strikes, we feel so helpless.  The suddenness of loss.  The anguish of worry.  The glimmers of hope.  All of these emotions flutter around inside us, and we yearn...

You may have heard about this case--a 13-year-old boy, Daniel Hauser, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and started chemo, but then his parents stopped treatment for religious reasons and said they'd be taking care of it naturally. Well, a judge ordered...

Doesn't it seem like some days, news headlines are dominated by cancer?  Here's what jumped off the screen today--two stories that highlight the tragedy and bravery, the horror and human triumph, of the disease:-- A 10-Year-Old with Breast Cancer -...

Elizabeth Edwards' resilience has been tested many times, which is why her new book "Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Life's Adversities" is so smartly titled.  The loss of her son in 1996. The defeat in the 2000...

In memory of the inimitable Bea Arthur, who died this weekend at age 86, a video montage from The Golden Girls of her character, Dorothy Zbornak, uttering her signature "Whoa!" in all her beautifully sarcastic, dry, hilarious glory.  Are you...

The Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization are both urging basic flu-prevention practices as they try to stop the spread of swine flu. But given that cold and flu season is feeling so two months ago, I thought...

Hearing about anyone's suicide is always incredibly disturbing and sad. And usually the first place we go is: Why? And when it's someone in the public eye, like the acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac who was found...

Stephen Hawking, the mathematician and physicist famous for his work on black holes, is reportedly hospitalized with a chest infection and is very seriously ill, according to the Associated Press.  Though I admit to understanding very little of his work,...

I didn't get down to watch the Boston Marathon today, as I have in past years when friends have run or I was just hungry for a little vicarious "wow, that's amazing."  But there's something electric about the day, even...

Apart from its financial connotation, the dictionary defines "tax" as "a burdensome or excessive demand; a strain."  So I think it's perfectly appropriate, now that our W2s and 1099s are safely sent off to Uncle Sam, to think of today,...

With Portuguese Water dog Bo instated in his new White House home, no doubt we can all brace for a fresh doggy-breath scented gust of puppy fever. This happily coincides with the resurgence of "doga," or dog yoga, a phenom covered...

There are some fascinating health developments to report on this week.  Here are 3 to think about:Are electronic health records going too far, too fast? There are a proliferation of new tools designed to empower patients and give them--and their...

Wow, just wow.  Have you seen the news about the "Kyoto Box," a solar-powered oven made from nothing more than two cardboard boxes, black paint, aluminum foil, and the rays of the sun?  The box was just awarded first prize...

Sometimes holistic spirituality and traditional religion cross paths, and today's "Blessing of the Sun" ritual that Jews will observe just before Passover begins is one of those moments.  In honor of this rare Jewish astrological phenomenon, we offer a guest...

There's been a flurry of celebrity illnesses and injuries this week, and two of them jumped off the screen (sigh...remember when things used to jump off of pages?) because in both cases, humor seems to be part of the healing.First,...

We try and steer away from politics here, but we are openly swooning over the Obamas' decision to grow a vegetable garden on the White House lawn. According to The New York Times, it will have 55 varieties of vegetables,...

Lots of health items in the news this week.  For your perusal, thoughts, and comments:Religious people who are suffering from terminal cancer are three times as likely to pursue aggressive, life-prolonging treatments like mechanical ventilators than those who do not...

The swirling news rumors about Natasha Richardson took the worst possible turn yesterday: the family friend who  told People magazine "there is no chance" for the actress' recovery after a ski accident turned out to be right. Richardson died at...

The lovely actress Natasha Richardson, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, niece of Lynn Redgrave, married to Liam Neeson, is said to be brain-dead after a skiing accident. We send our blessings to her family....

Radio shock jock Don Imus made public his prostate cancer diagnosis today.  As I shared last week, my dad got that same news last summer.  Seeing the words "prostate cancer" anywhere, but especially on the news, give me a little...

It's funny, but the much-discussed Jon Stewart - Jim Cramer interview on The Daily Show has me thinking about the responses to my "How to Break Up with a Friend" post.  The post asked the question, is it better to...

What difference can one person make? Ask the organizers of "Earth Hour," who saw their idea to fight climate change by turning off electrical power for 60 minutes spread in two years from a local project in Sydney, Australia to...

Next month, the surviving Beatles will reunite onstage for a concert to raise money to instruct at-risk youth in transcendental meditation (TM), the practice that the Fab Four famously adopted after their life-changing trip to India in 1968.The concert (April...

Whoa.  I went online this morning and found an odd coupling of news articles, both about celebrities who can't breathe:Mariska Hargitay hospitalized after suffering a collapsed lungRobin Williams takes a break from his tour after experiencing shortness of breathI don't...

Here at Fresh Living, we salute the imaginative, word-bending genius Theodore Seuss Geisel on what would have been his 105th birthday. We especially adore The Lorax, of course. I just checked out the video (see below) for the first time...

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery today for pancreatic cancer, and I hope you'll join me in prayers for her swift recovery.  She's a heroine to me as a Jew, as a woman, and as a Jewish woman.Here's...