Can the human body heal Cancer?

The human body is capable of some remarkable things. Often times we just have to get out of the way and let it take care of itself. On the other hand modern medicine does not at all abide by this philosophy. Treat the symptoms, and do this perpetually until all of the symptoms are held at bay. A symptom free patient is a well medicated and helthyish patient. Who cares about actual health as long as we have no symptoms this should be good enough. It’s simple to see why this is the medicinal dogma of the day. There is no money in healthy people.

It is interesting that there are so many different specialists out there that specialize in treating the symptoms of a particular area. The very good specialists can still talk a look at the whole of the human body and realize that in fact the ankle bone is connected to the leg bone and make their diagnosis from that place. It is also interesting that so many marketing experts will claim that their product can help you reduce belly fat. Or that this super food is amazing for your brain. Ok I can tell you that you can’t reduce just belly fat. You remove fat from everywhere and it just happens that also it will be reduced in the belly. In the same way any food that claims to be super for your brain must thereby also be super for your whole body. Again the ankle bone is connected to the leg bone. We are all connected.

There is some relevance that needs to be given to the placebo effect. In a study there was a terminally ill cancer patient with tumors the size of oranges throughout his lymphatic system. The man was reaching his final days of life when a brand new experimental drug was being introduced and he was part of the trial. Within three days of taking the drug he was out of bed and the tumors had reduced to half the size. Within weeks the tumors were all but gone, and the patient had gone into remission. The miracle drug was saline. It is remarkable what the mind can do if given the right opportunities.
This does not mean that all medicine is bad and we shouldn’t take any but I will say that any new medication should be taken with a grain of salt. Always question why this medication is being prescribed and what kind of side effects can be expected. Just be aware that you can’t treat just one part of your body without affecting the whole. This is the practice of today’s doctors, and many times by treating symptoms, now ones are created and over medication can exist.

Take the case of a Seattle Grandmother that was admitted to the hospital with asthma. The doctor at the time gave her steroids to stop her symptoms of asthma. It worked! This also caused her blood pressure to rise to the point that she suffered from vertigo. In order to treat that she was given bloodpressure medicine, this caused dizziness. Now too dizzy to walk she laid in bed and her ankles began to swell, the doctors on staff gave her a water pill, which caused he potassium levels to drop, so they put her on potassium supplements. They also treated her for Osteoporosis which ultimately led to gastric bleeding. She was later quoted as saying “I came out sicker than I went in”

This may not be the norm but over medication is a problem that is rampant in this country. I don’t advocate a mistrust of all doctors, I do advocate seeking consultation with your doctor as to why you are on the medicines you are on. Check to see if you can reduce the dosages or can get off of the medication. The human body can heal itself, often times it just needs the chance to do so.

MACC Fund donates $10 million to CHW

The MACC Fund is an organization that researches cures for childhood cancer and blood diseases. They have recently pledges 10 million dollars to be given to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The funds will be given out over a ten year period.

Many of the leaders in the sports franchises have been instrumental in bringing the donation to fruition. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Milwaukee Brewers have many players, both active and retired, that have worked tirelessly to give the project momentum.

Both organizations have many avenues available to fans in order to help them donate to the project. A local doctor David Margolis is overwhelmed by the generosity of the fund.

It is the goal of the MAAC Fund and CHW to stamp out childhood cancer. Dr Margolis recounts many of his worst days where he had to send children home to die because there was nothing that could be done about their deteriorating condition. Yet he has just as many stories of triumph when he looks at photos of his former child patients as they are walking down the aisle with their young brindes, ready to start a family of their own.

Many thanks to the MAAC Fund for this donation.

Pain Management Options

For many people pain is a part of their everyday lives. There is no way “around” the pain it will always be there. The traditional treatment option of pain killers can cause long-term health problems, as well as the risk of addiction.

In the case of many elderly people that rely on these pain medications the in home medical provider may withhold the medications, or just steal them outright. So the question then is what are the other options to deal with the pain?

The Non opioid medicinal options are as follows.

• NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), including ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Antidepressants,  these can help with sleeping and alleviate pain
• Anti-seizure medications, this can be very effective in treating pain that is related to nerve damage or injury.
• Steroids, like dexamethasone and prednisone, to help with inflammation and pain

Therapy. The use of therapy can help to heal the mind and body. Using a mix of these treatments can be effective.  

• Physical therapy doing the right kind of exercises is the best way to help alleviate the pain. In the care of a physical therapist, they will tailor an exercise program that is not too strenuous and will deliver the best results by slowly building up strength and tolerance. When trying to do this therapy on your own many people will stop because it hurts too much.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy This is essentially a way to learn how to deal with the pain. You will learn where the pain comes from, what aggravates the pain most, as well as ways to deal with the pain that you have in your life.

Other pain management options. There are many other options that can help physically and emotionally when dealing with pain.

• TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) therapy
• Meditation
• Relaxation techniques
• Visual imagery, as simple as picturing a peaceful scene, for example
• Biofeedback, which teaches control over muscle tension, temperature, heart rate and more
• Heat and cold therapy
• Manipulation and massage

Seeking help with your chronic pain issues before they destroy your ability to function is the best option out there. Talk to you doctor, don’t be afraid to seek alternative options. Everyone experiences pain in a different way. There is no promise of living pain free, but there is always another option.

The USA is failing to Produce Innovative Medical Devices

The United States Of America has always prided itself for being on the cutting edge of innovation and technological know-how. We have come a long way from the civil war, and pride ourselves on being the society that provides the most desirable health care world-wide. Although conditions are changing. Due to suppressing legislation, and expanded taxes on Medical Devices, most entrepreneurs can not acquire the funding they need to develop their products.

To start with the rules and regulations were integrated one by one in an effort to make sure any new medical devices that went out to market were suitable for the end customers. This essentially follows the “first do no harm”. It is actually really great, and truly does make sense. And to be sure we do not have a lot of medical devices that are laminated with lead paint or the like. The word of caution is as each and every new procedure and regulation was included, it became increasingly more stressful to get any of these medical devices through the program, and to market-place.

It follows that if we now have a system in place that makes it so as any modern medical device must past numerous guidelines, medical tests, animal testing, and summary boards, that we can have the best and least risky products or services readily available on the free market. Unhappily this is obviously just not true. A large number of our most modern cutting edge medical devices are hardly making a showing in the United States since the exclusions, and the timeframe it takes to complete the reviews and legal guidelines mean it is an unreasonable and unprofitable gamble. One of the most rapid growing markets in India is new and innovative medical devices.

Investors and Opportunity Capitalists are the engine that sustains advanced technology. In this area of inventiveness, Silicon Valley is a sparkling demonstration of just what one can achieve whenever given the right resources. With venture capitalists advocating the brightest young brains in our modern world the breakthroughs that got their start in Silicon Valley are well recognized. Those marketers totally changed the face of the planet over the course of 2 whole decades.

Developments such as this are attainable in the medical field by producing some of the most innovative medical devices in our history. The difference is that unlike Silicon Valley, Investors and Venture Capitalists have even started to see investing in medical devices as an unsuitable investment. The amount of time it takes to see profit is substantially all that long. And the likelihood that the project will get stamped out by a principle or specifications is becoming increasingly more unreasonable as the years go on.

A loss in new and innovative medical devices has been a year to year occurrence. Each of the last 24 months has experienced a 13% decline in medical devices. The new medical devices taxations have put a serious damper on the market as well. The taxes is not on profits, it is strictly based on revenue. This unjust technique is putting suffering businesses and organizations out of business.

Our innovators are forced to sell their devices to other markets. One developer created an iPhone app that can detect heart beats and diagnose arrhythmias from a smart phone device. Due to regulatory committees, the producer is now selling the App to veterinarians. The regulations are much leaner in the field of veterinary care. In this case our animals have a better chance at quality, innovative care than we do.

While it is frightening that we are forcing our best and brightest to take care of our animals, the worse news is that most new innovative medical devices are going directly to India. We are robbing Peter to pay Paul, and drowning in a sea of red tape and bureaucracy. 

Why do you need life insurance?

This came to mind today after my 18yr old son decided to get himself into a small fender bender while going to work at the touristy movie theater on the beach. He was running late for work and ended up pulling into a parking spot "a little" to fast as he would say and scratched the paint of the driver's side door of the car. Ironically, the couple that owned the car saw it happen as they were walking to their car and heard it happen. They had just seen the movie, "The Dark Knight Rises". My son..... works in that same movie theater.

As I have been dealing with calls from Geico about car insurance matters the last few days it had me thinking also about life insurance. Do I have enough coverage to take care of my family if something unexpectedly were going to happen to me? I've already looked into long term care coverage (Thanks to my 78yr. old dad). By the way, his 300,000 long term care plan will run out of money in 18 more months. That's a whole different problem, back to topic here.... I currently carry roughly 1 million dollars in life insurance. My wife has about $500,000. I broke down financially everything it would take to take care of my 4 kids (youngest being 5) & wife if I were going to pass away. It's crazy how quick the costs begin to rise. Most people forget to think about child care needed if their aren't two parents to watch the kids in this equation.

While some life insurance agents aim to guide you toward whole life insurance over term life insurance (whole means more commission for them), term makes more sense for most people. Term coverage is the appropriate coverage for most individuals, as their needs are for a certain term of years while their other assets accumulate, such as retirement savings. You obviously have more debt in a young marriage with kids running around the house than you do once you hit the empty nest stage of your relationship. Make sure you factor in the following items when thinking of how much coverage do you need?

Life Insurance Quotes 1.Short term financial needs? To figure this out, consider emergency expenses and outstanding short-term debts. Emergency expenses should include a cash reserve to cover medical emergencies or repairs to your home. Short-term debts include credit card balances and car loans.

2.Long Term debts? This includes your mortgage, student loans, and future tuition costs. Deciding what your children may need in the way of college funds may sound tricky. But using the cost of college today as an indicator will give you some sense of how much to plan for.

3.How much $ is needed to maintain your lifestyle? On this list you’ll want to include necessities such as childcare, household bills, and transportation expenses. Also consider how much your family spends on non-essentials, like shopping and vacations. Once you’ve come up with a figure based on one year, multiply that by the number of years you expect to be providing for your family.

4.How much are your family’s assets worth? Put a dollar amount on your family’s resources. To do this, you’ll want to include savings, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and Social Security benefits. This list should only include your “liquid assets” — meaning assets that can be converted into cash quickly and easily.

Once you figure this out PLUS inflation you should have a good number to go with.  I also recommend Select Quote for gathering multiple quotes at once and saving time.  They worked out great for me!!

Here's a couple of calculators to help you figure out your needs too!!
http://www.lifehappens.org/life-insurance-needs-calculator/
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/insurance/life-insurance-calculator.aspx
http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/insurance/how-much-life-insurance-do-you-need-12949/
http://www.aarp.org/money/insurance/life_insurance_calculator.html

Most couples don't have sex from sheer exhaustion!

As a married man I wasn't surprised to see that the #1 reason couples don't have sex is just sheer exhaustion. At the end of the day, after I clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher, read the kids their bedtime story, load up the dryer, and give my daughter her required 5 hugs and kisses I am tired. I've been married for 13 years and intimate lovemaking takes a backseat to sleep quite often.

Luckily I don't have insomnia. I'm very active, I play tennis, I'm a runner, and I'm a Crossfitter. My body hits the bed and I'm out within a minute typically. I wanted to share this info graphic, some great info!!


Via: Canada Drug Center

Bed Bugs vs Dust Mites - what you need to know!

The key to remember when dealing with these is two things:
Bed bugs = bad
Dust Mites = good

Dust mites just eat the dead skin cells we leave behind. I have no problem with that.

Bed bugs on the other hand are evil. They are like microscopic mosqitoes that suck your blood in the middle of the night. The easiest way to kill these in a mattress is just to buy a plastic full zip cover and they eventually die. After being encased in a plastic mattress cover for a few days they stop moving and "look" lifless BUT it actually can take up to 12 months for them to die completely and never come back again. Here's a great inforgraphic on the little critters.


Via: Allergy Asthma Technology