Being pessimistic is bad for your heart – but being optimistic doesn’t help

So – avoid pessimism and say your prayers. Here's a study from Finland – During 11 years of follow-up, 122 people died from coronary heart disease. After controlling for smoking, diabetes and other factors, the scientists found that those in the highest one-quarter of scores on pessimism were more than twice as likely to die … Read more

Depression, anxiety, and cancer

From the NY Times health section; more evidence of the tie-in. After controlling for age, smoking, physical activity and other factors, they found that compared with those with the lowest scores on depression and anxiety, those with the highest had higher rates of cancer death. The associations were particularly strong for colon and rectal, prostate, … Read more

SciAm: “Dementia Rates Falling Among U.S. Seniors”

Good news from Scientific America. And only 11 paragraphs long with some hypotheses on why this is happening. Short and sweet. The percent of older US adults with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, declined from 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2012, a decrease of nearly a quarter, scientists reported on Monday. The percent … Read more

“Cancer deaths among women to rise 60% by 2030, new reports warn”

An article from the Guardian (UK). American Cancer Society and Lancet studies point to devastating increases, mostly in poorer countries, with breast cancer diagnoses set to almost double “Most of the deaths occur in young and middle-aged adults”, placing a heavy burden on families and national economies, said Sally Cowal, senior vice-president of global health … Read more

Health Update

I hardly ever do these anymore – thank God! Saw lymphoma guru Dr. Zelenetz last Friday, along with bloodwork and a CAT scan. Everything done in East Harrison, at the very large satellite offices of Memorial Sloan Kettering – a quite nice space. Everything looks fine. Will only be having a CAT scan every other … Read more