Who Is
W. Gifford-Jones, MD
Dr. Ken Walker (who writes under the pseudonym of Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, MD) is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Harvard Medical School. He trained in general surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University and in Gynecology at Harvard. His storied medical career began as a general practitioner, ship’s surgeon, and hotel doctor. For more than 40 years, he specialized in gynecology, devoting his practice to the formative issues of women’s health. In 1975, he launched his weekly medical column that has been published by national and local Canadian and U.S. newspapers. Today, the readership remains over seven million.
His advice contains a solid dose of common sense and he never sits on the fence with controversial issues. He is the author of nine books including, “The Healthy Barmaid”, his autobiography “You’re Going To Do What?”, “What I Learned as a Medical Journalist”, and his latest book, “90+ How I Got There!”.
Many years ago, he was successful in a fight to legalize heroin to help ease the pain of terminal cancer patients. His foundation at that time donated $500,000 to establish the Gifford-Jones Professorship in Pain Control and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto Medical School. At 93 years of age he rappelled from the top of Toronto’s City Hall (30 stories) to raise funds for children with a life-threatening disease through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. His hobby is trap shooting.
He is married to Susan and has four children and twelve grandchildren.
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Are You Drinking Enough Water?
March 24, 2025
It's a no brainer that we need to drink water everyday. A cup of coffee, a glass of milk, or a bowl of soup will all deliver this basic necessity. But it's never a bad...
Read on and get more Medical Tips... →Alternate Treatments, Cardiovascular, Cholesterol, Lungs
We as Old as Our Arteries
March 22, 2025
Sir William Osler was a wise old owl in explaining medical matters. He was a professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, and finally at Oxford University in England....
Read Article →Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Good Health is a Family Affair
March 15, 2025
Helen Keller knew it better than most. She said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Good health is often viewed as a personal responsibility, but what if we told you...
Read Article →Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Obesity
Ban Foods Causing Fatty Livers in Young Children
March 8, 2025
How many parents know this shocking fact? The American Liver Foundation reports that 10 percent of young children have fatty degeneration of the liver. It’s due to horrid food consumption practices, too much sugar and...
Read Article →W. Gifford-Jones, MD
Tells It Like It Is
“You’re Going To Do What?”
How is such a busy, professional, well-traveled doctor and writer able to extol great advice at 90+? By leading a healthful, intentional life, and by applying his knowledge and common-sense approach — gained from years of research — to his own daily routines. Journey with Dr. W. Gifford-Jones through the remarkable career as a hotel doctor, ship’s surgeon, family physician, surgical specialist, syndicated medical journalist, and maverick. Along the way, learn the “do’s and don’ts” of reaching the age of wisdom.
W. Gifford-Jones, MD: 90+ and going strong.
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