Heroin, Pain
Politicians Take Note – Readers Damn Opioid Summit
This week my e-mail nearly developed “Rigor Mortis” from the volume of responses to my column about an opioid summit. I recently told readers the government’s proposed opioid summit was a waste of money. I asked for their opinion. The majority agreed with me. But some labelled me barbaric, cruel and Godless for praising Singapore’s system of justice. M.P. writes, “I also saw the warning signs when entering Singapore airport. A poster showed a drug dealer hanging by a rope!” Another reader adds, “I’m glad someone has the balls to discuss the consequences of this drug problem.” From A.W., “My wife would swear I wrote your column. The only way to deal with drug dealers is death. Put them in jail and these...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Medicine, Pain
Gifford-Jones; Do I Look Like an Addict?
“But why must I give you a urine sample?” I asked the receptionist at the marijuana clinic. She replied, “Because we won’t see you without one, and each time you come back you must give us one. It’s to make sure you’re not taking illegal drugs.” So at 94 years of age, a doctor with lots of gray hair, tired after fighting Toronto traffic, and walking with a cane, I asked her, “Do I really look like an addict?” I reluctantly gave her a urine sample! But why was I there? Years ago, while in Japan, I had a Japanese massage at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. During the procedure, a petite girl suddenly struck a heavy blow on the side of...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Pain
Marijuana for Gifford-Jones?
Why would I, at my age, want to start smoking pot, when I’d much prefer a glass of chardonnay? It’s because I’ve suffered annoying neck pain for years due to an old injury which happened in Japan. Besides, my experience with the plant may help others who suffer from chronic pain day after day, and find no relief from other painkillers. My interest in marijuana dates back many years. At that time several readers asked for my support to obtain medical marijuana. Some patients had found that marijuana decreased nausea while undergoing chemotherapy. Others with spinal cord injuries, accompanied by painful muscle spasm, also reported relief. But many could not find a doctor to prescribe marijuana. So I argued in my...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
We Need Lee Kwan Yew – Not an Opioid Summit
Why don’t we learn from history when the question is a no-brainer? For instance, a recent editorial in a major Canadian newspaper states, “We Need an Opioid Summit.” One could add to this headline, “a Summit that would solve nothing and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.” What we actually need is the perspective of Lee Kwan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore. Unfortunately he’s dead. Saskatoon police recently disclosed publicly the name and telephone number of a known drug dealer. They warned people that cocaine purchased from the dealer might also contain fentanyl. It could kill them. Last year the Canadian government stated that about 4,000 citizens died from drug overdose. More bluntly, they were murdered by poison by drug dealers,...Read More
Lifestyle, Sports
Exercise Can Kill You
The Earl of Darby once remarked that “Those who don’t take time for wellness, will eventually have to make time for sickness.” Like many doctors, I too have advised patients and readers to exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Now, Dr. Maureen Brogan, Associate Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College, reports that intense, repetitive, motion exercise can cause rhabdomyolysis. And in rare cases it can kill. Brogan explains that when muscle is damaged, it dumps myoglobin, an iron and oxygen-binding muscle protein, into blood circulation. Excessive amounts of myoglobin can obstruct the kidney’s filtration system and cause serious damage. I have mentioned in previous columns that, in rare cases, prolonged use of high doses of cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause...Read More
Miscellaneous
Is There a Doctor On the Plane?
What is it that doctors worry about when they’re flying? It’s not fear of flying. They know that travelling by air is safer than driving a car. Rather, it’s the possibility that they will hear a sudden announcement, “Is there a doctor on the plane?” This is when the brain shifts into high gear. Every time it happens to me, it reminds me of my days of internship at the Montreal General Hospital. Interns took turns riding in the ambulance on emergency calls. We never knew what we might encounter. But at least our feet were on terra firma, and we knew that on returning to the hospital specific expertise would be available. But in the air, this announcement, particularly if it...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Pain, Philosophy
Sudan, Will Humans Ever Learn?
What a sad, thought-provoking photo, published in the Globe and Mail newspaper. It shows Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, unable to stand. You can see the terrible frustration and pain on his face. Veterinarians, at the Pejeta Kenyan Conservancy, decided that since there was no quality of life left for Sudan, only unsolvable pain, the best treatment was a lethal injection. It’s ironic that veterinarians are so compassionate about the end of life for dying animals. Yet some physicians, who often see the agony of human death, can be so lacking in compassion, and are outright cruel. We could ask why ending Sudan’s life did not trigger the usual cries that only God can decide this issue. Or argue that...Read More
Lifestyle, Medicine, Nutrition
The Philippines Finance Oral Insulin Pill
A Spanish proverb states, “He loses all who loses the right moment.” I had a similar thought a few weeks ago when I wrote that, “a brain that’s full of knowledge has no room left to dream.” Why these philosophical mutterings? Because I was annoyed that Canada had lost a major medical opportunity. Now, the insulin mouth rinse that should have been a “Canadian First”, is a Philippine economic coup. It’s a loss for Canada. But the Philippines had the vision to see that an oral insulin product offers immense medical and financial benefits. I’ve told readers that Eastgate Biotech Corp, using nanotechnology, had developed an oral insulin pill to treat Type 2 diabetes. This is a monumental finding since...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Mediterranean Diet for a Long Life
Leonardo da Vinci once remarked, “Trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle.” Trifles can make a huge difference in surgery, when building rockets, in nutrition, or in life generally. For instance, a report in the publication LifeExtension shows that a Mediterranean Diet prolongs life. As we all age, this is no trifle. For years doctors and nutritionists have known the Mediterranean Diet is a “Five Star” one. But no one knew why this diet had such remarkable benefits. Now, researchers have discovered its success is due to polyphenols (a plant based compound). They lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by an amazing 60 percent! This means fewer heart attacks, strokes, hypertension and less inflammation. The author of the report, Michael...Read More
Miscellaneous
Insomnia; It’s Shortening Your Life
F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author, once remarked, “The worst thing in the world is try to sleep and not to.” I’m sure many readers share Fitzgerald’s problem. But suppose this common trouble kills you? That’s when it’s worthwhile to find out more about insomnia, and why some people suffer from TAT (Tired all the Time). Professor Matthew Walker is founder of the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Human Sleep Science. He’s also author of the book, “Why We Sleep.” Walker says, “The silent sleep loss epidemic is one of the greatest public health challenges we face in the 21st century.” Right now, if you become drowsy while driving, his figures should awaken you. Walker says that one person dies every hour...Read More
Medicine
Why Don’t They Read History to Save Lives?
It’s been said that “If you don’t learn from history, you’re destined to relive it”. So today I have to repeat what I’ve said before. It’s apparent that the medical profession, TV anchors, and Medical Officers of Health (MOH), have never read history. So young children, and others, are dying of influenza. Today, rather than believing what I write, go to the internet and read about the history of Dr Klenner. During the great polio epidemic of 1948, Dr. Frederick Klenner, a family doctor in North Carolina, was placed in charge of a ward of 60 patients stricken with this paralyzing disease. Dr. Klenner decided to give massive doses of vitamin C to all 60 patients. None of them developed paralysis! A...Read More
Cardiovascular
A Great View, But Will it Kill You?
What is the greatest threat to having a heart attack, the nation’s number one killer? Ask this question and most people will answer it’s having high blood cholesterol. Or they respond, it’s due to hypertension, obesity, diabetes, or a stressful lifestyle. But suppose you ask what things will improve the chance of surviving coronary attack? I’d predict that after some hesitation the answer will be having someone nearby to administer cardio-pulmonary respiration (CPR). But how many will know it depends on the floor you’re living on in a high rise building? And what should you know about the 26th floor? I’ve now been living for 35 years in a high rise condo in Toronto. But my wife and I never considered that...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
What I Learned Watching My Wife’s Cataract Surgery
As a surgeon, giving medical advice to a family member, particularly to your wife, is a difficult task. Moreover, since she’s also my editor, Susan is well aware of my advice to readers. Namely, that it’s prudent never to agree to surgery for a painful hip or any chronic condition until it affects your quality of life. So, how did I react to her cataract surgery? According to The National Eye Institute, by age 80 half of North Americans have a cataract, or have required the operation to replace a foggy lens. In Canada 250,000 such surgeries are performed each year and an estimated 1.5 million worldwide. Many people are unaware they have cataracts in the early stages of growth. Since cataracts...Read More
Infection, Medicine
The Right Answers about Flu Could Save Your Life
“Get the shot”, is the message now the flu season is here. But how effective is the vaccine? What is the chance of a mismatch? Are there serious complications? Should you get your shot at the local pharmacy? Or treat yourself with over-the-counter products? Should you rely on natural remedies? The right answers could save your life. How Effective is the Vaccine? Australia’s flu season, during its winter and our summer, usually predicts what happens in North America. And during Australia’s past winter, there were 215,280 cases. Dr. Ralph Campbell, reporting in Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, says this increase was most likely due to a vaccine mismatch. In effect, it was the wrong vaccine for the current virus. But suppose researchers achieve a...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Cardiovascular, Nutrition
The Nitric Oxide Key to Prevent Heart Attack
Ask anyone what causes a sudden coronary attack and they will say it’s the result of high blood cholesterol, lack of exercise, obesity or smoking. Now, a report in the publication “LifeExtension” says doctors must start thinking “endothelium”. I’d bet few readers could even spell this word. So why is it so vital? And what natural remedies make it healthy? The endothelium is the ultra-thin, one cell thick, innermost lining of arteries. It produces nitric oxide. And it’s ironic that just this single layer of cells, if unhealthy, results in decreased blood circulation, hardening of arteries, and is a major cause of the big killers, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. During our early years, a youthful endothelium is due to...Read More
Heroin, Pain, Psychiatry
Readers Say “Cancer Patients Deserve Better”
Several weeks ago I wrote that Canada’s Federal Minister of Health had announced 100 million dollars would be available to fight the opioid crisis. In addition, it would now be easier for addicts in treatment centers to obtain heroin. But I argued there was no such easy access to heroin for terminal cancer patients in agony. I’ve received tons of mail from angry readers. From E.D. “I watched my Father die a horrible death due to cancer. He lost all dignity, begged doctors for heroin, as morphine did not help. A vet of the Korean war should not have suffered this way.” J.F., an English nurse, says, “When I came to Canada I couldn’t believe heroin was not available. I was told...Read More
Diabetes
My Scottish Father Would Roll Over in His Grave
Most people know that obesity is a health issue. But how many know that it’s responsible for 95 percent of Type 2 diabetes? Or that 50 percent of diabetes patients die of heart attack? How many readers know how obesity affects surgery? And what would make my father roll over in his grave? For 60 years I’ve seen obesity in children and adults increasing in North America and most of the world. It’s tragic that few people fully understand how much this epidemic affects their lives and what it’s costing society. My viewpoint about obesity developed over time as a surgeon. I was once asked during an interview if operating on a 300 pound patient compared to a patient half that weight...Read More
Cardiovascular, Vitamins
How “GAADD” Is Slowly Killing North Americans
A wise sage once remarked, “It’s not things you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s the things you know for sure that ain’t so!” Most doctors and patients are convinced cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) prevent heart attack. I say, it ain’t so. So what may prove me right? And why is GAADD so important? Fact # One Years ago I interviewed Dr. Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel Prize winner. He explained that animals make their own vitamin C and rarely suffer a heart attack. For example, guinea pigs manufacture 13,000 milligrams of C daily, but if infection occurs these animals increase the amount to 100,000 mg daily! It indicates that nature provides vitamin C for health. Unfortunately, humans, due to a...Read More
Cancer, Cardiovascular, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Neurology, Pain, Vitamins
What Did You Learn From Me in 2017?
I hope my columns during 2017 have helped readers live longer and healthier. So which of the following are true or false? There’s evidence that regular activity lowers the risk of dementia. Also a suggestion that high daily doses of vitamin C can decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at The Harvard Medical School report the magical ingredient in fish to decrease the risk of heart disease is omega-3 fatty acids, which like Aspirin, add oil to the blood making it less likely to clot. The survival rate of cancer of the prostate has little to do with the type of treatment. Rather, it’s related to the biological nature of the malignancy. Some cancers are pussy cats, others raging...Read More
Infection
Want a Pet? The Risk and Benefit.
Who doesn’t love the pet who lavishes unconditional affection through thick and thin? President Harry Truman, while coping with the lonely responsibilities of his job, remarked, “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog!” But there are risks and responsibilities in pet ownership. It’s a matter worth considering since about 57 percent of North Americans own a pet. In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Paul Cherniack and Angela Cherniack discuss some of the infectious risks in owning pets. Yet it’s amazing that, in spite of these risks, studies indicate doctors rarely ask patients about pet ownership of dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, reptiles and rodents. So what are the main infections to consider? Cats are most likely to infect humans...Read More
Medicine, Miscellaneous
We Need More Love in the Christmas Stocking
What does this world need more than anything else this Christmas? It needs gifts of love, empathy, civility, less hatred, less poverty and less environmental pollution, destruction of guns and missiles before it becomes too late. It needs a mindful civilization that cares about every human being. And it must start with individual families and end with politicians throughout the world who control nuclear weapons. I enjoy the festivities of the Christmas season. For a short time the world looks less likely to blow itself up. But for people who’ve lost loved ones it’s a grim, lonely time. A Christmas surrounded by possessions, but without family and friends who care is the setting for depression. As a doctor I’ve seen much unhappiness...Read More
Alcohol, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Our Belly proves we’re not Gods this Holiday Season
This is the season to be jolly, and the last thing I want to do is spoil the holiday festivities. But, unfortunately, the office parties, family dinners, excess wine and fellowship of singing “Auld Lang Syne, all take a toll on one’s stomach. So, can you lessen the damage of hot fire beneath the breastbone? And what are the pitfalls in the treatment of this common discomfort? Heartburn is triggered by several factors. The lower esophageal muscle (LEM) at the end of the food pipe can become weak and inefficient at times. So if you “eat the whole thing”, excess gas is created in the stomach and the laws of physics say something has to give. This results in the LEM...Read More
Cancer, Heroin, Pain
Heroin for Opioid Addicts, None for Cancer Patients
Where is the common sense and compassion in this country for cancer patients who suffer in agony? I write this because drug addicts, who largely seek pleasure from opioid drugs, are now getting better pain control than cancer victims. And these patients and their families should be enraged by what is happening. The Federal Minister of Health (MOH), Ginette P. Taylor, has announced a 100 million dollar fund to fight the opioid crisis. She reports “This situation keeps me up at night.” I should remind her that cancer pain keeps many patients in agony 24 hours a day! What is more galling is that the government wants to reduce barriers that limit access to heroin for addicts in drug-treatment programs. Yet there...Read More
Orthopedics, Sports
Taking Arsenic Would be the Safer Option
Today, there’s almost a crusade taking place to decrease the risk of concussion in hockey, football and other sports. But what is the risk of other injuries? A study, published in the issue of JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, says you do not have to participate in high octane sports to be injured. The report shows that facial fractures among older adults are on the rise. And taking arsenic in some activities would seem to be a safer option for some seniors. Researchers, at Wayne State University in Detroit, evaluated national emergency room statistics and discovered an interesting trend. During a five year period 20,500 adults ages 55 and older suffered facial fractures. In fact, the number of these injuries had increased...Read More
Neurology
A Recipe for Alzheimer’s Disease
What causes Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)? I recently read an article written by Stephanie Seneff, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. I know from my years at Harvard that MIT does not employ dummies. So it’s worthwhile reading her “Recipe for Developing AD.” # Danger One: Be skeptical about current drug therapy. Seneff says the general belief is that amyloid plaques in the brain are associated with AD. But although drugs can decrease the size of plaques, they also accelerate the rate of mental decline! So prevention is currently the only way to treat this dreaded disease. # Danger Two: Seneff reports, “Together with colleagues I published a paper this year on a theory...Read More
