Cancer
Stop Lying To Women About Mammography
What's a "sacred cow"? One is a medical belief that's been etched in stone for years. For instance, to question the value of cholesterol lowering drugs is like damning motherhood. Or to challenge the belief that mammography does not save many lives may condemn you to hell. But everyone should be asking probing questions about the sacred cow of mammography. Dr. Peter Gotzsche, a leading Danish researcher, claims there is no convincing evidence that annual mammograms decrease the risk of death from breast cancer.To reach this conclusion Gotzsche and his colleagues analyzed international studies on half a million women. Dr. Michael Baum, professor of surgery at University College, London, England says, "The latest evidence shifts the balance towards harm and away...Read More
Infection
A Revolutionary Way To Prevent Cold Sores
Do you want to avoid that ugly cold sore (herpes labialis) before it even starts? Few people who feel that dreaded tingle and know an attack is imminent, would pass up that chance. Now, a new therapy called "InterceptCS" employs a revolutionary technique, "Thermal Defense Technology", that prevents cold sore outbreaks. Herpes labialis is caused by the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1). Today about 80 percent of North Americans are infected with this common virus which starts early in life but lasts a lifetime. The first attack strikes between six months and 14 years of age when the virus enters the body through tiny cracks in the skin. But after the initial attack HSV-1 travels along sensory fibers to the facial and cranial...Read More
Infection
How To Improve Your Immunity
A reader asks "Please write about natural ways to strengthen the immune system. I want to avoid taking the flu vaccine" This is a good question because every year 40,000 North Americans die during the flu season and thousands more hospitalized. So what steps will strengthen your immunity and insure you'll be around another day? And what has an accidental discovery by an insurance company to do with immunity? Boosting the immune system is more complicated than lowering blood cholesterol or building muscles. After all, germs are everywhere and it's hard to escape them. Besides, they're not all on the toilet seat. Dr. Charles Gerber, a leading microbiologist at the University of Arizona, says the toilet seat contains a mere 49 germs...Read More
Surgery
Shoulder Arthroplasty – I Couldn’t Even Wipe My Bottom
Today thousands of patients are having hip and knee replacement surgery that allows them return to a more active life and pain free life. But what happens to the hip and knee can also strike the shoulder. So why is it that people are more likely to shy away from shoulder surgery when it can be a crippling condition? One woman recently said to me with great hesitancy, "Doctor the pain in my shoulder has become so severe it's difficult to move my arm. I'm embarrassed to tell you, it's now even hard for me to wipe my bottom." If you don't believe this is a medical emergency you've never had this problem. But how does such an embarrassing situation happen? The...Read More
Gastroenterology
There Are Stools And There Are Stools
This column is written with tongue in cheek. But are you bored as I am, at holiday dinner parties listening to friends talk about their blood cholesterol level or the latest treatment for arthritis? If so, and you don't mind not being invited again, start discussing stools. The point is that not all stools are created equal and their composition often tells the difference between being healthy or ill. So what constitutes a healthy stool? Dr. Michael Levitt, an Australian colonrectal surgeon, has written a witty book titled, "The Bowel Book". He says that the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was designed to operate best when stools resemble the shape and consistency (although not the same colour) of an unripe banana. There's no...Read More
Endocrine
Why Muhammad Ali Couldn’t Sting Like A Bee – Thyroid Problems
A patient of mine recently asked, "Why can't you prescribe thyroid hormone to help me lose weight? It's not the first time I've heard this question. In the past I've always asked these patients whether they think it's safer to drive at the normal 100 kilometers an hour (60 miles and hour) or faster. Now I'm going to tell them, "Why don't you ask Muhammad Ali whether it's a good idea?" The thyroid sits like a bow-tie, just below the Adam's apple in the neck. Its purpose is to extract iodine from the blood to produce the principle thyroid hormone, thyroxin. Thyroxin acts like the accelerator on a car. Normally it's in cruise control going along at a constant speed resulting in...Read More
Lifestyle
Want To Get Smarter In 2008?
One Only imbeciles send messages on cell phones or put on lipstick while driving. They are one of the reasons why injuries are the leading cause of death in this country up to age 44. So protect yourself and your children from foolish accidents that should not happen. Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home, store toxic products out of the reach of children, wear life-jackets while boating and helmets while biking to stop becoming a statistic. And beware the imbeciles! Two Stop eating junk food that is half sugar for breakfast. It's safer to eat the packaging. Rather, start the day with all-bran cereal that contains 14 grams of fiber. A Harvard study shows this decreases the risk of heart...Read More
Endocrine
Creatine – I Can’t Get Off the Toilet Seat?
Getting older, as one wise sage commented, is invariably fatal. But is there a sound recipe to maintain to at least maintain our vigor and avoid institutional care? Several seniors have questioned if the use of creatine and conjugated linoleic acid will shred pounds and build stronger muscles. Or is this advice just the latest "flavour of the month" suggestion. In the 1970s Soviet Scientists reported that oral creatine supplements improved athletic performance for brief, intense activities such as the short sprint. Since that time it has been promoted as a "natural" way to enhance athletic performance and build lean body mass. And studies show that the use of creatine increases the creatine content of skeletal muscle. Reports suggest that 25 %...Read More
Cardiovascular, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Vitamins
Your Heart Is Slowly Dying From Chronic Scurvy
Why is research that could save countless lives unknown to Canadian and U.S. doctors? This week, a report that Dr. Sydney Bush, an optometrist in Hull, England, has made an historic discovery. He claims that atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) can be reversed. And his research, which could save millions from heart attack, should have made headlines around the world. It's been said that the eye is the window to the heart. It's the only part of the body through which doctors can see arteries and veins during an eye examination. This allows doctors to see changes in retinal vessels, the result of aging, hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. And it's been believed for years that blockages in arteries due to cholesterol deposits...Read More
Lifestyle
Men Need A lesson From New York City Fireman
Can you prove anything you want by statistics? You bet. But here's one case where there's no need to manipulate figures to prove a point. It's a straight, simple, indisputable fact that women live 5.4 years longer than men. So was the Almighty just unkind to men or is this problem the result of their own stupidity? Male vulnerability starts early. The pregnancy of a male fetus is more likely to end in miscarriage or stillbirth. Even as infants the mortality is higher among premature boys. They have a higher rate of developmental disabilities and autism. And are more likely to be born colour blind. They also die more often than women from almost all of the leading killers, coronary attack, cancer,...Read More
Alternate Treatments
This Haircut Will Cost Me A Lot of Money
"Would you like a free massage after your haircut, doctor?" the owner of Elizabeth Milan's salon in Toronto's Royal York Hotel asked me. It had been a hard day seeing patients and maybe I looked a trifle haggard. But whatever the reason, being of Scottish heritage, the free part appealed to me. So I said, "Why not?" Massage as therapy has stood the test of time. It's been used by Chinese, Greeks, Roman and Indian civilizations. During a trip to Egypt last year I saw numerous paintings of people practicing massage in the tombs of Kings and Queens. And Julius Cesar was apparently given daily massage to treat neuralgia. Many people tend to look on massage as a luxury found only in...Read More
Cardiovascular
Will President’s Clinton’s Physicians Prescribe Coenzyme Q-10?
I would have given my right arm to be at the press conference following President Clinton's Heart surgery. Why? Because I knew that the journalists would ask the same old question. How would the bypass operation affect Clinton's longevity? I also knew his doctors would tell journalists that he would be on cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of his life. And I knew that hell would freeze over before anyone asked, "Will the President also be given coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10) to protect against the adverse effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)?" Last week in this column, I explained that CLDs have a number of side effects. This column suggests that this country may be facing an epidemic of congestive heart failure (CHF)...Read More
Gastroenterology
Anusitis and Other Causes of Rectal Bleeding
"Why didn't you come to see me earlier? It could have saved you months of worry," I recently questioned a patient. She had delayed seeing me because of rectal bleeding and she was terrified I'd tell her the diagnosis was cancer. Yet her only complaint was anusitis, an often overlooked rectal condition. But whether it's anusitis or a serious problem a cardinal rule is never, never to ignore rectal bleeding. Many people think they're suffering from hemorrhoids but the cause is often anusitis, an inflamed area just inside the anus, which causes a burning sensation, discharge and wetness. This results in multiple tiny cracks that trigger itching. For many, relief is as close as the refrigerator door. For years doctors have used...Read More
Dermatology, Medicine
New Support Group For Psoriasis Patients
Sir William Osler, one of this country's greatest physicians, remarked that no doctor thoroughly understands a disease until he suffers from it. He could have added that this also applies to patients. The ones who find it hard to get information about their disease when doctor visits today are limited to 15 minutes or less. Now there's a way for patients with psoriasis to communicate with others who have this disease. It's a great way for patients to help each other. Psoriasis is a disease in which the patient's body literally shoots itself in the foot. What happens is the immune system that normally protects the body from disease, goes on a rampage and attacks the skin and other body organs....Read More
Infection
New “Sahara Desert” Drug Cures Head Lice
Why am I scratching my head? It's because I'm writing about head lice and even the thought of having this crawly beast, "Pediculosis capitis", in my hair triggers this reaction. It also makes me understand the traumatic, emotional and embarrassed reaction of parents (and child) when they're told, "Sarah (or Johnnie) has head lice." Now that school has started, over a million parents in this country will hear this news. Fortunately, a new "Sahara Desert" treatment rids families of this common pest. One child in 10 will contact lice by grade six and many myths surround this parasite. Lice do not transmit communicable diseases. They can't jump or fly as they don't have wings. Short hair does not protect children from...Read More
Alcohol
The Healthy Barmaid
What has London's Heathrow airport, an English pub and an elderly barmaid to do with this column. In one word, "plenty". A chance remark triggered "The Healthy Barmaid". And I hope this book will improve the lifestyle of readers and save them from diseases that should never happen. I was en route to a medical convention in Singapore and debating how to pass the time during a six hour stopover in London between flights. That's when I remembered I hadn't seen the house where I was born since I was seven years of age. So I asked a London cabby to take me to Croydon, about 20 miles outside of London. After driving through London traffic for about an hour we arrived at...Read More
Dermatology
Collagen Producing Peptides For Wrinkled Skin
What made Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, so attractive? Certainly being born beautiful wasn't a hindrance for her seduction of Mark Anthony. But apart from having genetics on her side she knew that natural beauty could be preserved and augmented by the application of healthy emollients. Both Cleopatra and Poppea, wife of the Roman Emperor Nero, used a honey-and-milk lotion to keep them looking youthful. But what would Cleopatra and Poppea have done to get their hands on a new potion proven to reduce wrinkles up to 78 percent? These two women were not aware of the science of cosmetics at that time. Through today's science we know that lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid which helps to cleanse...Read More
Nutrition
Postpone A Wormy End and Gorillas Should Have The Right To Vote
William Shakespeare wrote "A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king". He could have added, "or fish with the worm that eventually gets us all." This is not a pleasant thought to pass to along to readers at the start of the day. But since the life of worms and other insects can be extended it may be possible for humans to postpone that final wormy day. Studies show that restricting calories in worms, insects, mice and rats does prolong their lives. This usually means eating about 25 percent less than what they would normally consume to maintain normal weight. It's been labeled "under-nutrition without malnutrition". So far it's the only intervention tried by scientists that has...Read More
Medicine, Orthopedics
Prexige: A New Painkiller For Arthritis Pain
For three million Canadians, osteoarthritis can be a debilitating disease that can affect not only their ability to function in their day-to-day lives, but leaves many depressed and isolated. A few years ago a number of these drugs were removed from the market. But this has left many patients confused, frightened under-treated and living in pain. Some people had to give up their favourite sport, gardening, a daily walk, find it difficult to navigate the stairs or even open a bottle. The options available for these people just don't work, have intolerable side effects or pose more risk than benefit. During the last few years 34,000 patients around the world participated in a study to evaluate whether a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug...Read More
Philosophy
What’s So Important About “1,500”? – Gifford-Jones, 30 Years
"I've decided to start publishing your column," the editor remarked to me. Then he added, "You realize your life will never be the same again?" How true! 30 years later I've now written a newspaper column every week, 52 weeks a year, a total of 5,230 articles. It's an experience I wouldn't have missed. And what have I learned? I would gladly hang some lawyers for what they've done to medical practice. Parasitic ambulance chasers have forced doctors to take needless x-rays and other tests for fear of medical malpractice suits. This has increased the cost of medical care when medical budgets are stretched to the limit and limited the judgment of physicians. I've also learned how to lose newspapers. Years ago...Read More
Cancer, Gynecology
Obese Men and Women More Likely to Die of Breast Cancer
What a devastating experience it must have been for Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the former U.S. vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, to be told on the day of his loss, after spending two grueling years campaigning with him that she had breast cancer. This was more than enough bad news for one day. Unfortunately for both sexes obesity increases the risk of many malignancies. Dr. Penny Anderson, a cancer specialist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, reports that obese breast cancer patients are more likely to die than normal weight women. Yet another blow for Elizabeth Edwards who spoke candidly during the campaign about her struggles to control weight. Dr. Anderson and her colleagues studied 2010 women who had been treated...Read More
Medicine
Where Was Oscar the Cat When I Needed Him?
"Why don't you go to lunch? I'll wait here until he dies," I suggested to the nurses. The patient was a 90 year old Baptist minister, and after days of futile treatment for cardiac problems, I was sure the end was imminent. At the time I was a young doctor at the Manoir Richelieu hotel in La Mal Baie, Quebec. But to my surprise several days later the minister left the hotel alive after I had decided to stop all medication! If only Oscar the cat had been present he could have told me we all could go to lunch! The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, not noted for publishing trivia, recently surprised doctors by publishing a photo of Oscar....Read More
Surgery
Sacrifice Part of Your Stomach To Lose Weight?
"Desperate diseases require desperate cures", wrote the immortal bard, William Shakespeare. For grossly obese patients this means putting part of the stomach and small intestine out of commission (bariatric surgery). But this is not minor surgery and patients should know the risks before making this desperate decision. This year 150,000 bariatric operations will be done in North America. These patients usually weigh 300 or more pounds and the surgery seems like the answer to a maiden's prayer. Proponents of the operation say it causes weight loss, helps to cure or reverse diabetes, hypertension and the risk of other complications of obesity. For some patients it can be a life-saving procedure. Several surgical techniques are available to trim the stomach and intestine. One involves...Read More
Gastroenterology, Vitamins
Treating The Rocky Bowel For 15 Cents – Big Errors with Fibre
What's the best way to determine whether a patient's diet contains sufficient fiber? Luckily, there's no need to order expensive CT scans, MRIs or ultrasounds. A quick rectal examination that finds rock-like stools will provide the answer. And every day in my office I make this diagnosis. What patients don't realize is they've committed a nutritional sin, an omission endangering their health. Humans don't learn from history. Dr. Denis Burkitt, a British researcher, showed that African natives who consumed large amounts of fiber did not suffer from constipation, appendicitis or problems of the large bowel, such as diverticulitis (hernias of the colon). Students of history may remember the story of the battle ship King George V chasing Germany's battleship, the Bismark. But...Read More
Nutrition
Should You Buy Organic Food?
"Do you ever buy organic food?" I asked my wife. She quickly answered, "No". Then I asked, "Why do some people buy it?" She replied what most people say, "Because it's free of pesticides". But is this true? And with increasing food prices is it prudent to spend hard-earned dollars on organic farm products? A report in the "Nutrition Action Health Letter" provides much more insight about organic foods. It states a Neilsen study showed 34 percent of Canadians purchased organic foods to avoid pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Others believed that these products were more nutritious than conventional foods. The problem is there is little data on the risks associated with eating fruits and vegetables that contain pesticide residues. For instance, this...Read More
