Last night, after my class on menopause, I had an interesting and disconcerting conversation with a woman. She was in her mid 40′s and told me she was considering having a bilateral mastectomy. I naturally thought this poor lady had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. However, I was wrong. She was actually considering having both of her breasts removed for prevention. She had a family history of grandmother, mother and sisters having breast cancer. While up to now she had completely normal mammography studies and absolutely no lumps upon self examination, she was still seriously considering having this normal tissue removed. Her fear of cancer was just this strong.
October is National Chiropractic Health Month. This year’s topic is about obesity and is titled, “Why Weight? Get Healthy!” If you are wondering why chiropractors feel the need to address this issue, consider this: (more…)
Who is responsible for your health, you or your doctor? How you answer that question boils down to your philosophy of health. If you take an active role in educating yourself about wellness, lifestyle, and disease prevention, you will probably answer, “I am responsible for my own health.” If your philosophy is based on the “sick care” model, you may lean towards relying on your doctor. When illness or disease strikes, you go to your doctor for relief, oftentimes in the form of some prescription drug. You trust the doctor is making an educated judgment on how to “fix” the problem.
Chronic diseases last for years and often start long before symptoms begin- conditions like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, they are the mostcostly and preventable health problems in the US. The good news is chronic diseases can be prevented and even reversed by making lifestyle changes, including exercise and diet. “I knew that,” you say. “How basic can you get?” Here are a few statistics from the CDC: (more…)
