Cancer Incidence In Different Parts Of The USA

Different forms of cancer seem more prevalent in some areas of the USA compared to others.  For example, read here. Part of abstract:

For many cancers, there were distinct clusters of counties with especially high mortality. The location of these clusters varied by type of cancer and were spread in different regions of the United States. Clusters of breast cancer were present in the southern belt and along the Mississippi River, while liver cancer was high along the Texas-Mexico border, and clusters of kidney cancer were observed in North and South Dakota and counties in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska, and Illinois.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:
Cancer mortality declined overall in the United States between 1980 and 2014. Over this same period, there were important changes in trends, patterns, and differences in cancer mortality among US counties. These patterns may inform further research into improving prevention and treatment.

This differences can be due to genetic differences between demographic groups variably distributed in these regions, differences in lifestyle including diet and physical activity, different distribution of age groups in these regions, socioeconomic status and access to health care, etc.  As the authors state, hopefully this information can be useful in optimizing prevention and treatment.

More On Cancer Prevention And Lifestyle

Here is recent news on yet another study linking lifestyle to cancer risk.  These are all things you, as a reader of this blog, should be well aware of by now.  The importance of curbing these behaviors to reduce cancer risk is underscored by these additional data.

Researchers with the American Cancer Society looked at data on cancer incidence and deaths, finding that 42 percent of all cancer cases in the United States -– and nearly half of all cancer deaths – are linked to preventable risk factors like cigarette smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, excess body weight, alcohol intake and dietary choices.

Cigarette smoking, in particular, was connected to far more cancer cases and deaths than any other single risk factor, accounting for 19 percent of all cancer cases and 28.8 percent of deaths. Overweight and obesity came in second, responsible for 7.8 percent of cases and 6.5 percent of deaths, while alcohol intake was the third most important factor, leading to 5.6 percent of cancer cases and 4 percent of deaths.

Although there are some sex-specific differences as to the relative importance of various risk factors, the bottom line is that these things – smoking/overweight/obese, bad diets, certain STDs, alcohol – are bad for everyone.  Be aware and adjust your life accordingly, to the extent you are able.

Happiness pursuit, the Scandinavian way

It seems that in childhood we have the natural knack for hygge

I have previously written about happiness, but today's post is about the Scandinavian approach to it.

 I just watched
WHAT IS HYGGE ? THE NEW TOP INTERNET TREND.


I carefully listened to Jenny Mustard, and yet, what exactly is hygge?

According to the online definition,  hygge (pronounced “HUE-gah”) is:

 "... simply the Danish ritual of enjoying life's simple pleasures. Friends. Family. Graciousness."

Can I make hygge and coziness a mission in my life at least during this Holiday season? How do I achieve it? 
 
The hygge video by Jenny Mustard's was so intriguing, that I went on a detective trip around Internet to learn more.

My curiosity brought me to yet another video, this of Living Danishly: inspiring ideas from the world's happiest country. The talk was by Helen Russell, who shared life experiences from Denmark, including her understanding of hygge.

Helen's description of how relaxed Danes are about their jobs and working hours immediately connected in my mind to a recent LinkedIn post. 

The post was about Mark Douglas, the CEO of the marketing and advertising company SteelHouse. Mark gives a three-day weekend every month and a $2,000 annual vacation bonus to his employees (OK, ...one of my browsers is on job openings in SteelHouse). No wonder the company has "virtually zero turnover". I am sure that even if Mark's employees have not heard about hygge, they know how it feels. 


I have also heard about German companies that allow their employees to "borrow" a couple of retirement years when they are still young and healthy.
 
The concept of hygge reminds me of a thought I recently heard and will re-phrase here: 

"If you live with the past, you will be depressed, if you live with the future, you will be anxious, if you live in the moment, you will achieve peace of mind". 

We do not have the power to change the past, we may not be able to influence the future, the only power (limited or not) is this of determining what we do at the moment. Today is the day we can change things.

Actionable

• Live in the moment, and plan for experiences that create memories.

•  If you are still unsure how to practice hygge, then probably some sound therapy will help? (just kidding)
  

Lifestyle versus predisposition: scratching my head

Have you heard about the health care systems in the U.S. that have started to sequence millions of genomes in order to unearth a few predisposition genes? Millions of dollars are now poured into this endeavor. As a result, we will eventually connect the presence of some gene variants with increased risk of conditions X, Y and Z, ... and we will know that Joe Smith carries a predisposition gene for condition Z.

The fact that these are only PREDISPOSITION genes tells you that LIFESTYLE may or may not allow for conditions X, Y, and Z to be developed. Then the logical question is, why are we so complacent about our current disease-permissive lifestyle? Should not we tackle unhealthy habits with the same enthusiasm (and the same amount of funds/resources) as the ones with which we embark on massive sequencing efforts? Is it cost-effective to allow the average American to play DARE by practicing the most disease-permissive lifestyle in the history of humankind?

Under ideal circumstances, in taking care of each individual, the health care system should combine the implementation of healthy habits along with the knowledge of the predisposition genes of the individual. Platforms such as PatientsLikeMe should match sequencing data input with physical/physiological data and health markers/outcomes. Prospective analyses of such data will suggest how "tweaks" in the lifestyle can prevent the establishment of conditions to which some are predisposed.

Since we are faraway from the ideal situation, it seems that educating the Americans in healthy prevention-oriented lifestyle is more economically sound than massive sequencing of a million human genomes. What do you think?

The follies of our lives - part II

Folly #2 

Adopting a lifestyle that kills

Not too long ago we were dying from infectious diseases. Today we die mostly from chronic diseases. Why? Because we have adopted a lifestyle that kills. Even if we do not smoke and/or drink alcohol, we eat food that kills, we sit instead of walk, we do not sleep enough, we stress too much.

 
Change

We have heard it all: habits are hard to break. And yet, I am not sure that most of us realize that the actual choice is “Your habits or your freedom”, and may be even “Your habits or your life”.
 
Changing habits may feel like you are trying to walk against a crowd running in the opposite direction (i.e., the “killer lifestyle” direction). There will be problems: you will be pushed, cursed at, shoveled in one direction or another, swayed from your determination, but you have to remember that healthy lifestyle equals freedom. Also remember that no one else cares more than you about your health, and you cannot trust a sick health care to take care of you when you are in need.

The same way you accumulate and track your money, you should track your health. 

If you are smoking, stop. There are ways to do it.

If you feel depressed, gorging on junk food is not the answer.

If you are overweight/obese, take small steps to improve your diet. There are many self-help websites, and no one else but you is most interested in your health.

If your children are becoming overweight or obese, take measures since you do not want to blame yourself for killing your own children by instilling unhealthy habits. Encourage your children to move more and become their prime example to follow.

Stop consuming any soft drinks and fruit juice.

Challenge yourself and try to get your vitals in shape with intermittent fasting and with this advice.

Wean yourself from processed foods, and learn how to cook at home, it could be fun and it would be very beneficial for you. Learn how to cook soups, for example.

If you can, eliminate as much stress from your life as possible. Here are a few stress busters. Speaking about stress, free yourself from consumerism. The less you need, the less you will work from 9 to 5 and the more likely is that one beautiful spring day you will be able to go out and enjoy the sun instead of subjecting yourself to physically and psychologically toxic work conditions.

Face your anxieties and try to work out a plan of your life. Gain a new perspective on your life and its meaning.

Make time for your family and dinners that bring you together with the most loved people.

Stop watching TV: this is how you will block the confusion generated by the media, and you will have to put up with less “noise”.

Advance your knowledge on how to protect yourself from the worst diseases: prevention does not take a medication, all it takes is your good will.

In brief, be good to yourself and your loved ones. 

Have I been good to myself and my loved ones? Today I am doing my best to live by my advice. It is just that sometimes life is so stressful that I move through the days like a zombie. I am still unable to effectively deal with stress.

Anyway, have I always observed the advice I give now? No, seven years ago you could find me biting on a salami sandwich and sipping orange juice. What is worst, I gave the same food to my child. However, once I found what was good and bad, it was not difficult to give up processed meats, orange juice and sugary treats.  I had no problem decreasing to a minimum red meat consumption. 

It is a struggle to convince other people to adopt these dietary habits. The only thing I can do is inform people how to live a healthy life, and hope that I am not labeled as the most annoying busybody. 

To be continued...

Folly #3