[lit-ideas] Re: Life or death
- From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 23:37:26 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
I think a lot of healthcare would be unnecessary if people weren't so darn fat
and sedentary. Most health problems are preventable. Children do need more
care, with immunizations, ear infections and the like, but there's little
excuse for most adults. Even colon cancer, as mentioned in the article. The
receiver of the treatment got an extra six years, that's true, but they
presumably revolved around surgery and treatment and the cancer metastasized
anyway. Certainly there are many reasons for colon cancer, but one that stands
out is red meat consumption and low fruit and vegetable consumption. Obesity
is associated with just about everything. We could help the animals, help the
earth, help ourselves and spend a fraction on healthcare in the process.
Diabetes is almost entirely a factor of weight and it's of epidemic
proportions. Pharma's partly to blame. They have a pill for what ails you,
whether you need it or not. Pop a pill for diabetes and chase it with a 2,000
calorie meal.
Dr. Norton Hadler, author of "Last Well Person: How to Stay Well Despite the
Health-Care System" says we're way over tested. High quality studies (as
opposed to a lot of what's quoted) conclusively show, he says, that testing
improves life span minimally. But, I guess one of his exceptions, my neighbor,
60, had a mammogram and did find tumors, one of which had spread to the lymph
nodes. She had surgery and seems okay. We'll have to wait and see if they
recur. Mammograms are notoriously unreliable. Broken bones, repairing
hernias, dealing with infections (increasingly more difficult), that sort of
thing medicine is good for, but I agree with Dr. Hadler that modern medicine
isn't anywhere near as helpful as prevention, which includes intangibles, like
having a job you like. As Dr. Hadler says, the mortality rate in this country
is one per person...
-----Original Message-----
>From: Ursula Stange <Ursula@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Apr 3, 2007 10:07 PM
>To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Life or death
>
>Canadians shake their heads. Yes, we have often unacceptable waiting
>times for necessary surgery. Yes, the system wastes tons of our
>money. But, unlike my sister in sourthern Indiana, my neighbours don't
>not take their kids to the doctor because they can't afford it.
>Americans spend more per capita than any other country on health
>care...but...
>Ursula
>happy to be Canadian for this and many other reasons...
>
>Carol Kirschenbaum wrote:
>> Julie,
>>
>> More people in the US need to know what's up. Most don't realize that
>> the treatment for people without health insurance (or the money to pay
>> for treatment outright) is, simply, lack of treatment.
>>
>
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