Another day, another town and another town hall meeting to try to convince people that his health care reforms will work for everyone. On Saturday President Barack Obama was in Grand Junction, Colorado speaking to yet another group of people who still have questions about his policies and intended reforms.
However one comment from the audience elicited a surprisingly personal reaction from the Commander - in - Chief. The question was about the increasingly contentious and vicious tone that the whole health care debate has been taking in recent weeks. ""I just lost my grandmother last year. I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that," Obama stated, pausing between words and seeming to struggle to finish his thoughts "What you can't do -- or you can, but you shouldn't -- is start saying things like we want to set up 'death panels' to pull the plug on grandma,". He was referring to rumors and allegations made by opponents that a bill passed a House Committee included the setting up of "death panels" to decide which senior citizens should continue to receive medical treatment.
Obama finished his reply by stating "So the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma ... when you start making arguments like that, it's simply dishonest,"
Barack Obama was perhaps closer to his grandmother than many people are. She was very active in raising him after his parents divorced when he was two, as his mother Ann Durham was often traveling in connection with her work as an anthropological field worker.
Ironically Madelyn Payne Durham died after a long illness on November 2nd 2009, just two days before her beloved grandson won his historic victory in the November 4th Presidential election. She was rarely seen during his campaign efforts due to her ill health. She did however get to cast her vote for his presidency, as she voted by mail from her home in Hawaii on October 27th.
The meeting in Grand Junction was the last of a three state tour that the President undertook this week. None of the meetings have been as contentious as some had expected, on the whole they have been fairly civil affairs with audiences appearing to be supportive of the President in general.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Mammography and Sonography Findings in Men with Breast Cancer.
Most people consider breast cancer to be strictly a feminine concern. However, although they account for only 1% of the diagnosed breast cancer cases each year, breast cancer in men does exist. In the most recent figures available, for 2005, 1,764 men were diagnosed with the disease and 375 died as a result.
Diagnosing male breast cancer can be challenging, especially given the stigma that affected men may feel will accompany such a diagnosis. But a study conducted by scientists at the University of Texas MD Cancer Center in Houston, Texas traditional mammography and sonography techniques are effective in diagnosing men with breast cancer.
Imaging taken of 57 male patients were analyzed by the study “The findings show that breast cancer in men most commonly presents itself as a mass with an irregular shape and spiculated (spiky or pointy) margins that may or may not have calcifications. Many men in the study, 47%, also had cancer which had spread to the armpit,” said Wei Tse Yang, MD, who was the lead author of the study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
According to Dr Yang almost 100% of men who develop breast cancer have a lump that they can feel, much the same as women with the disease. And just as women who notice a new lump or mass occurs in their breast he encourages that men who discover such a thing should consult with their physician as soon as possible. Mammography and sonography are key to aiding primary care physicians with making a quick and accurate diagnosis. They allow for full interrogation of the involved breast and allow for screening of the opposite breast,”says the doctor.
Why some men should develop breast cancer is unclear. Doctors do know however that 1 in 6 male breast cancer sufferers have a relative, including females, who have been diagnosed with the disease. This is in comparison to the 5 - 10% of inherited breast cancers in women. Some doctors also feel that chest radiation therapy as a child may also be a risk factor for men.
However such men may face far more difficulty in obtaining the treatment that they need than female patients do. Many family practitioners themselves are not aware of the fact that male breast cancer does indeed exist and may not be looking for such a thing. Add to that the fact that breast cancer is considered by most people to be female disease and the fact is that early detection is far less common in the case of male breast cancer. Dr Yang and his team hope that the publication of their study will raise awareness both in the medical community and with men in general.
Diagnosing male breast cancer can be challenging, especially given the stigma that affected men may feel will accompany such a diagnosis. But a study conducted by scientists at the University of Texas MD Cancer Center in Houston, Texas traditional mammography and sonography techniques are effective in diagnosing men with breast cancer.
Imaging taken of 57 male patients were analyzed by the study “The findings show that breast cancer in men most commonly presents itself as a mass with an irregular shape and spiculated (spiky or pointy) margins that may or may not have calcifications. Many men in the study, 47%, also had cancer which had spread to the armpit,” said Wei Tse Yang, MD, who was the lead author of the study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
According to Dr Yang almost 100% of men who develop breast cancer have a lump that they can feel, much the same as women with the disease. And just as women who notice a new lump or mass occurs in their breast he encourages that men who discover such a thing should consult with their physician as soon as possible. Mammography and sonography are key to aiding primary care physicians with making a quick and accurate diagnosis. They allow for full interrogation of the involved breast and allow for screening of the opposite breast,”says the doctor.
Why some men should develop breast cancer is unclear. Doctors do know however that 1 in 6 male breast cancer sufferers have a relative, including females, who have been diagnosed with the disease. This is in comparison to the 5 - 10% of inherited breast cancers in women. Some doctors also feel that chest radiation therapy as a child may also be a risk factor for men.
However such men may face far more difficulty in obtaining the treatment that they need than female patients do. Many family practitioners themselves are not aware of the fact that male breast cancer does indeed exist and may not be looking for such a thing. Add to that the fact that breast cancer is considered by most people to be female disease and the fact is that early detection is far less common in the case of male breast cancer. Dr Yang and his team hope that the publication of their study will raise awareness both in the medical community and with men in general.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Why US Home Foreclosures in July 09 are 32% Higher than Last Year.
The month of July saw U.S. home foreclosures hit record high figures with 360,000 fillings, up 32% from the same time last year. One in every 335 homes received a foreclosure notice, a rise of 7% from June according to RealtyTrac.inc.
Despite ongoing government intervention at both federal and state level, the housing crisis continued to deepen as over 87,000 homes were repossessed, up from 79,000 in June taking it to the highest level since the foreclosure-listing firm began publishing data four years ago. Growing unemployment and falling property prices are also exacerbating the failures in home loans with default notices, auction and bank repossession on the rise across many states.
“July marks the third time in the last five months where we've seen a new record set for foreclosure activity" said RealtyTrac's chief executive, James J. Saccacio in a statement. "Despite continued efforts by the federal government and state governments will patch together a net of safety for troubled homeowners, we are seeing significant development in both the initial notices of default and in the bank repossessions."
Since April last year, home prices in 20 major US cities dropped 18% according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5% in June bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to 6.5 million, the highest figures since 1983.
Defaults by subprime mortgage borrowers with poor credit helped escalate the housing crisis which spread to prime borrowers as property prices fell. One in eight Americans are now behind on their mortgage payments or already facing foreclosure according to The Mortgage Bankers Association.
Nevada had the highest rate of foreclosures for the 31st month in a row with one in 13 households receiving a filling- more than six times the national average. California, Arizona, Florida, Utah, Idaho, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon were the other states in the top ten for high foreclosure rates.
Despite ongoing government intervention at both federal and state level, the housing crisis continued to deepen as over 87,000 homes were repossessed, up from 79,000 in June taking it to the highest level since the foreclosure-listing firm began publishing data four years ago. Growing unemployment and falling property prices are also exacerbating the failures in home loans with default notices, auction and bank repossession on the rise across many states.
“July marks the third time in the last five months where we've seen a new record set for foreclosure activity" said RealtyTrac's chief executive, James J. Saccacio in a statement. "Despite continued efforts by the federal government and state governments will patch together a net of safety for troubled homeowners, we are seeing significant development in both the initial notices of default and in the bank repossessions."
Since April last year, home prices in 20 major US cities dropped 18% according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5% in June bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to 6.5 million, the highest figures since 1983.
Defaults by subprime mortgage borrowers with poor credit helped escalate the housing crisis which spread to prime borrowers as property prices fell. One in eight Americans are now behind on their mortgage payments or already facing foreclosure according to The Mortgage Bankers Association.
Nevada had the highest rate of foreclosures for the 31st month in a row with one in 13 households receiving a filling- more than six times the national average. California, Arizona, Florida, Utah, Idaho, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon were the other states in the top ten for high foreclosure rates.
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