Category: Medicine Hat News

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ELMOSS

Each year, I make New Year’s resolutions. Often, I cannot accomplish them all. But for many reasons, the year 2000 was a good one for me. I tried to follow what I wrote in my column on January 1st, 2000. I said that if we take good care of ELMOS then ELMOS will take care of many of the health problems that affect us.

What does ELMOS stand for?

E stands for exercise, L for laughter, M for meditation, O for organic healthy food, and S for stress relief. You can help yourself with ELMOS. It is based on our own time, our own determination and our own dedication.

So, how did I do in 2000?

Exercise: I have been using my treadmill. But not as much as I would like to. Experts recommend moderately intense exercise daily at least for 30 minutes. I have been pretty close but I hope to do better this year. If you are new to exercise then remember to warm up and cool down. Know your limitation and check with your doctor if you are not sure.

Laughter: I haven’t been laughing much last year. I have been too busy taking care of other things. But this year I want to laugh a lot. Laughter is the best medicine. It is cheap. And it can be infectious. So let us plan to laugh a lot and spread it around.

Meditation: A quotation from Blaise Pascal (a French philosopher, scientist, mathematician, and writer) says it all, “All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Meditation is defined as private devotion or mental exercise consisting in any of innumerable techniques of concentration. Like many of you, I do practice some sort of meditation each day but not enough to benefit my health. May be half an hour of silence with eyes shut in a room alone (with soft music or relaxation tape or a rosary) is what I should aim for this year.

Organic healthy food: It is not always easy to find organic food, says my wife. And it is expensive. But she tries hard to buy whatever she can find. Maybe one day we will have a supermarket full of organic food. I eat 5 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit daily. I stick to low fat and high fibre diet. But what bothers me most is the amount of fried food and sweet stuff lying all over the place. Sometimes at home, most of the time at work, in cafeterias and restaurants. This year my target is to cut down further on sweet stuff (good bye to my favourite chocolate chip peanut butter cookie!).

Stress relief: Life without stress is not possible. Stress is part of our life. Some people take up smoking, drinking alcohol or coffee, and eating junk food as an escape from stress. I try exercise, laughter, a good movie or a book, massage therapy, or swimming with few minutes in the whirlpool. I find water very relaxing. I expect my stress level to be little less this year if I can control my time.

Looks like I have some work to do this year. Perhaps you too. Why don’t you make a list of your plans and stick it somewhere where you can see it everyday? You may send me a copy if you like. Apply the KISS principle – keep it simple stupid!

Good luck and happy New Year.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Christmas

This is the last column of the year. I am writing it on Christmas day. By the time you read this, the Christmas will be over. And like me, you will be sitting and wondering where did the year go.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were spending millions of dollars to prepare for the impending disaster in year 2000. We are grateful that no disasters wrecked our lives. Now December is here and almost gone. But the month of December is probably the most exciting month of the year.

Month of December is a month to take stock of our lives and our deeds

Month of December is a month to be generous. Generous to our family, our friends, our co-workers, and ourselves. Generous to people who are not known to us but are not as better off as we are.

Month of December is also a month of happiness and celebrations. Millions of people all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We also celebrate the end of the year and beginning of the New Year.

Month of December is also a month of physical stress. The weather – especially this year – has not helped. Some people have suffered broken bones due to slippery conditions. Some have been maimed or killed on the roads. Some have suffered ill health due to flu or pneumonia or other ailment.

Month of December is also a month of financial stress. Shopping for presents, travelling to meet family and friends, finding money to go on holidays. Cooking for friends and families. And thinking of January as a month to pay all the bills.

Month of December is also a month of “fighting the battle of the bulge” stress. The parties. All that food and alcohol. The guilt and anger that all that hard work to lose few pounds has gone down the drain.

Month of December is also a month of “time management” stress. At work, the month is pretty short. You have to finish a month’s work in two to three weeks. Then there are people who want things done before the holiday starts. Parents have to find time to attend children’s year-end activities – besides attending all those parties. It is a stressful time!

As a non-Christian, I do not have all the stresses mentioned here. But it is hard to escape the spirit and celebration of Christmas. We take part in many of the activities taking place around us. You don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy good parties and good food! Or take time off and have a good holiday with our family

This Christmas day, I am spending a day in Calgary in a hotel room with my family and writing this column. We are going to visit my mother and take her to my sister’s house for a Christmas dinner (turkey and all that!).

In couple of days, we will back in Medicine Hat. Then I will start thinking about the New Year and the New Year’s resolutions. The rat race will begin. Hopefully, I will be fresh again to fight the same old battles with renewed energy and enthusiasm although my body and mind will be one year older. And that sucks!

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Prostate Cancer

Dear Dr. B: Pierre Trudeau died of prostate cancer. At the age of 58, Preston Manning is diagnosed to have prostate cancer. Can you please tell me something about prostate cancer – especially prevention and early detection? Yours: Mr. Worried.

Dear Mr. Worried: Let us start with bad news first. Every man, who lives long enough, will develop prostate cancer. The risk of getting prostate cancer increases rapidly after the age of 50. In fact, by age 75, the risk of getting prostate cancer is 30 times higher than age 50. But the good news is: if the prostate cancer is detected early then it can be cured.

How common is prostate cancer? If you take 100 men age 50 or older, 30 will have prostate cancer, 10 will be diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer, and three will die from it. According to the National Cancer Institute of Canada (1996), prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer in men, exceeded only by lung cancer.

According to Alberta Clinical Practice Guidelines, there are four major risk factors for prostate cancer: age, race, diet and family history.

Age: this has been discussed earlier. Race: African-American men have a 30 percent greater incidence of prostate cancer compared with white men. Diet: a high intake of dietary fat also seems to be associated with a higher risk for developing prostate cancer. Family history: there is an increased risk for the development of prostate cancer in men who have first-degree relatives with the disease.

How do I know I have prostate problems?

If the prostate is large enough to partially block the flow of urine, then there is diminished urine flow (Doc, I cannot hit the wall!); delay in onset of urine flow (honey, don’t rush me!); and frequent urination (sir, when is the next bus stop!) especially at night (oh boy, a man has to go when he has to go!). The enlarged prostate can be due to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) or prostate cancer.

Does it mean that if I don’t have any symptoms then I do not have prostate cancer?

No, that is not true. You may be harbouring cancer in the prostate gland without any symptoms. That is why there is a big drive to screen asymptomatic men over 50 with digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

Although digital rectal examination has a cancer detection rate of only 0.8 to 7.2 percent, it remains an important test that can be done easily in a doctor’s office. It also checks for anal and rectal tumours. So it has a double advantage. PSA blood test has a false positive rate of 20 to 50 percent and false negative rate of 25 to 45 percent. That is means 30 to 50 percent of the time the test is wrong! So, why do them? The reason is simple – this is the best shot we have to get an early diagnosis!

What about prevention? Preventive strategies for prostate cancer are same as any other cancers. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends the following: stop smoking, eat low-fat, high fibre foods, and exercise regularly, limit salts, alcohol, and caffeine intake.

DRE and PSA is the best we have to make early diagnoses. So, Mr. Worried, talk to your doctor and get yourself checked out!

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Exercise and Health

Dear Dr. B: Physical activity clearly benefits cardiovascular health. But people do die suddenly during or immediately after vigorous exertion like jogging or snow shovelling. What can one do to reduce the risk of sudden death during or after vigorous exertion? Yours: Born to Exercise!

Dear Born to Exercise: This is an interesting question. There are so many benefits to regular physical activity that we tend to forget exercise or any type of physical exertion can kill.

“Approximately 6 to 17 percent of all sudden deaths occur in association with exertion and there is evidence to suggest that vigorous exertion simultaneously triggers and protects against sudden death,” says an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The authors of the article looked at the role of vigorous exertion in precipitating or preventing sudden death. It was part of the Physicians’ Health Study to determine whether vigorous exertion triggers sudden death and whether habitual vigorous exercise diminishes the risk.

About 22,000 male physicians between the ages of 40 to 84 years were studied over a period of 12 years. These physicians were otherwise well and had no obvious cancer or cardiac problems.

The majority of the participants in the study reported exercising vigorously two to four times per week. During the 12-year follow-up, 122 deaths occurred from cardiac causes (in apparently healthy male physicians). Fourteen percent of the deaths occurred during vigorous exertion and five percent of deaths occurred within 30 minutes after vigorous exertion.

These individuals were involved in different types of activities: 68 per cent jogging or racquet sports; 25 per cent other sports; 7 per cent were doing heavy yard work or home repairs.

It was found that the relative risk of sudden death associated with an episode of vigorous exertion was lower among those who exercised more frequently compared to men who rarely engaged in vigorous exercise (less than once a week). Men who exercised at least five times a week had a much lower risk of dying suddenly during or after vigorous exertion.

How can one avoid sudden death from vigorous activity?

There is no good answer to that. The article says that habitually active men have a much lower risk of sudden death in association with vigorous activity. But most active men’s risk remained significantly elevated during and after vigorous exertion.

This is scary because is no 100 per cent protection against sudden death. The benefits and risks of vigorous exercise are paradoxical. It is a double-edged sword. The important thing is to know ones limit as regular moderate exercise or physical activity has tremendous benefits. It is an important strategy in the prevention of the cardiovascular diseases and other chronic ailments.

So, if you are Born to Exercise then carry on exercising and stay within your limits. Talk to your family doctor to define these limits. “The balance of evidence supports the value and importance of participation in regular exercise regimens,” says the NEJM. A good workout is always better than no workout!

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!