3490 Does this smoker bear responsibility

for his lung cancer? Was it his pack a day habit that caused his disease, or was it his employer's fault, or his post 9/11 work environment, or the government? Story here at Overlawyered.

"New York City police officer Cesar Borja died tragically young of lung disease last month. Advocacy groups (including a website that regularly accuses tort reformers of using oversimplified "pop" anecdotes) and Senator Clinton pushed his story to the media to promote a multi-billion-dollar taxpayer giveaway program (that, not incidentally, would provide contingent fees for attorneys) by claiming that Borja was sickened as a hero working "fourteen-hour days in the smoldering pit", and was killed by alleged government lies about the safety of the air (though the government did call for respirators that they admitted Borja didn't wear) and the media bought it in front-page tabloid stories."

We all want to blame someone else when we mess up. It's human. But if you smoke, accept that you will probably die at a younger age, and in much more pain, than if you didn't; don't finger point at your employer who allowed it, or your government which legalized it, or your military unit that supplied it, or your buddies who thought it was cool. You bought them, you lit them, you smoked them. You will suffer.Source URL: http://maryelizabeth-winstead.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20care
Visit Mary Elizabeth Winstead for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

3228 Pandering to special interests

A medical examiner, Dr. Charles Siebert, in Florida is being maligned because he determined that the cause of death of a young black man, Martin Anderson, in a military style boot camp was "complications of sickle cell trait," and the manner natural. Bill Oliver is a pathologist and writes about the medical literature that has shown for over 20 years that young black men with sickle cell trait collapse and die at a high rate in boot camp and athletic preseason workouts.

"The Attorney General, and soon to be elected Governor, Charlie Crist decided to make an example of Dr. Siebert. After all, who was this little guy who thought that practicing medicine was more important than getting him elected? It was, I suppose, a no-brainer. Pandering to racial special interests is always a win when it can be done at no cost except for ruining the life of some cog in the machine."

Part 1, Part 2.Source URL: http://maryelizabeth-winstead.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20care
Visit Mary Elizabeth Winstead for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

3225 A reminder about colonoscopy

Yes, it's expensive and not pleasant, but it's the only procedure that can actually prevent cancer. Plus, if you go with one of the less intrusive tests, and they find something, you'll have to have the colonoscopy anyway. So start at the top, or the bottom, as it were. Haven't looked at this yet; it's probably at your public library.

Colorectal Cancer Risk Following a Negative Colonoscopy, Robertson and Sirovich, JAMA.2006; 296: 2437

Murray sent me this list, but it also appears on some websites and blogs, include RangelMD.com

Comments heard during a colonoscopy

1. "Take it easy, Doc, you're boldly going where no man has gone before."

2. "Find Amelia Earhart yet?"

3. "Can you hear me NOW?"

4. "Oh boy, that was sphincterrific!"

5. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

6. "You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married."

7. "Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?"

8. "You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out. You do the Hokey Pokey...."

9. "Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!"

10."If your hand doesn't fit, you must acquit!"

11. "Hey, Doc, let me know if you find my dignity."

12. "You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?"

13. "Could you write me a note for my wife, saying that my head is not, in fact, up there?"Source URL: http://maryelizabeth-winstead.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20care
Visit Mary Elizabeth Winstead for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

3196 See your Healthcare Provider if. . .

That phrase drives me crazy. Do you know who falls under that term, "healthcare provider?" Here's the definition I found at Medscape when discussing who should have the flu vaccine among health workers. The definition of healthcare provider included in the ACIP and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) statement, published in February 2006:

"A healthcare provider refers to all paid and unpaid persons working in healthcare settings who have the potential for exposure to infectious materials, including contaminated medical supplies. Healthcare providers might include but are not limited to: physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, technicians, emergency medical service personnel, dental personnel, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, autopsy personnel, students and trainees, contractual staff and persons, for example, clerical, dietary, housekeeping, maintenance and volunteers not directly involved in patient care but potentially exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted to and from the healthcare provider."

According to the article, adults can shed influenza virus for up to 24 hours before they develop symptoms and for typically 4-5 days after the onset of symptoms. So staff you see at a doctor's office often are coming to work when they are shedding virus. They found that the majority of healthcare workers come to work while they still have symptoms from what might be influenza. The CDC reports that fewer than 40% of health care workers have been vaccinated.

Call me cranky, but why isn't this "recommendation" made a condition of getting their paycheck during the flu season?

influenza vaccination, healthcare providers, influenzaSource URL: http://maryelizabeth-winstead.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20care
Visit Mary Elizabeth Winstead for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection