What if there was a cure for cancer?

By cure, I mean an herb or medicine that attacks only the cancer and causes no ill side effects.

What would happen?
1. Entire wings of hospitals would have to be put to different uses. Oncologists would have to learn a different specialty.
2. The American Cancer Society, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Association, the state-based cancer associations, and the International Kidney Cancer Association, among others, would fizzle out.
3. Everything pink would need a new color...there'd be no need for all of the money-raising campaigns for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
4. Fewer hospice patients because there would be none on their death-bed from terminal cancer.
5. The life expectancy age would probably increase since chances of cancer typical increase with age. So maybe curing cancer wouldn't produce less hospice patients, just older ones who die from some other ailment.
6. Insurance companies couldn't raise premiums on people who have had cancer in the past.
7. Smoking cigarettes wouldn't be quite such a big deal since lung cancer wouldn't scare anyone. (though there'd still be heart disease)
8 Companies could start using any number of chemicals and compenents labled as "carcinogenic" because they would no longer be deadly...they'd just cause an inconvenience. Sure, people could still sue because they got sick, but the amount of money the person could get would most likely be less than it would be today.
9. The health industry (namely pharmacuetical companies, but doctors as well) would make less money off of cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation are much more expensive than an herb or medicine. According to a 2007 article from USA Today, roughly 1 in every 26 people in America have or have had cancer. In 2005, that meant 11.7 million people. By 2020, it's estimated that 1 in 19 people will have cancer at some point. Those kind of numbers equal a very lucrative business for the ones selling the treatment.

Can you think of other ways that things would change?

Obama says he will slow the rise of healthcare costs.

Healthcare costs are constantly up for debate right now, but costs are high enough already...there should be a way to decrease them rather than slow the increase. In our current healthcare system, we try to cover up whatever ails us. Have a headache? Take an Advil. Don't worry about asking why you have a headache. But what if we did ask why? What if we actually started targeting the root causes of the diseases and ailments rather than simply treating the effects? As a whole, we would require fewer doctor visits, fewer tests, and fewer medications. That would equal less cost for us.
However, for this to be cost effective for the average American consumer, insurance companies would actually have to pay for more than medication. They would have to look at chiropractors, certain therapists, nutritionists, and others as vital to healthcare. Also, doctors don't get paid for talking. The typical goal is to see how many patients can be in and out each day. They don't get paid extra to talk for an hour to diagnose the cause of the problem.
Targeting the cause instead of the effect is not easy. Most of us don't want to change our lifestyle or give up our favorite foods. But if we're unwilling to change any of it, then we can't complain about higher health costs. As a nation, our health is getting worse. With the current healthcare system, our worsening health requires more doctor visits, more tests, and more medication. That all has to be paid for somehow.
I believe the government is looking backwards at the healthcare problem. Their current stand keeps us sick so that an expensive healthcare system is necessary. They slack on junk food advertising regulations and allow medicines to enter the market without proper testing (Have you ever noticed how many medicines are recalled or taken off the shelves because of health problems that arose from it? Or the TV commercials where a lawyer asks if you took a certain medicine because you may be able to sue the pharmaceutical industry for a disease caused by that medicine?)

I'm not sure where all of this rambling got me or if I even made any sense. I just heard it in a radio broadcast that "Obama says he will slow the rise of healthcare costs" and thought it was a ridiculous statement.

3 Cheers for Wawa!

My vacation took me to the northeast of the US where I encountered my first Wawa gas station. I stopped by one morning on my way to another overly-sweet pancake breakfast, and was very pleasantly surprised to see apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, grapes, and assorted fruit cups for sale. I hadn't seen a grocery store nearby, so I assumed there would be no fruit for breakfast this day. I was so excited to be wrong!
Now we just need to encourage other gas stations to follow suit. Are there some in your area that already sale fruits or veggies?

I know there have been many times I have had to pick up a few food items at a gas station because it was closer than a grocery store and there just wasn't time to go the extra distance. Unfortunately, the healthiest things I can usually find are a can of ravioli and a Nature Valley granola bar. If people are going to have more access to healthier options, gas stations need to be the first to jump on the wagon.

Here's my thumbs up to Wawa! I hope Exxon, BP, Shell, and the others will do the same.

Back Home!

I've been on vacation for the last few days. I had so much fun, but my eating has also been so messed up. Something about long road trips makes me want to eat...especially junk food. Debbie cakes, Reese cups, Twizzlers, candy.

And then I felt miserable.

The healthier I eat, the worse I feel after too much junk food. Does that mean before I started eating healthier, my body thought junk food was all there was so it put up with it? Or did I feel worse than I realized because I thought it was "normal"?

Anyways, I'm ready for a detox or something. I missed my smoothies! I ate fruit when it was around, but it just wasn't the same as my morning smoothie. Waffles just can't compare. Don't get me wrong...I love waffles (and pancakes and French toast), but only occasionally. I ate them for 3 mornings while I was gone. Ugh.

On one good note, I still stayed away from sodas. The Pepsi was tempting sometimes since there were usually so few drink options where I was, but I still stuck with water.

Grill It

Grilled Squash from Allrecipes

We're in the middle of grilling season, and I'm ready to throw everything onto those hot racks. Here are some fruits and veggies you may or may not have already thought to grill:

Pineapple: slice it and drizzle with pure maple syrup. Lightly grill, then top with pecan pieces

Grapes: Drizzle a little honey over small clusters and lightly grill.

Pears: Combine brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg to drizzle over pears and toasted hazelnuts in a tin foil packet. Grill a few minutes on either side.

Try apples, bananas (sliced lenthwise), honeydew or cantaloupe kabobs, or peaches or nectarines (with skin so they'll hold together. They'll get really mushy if grilled for long.) Be creative with spices and flavors - ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.

Tomatoes - Cut in half and grill cut-side down until the cut part is darkened.

Try onions, mushrooms, yellow summer squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, peppers, corn on the cob, or asparagus - Any of them can be drizzled with a little olive oil or butter, sprinkled with salt and pepper or your favorite seasonings, and grilled. They can also soak in a marinade first.

Or make kabobs with a variety of the veggies.

I really want to try Grilled Eggplant, Tomato, and Goat cheese and Grilled Zucchini Boats.