It is the last weekend of November and the Christmas shopping madness has begun…..

I had much to do over Thanksgiving so this week’s post is a bit thinly sourced….I apologize.

Local–With just two days left of this hurricane season it looks like we dodged a bullet again this year….a wonderful thing but we cannot help but dread next…..we have gotten some cooler weather as a relief from 80 and humid.

Personal–Not much just a wonderful T’giving day get together.

Moving on the the meat of the post….

Since my cancer diagnosis I have read just about everything on the disease and want to pass on to others that may be in the fight

Some think they have found the root cause of cancer….

Cancer is one of the biggest health problems in the world today. Almost every family has been touched by it in some way, either directly or through a loved one.

Cancer happens when cells in the body start growing in an uncontrolled way. Instead of growing, dividing, and dying in a normal and balanced way, cancer cells keep multiplying and can form tumors or spread to other parts of the body.

For many years, doctors and scientists have known that some lifestyle choices, such as smoking, spending too much time in the sun, or being exposed to harmful chemicals, can increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, aging itself also plays a major role.

…

A team of researchers from Yale University wanted to look more closely at this question. They carried out a large and detailed study to understand where cancer-causing changes in DNA come from. DNA is like an instruction book inside every cell that tells the body how to grow and function.

When this instruction book develops errors, or mutations, the cell may start to behave in a dangerous way and turn into a cancer cell. The Yale scientists examined DNA mutations found in tumors from 24 different types of cancer. By studying these mutations, they were able to look back in time and estimate what might have caused them.

https://knowridge.com/2025/11/research-finds-root-cause-of-cancer/

There is some good news on the fight against cancer…..

Nearly one in 10 American adults now report having been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives—a notable jump from 7% in 2008-2009, according to the latest data from Gallup. Gallup says 9.7% of around 41,000 people surveyed in 2024 and the first three-quarters of 2025 said yes when asked, “Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have cancer?” The survey shows the rate of reported lifetime cancer diagnoses has been rising steadily over the last decade, even as the rate of new cancer cases in the US has edged downward by 4% over the past 10 years.

That means the increase in lifetime diagnoses is not due to more new cases. Instead, experts say, it’s largely because people are living longer after a cancer diagnosis, thanks to better treatments. The percentage of Americans who have had a cancer diagnosis at some point is highest among older adults—now at more than 21%, up from 18% in 2008-2009. As the US population ages, the total share of Americans with a history of cancer is expected to keep climbing.

The report also notes that cancer death rates have continued to drop, declining by nearly 2% per year over the last decade, and the five-year survival rate has improved to 69%. Some cancer types, including breast cancer in younger women, are becoming more common. Researchers have found increases in 14 kinds of cancer among Americans under age 50, though across ages, genders, and races, the only decline in cancer diagnoses between 2008-2009 and 2024-2045 was an 0.2% drop from 2.6% to 2.4% among people 30 to 44. Among people 18 to 29, the rate was unchanged at 1.1%.

The overall picture, Gallup concludes, is a mixed one: More Americans are surviving cancer, but the health care system will face increasing pressure as the population ages and more people live years or decades after a diagnosis. Harold Wimmer, the president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said advancement in research and early detection have dramatically improved lung cancer survival rates in recent years, but he’s worried about budget cuts, reports Axios. The “CDC is critical in helping to prevent lung cancer by funding programs to prevent tobacco use and help people quit, and the research done at NIH has led to 73 new treatments for lung cancer in the last decade alone,” he said in a statement. “The cuts to programs and research are devastating.”

How long will this trend continue especially now when the government is stripping any research top the bone?

These GOPers are really sick people…..

Are abortions poisoning us all? That’s the latest line of attack from Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere, with lawmakers arguing that women who take abortion pills must prevent their blood and fetal tissue from contaminating the water supply.

It’s hard to even know where to begin with this one. Maybe we should just start in Wisconsin, where some GOP lawmakers are looking to make doctors who prescribe abortion drugs send patients home with “a catch kit and medical waste bag” and instructions for its use. For physicians, failing to do so would be a crime punishable by up to $10,000 and/or three and a half years in prison, according to the Green Bay Press Gazett

https://reason.com/2025/11/24/catch-kits-for-fetal-remains-are-republicans-latest-dystopian-plan-to-punish-abortions/

Are you a donor?  Well there is more you can do….

When most people think about donating body parts to science or medicine, they might think of life-saving donations of organs, tissues or blood. But you can also donate your poo.

The idea is to use it for poo transplants, otherwise known as faecal microbiota transplantation. That’s when poo products made from healthy donor poo are transplanted into another person to improve their health.

Scientists like myself rely on poo donations to run clinical trials into this type of research. Some clinics rely on poo donations to treat patients.

To put it bluntly, we rely on people having a shit for science or medicine.

Here’s how to get involved and become a poo donor.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-donate-your-poo-to-science-or-medicine-266361

What’s that in your pants, sir?

An alleged would-be smuggler faces a hefty fine and a long stretch behind bars after authorities say they found two sedated parakeets in his pants at the US-Mexico border. Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Jesse Martinez, a US citizen who lives in Mexico, was indicted Friday on a smuggling charge in the bizarre case. Martinez allegedly tried to cross from Mexico into Southern California in late October, but customs officers noticed a suspicious bulge in his trousers, reports the New York Times. At first, Martinez claimed it was, er, natural, but finally admitted he had birds in his groin area.

Officers discovered two orange-fronted parakeets—a protected species native to Mexico—unconscious but alive inside brown sacks, per the Washington Post. Martinez said he didn’t have the right paperwork to bring the birds into the US, claiming they were pets from his uncle and that he planned to keep them in a shoebox in his van. Court records indicate this was not his first attempt: He’d previously been caught in September trying to smuggle a parrot, which was later euthanized. The parakeets are now in quarantine at a Department of Agriculture facility in New York.

The lengths to go to for a cheap thrill.

The lengths some will go to to see their name in lights….

A Swedish father’s quest to impress his kids has landed him a world record, for the most matches stuffed up someone’s nose, reports UPI. Martin Stroby, 42, tells Guinness he was inspired after his children became fascinated with the Guinness World Records book and encouraged him to try to break a record himself.

Initially skeptical about his own talents, Stroby eventually decided to target a category he thought was within reach: the most matches held in the nose, a record that at the time stood at 68. That record was held by Peter von Tangen Buskov of Denmark, until Stroby came along, per the Daily Guardian. After a few trial runs, Stroby realized he could tolerate the discomfort and found he had a natural knack for the odd feat.

The main challenge, he said, was keeping the matches from falling out, but after some experimentation, he developed a technique that minimized the spillage. Stroby ultimately managed to fit 81 matches in his nostrils, securing the record and earning some serious bragging rights at home. “As a father, I want my children to look up to me in the same way I look up to my father, who has taught me more than I can write down,” Stroby said.

Finally a tale from the crypt….

A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, told the AP on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated. He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin.

“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said. “I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.” According to Pairat, the brother said that his sister had been bedridden for about two years and that she appeared to stop breathing two days ago. The brother then placed her in a coffin and made the 300-mile journey to a hospital in Bangkok, to which the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.

he hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer as he didn’t have an official death certificate, Pairat said. His temple offers a free cremation service, which is why the brother approached them on Sunday, but was also refused due to the missing document. The temple manager said that he was explaining how to get a death certificate when they heard the knocking. They then assessed her and sent her to a nearby hospital. The abbot said the temple would cover her medical expenses, according to Pairat.

That does it for this Saturday….I do hope everyone has a great Saturday and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe……

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”