Tag: Medical Issues

Cancellation Of Medical debt

I know people that are trying to pay off their debt for the medical expenses…..it is not easy for them. Why doesn’t someone do something?

Enter Sen. Bernie Sanders…..

Studies have shown that millions of Americans owe a combined $220 billion in medical debt, with 1 in 5 adults saying they don’t expect to ever be able to pay off the bills. A group of congressional Democrats on Wednesday proposed knocking the amount down to zero. “People in our country should not be going bankrupt because they got cancer and could not afford to pay their medical bills,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday in a statement. The legislation would remove the debt from credit reports and severely limit future debt from accruing, the Hill reports.

The legislation would cancel existing debt through a new federal grant program, per the Guardian. It would alter the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to keep creditors from collecting old medical bills and change the Consumer Credit Reporting Act to prohibit credit agencies from reporting information about unpaid health care bills. Rep. Ro Khanna, one of the co-sponsors, talked about the stress the debt causes. “I’ve met people who say they’re just resigned to having this debt ruin their credit, and they don’t pay it, but they have this kind of harassment and anxiety while they’re dealing with a chronic condition like cancer or diabetes,” he said.

The burden of medical debt is not evenly distributed. An analysis by KFF Health News found that people with disabilities were more than twice as likely to be in medical debt than those without a disability. In addition, 13% of Black Americans have the debt, compared to 7% of white adults and 8% of Hispanic adults. Ensuring that people are not plunged into debt because they saw a doctor or went to an emergency room is “kind of human decency,” Khanna said.

I applaud Bernie’s bill and its supporters….at least these people are looking out for the American people and not who gets the biggest piece of taxpayer pie.

A great idea in my book….but it will go nowhere in Congress….for you see the insurance industry has buckets of money to throw that those in Congress to do their bidding.

So sad just how screwed up this system is when a debilitating illness can leave you in a refrigerator box under a bridge somewhere.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All That Cancer Research

Once again we have arrived at a Sunday and the day that I try to help my readers with subjects that may not be readily available for them.

Since my better half, Sue, has been battling cancer I try to keep up with all the research that is available….and then I read something like this and it just sends me into a spiral….

Cancer research is big business, sorry to pout it that way, and there have been some fraud going on….

Dana-Farber was rocked this January by a blog post by Sholto David, a molecular biologist and internet data sleuth, in which he presented evidence of widespread data manipulation in cancer research published by leading researchers including the institute’s CEO and COO. David reportedly contacted the institute with concerns about 57 papers, 38 of which were ones for which the institute had “primary responsibility for the potential data errors.” The institute has requested retractions for 6 of them and initiated corrections for 31.

These data manipulations, to be clear, were not subtle. (David’s fairly bombastic blog post announcing the evidence calls it “pathetically amateurish and excessive.”) Many of the cases he identifies involved reusing the same images over and over in different figures, with different labels, and with the figures having been clumsily rotated or stretched in Photoshop or a similar image editor. Plots of data collection on different days are mysteriously perfectly identical. Test results are visibly copied and pasted.

It raises the question: Assuming that there was some misconduct behind the copied-and-pasted images, how were people so emboldened to commit such blatant fraud, so publicly, for such a long time? How much grant money was secured on the basis of fabricated data, and how much was the crucial fight against cancer set back by inaccuracies promulgated in these papers?

And perhaps most importantly, is this only the tip of the iceberg?

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24086809/fake-cancer-research-data-scientific-fraud

This story raises questions for me….if the research is faked then are the treatments really doing any good?

What happens to those faking the test results?

Cancer research is a multi-billion dollar cash cow for some….what is the government doing to stop this sort of fraud?

All good question but with few answers.

Sorry to be a bummer on this Sunday.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

Once again the Senate GOP majority leader has stumbled with words while giving a speech…..

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze up during a press conference in Kentucky Wednesday, a month after he experienced a similar episode while talking to reporters at the Capitol. McConnell spoke for several minutes at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Government Forum before freezing up while taking questions from the press, WLWT reports. NBC News reports that the 81-year-old paused for more than 30 seconds after he was asked if he would run for re-election and remained frozen after an aide asked, “Did you hear the question, senator?”

After McConnell told an aide he was OK, two other questions—one about Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and one about Donald Trump—had to be repeated before he was led away by aides. “Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today,” a spokesman said afterward. An aide speaking on condition of anonymity tells the Washington Post that McConnell will consult a doctor before his next public event as a “prudential measure.”

Go see a doctor?   And what would think his diagnosis will be?

If you think McConnell will be cleared and pronounced in good mental health….then you would be right.

The Capitol’s attending physician has pronounced Sen. Mitch McConnell good to go and said he can carry on with his duties, a day after the minority leader froze at a microphone during an appearance in Kentucky. “I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team,” Dr. Brian Monahan said in a statement. It was his second such incident in weeks. “After evaluating yesterday’s incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.” The statement was released by McConnell’s office, CNN reports.

he 81-year-old McConnell suffered a concussion when he took a fall in March. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” said Monahan, echoing the diagnosis the senator’s office has provided. The release of the doctor’s statement represents the first time McConnell’s staff has acknowledged the freeze-ups, per NBC News. President Biden said during a visit to FEMA headquarters in Washington on Thursday that he had just had a conversation with McConnell. “He was his old self on the telephone,” said Biden, who was stricken by two brain aneurysms in 1988. Such spells, Biden said, are “part of the recovery.”

Should Republicans need to choose a successor to the longest-serving Senate leader in history, the New York Times rates potential candidates for the job. The early front-runners would be the senators referred to as “the Three Johns:” John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Other possibilities include Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who are both members of the GOP leadership team. The Times‘ assessment can be found here. So far, McConnell has given no indication that he plans to step down; his Senate seat will be on the 2026 ballot, and there’s not a way to force a leadership vote until after the 2024 elections, per CNN

Come on people….this man is too damn old….time for him to be put out to pasture and find a younger leader of the aging GOP.  He looked like he had no idea where he was, what he was doing or anyone around him.

Yes we all have ‘brain farts’ from time to time but ours does not involve the running of this country.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Sunday FYI–Colon Cancer

****First off…I am not a medical professional and any info I present is purely FYI and if you need more information then please visit your doctor for accurate information.****

The news is not good for there seems to be a rise in colon cancer among young adults and as we all know the older one gets the more ones needs to be vigilant on our health.

Colon cancer is on the rise among young adults, and the cases have been much more aggressive than they used to be. That’s why scientists hope the public pays attention to info out of a new study from St. Louis’ Washington University School of Medicine, which looked for early signals that someone may have colon cancer. NBC News notes that young adults typically don’t qualify for colonoscopies—that procedure is usually only offered at or after age 45—which is why the “red-flag signs and symptoms” spelled out in the research published Thursday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute are so important to look for and keep tabs on.

Among those early symptoms cited by the researchers, who looked at data from more than 5,000 patients diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer: extended bouts of diarrhea that seem to come out of nowhere, bellyaches, and iron-deficiency anemia. A fourth symptom, rectal bleeding, should especially raise eyebrows. These signs appeared up to two years before the patients’ diagnoses, with almost half of the study’s subjects experiencing at least one of those symptoms three months before diagnosis.

Researchers say people are often shy about talking to anyone about such things, especially when it comes to bloody stools and other subjects related to that part of the body, but that they shouldn’t be. “It can be difficult or embarrassing to talk about,” Dr. Matthew Kalady of Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center tells NBC. “But the reality is everybody deals with something like this.” The study’s authors urge anyone with such symptoms, especially if they last more than a week, to see their doctor, as they stress that colon cancer is a very treatable condition if caught early enough.

Again please check with your doctor if you have any signs or just want answers to your questions.

Have a great Sunday…..I will be grilling with my daughter and granddaughter….ribs and brisket…..beans and slaw.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Up Uranus

Sunday and thought I would give you a little FYI…..today is a little medical news….

Remember the days when Pharma pushed a drug for those that cried and laughed uncontrollably?  Or maybe you will recall the “Restless Leg Syndrome”?

Now we have another ‘new’ disease that will need a drug to control….

The condition is called “Phantom Rectum Syndrome”…..

You may have heard of phantom limb syndrome, a particularly odd condition that 80-100 percent of people experience after going through an amputation.

Amputees can experience sensations, discomfort, and pain that feels like it’s coming from a limb or appendage that is no longer there. Though common after limb amputation, the condition can also affect people who have had other body parts removed, including breasts, tongues, penises, and even internal organs. In fact, if you can feel sensations in it pre-removal (we’re looking at you, stomach and bladder) then it’s possible to have phantom discomfort or pain in it after operation. 

This is true also of people who go through operations to have their rectum and colon removed (for instance following rectal cancer located low down in the rectum), leaving patients with a condition known as “phantom rectum syndrome”.

“People who have lost a limb, still feel pain or itching or they feel like their limb’s still there,” BBC presenter Sam Cleasby, who runs the website So Bad Ass documenting her experience following a colectomy in 2013, told the BBC. “So that’s the same but in your rectum. It’s like your brain doesn’t know that it’s not attached anymore.”

The syndrome affects somewhere between 32 and 68 percent of patients following rectum resection, and varies in its effects. Around half of people who experience it do so as pain, with others feeling sensations such as itching, feeling of feces in the rectum, an urge to defecate, feeling like your anus is contracting, feeling like you are passing wind, tightness, stinging, shooting pains, and pins and needles.

https://www.iflscience.com/phantom-rectum-syndrome-is-a-real-pain-in-the-ass-66429

As long as we are on Uranus…..how would you like to earn as much as $180,000 a year?

In these days of high inflation we all could use some extra cash…..

If so I have an answer for you.

Every time you poop, you might be flushing money down the toilet.

It’s true. Some medical companies will pay healthy donors for their stool. Depending on the company, the poop is then used for microbiome studies or in treatment of patients with Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes infections in the colon.

Looking for a side hustle? Your poop could save lives and make you some cash in the process.

Here’s what you need to know to sell your poop.

The amount you earn with each donation depends on the company.

  • HumanMicrobes pays $500 per stool donation. If you poop daily and send it, you could net up to $180,000 per year.
  • GoodNature offers $25-75 per visit and up to $1,500 per month.
  • Poop With Purpose pays $50 per donation and up to $1,500 per month.

Like any other side hustle, get details on compensation before you sign any contracts or make any commitments.

While everybody poops, not everyone is eligible to be a donor. Each company has health and geographical requirements.

How to Make Up to $180,000 a Year Selling Your Poop (If You Can Stomach It)

Now you have all the health news for this Sunday…..

Be Well….Be Safe….

“lego ergo scribo”

What’s It Like? (The Gun Debate)

I have stated that I think that actual photos of what these bullets do to the human body would wake the American people up to the horror of the actions taken by some…..

This is part of the conversation that most want to avoid…..and then there are people that want you to know the consequences of the violence.

I made my opinion on this recently…..

Viewing The Dead

NPR has taken a look into the aftermath of a shooting…..

A wave of mass shootings has plagued the country in recent weeks, including in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Philadelphia.

There have been more than 240 mass shootings this year, a grim statistic that follows gun violence being at its highest point in more than 20 years in 2020, according to CDC data.

It’s a pattern some doctors have noticed even without the numbers in front of them.

Bullets from weapons such as handguns typically pierce straight through a target, medical experts say. By comparison, weapons such as the AR-15s used in many mass shootings, can liquefy organs because of their much higher projectile speeds.

“Assault weapons … cause a condition called cavitation, meaning that as the projectile passes through tissue, it creates a large cavity,” said Dr. Ian Brown, a trauma surgeon at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California. “And that does a ton of of tissue damage, both initially at the impact, and then even further as that tissue begins to necrose, or die off.”

The damage is much greater in children, as the surface area of their organs and arteries are smaller, said Dr. Joseph Sakran, the director of emergency general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Where the projectile lands is critical, added Dr. Eric Savitsky, an emergency medicine specialist at UCLA Medical Center.

“From a survivability and morbidity perspective, what the bullets hit, whether (bullets are) small caliber or large calibers, is the primary determinant of patient outcomes,” he said.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/06/1103177032/gun-violence-mass-shootings-assault-weapons-victims

I have seen first hand what the rounds from an M-16 and AK-47 do to the human body and it is images that I wish I could cleanse from my mind….but they will stay with me until I take that dirt nap.

I truly think that the people should see what these weapons are capable of doing.

But instead we debate semantics and throw deflection into the conversation….all this is doing no one any good.

How many more children need to die before the bullshit is set aside and a real conversation is had?

Thoughts?

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What The Hell Is “Testicle Tanning”?

It is the weekend and FYI is everywhere (at least on this  blog)….just because I believe my readers need to know.

Everybody’s favorite idiot, at least in the news arena is Tucker Carlson….his latest diatribe is all about ‘testicle tanning’

I bet you are scratching your head about now.

“Testicle tanning” has been trending on Twitter since it was highlighted in the latest promo for Tucker Carlson Originals, and Kid Rock is just as confused as you are.

Kid Rock joined Tucker Carlson on Friday night, after the host aired a trailer for the new season of his series, in which he interviewed physical trainer Andrew McGovern about the mental health benefits of shining a light on your testicles.

For those confused, and there are likely a lot of you, “testicle tanning” describes the practice of shining a UV light on one’s genitals in order to potentially increase testosterone.

“So, obviously, half the viewers right now are like ‘What?! Testicle tanning, that’s crazy!’” Carlson said during the clip. “But my view is, ok, testosterone levels have crashed and nobody says anything about it, that’s crazy, so why is it crazy to seek solutions?”

Carlson ended the interview by thanking McGovern for his “bravery” and “commitment to evidence-based science” while promoting new “bromeopathic” therapy. 

‘Testicle Tanning’ Trends on Twitter as Kid Rock Struggles to Understand the Why

But seriously folks, what could the benefits truly be?

There isn’t much research demonstrating that red light therapy has therapeutic benefits. The Cleveland Clinic notes that “the full effectiveness of red light therapy has yet to be determined.” We know even less about testicle tanning, specifically.

To get a better sense of what could happen when you zap your testicles with an infrared light machine, VICE called up Seth Cohen, a urologist and the director of the Sexual Dysfunction Program at NYU Langone Health. He weighed in on the alleged benefits of testicle tanning (spoiler: there probably aren’t any), and what could go wrong for those who try it (another spoiler: probably a lot).

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxwy4/does-testicle-tanning-work-is-it-safe-according-to-a-doctor-tucker-carlson-testosterone

From what I’ve read, it seems like this is used predominantly for wound care and skin care, which would make sense, because you’re shining this on your skin. But thinking that this is going to go deeper through the skin, through multiple layers, and then into testicles—I can’t see that working or happening. And, if it does, heat is harmful to the testicles. Prolonged heat can actually damage testicle tissue, lower sperm count, and be harmful for fertility. When we’re counseling our male patients on what to stay away from in terms of fertility preservation or family planning, we tell them to stay out of saunas, hot tubs, or any prolonged hot environment. I would include testicle tanning in that.

I know the Right wing is just full of crazy theories and such….but this one takes the cake.

But can these slugs get any stupider?

Could this be the answer to stop idiots from breeding?

When will this silly pack of morons start working to promote democracy and stop with junk science and silly theories?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Sunday News Round-Up

These are the stories that fell through the cracks because of condo collapses, silliness from the Congress and the absolutely worthless news about some sitcom star.

These reports are of medical and health news that have been ignored…..

If you suffer from diabetes and have to purchase your insulin then you know just how damn expensive the much needed insulin is these days….well Walmart is here to help (I say that with some pessimism)…….

Walmart says diabetes patients can save up to 75% on rapid-acting insulin by purchasing its own brand of the drug, launching this week. What it calls the “first-ever private brand analog insulin”—to be sold at Walmart pharmacies this week and at Sam’s Club pharmacies in mid-July—will “revolutionize the access and affordability to diabetes care by offering customers a significant price savings without compromising quality.” By Walmart’s math, customers with prescriptions who switch from branded products can save between 58% to 75%. “We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions,” Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president of Walmart’s health and wellness division, says in a Tuesday statement

Pegus says Walmart worked directly with manufacturer Novo Nordisk to cut costs for its ReliOn brand version of NovoLog. The retailer plans to charge $72.88 for an analog insulin vial and $85.88 for a prefilled insulin pen, per Bloomberg, which notes a single vial from other brands can cost more than $300. CNBC reports Walmart “already sells a low-price version of insulin for about $25 as part of the [ReliOn] line, but that is an older formulation that some doctors and advocates say is not as effective at managing blood sugar swings as newer versions of insulin, called analogs.” The cost of insulin nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, according to the Health Care Cost Institute. One Walmart exec noted that diabetes affects about 14% of Walmart shoppers, slightly up from the overall figure of about 11% of Americans.

If you suffer with diabetes then please check out your closest Walmart for the accuracy of this report.

In a story that is close to my family….research into skin cancer……

A gecko named Mr. Frosty and his kin have helped scientists uncover the genetic glitch that gives these lizards their standout color — and their high risk for skin tumors.

The geckos are a variety of leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) called Lemon Frost, which sports stark white skin that not only highlights its yellow coloring, but also tends to develop tumors. A new study pegs these Lemon Frost traits to a single gene that has also been implicated in the skin cancer melanoma in people (SN: 3/1/19).

These results suggest that Lemon Frost geckos could be used to investigate new treatments for skin cancer, researchers report online June 24 in PLOS Genetics.

How a gecko named Mr. Frosty could help shed new light on skin cancer

Million upon millions consume gallons of drinks that contain artificial sweeteners…..sorry to say there is bad news for all those millions…..all that diet BS may be doing more harm that medical good.

According to a new study, some of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners could potentially cause serious health issues by making the bacteria in our gut invade our intestinal walls.

The study underlines that there’s still a lot we don’t understand about the sweeteners being added to many diet products — and demonstrates that further research is needed.

“There is a lot of concern about the consumption of artificial sweeteners, with some studies showing that sweeteners can affect the layer of bacteria which support the gut, known as the gut microbiota,” said Havovi Chichger, senior lecturer in Biomedical Science at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, lead author of a paper about the research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, in a press blurb.

The sweeteners — including the ultra-popular saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame — were shown for the first time to cause two types of gut bacteria, E. coli and E. faecalis, to go pathogenic.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-artificial-sweeteners-pathogenic-bacteria

For god sake take your health seriously….and visit a doctor and check on the accuracy of these reports.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

To Control The Pain

I try to help out and be an FYI blog on the weekends….and what better subject than pain….for we all have some sort of pain.

I have given my readers my story and struggle with pain…..sadly it was posted on my op-ed blog that gets very little traffic….so to catch up those visitors that are interested…..https://gulfsouthfreepress.wordpress.com/2018/10/03/pain-management-a-personal-story/

I have been keeping up with the research being carried out using psychedelics to control pain and to help with several mental disorders.

I have also written about this research as well…..and for those that would like to know…..

https://lobotero.com/2019/02/02/freaky-saturday-02feb19/

https://lobotero.com/2019/02/23/freaky-saturday-2019-part-2/

The latest article I read was about the use of an old “reliable” drug from the 60’s…..the drug that made Timothy Leary famous and vice versa…..LSD.

According to new research, tiny doses of the psychedelic drug LSD could be an effective painkiller — perhaps as powerful, the scientists found, as conventional opioids like morphine.

“This study in healthy volunteers shows that a low dose of LSD produces an analgesic effect in the absence of a psychedelic effect, as assessed with a cold pressure tests,” said lead researcher Jan Ramaekers, a professor of psychoparmacology and behavioral toxicology at Maastricht University, in a press release. “The magnitude of the analgesic effect appears comparable to analgesic effects of opioids in the same pain model.”

As described in research published this week in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, Ramaekers and his colleagues gave either placebos or “microdoses” of LSD — between five and 20 micrograms, compared to the 100 micrograms or more you might find in a recreational dose — to 24 volunteers.

Then they administered something called a “cold pressor test,” in which the subjects were asked to submerge a hand in a tub of water that had been chilled to near-freezing.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/research-lsd-microdoses-effective-opioids-pain

Of course all this matters not for NO one gives a crap about those sufferers from massive pain because it is political correct to buck the research.

Please read my story and then the research….all that is promising….but I fear that all us pain sufferers will just have to bite the bullet because we have this push to scale back pain medication.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend……please do not drink and drive.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Another Covid-19 Treatment

I try to keep my readers up-to-date on the news around the Covid-19….some of it good….most not so…..like 5.7 million cases and 177,000 deaths…..like I said not so good……

Well we all know that social distancing works and masks help stem the flow of germs…..and Donald the Orange has offered several ways to help prevent even cure this virus……first was some drug that was used to treat Malaria….then we had the drinking of bleach….next was the UV light thing…..then followed up by extract of the Oleander plant…….and now we have yet another treatment to be approved by Trump’s FDA……

President Trump plans to announce the FDA’s approval of a COVID-19 treatment Sunday night—but whether it’s big news or hot air remains open to debate, the Washington Post reports. The treatment is blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 victims. More than 70,000 patients have already received it, and there’s evidence it lowers death rates. But the Trump administration’s praise of the treatment—including the phrase “major therapeutic breakthrough”—is getting a dose of cold water from medical experts. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday on CBS‘ Face the Nation that the antibody-rich product is “probably beneficial” for people with COVID-19 but is already “widely available,” so FDA approval will make an “incremental” difference.

A New York City specialist went so far as to tell USA Todaythat plasma “has not yet been shown to be effective in COVID-19.” On the bright side, STAT reports that plasma is being widely tested and got a moderate thumbs-up from the Mayo Clinic, which saw a small but noticeable impact on COVID-19 death rates. But that study’s lack of a placebo group made the results less clear. There’s also intense political pressure on the FDA amid a fiery federal election. “The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”

A miracle waiting to appear?

This could prevent deaths of those that have contracted the virus….but we are still looking for that magic vaccine to prevent people from actually contracting the virus.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”