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Our family's potential personal tragedy...

Amidst the devastation of earthquake riven Christchurch, my own family has its own potential personal tragedy.

It was only two months ago that my younger brother celebrated the remission of his lung cancer. After his final examination after months of chemotherapy treatment, his doctor told him that he didn't want to see him again, well not for a few months in any case when he would need to come in for a checkup "Make sure you don't resume smoking." said the doctor. And my brother didn't! He celebrated his new found health and a new future.

His health had suddenly declined and he was called in to see his doctor. The doctor has given him his own devastating news: despite that clean bill of health statement concerning his lung cancer - the Big C has returned and is now in his liver.

The first scan he received did not include his lower organs, and the information I received on an internet health site stated it is quite common for cancers to move to other organs.  A second scan did pick up some evidence of something foreign in the liver. Why didn't the doctor do a more extensive scan of my brother's body initially? They then resumed chemotherapy.

He has been extremely ill at home now - there is no place in Christchurch Hospital because it is full of casualties from the Christchurch earthquake, and even the local hospice is full. The Christchurch based 'Nurse Maude' home nursing agency is now treating him at home. He is on an IV Drip and pain relief medication. He is very ill at present and is due to see the doctor again tomorrow. They may well try to get him into the hospice as soon as possible once he is checked out tomorrow.

He and the family are shattered, totally devastated and extremely critical of his health professionals who supposedly successfully treated his lung cancer. How could they get something so terribly wrong.

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Are couch potatoes doomed to an early grave...

Are couch potatoes doomed to an early grave? A recent study says that sitting in front of the TV for hours on end could shorten your life.



According to Reuters, researchers from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Victoria, Australia, tracked 8800 adults and found that each hour spent in front of the TV daily was associated with an 11 percent increased risk of death from all causes.



Additionally, there was an 8 percent risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a nine percent higher risk of cancer death.



"Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent increased risk for CVD-related death," said the researchers in a statement.



And it's not just overweight people who are at risk: researcher David Dunstan said "sitting for long periods of time" watching TV has an unhealthy influence regardless of how big your waistline is.



Dunstan suggested that while the study focused on television, other sedentary behaviours such as sitting in front of a desk or a computer may also prove risky to your health.



"The human body was designed to move, not sit for extended periods of time," he said.



So, if you like to sit in front of the TV watching sport with a few beers, limit the time doing it and make sure you go out and actually play some sport too.

Acknowledgements: MSN NZ Mens Lifestyles

http://lifestyle.msn.co.nz/article.aspx?id=999244

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