Katt Mollar

Time was when people did not question the food they ate. Food was to eat, not for analyzing and rationalizing. But those days are over. So what's in fresh produce that we should be concerned about? To start with, that would be pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified food. GM food will become more prevalent and, without doubt, there is probably a new additive in your food. 'What's on Your Plate' is more important than ever.

New guidelines were recently issued for breast and cervical cancer screening. These recommendations created quite a furor and started a heated debate. The controversy over the new guidelines, especially breast cancer screening, is at best confusing and is not much help to patients. This may be an opportune time to consider replacing the controversial and imperfect 'gold standard' mammogram with a less invasive screening tool.

Mistakes are not something that we usually associate with the medical field. But medical misadventures occur and will continue to occur. The obstacles remain formidable what with overcrowding, overworked staff and cost cutting. In the meantime, patients must be vigilant, ask questions and be their own advocate.

Exergames, perhaps, can be used positively to treat 'Globesity' and "get kids twitching more than just their thumbs." And exergames may offer an alternative to moderate exercise for those leading sedentary lives and at high risk for obesity and diabetes.

Unfortunately making an initial accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer is not easy due to the nature of the disease and the limitations of current screening methods. On the bright side, PSA test unreliability has and is stimulating the quest for better management techniques, especially in the non-invasive arena. However,the PSA test still remains the so called gold standard

CPR remains underutilized and at the same time misunderstood. The message is clear - CPR Needs Resuscitation and Resuscitation needs CPR. What's important is, not how well CPR was done, but whether it was done at all!

It took a high profile case such as the death of Michael Jackson to bring worldwide attention to the misuse and dangers of Propofol. The DEA is reportedly considering adding it to the list of controlled drugs. If this happens, the access and availability of Propofol will be strongly restricted, a move than can save lives.

Heart attack and ovarian cancer no longer need to be such aggressive killers of women. So why do we want to shine a special light on heart attack and ovarian cancer? Both can be fatal without early detection. Both have sneaky symptoms, mimic lesser disorders, physicians and other health care providers tend to dismiss or misdiagnose these symptoms, and there are no simple screening tools.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson, well-known as the King of Pop, died of cardiac arrest. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. and the majority of CVD deaths are attributable to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) which claims more than 250,000 lives each year. Yet SCA mortality remains high even in the setting of bystander CPR and AEDs. WE have a long way to go!

Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide and especially in the western world. Faced with years of failure at losing weight through diet and exercise, many obese people are turning to lap bands and lap belts. While there are inherent risks associated with the procedures, the consensus is that bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe clinical obesity.