Tag: cancer

Fewer chemicals = less cancer

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White House dinner | Photo by crespoluigi

A White House panel is set to release a report today stating something organic fans have been preaching for years — chemicals threaten our bodies.

Nicholas D. Kristof has a preview of the report in the New York Times and shares these main points of the 200-page report:

  • Particularly when pregnant and when children are small, choose foods, toys and garden products with fewer endocrine disruptors or other toxins. (Information about products is at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com or www.healthystuff.org.)
  • For those whose jobs may expose them to chemicals, remove shoes when entering the house and wash work clothes separately from the rest of the laundry.
  • Filter drinking water.
  • Store water in glass or stainless steel containers, or in plastics that don’t contain BPA or phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). Microwave food in ceramic or glass containers.
  • Give preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones. Avoid meats that are cooked well-done.
  • Check radon levels in your home. Radon is a natural source of radiation linked to cancer.

Have you adjusted your eating to eat more organic, chemical free foods?

I’d love to know what you’re doing.

My enemies are men like me

I read this great thought and quote this morning while reflecting on Brian’s message yesterday about forgiveness.

Someone has written that hatred is like drinking a cup of poison and waiting for the person you hate to die. It doesn’t harm the person you hate, or at least not in any way like the havoc it wreaks on you. In fact, hatred has the exact opposite effect of what you would hope for; a wise man in Cormac McCarthy’s novel Cities of the Plain explains that “Our enemies . . . seem always with us. The greater our hatred the more persistent the memory of them so that a truly terrible enemy becomes deathless. So that the man who has done you great injury or injustice makes himself a guest in your house forever. Perhaps only forgiveness can dislodge him.”

But God help us, forgiveness can be a really hard thing to do.

…not dealing with emotional and spiritual cancer like internalized rage is a disaster. It’s like ignoring physical cancer and hoping it will go away.

Perhaps my enemies are much more like us than we’d ever want to admit and as Brian mentioned yesterday, forgiving them is the only thing that can really set us free.

Wear that red dress

From StoryCorps:

Danielle and Gabrielle Hall came to StoryCorps in San Francisco to remember their mother Martha, who died of breast cancer in 2003 after fighting the disease for 14 years…
“Mom was amazing,” Gabrielle Hall said.
Danielle added, “She was determined and strong and intense and good at everything she did more than anybody else’s mom that I knew.”
“She’s still better than everybody else’s mom we know,” Gabrielle said. The sisters laughed at the thought.
Danielle remembered the time that her mother sent her a poem. It said, “If you’re having a bad day, bake a cake. And if it’s still bad, put on a red dress.”

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While wearing her new red shoes to her chemo treatment, their mother Martha said, “You can’t have a bad day if you’re wearing red shoes.” Sounds like someone who definitely made the most of her situation.
What is it that always cheers you up? What is it that gets you through the rough days and prepares you to face your lion?
Well worth a listen – especially right before Thanksgiving

New Susan G Komen advertising

The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is launching a new advertising campaign this year for their 25th anniversary.
The foundation will advertise with T-Shirts that say: “If you’re going to stare at my breasts you could at least donate a dollar to save them.”
Funny. Will probably grab a lot of attention.
Reminds me of a certain “treasure chest” T-Shirt. Ha. That’s another story for another time.
Ladies, would you wear the Komen shirt?

Reinquist dies

Chief Justice Rehnquist died last night.

The 80 year old Supreme Court judged lost his battle with cancer.

This is really big news for the Bush administration.

It gives them the opportunity to appoint two Supreme Court judges. While most presidents don’t even get to appoint one.

It will be interesting to see who’s nominated after Judge Roberts goes through the nomination process.