If you haven't been fortunate enough to visit or live in Chicago for any length of time, you may not be aware of this. Contrary to what you may have assumed, Roger Ebert may be off your TV going on four years and not in the best health -- multiple cancer surgeries removed much of his jaw bone and robbed him and us of his voice -- but is very much alive, cancer-free and still writing movie reviews and columns at a machine gun-like pace for the Chicago Sun-Times.

You may not also be aware about a long and pretty wonderful interview with Roger by Canadian writer Chris Jones recently for Esquire (hit the free link below) that goes into far more detail about his surgeries before and after he lost his jaw and voice in 2006 along with the futile attempts so far to restore both, and all the subsequent physical limitations that have resulted from fighting cancer to the ground.

At age 67, Roger isn't getting any younger, and his film criticism is noticeably less biting than it was before he and we lost his voice. As you pour through his columns, however, we haven't lost the man behind the voice who is still teaching us about a great many things, not the least of which is living a fulfilling life after cancer, a good thing.

As I write this blog entry about this non-stop movie critic/storyteller, I'm reminded of my father, William T. Beamer, who, by his own recollection, had sailed around the world at least seven times during his thirtysomething years as a merchant marine before throat cancer took his voice and all of his stories from us in the summer of 1977.

Some 19 months after his larynx and lymph nodes were removed, Bill died, all the while deeply frustrated and darkly depressed that he could never master the electrolarynx nor esophageal speech that would allow him to be heard, even faintly, briefly. Fact is, reading Roger's words makes me happy, very hopeful and a bit sad, in retrospect, that a relatively inexpensive laptop computer (by today's standards) might've helped my Dad live a little longer, if not a more comfortable and happier existence.

Take a couple of minutes to reminisce about the days of TV film criticism at its finest with this clip from the Siskel & Ebert program as Roger and Gene Siskel, his late, great colleague at the Chicago Tribune, skewer Frozen Assets, the worst movie of 1992, and, quite possibly, one of the worst comedies ever made.

Image source: Esquire, Ethan Hill

Esquire February 16, 2010

Chicago Sun-Tines February 18, 2010

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, are you the kind of person who uses "we" or "our" a lot when referring to your life partner/boyfriend or girlfriend/spouse? Or, when talking about your significant other, are your descriptions sprinkled with lots of "I's," "you's" and "me's"?

While studying the behaviors of 154 couples in their Baby Boomer years and beyond, University of California, Berkeley researchers discovered the difference between "we" and "me" may go a long way, not only toward defining the quality of the relationship you have with your special someone, but resolving conflicts more amicably.

Previous studies have shown how using "we" or "us" to define closer relationships with loved ones rather than separateness words like "I" or "me" are indicative of stronger satisfaction among young married couples.

Generally, the same results apply here, even more strongly, for older folks in longtime relationships. Folks who used separatist pronouns like "me" and "you" were generally less satisfied with their relationships and their use of these specific descriptors was linked to unhappy marriages.

Conversely, the sprinkling of "our" and "us" in conversations was a indicator of greater caring among couples and reduced physiological stress. This was especially true among older couples faced a great many roadblocks in their long lives together, yet possessed the emotional resilience and, perhaps, a greater sense of shared identity, according to the study.

As my wife and I head toward our 20th wedding anniversary this July, without question, these findings speak loudly and clearly to a great many folks we know. Including "us."

PubMed.gov

University of California, Berkeley News January 27, 2010

Although too many of us to count have been touched in some way by either cancer or Alzheimer's, you've rarely heard of both diseases affecting the same individual. And, at least among Caucasians, there's evidence that suggests a protective link between the two, based on a review of 3,020 seniors (age 65-older).

More than 160 and 522 patients had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or cancer, respectively, at the beginning, and roughly 850 more patients developed one condition or the other during the course of the study. Surprisingly, the risk of a future bout with cancer among patients who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the start of the study dropped by an amazing 69 percent compared to folks who didn't have the mind-robbing disease in the beginning. And, among Caucasian patients, those who were already fighting cancer at the outset of the study were 43 percent less likely to succumb to Alzheimer's

The same didn't hold true for patients of color, however, specifically for folks treated for cancer at the beginning of the study who had a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's. Even though this finding sounds very distressing, researchers played down its significance due to the low number of patients tracked (29).

All that said, these findings tended to support previous studies that found brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease may share some of the same molecular underpinnings with cancer. These interesting connections could partly explain why an existing cancer drug may be used to fight Alzheimer's some day.

Neurology December 23, 2009

ABC News December 23, 2009

EurekAlert December 23, 2009

There's little doubt that negative emotions can be hazardous to your health, especially when cancer is in the picture. As in a previous study we featured in this space about absence lessening a spouse's ability to survive cancer, isolation can be a very deadly variable too.

These latest findings in a series of reports from the University of Chicago investigating the connection between social isolation and breast cancer development on Norway rats (very social creatures, as are humans) underscore just how harmful loneliness, stress and isolation can be, especially for females.

Rats kept in isolation or subjected to stressful situations (like the smell of a predator) were more likely to produce the stress hormone corticosterone, and it took them longer to recover from stressful situations than rats living in small groups. Moreover, isolation had a greater impact on the formation of tumors than the availability of high-energy food.

The numbers paint an even grimmer picture.

* Rats living in isolation developed 135 percent more tumors than those in groups.

* Tumors grew by more than 8,000 percent among isolated rats.

* Overall, stress and isolation increased a rat's risks of developing cancer more than three-fold.

Insciences.org December 7, 2009 Free PDF Study

EurekAlert December 7, 2009

You probably recall a study we posted last month about the declining odds of surviving cancer among people who were married but separated from their spouses after receiving their diagnosis. Apparently, gender plays a key role when married couples face a cancer diagnosis, often leaving women out in the cold.

Although the rate of separation or divorce among cancer patients was similar to the general population (11.6 percent), scientists discovered divorce or separation was six times more common when a woman received the bad news, after monitoring more than 500 patients divided among three groups who were diagnosed with cancer or multiple sclerosis from 2001-06.

Overall, divorce was the probable outcome when the wife was the patient in two of the three groups monitored (multiple sclerosis and those with tumors not connected to the central nervous system) by at least 93 percent. Age was also a factor: The older a female cancer patient, the more likely her relationship would end.

Conversely, less than 3 percent of male patients became divorced or separated from their wives after a cancer diagnosis during the course of the study.

The tiny sliver of good news to be found in this study stems from longevity. The longer a couple was married, the more likely their relationship would survive the problems cancer presented them.

Cancer, Vol. 115, No. 22, pp. 5237-5242, November 15, 2009

Newsweek November 16, 2009

Yahoo News November 11, 2009

EurekAlert November 10, 2009

With 2009 coming to a close very soon and the air temperatures changing for the colder, so does the cyclical reappearance of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) for many folks living in the Northern Hemisphere. Researchers may not understand exactly what causes SAD, but they certainly know how to identify its symptoms, among them declines in concentration and energy levels, depression and lethargy. Just as frustrating for most physicians and patients: Determining the best way to treat it.

A University of Vermont psychologist may have discovered the most effective treatment for SAD by assigning 69 patients to one of four groups based on two of the more popular strategies -- light therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) -- a combination of the two or a control wait-list and monitoring their progress, then following up with them a year later.

Despite all the news and the popularity of light therapy products produced to treat SAD, CBT was the clear winner.

For starters, only 7 percent of patients treated with CBT alone had a recurrence of SAD the following winter, compared to some 37 percent of those given light therapy alone. While the failure rate among patients in the group that were treated with both therapies was low (5.5 percent), when accounting for the severity of the depression, CBT was linked to less severe bouts of depression among patients than those treated with a light-cognitive combo or light therapy alone.

One interesting sidenote: Among those in the light therapy group, only four patients used it on their own during the following winter, probably because the treatment requires sitting in front of a light box every day for 30 minutes, which may explain why long-term use of light therapy is rare, according to the report.

Behavior Therapy, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 225-238, September 2009

ScienceDaily October 17, 2009

Elements Behavioral Health October 19, 2009

More than a few of you may take a closer look at the Mediterranean diet -- a heart-healthy eating plan combined with Mediterranean-style cooking -- after reviewing this latest study about its beneficial effect on mental health.

Initially, researchers reviewed responses to health questionnaires completed by more than 10,000 Spanish patients from 1999-2005 about their food intake, paying close attention to how they followed nine components of the traditional Mediterranean diet (high intakes of fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables and fish, higher ratios of monounsaturated fatty acids versus saturated fats, lower consumption of meat and a moderate of intake of dairy products and alcohol).

Almost 4.5 years later, scientists discovered some 160 cases of depression in men and nearly twice as many among women. Interestingly, patients who followed the Mediterranean diet reduced their risk of depression by more than 30 percent in comparison to those who didn't.

The difference between patients who avoided depression and others who suffered from it, says the senior author of the study, may lie in the quality of fats they consumed. Those who didn't follow a Mediterranean diet closely -- with its higher ratios of monounsaturated fatty acids versus saturated fats -- may likely be deficient in essential nutrients.

Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 66, No. 10, pp. 1090-1098, October 2009

New York Times October 8, 2009

ScienceDaily October 6, 2009

Considering how strong emotions can affect your health for the positive -- think anger -- it's not surprising to learn that negative feelings associated with stress may have quite the opposite effect, especially when it comes to surviving cancer.

The odds of survival drop sharply among folks who are married but separated after receiving a cancer diagnosis, regardless of gender, based on a recent analysis of nearly 4 million cancer patients over five- and 10-year periods. In fact, widowed spouses, divorced patients and those who never married lived longer than people who were separated from their married partners. By the numbers, over the course of a decade:

* The number of separated spouses who survived after being diagnosed with cancer was less than 37 percent.

* Among the never-married, nearly 52 percent survived after a cancer diagnosis.

* The best results were among married cancer patients who survived at a 57.5 percent clip.

Interestingly, even patients who lost their spouses to death survived a cancer diagnosis better (almost 41 percent) than those who were merely separated in life from them. Scientists attributed these results among separated patients to unforeseen life events triggered by periods of great conflict, versus those handling the death of a spouse viewing it as "a natural phase of life."

Medline Plus August 24, 2009

Cancer (Journal) August 24, 2009

The health benefits of flavonoids -- a class of plant-based chemicals known for their antioxidant properties -- may also protect your brain from Alzheimer's, according to a new study.

Epicatechin -- the flavonoid found in many plants and, in high quantities, in tea, cocoa and grapes -- may protect brain cells from damaging beta-amyloid peptides deposited abnormally via a mechanism unrelated to its antioxidant properties, scientists said.

All the good news notwithstanding, researchers believe the real challenge is to identify any single flavonoid or combinations of chemicals that can do the job and determine how they work before committing to any clinical trials.

Science Daily July 19, 2009

The Press Association July 9, 2009

For all the serious health problems associated with anger, scientists have uncovered an unlikely health benefit that may indicate blockages in blood flow to the neckand brain.

Researchers compared how blood flow to the brain and carotid arteries responds to anger in three sets of patients: 10 healthy young folks (ages 19-27), 20 older healthy people (ages 38-60) and 28 patients diagnosed with essential hypertension.

While patients completed a series of tasks designed to provoke anger and stress, ultrasound imaging measured their effects of this emotional upheaval on blood flow in the carotid artery and an artery in the brain, along with monitoring blood pressure and heart rates.

When exposed to stress, those diagnosed with hypertension experienced no significant change in brain blood flow or vasodilation, which contributes to the beginnings of myocardial ischemia, a disorder typically caused by coronary artery obstruction, also known as atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death worldwide. Conversely, healthy patients who blew their tops during the study -- thanks to stress -- experienced increased blood flow to the brain and dilation of the carotid artery.

Cerebral Ultrasound, Vol. 7, No. 32, July 3, 2009 Free Full Text PDF

healthfinder.gov July 10, 2009

Science Daily July 4, 2009

The fallout from depression may be spreading from parents to their children, according to a recent report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, affecting more than 15 million American children. This conclusion is an outgrowth of studies that demonstrate how depression among parents may boost a child's risks emotional, behavioral and health problems.

Instead of treating the individual adult suffering from mental health issues, the report urges health professionals at every level to take more holistic, non-traditional approaches that can help entire families.

Researchers arrived at the minimum number of children affected by the parent's depression, thanks to the percentages. Nearly one out of five parents suffer from depression annually in America, not an alarming number until you consider some 15.6 million children live with a parent who has experienced depression over the past year. Even worse, just a third of adults seek out treatment for depression on their own, meaning the majority of problems among parents and their children will be ignored and undiagnosed.

healthfinder.gov June 10, 2009

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine June 10, 2009

Little did Voltaire know almost 250 years ago, the quest for perfection can be hurtful indeed, especially to women, according to a recent study. As compared to men in a study of nearly 300 patients, a greater number of women believe they failed to meet the high standards they set for themselves at home and in the workplace.

Researchers were puzzled by the unexpected gender gap among women versus men, with perceived rates of failure among females exceeding 30 percent in the work arena (38 percent) and at home (30 percent). What's more, men who considered themselves perfectionists were generally happier.

One expert likened the differences among the sexes regarding perfectionism to a "double-shift" effect in which many women struggle mightily with satisfying their ideal work-life balance, wanting to compete successfully in the corporate world while keeping on top of their responsibilities at home, and feeling guilty about doing neither very well.

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 82, No. 2, June 2009, p. 349-367

BBC News May 28, 2009