Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Notes from Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrenreich


The immune system actually abets the growth and spread of tumors, which is like saying that the fire department is indeed staffed by arsonists. We all know that the function of the immune system is to protect us, most commonly from bacteria and viruses, so it's expected response to cancer should be a concerted and militant defense. 

You can think of death bed early or with resignation, as a tragic interruption of your life, and take every possible measure to postpone it. Or, more realistically, you can think of life as an interruption of and eternity of personal nonexistent do, and sees it as a brief opportunity to observe and interact with the living, ever surprising rolled around us. 

I had a different reaction to aging: I gradually came to realize that I was old enough to die, by which I am not suggesting that each of us bears and expiration date. Where is the course no fix stage at which a person ceases to be worthy of further medical investment, whether aimed at prevention or cure

Once I realized I was old enough to die, I decided that I was also old enough not to incur any more suffering, annoyance, or boredom in the pursuit of a longer life. As for medical care: I will see help for an urgent problem, but I am no longer interested in problems that remain undetectable to me. Page 3

It was my dentist, oddly enough, Who suggested, during an ordinary filling, that I'd be tested for sleep apnea.

What repelled me even more than this kinky procedure (colonoscopy) was the day of fasting and laxatives that was supposed to proceed it, in order to ensure that the little camera and cat encounter something other than feces. I put the saw from year-to-year, until I finally felt safe in the knowledge that since colon cancer is usually slow growing, any cancerous polyps or like insane aren't likely to flourish until I am already close to death from other causes. Page )7

Rather than being fearful of not detecting disease, both patients and doctors should fear healthcare. The best way to avoid medical errors is to avoid medical care. The default should be: I am well. Good way to stay that way is to keep making good choices – – not to have my doctor look for problems. Page 9

An estimated 70 to 80% of thyroid cancer surgeries performed on US, French and Italian women in the first decade of the 21st-century are now judge to of been unnecessary. Page 11

Not only do I rejected format of a medical lies death, but I refuse to except a medical wise life, and my determination only deepens with age. As the time that remains to be shrinks, each month and day becomes too precious to spend in windowless waiting rooms and under the Koehl screwed me up machines. Being old enough to die is an achievement, not a defeat, and the freedom it brings is worth celebrating. Page 13

I continue to elude unnecessary medical attention and still doggedly push myself in the gym, where if I am no longer a star, I am at least the fixture. In addition, I retain a daily regimen of stretching, sunroof which might qualify as yoga. Other than that, I pretty much eat what I want and indulge my vices, from butter to wine. Life is too short to forget these pleasures, and would be for too long without them. Page 207

The US Census Bureau reports that nearly 40% of people age 65 and older suffer from at least one disability, with 2/3 of them saying they have difficulty walking or climbing.

As for colonoscopies, they made the tech potentially cancerous polyps, but they are excessively costed costly in the United States – – up to $10,000 – – and have been found to be no more accurate than much cheaper, noninvasive test such as examination of the feces for traces of blood. Page 37

One recent study found that almost half the man over 65 being treated for prostate cancer or unlikely to live long enough to get the disease anyway. They will, however, live long enough to suffer from the adverse consequences of their treatment.

An article and the Harvard business review review entitled Executive Physicals: what's the ROI answers it sound question with what amounts the way from "not much" – and for all the reasons I have given here: the frequency of false positive's, the danger of the test themselves (such as radiation) , And the unlikelihood of finding a problem and they still treatable stage. Page 41 

There is one time honored salve for the anxiety of approaching self dissolution, and that is to submerge oneself into something "larger than oneself," some imagined super being that will live on without us. Page 191

The Hallmark disorders of aging – – such as atherosclerosis arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis – – are all inflammatory diseases, characterized by a local build up of macrophages. Page 173




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