Things the Left don't want you to know:

Only 20% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the US will die.

57% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK will die.

50% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in France and Germany will die.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114066413292580962.html

According to the US Census Bureau 59.3 % of Americans have employer provided health insurance, 27.8 % have government provided health insurance, 9% purchase health insurance directly. This is where the figure of 46.7 million uninsured Americans comes from... the 15.3% left uninsured in the US Census Bureau statistics. What they aren't telling you is that according to the Canadian government's Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), 5% of Canadians don't have access to a regular doctor and 9% have never tried finding one.

Hmmm 15.3% in the US and 14% in Canada, doesn't seem so shockingly disparate now, does it?

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act in the US forbids US healthcare providers from denying treatment of emergency conditions based on insurance or inability to pay.

42% of Canadians wait 2 hours or more for emergency room treatment vs 29% of Americans.

57% of Canadians wait 4 weeks or more to see a specialist vs 23% of Americans.

21% of Canadian hospital administrators said it would take over three weeks to perform a breast cancer biopsy on a 50 year old vs 1% of US hospital administrators.

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/

Bill Day, President of the Canadian national association of doctors described Canada as a country where a dog can get a hip replacement in one to two weeks but the owner would need to wait two to three years for the same procedure.

In the French 2003 heatwave 13,000 people died of dehydration, hospitals were so overwhelmend they stopped answering their phones and ambulances told people to fend for themselves.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118299749082651013.html

How much of European medicine is already subsidized by Americans? 70% of pharmaceutical research dollars comes from the US. Both US and European drug companies sell their products for a premium in the US and at or just above cost in European countries with socialized medicine. The American free-market consumer subsidizes his European socialist counterparts in the prices paid for needed medicines. With an American socialized medical system one of two things is going to happen, either the money for research is going to dwindle, or the costs for Canadians and Europeans is going to go up.

As Europe ponders privatization, America contemplates socialization.

Go Figger!

Down on the Border

Here's a quick dispatch from the New Mexico-Mexico border, courtesy of the LA Times. I used to live down there, didn't really like it much. The best I can say about it is kick-ass Tex-Mex cooking, you can cap off rounds wherever, and it's OK to drink and drive. Other than that, not much there I can recommend, but it has a certain charm for those who like desert solitude.

Unfortunately, Mexico's drug war is spilling over. The border had always held danger along with its charms, but people on the US side are becoming increasingly alarmed at the rich Mexican newcomers moving in, wondering how long it will take for the violence to follow them.

I sympathize with these people. Why is it when someone just wants to live their life, bad people have to come in and mess it up?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bordertown19-2009feb19,0,7443711.story?page=2

Skip The Lipitor

How I lowered my cholesterol 40 points without drugs

The closest I come to trafficking in conspiracy theories is looking askance at Big Pharma pushing drugs for everything. I know, they've produced some outstanding wonder drugs that have saved millions, and I am grateful for that. But are there really that many kids who need Ritalin, or adults who need all that stuff they constantly advertise on TV? Are Lipitor and other cholesterol-lowering drugs always the best answer?

I went to get extra life insurance a few years ago, and found that high cholesterol raises your rates. Mine was around 230. The military docs had been scolding me about it for years, but it didn't hit home until it hit me in the wallet, so I decided to do something about it. I ended up bringing my cholesterol down to around 185.

The doctor told me to try fiber supplements before going the drug route, which sounded good to me. They are safe to take everyday and your body gets used to them in a few weeks. Additionally, I consulted with various friends of mine who were also combating high cholesterol and heard what their doctors had to say.

I collected all this information and went to town. Unfortunately, I took a very unscientific approach, so I don't know which particular action caused the change or if it was all of them combined that did the trick. I have dropped the fiber supplements, so I'll see at the next checkup what that did to my numbers.

Here's what worked for me:
- Fiber Choice fiber supplements
- Omega-3 fatty acids via fish oil gel caps and ground up flax seed
- More chicken, less beef
- More fresh vegetables, less meat
- Oatmeal for breakfast with cinnamon, fruit and ground flax seed
- Low-fat yogurt with whole grain cereal, fruit, cinnamon and ground flax seed for breakfast.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so take my very anecdotal case with a grain of salt (but not too much, salt contributes to high blood pressure!) My point is that we should try natural remedies and diet changes before reaching for the drugs.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol-levels/CL00001