Patrick Swayze Says Goodbye As Cancer Spreads

I like movies but I hardly memorize all the names of each of the actors and actresses I saw in a movie. I know just a few but not a lot.

One of the good actors I know is Patrick Swayze who starred in the much hailed Dirty Dancing and the Ghost movie. I was surprised to learn that he is now starting to bid goodbye to all his friends for he knows that he'll die soon because of cancer.

Back in January, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. I didn't pay much attention since he was backed up by competent doctors of the Stanford University Medical Center.

But the disease was aggressive and it cannot be contained. Now the disease has took over his body and he bid his final battle and has held his hand up to it and surrendered.

Cancer is such a rampant disease and cure is not yet within reach. But I hope that someday, cure is no longer cherished and that death from cancer will be just a thing of the past.

No Work No Pay?

For all working individuals, this is probably something that you can relate on. You see, almost all companies these days implement the No Work No Pay policy. I think its just reasonable that you shouldn't be paid when you're out or when you're sick but when you see that on an employees' perspective, you see that everything you do is accounted for and you realize that when you become useless to the company, they can just kick you out in a heartbeat without considering all your previous contributions.

While most private companies implement such policy, almost all public or government offices and NGO's and non-profit organizations apply a different scheme. They still pay people who are out of work for a reasonable number of days though, supporting them with medical benefits and other act of kindness when they're in dire need of financial help. This also applies to most countries in Europe and South America including Canada. A friend of mine in Canada even told me that a woman who just gave birth is entitled for a 1-2 year maternal vacation. This news makes me want to pack my things and fly to Canada right here and now! :)

Does No Work No Pay still makes sense?

The Danger of Woking at Night

Working night shift carries with it a lot of dangers. I can relate to this back when I was working on a graveyard schedule. This continued for more than 5 years and stopped when I finally got another job post. This rotating shift took toll on my health; suffering from its consequences until today.

Desite the enormous number of evidence suggesting that working night shfits causes can trigger numerous diseases, still some people prefers to work at night or other companies does not even provide additonal benefits to employees on this setup.

Young adults are more particularly vulnerable to diseases caused by working night shift especially those who works in the Business Processing and Outsourcing industries or call centers. People in health care are also vulnerable for a lot of nurses and doctors works to cover the graveyard schedule.

When the flow of your body activity is disrupted by sudden change in sleep patterns, it usually takes weeks or even months before the body adapts to the the new sleeping cycle. This proves unhealthy to the body. Studies point out its direct relation to heart disease, gastric and intestinal diseases, and other forms of psychological stresses. People just have no idea about the danger of working night shift in the body.

Pasta at Italianni's

I feel like in heaven when I eat Pasta. Whatever pasta that is. But of course there are stores which I like visiting whenever I crave for one.

One particular pasta bistro I go to is Italianni's. They cook authentic Italian cuisine. The one in Eastwood is perfect. Its location is just perfect for its just a few blocks away from our building. I've eaten in so many Italian restaurants in Eastwood and so far, Italianni's is the best there is.

The first time I went there was when we had to travel from Clark to Manila for a business meeting. We all had our lunch there. Being Asian, I sometimes dismiss the idea of eating in a restaurant that normally do not serve rice in their main menu. But having tasted its menu changed the way I see Italian restaurant completely! :D

Some of my favorite pasta food are Seafood Cioppino, a pasta with mussels, shrimp meat, baby clams, calamari sauted. Its cooked in fresh basil coupled with sauce of red wine cioppino. Baked Ziti is also nice. A penne pasta with Italian sausage. Its cooked in creamy beef ragout, baked with two kinds of cheese: Romano and Mozzarella cheese.

Do you guys know any other store that offers authentic Italian cuisine other than Italianni's?

Killer Taser

I've got the jitters just by reading horror stories about people dying by getting Tasered from police officers. Never have I been worried about lately until I learned about Policemen harass people and start using Taser in order to keep an unruly person in control or even those that are not-even-unruly person.

I learned that Tasers have little barbs (like hooks) in them and when gunned at you, those little hooks will hook up deep to your skin and help electricity travel through your skin and create a tetanus-like effect on your body. Unfortunately, some people have low tolerance to it and suffer heart-attack. I am just wondering if police officers gets even accountable to such mistakes. These stories make me unable to sleep at night.

Mosquitoes

In my previous posts, I mentioned about Dylan's nephew who was hospitalized due to Dengue fever. I just noticed that mosquitoes are starting to multiply in number as the days go by even if we use katol (mosquito repellant) or Baygon. They seem to have developed immunity against these usual mosquito repellant. Good thing that there is no Dengue outbreak in our community.

Katol

Our environment perhaps has just started to go dirty and no one seems to really care about it anymore and people just dump garbage everywhere. Civilization is now a thing of the past. You can see people dump their garbage everywhere. They have no qualms of doing such since the existing law are not fully enforced to the public. We will all die of diseases if this continues...

Mom's Medication

Hopefully, mom will stop taking Quadtab, an antibiotic against pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) this month. She is up for follow-up with her doctor this week so I am hoping that the result of her check up will come out good. =)

I am always afraid of losing someone...I am not really good at moving on =D I mean, when I get too attached to something, its so hard for me to let my mind go of it. For quite a few months now, I have been researching on the side-effects of using quadtab as a maintenance medicine. I am too afraid that my mom will get any of the stated side effects.

Mind over matters, like what a friend of mine always tells me. =) I guess that's one thing I need to practice...

Patent on Genes and Genetic Information

"Who actually owns Science?: One perfect question asked by the British scientist Sir John Sulston, a 2002 Nobel Laureate in the field of Medicine. As most people know, Nobel Laureate is an award-winning body for outstanding individuals who have excelled in their field of study or interest and made a valuable and exemplary contribution to the society as a whole.

picture from jamd.com

The Human Genome Project (well this might quite Greek to ordinary people like us for we really what do this organization really work for) was initiated in order to map all existing genes, the genetic library of a human being that will uncover hidden truths about human behaviour and diseases and the like. While this pursuit might be noble, there are plenty of individuals who are lobbying on marketing genes and genetic information to be enrolled on a patented status which obviously immoral in nature and direct act of disregard to human conscience.

picture from nature.com

This came to my attention when I read an article at healthlines.com (seems to be not my favorite site hehe) about Sir John Sulston advocacy on making Science available to the people people and not for the affluent few. You may continue your reading by clicking here.

picture from events.britishcouncil.or

This seems to be like getting your ill kidney to the laboratory and after having been examined by a technician/doctor, it gets back to you for a fee and with payment absolutely high fees for others with similar diseases: just to get their ailment treated. Totally disgusting and immoral. I hope the United Nation and the World Health Organization will act on creating an international agreement on the use of scientific information, specifically on the areas of genetics. Seems to me that the public is left with no choice but to buy every single bit of particle he/she consumes sustain his/her life. What future holds for ordinary humans...

HIV Vaccine Trial Stopped

I read a note on the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) website about a plan to stop the HIV vaccine developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, USA). Not pretty sure though but scientists so far have failed on several instances to developing HIV vaccine since the HIV virus itself continuously changes just as a flu virus change from person to person and season to season. I'm pretty sure that NIAID has good reasons not to pursue such trial though. Just read the news here though. You can click on that if you want to read more.

Picture from www.girls-without-borders.org

Well, I am optimistic that scientists will soon design a vaccine platform that will provide protection among all uninfected people against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and therapeutic vaccines to help those who already have the disease. But definitely, these classes of drugs/vaccines will surely undergo rigorous testings to secure their safety and effectiveness among humans before it will be sold or marketed to the public.

AIDES org at http://www.aides.org/en/

AIDES org at http://www.aides.org/en/

Picture from www2.ohchr.org/

Africa and Asia are among the countries which are suffering from HIV/AIDS menace. Good thing the Philippines is not badly hit by this disease since only a few reported HIV infections were in the HIV/AIDS registry of Department of Health (DOH , Philippines). Good thing if you're in the West and got HIV, yet can support your full drug treatment. But what about being infected while in the Philippines when you can't even buy a new shoes to wear at work? Hmm...sounds interesting...

Honestly speaking, HIV/AIDS is like a bombshell waiting to be detonated here in our country. If left unchecked, everybody will suffer...

Vaccine Against Tuberculosis

This came a real surprise to me. I never thought that there is an existing vaccine against tuberculosis until I read this article from AOL about the cause of death of Moulin Rouge. I immediate googled information about tuberculosis and found out that according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) that Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) can be used to vaccinate people who are at high risk of contacting Tuberculosis.

Interestingly, this is the same disease which killed the movie character Moulin Rogue. I took a screen shot of the webpage though for you to see it but I guess its pretty small that those who fairly have good eyesight won't be able to figure out what's written in it =(.

picture from AOL.com (click picture to enlarge)

Moreover, according to CDC, there are quite a few number of people who should be vaccinated against TB as long as they meet the certain criteria laid out below. In any case, your healthcare provider should be your number 1 resource to getting advice about TB Vaccine.

Recommendations

Children. BCG vaccination should only be considered for children who have a negative tuberculin skin test and who are continually exposed, and cannot be separated from, adults who

* Are untreated or ineffectively treated for TB disease (if the child cannot be given long-term treatment for infection); or
* Have TB caused by strains resistant to isoniazid and rifampin.

Health Care Workers. BCG vaccination of health care workers should be considered on an individual basis in settings in which

* A high percentage of TB patients are infected with M. tuberculosis strains resistant to both isoniazid and rifampin;
* There is ongoing transmission of such drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains to health care workers and subsequent infection is likely; or
* Comprehensive TB infection-control precautions have been implemented but have not been successful.

Health Care Workers considered for BCG vaccination should be counseled regarding the risks and benefits associated with both BCG vaccination and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI).

I remember writing something in my other blog about my mom being treated for tuberculosis because of suffering from pneumonia 2 months ago. She was given anti-TB drugs at that time because her body was too weak to fight off further lung infections. Fortunately, with God's grace, she recovered from those diseases and is now continuing her medication.

I just hope that this post gives us some useful information about TB and how we can possibly avoid it. We shouldn't take our health for granted. It hurts a lot when it surrenders...

Evolence: Answer to Deep Facial Wrinkles

To all ladies out there, this will surely interest you. =) Perhaps, Orthoneutrogena's (joint Ortho Dermatological and Neutrogena Corporation project) Evolence is all you need to remove deep facial wrinkles. It has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat deep facial wrinkles, especially those found at the nasolabial portion of the face.

To illustrate where nasolabial folds are located, please see the pic below. Below

pic from okeye.com

According to healthlines.com, Evolence was synthesized from pigs collagen. The substance can be administered to the skin by a trained dermatologist or physician. Right after the injection, Evolence will start working its way out to the damaged or aged site where collagen has been depleted and will restructure it to bring the skin's appearance back to what it was. =) Sounds amazing right?

But one thing that will possibly blow your mind is that the result is immediate and its effects can last for approximately 6 months or more with literally no awful side-effects. Way to go Orthoneutrogena!

Killing Me Softly...Diabetes

picture from WHO

I was watching TV yesterday when I stumbled upon a local television channel where it features issues about people afflicted by diabetes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more or less 200 million people afflicted by this chronic disease.

Prevalence of diabetes worldwide (WHO)

	2000	2030
World	171,000,000	366,000,000

Diabetes accounts to millions of people who are suffering from organ dysfunction and various never and blood vessel diseases. A person is diabetic when he is either unable to produce insulin or efficiently make use of the insulin produced by the body.

Here are some factual statistics about diabetes, taken from WHO:

QUICK DIABETES FACTS

• Diabetes causes about 5% of all deaths globally each year.
• 80% of people with diabetes live in low and middle income countries.
• Most people with diabetes in low and middle income countries are middle-aged (45-64), not elderly (65+).
• Diabetes deaths are likely to increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years without urgent action.

Out of fear and curiosity, I asked my dad yesterday while watching if any of his parents or siblings have ever had diabetes or any other related diseases. He said "no". Well, good, I said. :) My dad is 80 but still is alive and kicking. That resistance probably runs in the genes LOL.

Although genetics play a big role to becoming predisposed to such diseases, lifestyle choice, level of physical activity and weight maintenance and vices like smoking also add up to the possibility of developing such disease. So the onset of a certain diseases such as diabetes still depends on how we take care of our body and the kind of lifestyles we choose, ayt? :)

I Lost 1 Lb!

Remember my last post about my company doctor telling me that I am overweight? Now I must say that the company has been successful for putting me on a weight management plan to reduce my weight: all due to stress.

Well, its not that I am whining or something but my job is absolutely taking toll on my health. My face is like a solid dry mud rock which became an acne and oil plantation and my entire body experiencing an unexplained muscle wasting at the same time. I feel like I'm suffering from a deadly disease or something.

I bought a multivitamin supplement yesterday (Enervon) which cost me around 5 bucks which Dylan got his voicebox broke again in disgust.

Dylan: why did you buy that? I thought you're taking centrum? why a sudden change in brand?
Jules: Don't overreact. This is in an outcry to US economic recession. Some sort of support kung baga.
Dylan: well, you're kidding me. its not a good idea to change brands especially if your body got used to one same brand at the very start.
Jules: Well, sorry. 5 bucks is cheaper than shelling out 10 for Centrum. I guess I will just add more prayers into it to make it more effective LOL!

Sounds an overstatement but true lol. With money being tight, all prices going up, and salary not increasing, you just can't afford to spend all your money and die with your eyes open at the end of the day with no single cents in your pocket.

How to Dispose of Unused Medicines

Most people are unaware of the dangers of inappropriate disposing of unused or expired medicines. It may seem harmless, but quite a number of drugs contains hazardous substances which may adversely affect the health of other people and, at the same time, the environment.

While all medicines have drug labels which provides recommended proper disposal information, still others are not responsible enough to even follow them thus putting others at high risk of drug overdose as in the case of children accidentally ingesting drugs in syrup or tablets.

Since most drugs are recommended to be flushed down the toilet, still some require proper handling and should not be incinerated or whatever. In any case, there are dangers to such improper disposal. You may want to read more on the article published at the US Food and Drug Adminstration website.

Picture taken from USFDA website

Dengue Fever Menace

Just this morning, I learned that Dylan's cousin, John Kian, was suspected to displaying symptoms of dengue fever so the doctor at a nearby charity clinic near their barangay advised them to have Kian confined at a nearby public hospital for the next 3 days to monitor his platelet count. In fact, Kian's fever is like on and off within the day for the past 3 days for no apparent reason.

Its very alarming that local hospitals are really suffering from lack of equipments like hospital beds in order to accommodate the influx of underserved and indigenous patients and those who just can't afford the ridiculous hospital fees by private hospitals. I was reading some articles online about Dengue fever and I would like to share the one I read at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (USA). Watch the youtube video below to learn some basic info about dengue fever.

Dengue Overview

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called "break-bone" fever because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking, hence the name. Health experts have known about dengue fever for more than 200 years.

Symptoms of typical uncomplicated (classic) dengue usually start with fever within 4 to 7 days after you have been bitten by an infected mosquito and include

• High fever, up to 105ºF
• Severe headache
• Retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rash

The rash may appear over most of your body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins, and then subsides after 1 to 2 days. You may get a second rash a few days later.

Symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever include all of the symptoms of classic dengue plus

• Marked damage to blood and lymph vessels
• Bleeding from the nose, gums, or under the skin, causing purplish bruises

This form of dengue disease can cause death.

Symptoms of dengue shock syndrome--the most severe form of dengue disease--include all of the symptoms of classic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, plus

• Fluids leaking outside of blood vessels
• Massive bleeding
• Shock (very low blood pressure)

This form of the disease usually occurs in children (sometimes adults) experiencing their second dengue infection. It is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

We always hear this phrase every time we chat with friends at a coffee table especially when topics are about stress and illnesses. And the truth is, there is really a science behind it.

Apparently, when we think of happy experiences or even plan of doing them like a plan of going out with friends who are really funny to be with or going out to the movies with them to see films starred by actors/actresses that are really hilarious, the your body dreleases special kinds of hormones such as beta-endorphins and HCG which somehow are good for the health. :) I understand that most of guys in here are not that familiar with the chemistry behind it but let's just take it as it is. LOL.

On the contrary, when we are at work and are subjected to a lot of stressful situations like when you meet the deadline your boss give you for a certain project, your body releases hormones like cortisol, epinephrine and dopac which in turn, weakens the body and in turn, weakens the entire immune system. Whew!

Well, whatever happens, we are still in CONTROL. We can plan positive experiences and think about doing something that is joyful like joining your kids while playing, ask a friend for a walk at the park or something like it. :) Rediscover your humor and other else's though. Stay happy and think about all the good things that life gives you. I'm beginning to sound like a preacher though. Well there you go. :) Have a great weekend!

Glen and Kevin, my nephews

Avril, my niece

Eat Big Breakfast - Key to Losing Weight!

Remember your mom telling you not to skip breakfast? Well, you need to hear it from the doctors themselves.

Virginia Commonwealth University clinical professor and endocrinologist, Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, provided reports that eating a full meal with complex carbohydrates during the day reduces the body's wanting for food during the entire day and this, in turn, reduces the body's needing for more food thus encouraging weight loss.

Well, shall you continue ignoring that healthy breakfast your mom is preparing for you? Hmm...

Picture: Texas to Mexico photostream at healthlines.com

Pantene: Original and Spoofed

Well, we know that shampoo makes hair clean, shiny and more manageable. The invention of shampoo validates human civilization I must say. But enough of academics. I know that you guys are at least familiar with beautiful ladies featured in every Pantene commercials and I'm pretty sure that you will recognize these ladies.

However, like all other commercials, everyone gets spoofed and I just found the other one in youtube and I find it absolutely amusing! Take a look. =D

Original



Spoofed