Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Dr. Tedd Mitchell, president of Cooper Clinic, discusses a paper presented at the 2007 American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting, which found that quality of life has a significant impact on lung cancer survival rates.

The study looked at the overall health of the patients, their mobility, emotional stability, and both social and financial support to predict mortality. The study's findings include:

Patients who received the necessary emotional and physical support had better survival rates than those who didn't.

Lung cancer patients with a below average quality of life before their treatment, in poor health, or those with inadequate support networks had nearly 70 percent higher death rates than patients with stronger support networks.

Dr. Cooper is interviewed on ReachMD.com about the invention of Aerobics.

Dr. Cooper and Todd Whitthorne discuss the latest data on cholesterol. The discussion includes a brief review of how the body uses LDL cholesterol, and an explanation of why it's a bit of a misnomer that LDL cholesterol is the "bad� cholesterol.

Raising HDL cholesterol, the “good� cholesterol through aerobic/cardiovascular conditioning is suggested.

The question of whether lowering the LDL cholesterol with statin medications is an effective way to reduce death from cardiovascular disease is raised. Dr. Cooper recommends steps to reduce cholesterol naturally first, with statin medication as an option if natural methods don"t move the score enough.

The cost and side effects of taking a statin are discussed. In a large study, 3 percent of the subjects taking the placebo (sugar pill) had heart attacks, while 2 percent had heart attacks while taking the statin. In terms of real numbers, the difference between the two groups was very small.

Dr. Cooper talks about an article published in the September issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, “HDL Cholesterol, Very Low Levels of LDL Cholesterol, and Cardiovascular Events.�

There is disagreement in the medical community about whether statin medications are beneficial. “Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?� BusinessWeek cover story, Jan. 17, 2008, is discussed.

Dr. Cooper’s book Controlling Cholesterol the Natural Way  is a resource for people who want to control their cholesterol without drugs.

The SPARCL (Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels) findings are reviewed.

Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb’s statin effects study is reviewed .  Dr. Golomb has been actively researching statin medications and their risk-benefit balance, including possible side effects.
 

Dr. Cooper and Todd Whitthorne discuss recent data coming from the National Center for Health Statistics as it relates to heart disease. Researchers believe medical advancements (early detection and treatment) and lifestyle changes (not smoking, blood pressure control, exercise, and stress control) have all helped to reduce the incidence of and deaths from heart disease.
 
There's a bill pending before Congress that Medicare will not cover CT scans. Dr. Cooper discusses why he believes passing of this bill would be a tragedy.

Dr. Cooper discusses the EPIC Study (and how four healthy habits extended life by an average of 14 years), and the Framingham Heart Study is discussed.

National Center for Health Statistics

EPIC Study and see PODCAST titled EPIC Study

Framingham Study

Medicare Showdown

Dr. Tedd Mitchell, president of Cooper Clinic, discusses the recent study reported in American Journal of Preventive Medicine (http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSFLE27756320071212) that obese children who watched two to four hours of TV each day were 2.5 times more likely to have high blood pressure than their peers who watched less TV. 

Dr. Mitchell explains the role of NEAT, Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise), and how it impacts overall weight. Sitting still burns few calories, standing burns more calories than sitting, and walking burns more calories than standing. Healthy children need to keep moving.

Children have access to TV, computers, electronic games, and other gadgets that keep them sitting and inactive. Dr. Mitchell suggests removal of the TV and computer from the bedroom (so time can be monitored), and urges parents to enforce a household rule of "no eating in front of the TV.â€?