Since we all heard the sad news about Patrick Swayze being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, there has been a lot of attention on this disease, virtually a silent killer until the tumor grows so large you start to show symptoms.

Pancreatic cancer affects mainly men, and definitely smokers and people with liver damage from too much alcohol.

This timely press release from Johns Hopkins tells you how to prevent and treat pancreatic cancer.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/3/prweb752394.htm

We wish anyone who suffers from this dreadful disease all best wishes to you and your loved ones.

It’s March already, but some of us are still struggling with cold weather. Others of us have coughs and colds all year round.

Some of us even have chronic bronchitis. 
In the recent artcile Rethinking Use of Cough Medications for Common Colds: New Cough Care Guidelines Reported by Johns Hopkins Health Alerts,  I was amazed to read that most of the supposed cures for a cough due to a cold were actually NOT effective at all. Wow, just think how much money we spend on over the counter cough medicine and cough drops every year. 

The supposed active ingredients really only help in certain cases, like if you have chronic bronchitis. Interestingly, Advil (naproxen)  is supposed to help  also. So, read all about it here, and save your money on all those cough and cold remedies!

Here is the press release.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/3/prweb741914.htm

There is also a free special report on COPD you might want to pick up from the site if you do suffer from chronic bronchitis (a component of COPD).  the Johns Hopkins Guide to New Treatments for COPD.

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/ppc/lung_disorders/copdr_reg_landing.html 

Stabilize Your Current Financial Situation First Before You Invest Part 3

Now that you have looked at the consumer credit burden that you’ve been carrying, you have  a plan for paying down that debt, and being able to then use the money saved as an investment.

TAKE STOCK OF THE PRESENT, INVEST IN THE FUTURE

It doesn’t make sense to start investing funds if your bank balance is always running on empty, or you are struggling to pay your monthly bills.

Your investment dollars will be better spent to rectify the adverse financial issues that affect you each day, like credit card debt, for a better tomorrow.

Get yourself into good financial shape with a sound budget, and no debt or low debt, and THEN you will be able to enhance your financial situation with sound investments.

As we said in our article on investing basics, know where you are at present, and where you want to be in the future with your investing goals, so you can start mapping how you are going to get there.

While you are in the process of clearing up your present financial situation, start educating yourself about the various types of investments currently available, and their respective rates of return.

This way, once you are in a financially sound situation, you’ll be armed with the knowledge that you need to make equally sound investments in your future.

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Here is some good news!

Researchers in the United States believe they have discovered why flu and other respiratory viruses are more prevalent in winter.

Flu can actually cause death, especially in children and the elderly, and of course, it can mutate into even more deadly strains.

But apparently the researchers from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) say influenza viruses coat themselves in a fatty protein called HEMAGGLUTININ, that hardens and protects them in colder temperatures.

They suggest that this may be the reason why winter is the flu season.

It seems the fatty coating around the virus melts in the respiratory tract, allowing the virus to infect cells. Apparently it is this special fatty insulator which gives them an advantage in the cold temperatures of the winter.

When the influenza viruses are in a warm environment such in summer, they die quickly and are usually less able to infect more than one person.

The head of the research, Joshua Zimmerberg, says it is only in this liquid phase that the flu virus is capable of entering a cell to infect it.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the way we fight the flu now, whether the vaccines really are effective, or if some other way can be found to fight flu.

To read the full article on the flu, go here:
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=35829

The Seven Deadly Sins That Lead to Debt is an interesting article by Sheyna Steiner that was published on  Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at bankrate.com and referenced in the Yahoo Finance section.

The premise is that the 7 Deadly sins lead us into debt, and create a hell for us not just in the afterlife, but in this life. Only my avoiding temptation can we get ourselves out of debt and direct our discretionary cash in the direction of worthwhile financial goals.

So, just to remind you, the 7 deadly sins are:

 
Envy

Pride

Sloth/laziness

Anger/Wrath

Greed

Gluttony

Lust

 
You can kind of catch the drift, can’t you. These motives provoke you into going over budget, running up credit card debt, and staying in that debt.

 My favorite part of the article is a truly giggle-worthy moment in which they point out that Americans spend an estimated  $10 billion to $13 billion on adult entertainment, mainly thanks to the internet, and that money could be better spent on retirement accounts!  They do have a point, but in our immediate gratification based society, I doubt they are going to want to interrupt their cycle of porn consumption or addiction to worry about their retirement!

 
Still, it is very useful article that should help you take a look at your own spending in a whole new way!

 http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104501/The-Seven-Deadly-Sins-That-Lead-to-Debt 

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