Breast Cancer Journal

Linda England was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2009. She had a double mastectomy and is now receiving chemotherapy. She made the decision to use her considerable talent as a writer, artist, and computer geek to blog the events surrounding this life-changing experience. Her blog is a wonderful example not only of how blogs can inform and connect with others, but also how technology has given women a voice. Well worth your time!

Placebos CAN Cure You

Consider the lowly placebo or sugar pill, the fake treatment with a problem attached; there's always been the little matter of the placebo effect, where people measurably improve from actual ailments when told the sugar pill is the real thing.

Wired Magazine reports that pharmaceutical companies are taking a long close look at the placebo effect because it appears to be getting stronger, strong enough in testing against drugs both old and new that it is threatening moneymaking brands and confounding scientists in a serious way.

"...not only trials of new drugs [but also] some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time.

It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.

The fact that an increasing number of medications are unable to beat sugar pills has thrown the industry into crisis. The stakes could hardly be higher. In today's economy, the fate of a long-established company can hang on the outcome of a handful of tests."

The interesting thing for those of us who are not employed by drug developers is "why". This fascinating article explores the whole topic of placebos, from their original official discovery during WWII when an Army anesthetist ran out of morphine but observed salt water injections alleviating pain and shock when the patient was told he was receiving morphine, to recent experiments proving that the color of a pill along with many other factors can unleash the brain's own healing mechanisms.

Holiday Hazard Guide

Thank you, Washington Post for putting together this clever and useful holiday hazard guide. Covers you for the following possibilities not only with prevention suggestions from the appropriate authority figures but also takes a paragraph to tell you how often the hazard actually happens.

• Christmas tree fire
• Drunken driving
• Weight gain
• Plant poisoning (mistletoe, poinsettia etc)
• Package opening injury
• Sledding accident
• Eggnog salmonella
  

Ynez Johnston, Video Portrait

Ynez Johnston is the beautiful, sparkling, alert old woman we'd all like to be when we reach her age (she was born in 1920).

AvocadoVideo has created a delightful personal portrait of her in this short film. It will make you smile, maybe even make you happy. WNL thinks that might be because you been soaking up the spirit of a role model and mentor, who just by her presence in a video can light our way into the future. If she can make it, you can make it!

Happy Holiday, WNL readers!

Sculpture "The Woman Who Waits by the Sea" photo thanks to Artscenecal)

Who Does She Think She Is?

Most art students are women, most artists are men - why is that? This documentary about the invisibility of women artists addresses that question by looking at real women artists who talk about balancing motherhood, societal expectations, and the drive to create.

Although the film will be difficult to see in its entirety due to limited release, this trailer online will give you a taste, and you can see additional interviews with the participants at YouTube - well worth your time.

WNL comments: Women all around the world are struggling to survive, but beyond survival, there is another struggle to be fully functioning creative and innovative human persons, to be all that we can be. This film and the supplemental interviews on YouTube are about that second struggle. As always, the artists speak for us, explaining what we all feel but may have trouble expressing.

What Does Melatonin Actually Do for You?

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, and like all hormones, has many different functions in the body. Many people are aware of melatonin as a "help you fall asleep" supplement. This well-written article from The University of Maryland Medical Center explains all the other things melatonin does as well.

Turns out melatonin is involved in slowing bone loss which can lead to osteoporosis, can help menopausal women sleep, help alleviate depression, lower blood pressure, and many more applications.

The article is very clear about what uses are hypothetical and which are based on clinical trial observations, in contrast to other websites which make claims for melatonin without any backup.

Possible ways to use melatonin and cautions are also included.

Short Marriage, Long Sentence

After two days of marriage to Brandon Manai, Julie Rosas was ready to file for an annulment. Less than two weeks later she was found dead at the bottom of a Southern California cliff. Brandon confessed being responsible to a friend. Arrest, trial, conviction December, 2009. Jury deliberation time: 6 hours.

Basics from The LA Times. Expanded coverage of the trial, evidence, arguments, and more about Julie thanks to Denise Nix in The Daily Breeze.

Is It Time for Burka Barbie?

She's not for sale in stores - yet - but this multicultural Barbie was part of an auction promoting Mattel and Barbie's 50th anniversary. Comments, reported in this LA Times article, ranged from positive to scathing.
Here's one that might get you thinking:

Critics such as Barbara Kay in Canada slammed Barbie’s Muslim dress as a “symbol of oppression” and ripped [Barbie collector and fan Angela] Ellis’ commentary in an article recently published in Canada’s the National Post newspaper.

“I have seen some pretty tawdry advertising campaigns in my time, but I must say this one takes the cake for insensitivity. What's next in dolls that are 'important for girls' to play with? ‘Illiterate Barbie’? ‘Forced-Marriage Barbie'?" she wrote.

Instead, Kay branded Burka Barbie a “mockery of disempowered women” who, she said, have been “stripped of human dignity."

She felt the doll had no place in Mattel’s line of “diversity” Barbies. “There can be no parallel between these travesties of multiculturalism and other 'diversity' Barbies -- brown Barbies, native-dress Barbies, pilot Barbies -- avatars that reflect the natural appearance and truly traditional garb and career choices of free women,” she wrote.

The article also has a picture of an Islamic version of Barbie named Fulla who is more modestly figured and dressed than the buxom, pointy-toed original. It's apparently selling well.

Halle Berry Reveals Domestic Violence

Actress Halle Berry has been a volunteer at the Southern California DV shelters run by Jenesse for a long time, reports Times OnLine. Now that the shelters, along with many other supports for domestic violence survivors and their children, are facing the limitations of economic downturn, she is revealing her personal history of family violence and how she escaped abusive relationships as an adult.

Her hope is that, as you read her and her mother's stories, you will make a place in your giving this year and into the future for domestic violence shelters. Contact Jenesse here. Look for DV shelters and services in your area here.

(Photo from the article of Halle and her mother.)

Morning-After Pill As Contraceptive?

UK's Times Online posts this useful column, which answers a reader question (not part of the article) about using the morning-after pill after unprotected sex as an alternative to being on the pill.

Ann Furedi, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), says that “for women who are not in a relationship, the morning-after pill is even safer than the contraceptive pill because it is only an occasional dose of hormones, although obviously it doesn’t protect against STIs”. The BPAS states that “there is no limit” to how many times you can use it.

This article discusses pros and cons and has comments from women, both young and older, who are finding that the MAP has can play multiple roles in their reproductive life.

WNL notes that Europe is way ahead of the US in adopting, using, and modifying the original uses for the morning-after pill. Turns out it is an even bigger deal than providing a non-abortion abortion.

Feral Cats and the Women Who Help Them

Denver's Westword takes a long look at the feral cat colonies that inhabit the city and the effort by local women to find a humane solution for them. Turns out cats are euthanized at double the rate of dogs in Colorado, partly because

"Cats are about twenty years behind the dog movement," notes [Amy] Angelilli [Director of The Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance, the lead group spearheading efforts to deal with ferals]. "In Denver, the dog is treated like a kid. People still think of cats as independent. They think they can fare well on their own. But they're not going to fare well in your alley."

This inspiring article explains the plan, the planning, and organizations coming together in Denver to make a real difference in how cats are treated. Maybe you can bring some of their ideas to your town - the ferals are already there.

Mistresses or Hook-ups, You Decide

Tiger Woods has 11 mistresses and counting. Who cares! Jesse Sheidlower, writing for Slate.com, makes the case that we should care, however, about the words selected in media and in conversations for the women involved, even if the subject of rich guy bonking ladies is beyond boring.

The discussion of wording begins with this observation:

"The more the press covers the Tiger Woods scandal, the more abuse they heap on the word mistress. We don't know much for certain about Tiger Woods' extramarital relations. But the term mistress generally connotes a level of commitment to one's side dish(es) that does not seem to be present here. A woman who has sex with a man once—or even repeatedly— but without any real devotion is not really his mistress."

For your reading enjoyment and edification, Sheidlower explains what a mistress is and is not, and looks at other possibilities - like girlfriend, one-night stand, and affair.

Are words important? You bet they are. Consider this from the concluding paragraph:

"If we had a female philanderer on the rampage, the situation would be even trickier, because there is no equivalent word for a male in the role of a mistress—it's not a relationship common enough to have generated a term."

Turns out language is a useful window through which to view the separate and highly unequal worlds of men and women.

Chelsea Clinton - We Watched Her Grow Up

Time Magazine celebrates the announcement of Chelsea's engagement to Mark Mezvinsky with a slideshow of public photos of Chelsea taken over the years of her national public life, which started when she was 12 and her dad was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate in the summer of 1992.

WNL thought the photo above from an article in the NY Daily News captures a nice moment for newly engaged girl with the mother of the bride.

Cheaters Leave An E-Trail

Tiger Woods and his tattle-tale cell phone make it official: Cheating is no longer what it used to be. How can you lie about where you are and what you are doing when your supposedly significant other has Google street view, GPS, Twitter, et al to smack you down?

This article in The Washington Post has all the details, along with some pertinent anecdotes. WNL likes the article's opening scenarios:

Cheating, 1989:

There were errant signs. Like the times you phoned the office and it rang and rang ("I was in the conference room," he said), like the matchbooks from places with names like the Candlelight Inn, where you'd never been. There were always plausible explanations. Work lunches! Work trips! Work lipstick! You wondered if you were crazy. There was so much wondering. Months, maybe years of uncertainty.

Cheating, 2009:

I found your text messages, Jerk boy. Pack your bags.

Classic Children's Books to Avoid

"The Giving Tree", "Runaway Bunny", "Love You Forever" - You'll find them at booksellers this book-giving season. Before you buy, watch this intriguing video interview by parenting writer and blogger Madeleine Brand with author Laurel Snyder.

The 11-minute discussion includes pictures of pages from the books discussed, good along with bad, and even some alternative opinions (in case you have a favorite that's being maligned) for books they dislike. You'll never look at children's books quite the same after hearing this intelligent rant on the subject.

WNL especially likes the feature on the video progress bar which shows book page illustrations as you run the pointer along it - if you don't have time to listen to the whole podcast, you can at least find the book you might be wondering about.

(Thanks to Mitra Farmand for the delightfully wicked cartoon.)

Redheads and Pain Sensitivity

Did you know that being a redhead means you have a genetic variant which also affects your pain receptors, especially how you respond to anesthetics such as those used for surgery and dental procedures? If you have red hair or are the mother of a red-haired child, you need to know about this recently verified condition.

Does Beano Prevent Gas?

This LA Times article discusses the value of alpha-galactosidase enzyme tablets, marketed as "Beano", to prevent intestinal gas after eating all kinds of plant foods, including beans. Results of an actual study performed in Italy are included, along with an overview of the dreaded gas, and an interview with gastroenterologist Patricia Raymond.

Takeaway: There are more causes of gas production in the gut than Beano is equipped to handle, but it does work if you take a lot more than you might think from the label.

How Do Child Porn Investigators Cope?

This article in The Washington Post might be difficult to read, but the point of it is two-fold: Encourage you that there are faithful and dedicated people who are engaged in stopping the trade in child porn, and to help you understand how, and why, investigators and prosecutors cope with the incredible psychological burdens involved in their work. Don't miss the video of FBI agent Melissa Morrow that goes along with the article.

Cats - Home Alone

What do cats do while the family is out working, etc? This quick read at Huffington Post reports results of a 50-cat study using collar video cameras to keep track of the kitties. Even TV watching was in the mix.

Healthier Home Air Quality - What to Know

This article in The LA Times explains in just enough detail how to keep carbon monoxide, radon, dust mites, and mold, among other pollutants, out of your home. Based on an interview with Robert Phalen, founder of the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory at UC Irvine, reporter Karen Ravn supplies a great clean air overview, without hyping any products or scare tactics.

An excellent resource article, up front at WNL because cold weather is here - that means closed windows. Have you had your heater checked lately and changed the air filter?