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Source: http://thetowntalk.com/article/20121115/NEWS01/211150317/1002/rss
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Friday, November 16, 2012
Prostate cancer screening is a dud | Troy Media
?A PSA test won?t let you live longer, but your life will feel longer.?
Translation
November 15, 2012
Last summer I was asked if I would debate a prominent urologist in Vancouver over the value of the PSA test, a simple blood test to determine a man?s risk of having prostate cancer. This was what I?d been waiting for. I had just published Seeking Sickness, a book about medical screening and was eager to see if anyone could step forward and publicly argue against what I was saying about PSA testing ? which I think is a bad idea.
Having studied the research behind the PSA test, I concluded that the PSA test is a dud.
Yes, it is true that prostate cancer is a condition that kills about three per cent of the male population, so it would seem to make sense to employ a ?screen early and screen often? mentality.
The main problem with looking for cancer with a PSA test is that the test finds evidence of cancerous cells in the prostates of most men who are getting to be a certain age (I won?t say old).
Changes to our prostate cells are not rare at all, and come as naturally to older guys as wrinkles and grey hair. While we?d all like to avoid the rare and rapidly fatal form of prostate cancer, the PSA test mostly finds the slow-growing type that will never go on to hurt us. Yet usually if a ?high? PSA score is found, doctors and patients strong biases are to treat the cancerous cells.
Physician and author Dr. Gilbert Welch is an expert on cancer screening and calls PSA testing ?the poster child for over-diagnosis.? He estimates that nearly two million American men have been unnecessarily treated for prostate cancer ? treatment that leaves as many as 40 per cent of them incontinent or impotent. As one doctor told me: ?a PSA test won?t let you live longer, but your life will feel longer.?
Nevertheless, my research on PSA tests found that there are still many players in the game promoting the test, especially some of those individuals and organizations with arguably vested interests or much at stake: some urologists who do prostate surgery, radiation therapists who apply the radiation, drug companies who supply treatments and organizations who try to raise prostate cancer awareness.
The largest prostate cancer awareness group in the U.S. gets financial support from some of these groups and is even supported by Depends, the company that makes adult diapers.
Yes, many raise money for these charities in good faith, because they appreciate what men diagnosed with prostate cancer endure and want to improve their quality of life. Fair enough. Just make sure your favoured charity is not encouraging a test that can often do more harm than help, and supplying men with balanced information before asking them to take the test.
But back to the debate. The urologist and I were supposed to meet for a taped TV debate. Finally someone was willing to step into the ring with a little punk like me!
And then he bailed.
The reason given, I heard from the organizers, was that he didn?t want to see an upstart get publicity for his book and its message. He?s probably right: If people read independent analyses of PSA testing they?d come away with a different picture of the test than what many urologists and cancer charities put forward.
My skepticism around the PSA test was vindicated earlier this year when a respected group that provides ?gold-standard? independent analyses of screening, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), announced that healthy men should not be screened with a PSA test, pure and simple.
There?s plenty of money to be made from telling men that they have disease lurking in their bodies, and the PSA is a classic case of this. Offering a screening test to a perfectly healthy person demands that we supply a good answer to the question: What if the treatment is worse than doing nothing?
Was that the question that scared my opponent off?
Alan Cassels is an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca and a drug policy researcher at the University of Victoria. He is the author of the new book, Seeking Sickness: Medical Screening and the Misguided Hunt for Disease [Greystone, 2012]. He is still willing to debate any urologist on the value of the PSA test.
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Source: http://www.troymedia.com/2012/11/15/prostate-cancer-screening-is-a-dud/
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Marijuana Legalization in Two States Has Mexico, Costa Rica Questioning U.S. Role in Drug War
On Nov. 6, the country watched closely as voters legalized small amounts of marijuana for adults in Colorado and Washington. And now those votes are resonating south of the border. And while Calder?n leaves office Dec. 1, this issue is far from done: His successor favors a discussion of legalization, and Calder?n's colleagues say they'll pressure the United Nations to take up the issue of drug prohibition by 2015.Calder?n's six years in Mexico City were defined by the Drug War. Shortly after taking office in 2006, he reacted to drug trafficking in his home state of Michoacan by sending in the troops. To sum things up very briefly, the situation escalated, and six years later, nearly 40,000 people have died. Meanwhile, people in the United States, Mexico, and every other country on Earth still use drugs.
After Calder?n met Tuesday with the leaders of Honduras, Belize, and Costa Rica, he told Mexican media that having a federal American government spend time and money on shutting down marijuana dealers in states that allow marijuana use is a bit curious. Specifically, it "weakens [America's] moral authority" --?"resta autoridad moral," Calder?n said.
After Calder?n met Tuesday with the leaders of Honduras, Belize, and Costa Rica, he told Mexican media that having a federal American government spend time and money on shutting down marijuana dealers in states that allow marijuana use is a bit curious. Specifically, it "weakens [America's] moral authority" --?"resta autoridad moral," Calder?n said.
At the very least, voter approval of legal marijuana means that drug policy needs to be fundamentally rethought, revisited, or otherwise changed. And while Calder?n won't be able to get around to that by the time he leaves office next month, the future is bright -- at least for the possibility of continued dialogue on legalization.
Incoming president Enrique Pe?a Nieto has in the past said that Mexico should consider legalization. So there's that. Then again, his Institutional Revolutionary Party has also been accused of having close, corrupt relationships with drug cartels. So there's that, too.
In any case, the development to watch will be if the United Nations considers its Latin American members' pleas to convene a special meeting and consider the future of drug prohibition.Source: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/11/marijuana_costa_rica_colorado.php
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
Family Tree Maker User: Consistency Check Reminders
One of the Blogs that I follow is that created by Tamura Jones, Modern Software Experience. Today his blog was on Consistency Check Reminders. I hadn't thought about that as a topic of this blog, but I agree with Tamura on what he wrote. Our genealogy software should provide us with options on this topic, as well as the Back Up mention at the end of the article.
Placing the cursor in that box will start the back up process. WE, the user, should take advantage of that.
I put my Back Up's in a Custom Directory, on an External Drive. (my "J" drive)
Putting a check mark in that box, which is the default setting, will cause the program to create a back up of the family file. Using the Automatic Back Up feature, will put a Back Up in the SAME folder as the family file and it will NOT include images. So, the size of this back up will be smaller the the Back Up mentioned earlier.
We have options on what data we want to have a Warning Screen appear, or not appear.
The warning says "Error: The data you entered has an ambiguous year" message.
Below the previous Waring screen are three more options:
The Person Reports and select the Data Error Report. Once the report is generating the Items to Include where the below window will open.
We have plenty of options of what we want in the report. I use this report frequently, but normally focus on certain bits of information at a time. For example, the Children being out of order.
For example: All Hallows Parish, is a historical place name, while the All Hallows Church Cemetery is in the town of Birdsville. The Cemeteries and the Plantation are in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
?If I understand the trust of Tamura's article, for me, FTM2012 offers me the features we described in his article.
Back Ups:
Family Tree Maker has always provided us with Back Up features. But Tamura went further then having a feature available, but reminders or user options to have the Back Up's performed.? FTM2012 does have options for us, plus offers us a Back Up reminder when preparing to perform some tasks within the program.
For example: the Tools, Compact File utility does offer a Back Up window / reminder before the compacting of the file is performed. Going to the Tools menu and selecting Compact File, this window will open.
Placing the cursor in that box will start the back up process. WE, the user, should take advantage of that.
We also have options on WHERE to put that back up. The Default is in the SAME folder where the Family File is located. Usually in My Documents, under Family Tree Maker. I do NOT put my Back Ups on the SAME Hard Drive where my Family File is located.
I put my Back Up's in a Custom Directory, on an External Drive. (my "J" drive)
We also have options in what we want to include in the Back Up. I always Back Up every thing. I am NOT concerned about disk space. I want to ensure that I can recover any problem with the file quickly and easily.
OH, I also run a Restore from Back Up, once a month, to make sure that the Back Up works.
If you look at the filename of the Back Up (FTMB), you will see that it included the DATE of the Back Up. It makes it very easy to see the most recent file to restore.
There are other operations, that may impact the entire file, where the Back Option is offered. I take advantage of that when offered.
Taking Tamura's statements to heart, FTM2012 also provides us with the Option to Back Up the file automatically, when we close the file, without actually having to do any mouse clicks. That option is in the Tools, Options menu, General Tab.
Putting a check mark in that box, which is the default setting, will cause the program to create a back up of the family file. Using the Automatic Back Up feature, will put a Back Up in the SAME folder as the family file and it will NOT include images. So, the size of this back up will be smaller the the Back Up mentioned earlier.
Consistency
The major thrust of Tamura's article, by my reading, was our ability to make our data consistent.
FTM2012 provide two versions or help in this area. 1) during Data Entry, and 2) a report, in this case the Data Error Report.
The Tools, Options menu has a Warnings Tab.
We have options on what data we want to have a Warning Screen appear, or not appear.
- Double Dates
- Title in Name fact
- One or two digit years
- Text in quotes (nickname) in the name fact
- Copy media files to media folder
- Auto populate Smart Stories
IF I enter a 2 digit year, I will be warned to enter a 4 digit year.
For example: I entered 06/06/12 into the Date field. There is a Warning ICON on the Right of the Date field. It took my 12 to mean 12 AD, instead of 2012.
The warning says "Error: The data you entered has an ambiguous year" message.
Below the previous Waring screen are three more options:
- Show alerts for unlikely birth, death and marriage dates
- Show unrecognized place name indicators
- Show informational alerts (i.e., changed name, changed home person...)
There is a Data Entry Report in the Publish Workspace.
The Person Reports and select the Data Error Report. Once the report is generating the Items to Include where the below window will open.
We have plenty of options of what we want in the report. I use this report frequently, but normally focus on certain bits of information at a time. For example, the Children being out of order.
So, in my mind, we have the proactive Warning messages during data entry, then a report to work from.
Place Name Consistency
This has always been a concern of mine. However, until FTM2012 (704), the struggle has been around Historical Place Names. That update has resolved that for me. I can visually see my "current" Place Names and the Historical Place Names at a glance.
For example: All Hallows Parish, is a historical place name, while the All Hallows Church Cemetery is in the town of Birdsville. The Cemeteries and the Plantation are in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
The ICON with the Check Mark, is the visual indication that these place names have yet to be resolved. In each of these cases, I am researching what the place name should be. Upper Burlington County, New Jersey, doesn't currently exist. So, I need to view the DATES of the events that took place in Upper Burlington County, New Jersey to see if it is a historical name based on that time frame.
?If I understand the trust of Tamura's article, for me, FTM2012 offers me the features we described in his article.
_______________________________________________________________
Copyright ? 2012 by H R Worthington
Source: http://ftmuser.blogspot.com/2012/11/consistency-check-reminders.html
Want To Protect the Election, Young People? Volunteer as a Poll Worker.
People queue to cast their ballots at a polling station in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images.
The line to vote at my polling place in Brooklyn, N.Y. was two and a half hours long. I don?t live in a swing state with massive turnout, and there was no hotly contested local election or ballot initiative. While many New Yorkers are suffering the after effects of Hurricane Sandy, fortunately, my polling place was unscathed. The multistep process of checking in, voting, and getting the ballot electronically scanned wasn?t what made the line drag. The problem, to put it bluntly, was the sweet old ladies manning the polls. God bless these women for volunteering, but it?s clear: If young people really want to protect voters, they should volunteer as poll workers.
At my polling place, it took two elderly ladies, in tandem, two to three minutes to find each voter?s name in the rolls, write down the pertinent information, and have each voter sign. The actual voting booths were virtually empty because it took each voter so long to get through the bottleneck at check-in. The line management was terrible, and no information being given to the hundreds of people waiting outside in the cold or to organize and streamline the process.
Several poll workers were sitting around, starting into space. The voters on either side of me in line both bailed after an hour, saying that they?d try later. I asked if people who didn?t want to wait could just cast a provisional ballot, and a poll worker told me she didn?t know.
Of course, poll volunteers aren?t experts in line management, nor are they brought on because they?re speedy with a pen. They?re brought on because they have the time and inclination to volunteer?and so it shouldn?t surprise anyone that so many volunteers are retirees. But couldn?t we back them up with some plucky, fast-moving young people?
After all, college students and young people with flexible schedules are already out in force volunteering for both campaigns. And with unemployment near 8 percent, surely retirees aren?t the only people with their days free! Rather than showing enthusiasm by knocking on doors the day of election, how about ensuring a smooth process for the people who are actually voting? Long lines are a serious barrier for full participation, so idealists can see it as an act of social justice. You even get paid.
And while Election Day isn?t a holiday for federal or state employees?or for pretty much anyone who isn?t an autoworker?there is one group of state employees who might be available. If you?re a teacher, why not take your grading day off and run the polls? You already know all about line management and dealing with grumpy, impatient people.
Heck, by the time my two-and-a-half hour wait ended this morning, I?d have been happy to let Occupy Wall Street run the voting stations?after witnessing their massively well-organized relief efforts being coordinated for Sandy victims I?d take a bunch of charming anarchist hippies over good-intentioned but tortoise-paced old people any day.
When I left the polling place, the line was about five times as long as it was when I got there. For all of you still waiting in line at MS 51 in Park Slope, I recommend you take advantage of Gov. Cuomo's declaring emergency voting at any polling location, and jump the line to ask for a provisional ballot. And before the next election, sign up to volunteer. That?s an even better way to effect change.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=e92e24fa935bc4115f03685ae4d6f259
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Scenes from Election Day: America votes
The most expensive presidential race in American history?some $2.6 billion was spent?is finally coming to an end. The barrage of political ads is quieting, and voters now have the chance to speak.
Polls close in Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont at 7 PM ET, with other states following close behind. Alaska's polling stations, the last to close, finally shutter at 1 AM Wednesday. In the meantime, we'll be gathering all the latest news about the candidates, polling stations and swing states here.
1:00 PM: Better late than never? Google searches for "who's running for president" spiked in November.
12:25 PM: You might want to think twice before posting your filled out ballot to Facebook, Flickr, or Instagram. Propublica reports that some states have laws that prohibit people from showing their ballots to anyone. Violating the rule can result in having your ballot thrown out. See if it's legal in your state at the Citizen Media Law Project site.
12:18 PM: In Washington D.C., There are reports that some lines are so long at polling sites that people are giving up on voting. How was your polling place? Let us know in the comments.
12 PM: Republican National Committee official Tim Miller?is complaining on Twitter that a Philadelphia polling place has put up voting booths right next to a mural of Obama. The location of the polling site is 35th ward-D18 Franklin School, according to the Weekly Standard. Miller wrote that the Pennsylvania GOP has filed a complaint. Electioneering is not allowed within 10 feet of a polling place. The Philadelphia City Commissioners' office is looking into the complaints.
11:40 AM: Elections officials in Pinellas county in Florida mistakenly sent hundreds of robocalls telling voters they had until 7:00 PM Wednesday to vote, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (The last polls close at 8 PM Tuesday in the state.) Elections officials sent a second message to alert voters who received the calls of the mistake. A majority of the county voted Democratic in 2008.
11 AM: A Chrysler official wrote on Twitter that the car company has given its entire workforce the day off to vote. Late last month the company had strongly denied the accuracy of an ad from Mitt Romney's campaign stating that the automaker was moving its Jeep production to China. The company, in fact,?said it recently added 1,100 jobs in the swing state of Ohio, where one in eight jobs is connected to the auto industry.
10 AM: All four major candidates have cast their ballots. President Barack Obama voted weeks ago in Chicago as part of his campaign's push to get their supporters to vote early in states that allow it. Voting on Tuesday: Vice President Joe Biden, at a Wilmington, Del., high school; Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, near their Belmont, Mass., home; and Paul Ryan cast his ballot in his hometown of Janesville, Wis.
9:40 AM: The first election results are in?and it's a tie. In New Hampshire, Dixville Notch's 10 registered votes split evenly 5-5 between Romney and Obama. The small village has cast its ballots at midnight since 1960, giving political junkies an early look at how candidates are faring in the Granite State. President Obama carried the small village in 2008, but Dixville Notch went to George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/scenes-election-day-america-heads-polls-163147928--election.html
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Video: Dan Patrick Show: Luck is out-shining Manning
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/49725944#49725944
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