STOP, LOOK and then LISTENWritten by Valerie Harker
About 2 years ago my mother was making regular visits to a podiatrist for an annoying epidemic of corns on bottom of her feet. During her course of treatment she began to notice that bottom of her right big toe had a slightly dark discoloration that was not apparent in any other place on her toes or feet. She asked podiatrist for his opinion during one of her visits to his office. He had never seen anything like this before and, as he would later admit, actually believed that bottom of my mother’s foot was dirty or stained. Because it did not cause any discomfort and because of podiatrists lack of concern she decided that her foot was completely normal. But she continued to observe stain and she was troubled by fact that it would never go away. Some time later she fell down some stairs during a stay at a summer cabin. She badly injured her leg in her fall and when her holiday was over she visited her family doctor for a diagnosis. She took this opportunity to show him discolored skin on her foot. Fortunately for my mother, this doctor was far more curious than podiatrist. He was fairly certain that my glamorous and well-groomed mother did not have grimy stains on bottom of her feet. He had never seen anything like this but suspected that it might be melanoma. He promptly sent her to a plastic surgeon, hoping that he would identify mysterious condition that was turning darker and beginning to slowly spread. In end my mothers instinctive concern and her family doctors curiosity saved her foot, and possibly her life. Unfortunately she was not able to keep her big toe. The dark stain was eventually diagnosed as a very rare form of melanoma. After several biopsies and surgeries it became clear that cancer had moved from bottom of her toe to sides and eventually onto top, and deeper into dermis. In an attempt to save her toe she went through 8 different surgeries where an increasing portion of her skin and bone was sliced away followed by lab work to determine if any cancer still remained. After one month in hospital, she went home and traded all her trendy and strappy, open toed shoes for some very sensible (and not very trendy) oxfords. She was very thankful that she could still walk and that her condition had been arrested. She was very disappointed that she had not trusted voice in her heart that knew that something was wrong choosing instead to listen to supposed voice of experience and expertise. This year nearly 8 thousand Americans will die from melanoma. This is a tragic statistic because melanoma, when identified early, can be treated in a simple office procedure. When people are vigilant and carefully observe marks, moles and unusual skin conditions they can alert their doctor as soon as anything abnormal is detected. On other hand, if a melanoma is given time to penetrate deeper into skin and to gain access to blood supply, prognosis is very, very poor. Untreated melanoma is a killer.
| | L-Glutathione, The Wonder AntioxidantWritten by Barrett Niehus
L-Glutathione, The Wonder Antioxidantby Barrett Niehus http://www.freetrainer.com A naturally occurring compound, L-Glutathione (Tathion,) has demonstrated that it is effective in fighting cancer, environmental poisons, and even cataracts. Sound like snake oil? Well, that is what I thought until I started doing research. It turns out that L-Glutathione is one of most effective antioxidants that our body produces. It works to protect our bodies from thousands of daily hazards that we are exposed to such as pollution, second hand smoke, alcohol, and food chemicals and poisons. In fact, it is so effective that some researchers believe that it can actually slow down aging process. L-Glutathione is an antioxidant that our body produces from three basic amino acids that are found in our food. Our body makes it and uses it, along with other vitamins that we ingest, as a hard line defense against all of hazards that cause us to grow sick and old. This is important because research into this specific anti-oxidant has shown that it can actually cure disease, regenerate damaged tissue, minimize side effects of chemotherapy, and treat cataracts. It works by acting as a guardian to toxic compounds that attack our cells. These compounds, typically called free radicals, are extremely aggressive and attack molecules that make up cells in our body. These free radicals change chemical structure of molecules in our cells and make them ineffective. This in turn either kills cell, makes it ineffective, or turns it cancerous. L-Glutathione and other antioxidants attack free radicals and destroy them before they have a chance to attack cells.
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