globeandmail.com : Dying man denied free drug

globeandmail.com : Dying man denied free drug: "Toronto-based hematologist Donna Reece, who specializes in multiple myeloma, said the decision to stop releasing Thalomid and Ontario's refusal to fund Velcade has turned the treatment clock back a decade.
'We are back in the dark ages,' Dr. Reece said in a telephone interview. '. . . This is a patient-care crisis for cancer-care delivery in this province.'
Thalomid works by helping starve tumours. It also helps stimulate cells of the immune system to attack cancer cells.
'. . . This will be an absolute catastrophe for our patients because Velcade isn't funded,' Dr. Reece said. 'This is a crisis right now for multiple myeloma because we cannot deliver anything close to the standard of care for our patients.' "

Without a transplant, he'll die

Great - how do we help this man ? QJ
Without a transplant, he'll die: "Pamela Cowan, Leader-Post
Published: Monday, March 20, 2006
When Joshua MacPhee died, many people benefited from the teen's organs because he signed an organ donation card.
Now his 44-year-old father is running out of time as he waits for a liver donor.
About two years ago, Terry MacPhee was diagnosed with liver cancer.
He was assessed and he qualified for a liver transplant at Edmonton's University of Alberta Hospital in September 2004, but no liver was available so he was put on a transplant waiting list."

Advisor.ca - Daily News

Advisor.ca - Daily News: "New tax strategies for medical professionals
February 28, 2006 | Kate McCaffery



Doctors and dentists in Ontario have a relatively new option at their disposal for income splitting and other tax planning strategies.
At the end of 2005, the Government of Ontario expanded ownership rules for doctor and dentists' professional corporations that give those clients the right to issue non-voting shares of the corporation to family members. Although this kind of income splitting is one of the main benefits of incorporation, when the government first allowed Ontario professionals to incorporate back in 2002, they included rules that said shares of a professional corporation could only be owned by the professional.
Other professionals, including lawyers and accountants, are not covered by the changes. "

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - State child care first: YWCA

Will 80 opinions(20X4) by a self interest group take your parent's child care by right money away?QJ

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - State child care first: YWCA: "The YWCA commissioned four community task forces from fall 2004 to fall 2005 to address how local resources could be organized to strengthen child care and create a viable model for service delivery.
The task forces, in Halifax, Vancouver, Martensville, Sask., and Cambridge, Ont., were made up of between 20 and 30 local residents, including parents, service providers and business people. "

Big bellies lead to cardiovascular disease

Beware the new fat crusaders are on the prowl- QJ

Big bellies lead to cardiovascular disease: "According to the International Day for the Evaluation of Abdominal Obesity (IDEA) Study, abdominal obesity is now pandemic, with Canadians weighing in among the heaviest in the world. The results were released in Atlanta Tuesday.
More than 170,000 people in 63 countries including 135 family physicians and 3,000 patients in Canada participated in the study, the largest of its kind. Around the world, 6,000 family doctors tape-measured their patients' stomachs.
The study reported a worldwide prevalence of known cardiovascular disease as 16 per cent for men, ranging from 10 per cent in Latin America to 26 per cent in Eastern Europe. For women, the numbers were lower at 12.5 per cent, ranging from seven per cent in North America to 23 per cent in Eastern Europe.
Doctors found a clear relationship between waist size and heart disease"

Canada Health guide dangerous to your Health

This is not the first time Health Canada's conduct has been questioned from an ethical standpoint. Three Health Canada scientists, who described themselves as whistle-blowers, were fired on the same day in 2004, purportedly for insubordination. They said they were being pressured to approve drugs despite safety concerns. In the late 1990s, the three had opposed bovine growth hormone, which enhances milk production in cows.

Freedhoff calculated calorie intake recommended in the drafts of the Food Guide and concluded it would be fattening. He said the food guide should include recommendations on calorie intake.

"Canada's Food Guide is not meant to be a weight-loss program but, at the same time, it should not be obesogenic," Freedhoff wrote.

This comes at a time of increasing concern about the health and fitness of Canadians, and specifically a rise in obesity.

The possibility that a government agency charged with overseeing Canadians' health might be allowing itself to be infiltrated and influenced by organizations with a vested interest is a serious matter.

For the individual, indications are that one may be better off following a respected diet book than Canada's Food Guide.

Doctor dog - Health - Browse Health Articles.

Doctor dog - Health - Browse Health Articles.: "Doctor dog



Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit


Man's best friend may turn out to be a first line of defense for cancer
Researchers at the relatively unknown non-profit Pine Street Foundation in Northern California claim they have trained dogs to identify patients with breast or lung cancer -- based on the smell of their breath � with near perfect accuracy. "

Alberta's health reform should respect Canada Health Act, says Harper

It is all about choice
Alberta's health reform should respect Canada Health Act, says Harper: "Although Alberta's proposal lacks detail it would appear to permit queue-jumping by patients willing to pay for faster treatment, and would allow doctors to work in the public and private systems simultaneously.
Michael Decter, chairman of the Health Council of Canada, said his early reading of the Alberta plan is that it would in fact contravene the federal health law.
'The Alberta paper, if I'm reading it correctly, seems to propose a private, parallel system . . . and it is difficult for me to see how you can do that without violating the Canada Health Act.
He noted that Alberta's plan goes farther than Quebec's recently announced health reforms.
Quebec would force doctors to choose between the private and public systems, while the Alberta plan would allow doctors to work on both sides simultaneously. Experts believe giving doctors access to medicare patients as well as those willing to pay for private care represents a threat to the public system.
Quebec would give patients access to private care only if the public system cannot deliver the care within a reasonable time, while the Alberta plan lacks any such restriction.
'It looks as though they may be preparing to allow people to simply buy insurance for medically necessary service and that, absent some waiting list test, strikes me as unlikely to pass muster,'' said Decter.
Tom McIntosh of the Health Policy Research Networks said Alberta's plan, if it does proceed, does have the potential to undermine Canada's medicare system. "