Hodgkins Lymphoma News

About the Author

Bill Henderson is the author of "Cure Your Cancer" and "Cancer-Free." His books and 70 newsletters have helped over 600 people in 51 countries overcome their cancer in the last 4 years. He provides phone and e-mail answers to his individual reader's questions. His web site is: http://www.Beating-Cancer-Gently.com

Like the arteries, veins and capillaries that transport blood through our bodies, our bodies also contains an extensive drainage system that returns water and proteins from our tissues back to the bloodstream. Called the lymphatic system, it is part of our immune system and works to defend the body from diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi.

The lymphatic system has two major functions. First, it works to regulate the amount of fluids within our bodies. Secondly, it is responsible for “taking out the trash”, that is collecting waste products, such as dead blood cells and pathogens from the interstitial fluid the fluid that fills the spaces around cells and filters it before returning it to the bloodstream.

The lymphatic system is made up of lymph vessels that carry lymph, a protein-rich fluid that is transported through the lymph vessels, and lymph nodes which filter out germs and toxins. There are over 100 lymph nodes throughout the body, with the majority of them being located in the neck, groin and armpits. Lymphatic vessels contain valves that prevent the lymph from flowing backwards within the system. Within the lymphatic vessels, lymph is transported through the vessels and moves via the squeezing action of their neighboring skeletal muscles.

When the movement of lymph through the body becomes impaired, it will leak out of the lymphatic capillaries and cause the surrounding tissues to swell. This condition is called lymphedema. Lymphedema occurs when the amount of lymph fluid in the body exceeds the body’s ability to transport it. This causes the lymph fluid to accumulate in the tissues, where it causes swelling, particularly of the arms and legs.

There are two types of lymphedema. Doctors don’t know what causes Primary Lymphedema, but it can be present at birth, or can develop later on in life. Fortunately, this condition is rare. Secondary Lymphedema is a condition that is not often talked about, but often affects individuals who have undergone surgery, such as cancer surgery where lymph nodes are commonly removed. It can also affect individuals who have undergone radiation therapy, which can damage lymph nodes and cause scar tissue to form ultimately interfering with the flow of lymph. It can also be experienced by individuals who have experienced a severe trauma or infection.

In the initial stages of this chronic condition, Lymphedema often begins with swelling in a hand or foot, particularly the one closest to where the surgery has occurred or radiation therapy has taken place. If left unchecked, the protein-rich lymph can continue to accumulate, leading to increased swelling and a hardening of the tissues. This increases your risk of developing an infection or may interfere or impair the function of the limb.

Lymphedema can develop in any part of the body. If you experience persistent or recurring swelling anywhere in your body, it is important to seek medical advice. Early intervention with this disorder greatly improves the long term outcome of the disease’s progression.

Recommendations For Wellness

Avoid rigorous, repetitive movements or heavy lifting.

Women, if your arm is affected, get rid of extra 50 lbs that you carry over your shoulder and trade it in for a purse that has hand straps.

If your arm or leg starts to ache, lie down and elevate it.

Wear loose fitting clothes, jewelry, socks and undergarments that may restrict lymphatic flow.

Wear a compression sleeve or stocking on the affected limb.

Keep your “at risk” limb clean and avoid activities that may irritate or damage the skin. Careful skin care may reduce the risk of lymphedema by helping you to avoid infection.

Massage, particularly lymphatic massage has been shown to help increase lymph drainage. You can do this yourself or work with a qualified massage therapist who has been specially trained in how to perform manual lymph drainage techniques.

Begin a gentle exercise program. Exercise and muscle movement can help drain lymph fluid. Consult with your doctor prior to beginning any exercise program.

Drink plenty of water. Water is critical for proper lymph drainage.

Echinacea has a long history of improving lymph filtration and drainage.

Garlic is known for being able to stimulate the lymph system to throw off waste materials.

Oregon grape can be used to help reduce the inflammation of the lymphatic system and works to help cleanse the lymph.

Poke Root has been known to help stimulate the body and aid its ability to remove waste materials that may be trapped in the tissues. It can also help improve the elasticity of tissues that may have experienced hardening due to congestion.

Burdock, red clover and mullein are known to thin lymph fluid and enhance lymphatic drainage.

Herbal combinations such as Nature’s Sunshine’s Lymphatic Drainage, Lymphomax or Lymphostim are designed to stimulate the immune system, fight infections and support the lymphatic system.

© Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer 2004. All rights reserved.

About The Author

© Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer 2004. All rights reserved.

Dr. Rita Louise, PhD is a Naturopathic Physician and a 20-year veteran in the Human Potential Field, and it is her unique gift as a medical intuitive that enlivens her work. Author of the books “Avoiding the Cosmic 2x4” and “The Power Within: A Psychic Healing Primer”, Dr. Rita Louise, Ph.D. a can help you identify what is really going on and provide you with straightforward guidance and advice. She can be reached by calling 972-475-3393 or visiting her website at http://www.soulhealer.com.

rita@soulhealer.com

Just as there are solar magnetic stresses that come from the sun and the galactic “soup” that supports the universe, there are geomagnetic stresses that come from within the earth. The field of geobiology, or geopathology, is a science that has its roots in Europe and has slowly gained popularity in the United States over the past 25 years.

Research and proven modalities of detecting internal earth stresses has been extensive in Europe. Much of the research available today has come from the scientific and medical communities in countries like Germany, Austria, France and England.

Natural radiation that is inherent within in the earth can be distorted by natural and man-made influences such as mineral concentrations, fault lines, underground streams and underground public utilities. When imbalances affect the earth’s magnetic field, there are distortions that affect humans.

Illnesses of a chronic nature come from detrimental environmental imbalances that affect the physiology. Dr. Otto Bergsmann, a professor at the University of Vienna reported changes in serum values of calcium, zinc and serotonin in humans after short-term exposure to non-life supporting earth radiation sites. Even this limited exposure undermined the immune systems when exposed to these negative forces. Spending longer periods of time in unhealthy environments can gradually deteriorate the health.

Alterations in biological functioning can lead to adverse health affects. If sleep patterns are disturbed this not only can make you feel tired and irritable, it can produce a litany of more serious illnesses over time. The body’s resistance to viruses and bacteria can become affected when the natural rhythms within the body are constantly distorted during sleep. Dr. Paul G. Seeger, Former Chief of Cancer Research at Charite Hospital, Berlin, Germany states that the billions of dollars spent on cancer research around the world has not produced convincing proof of the cause of cancer. He feels that thorough investigation of telluric earth radiation will provide a possible prime cause of cancer in humans.

At the beginning of the 1990’s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that after examining available data over the past 15 years, there was evidence of a positive association of exposure to magnetic fields with certain site-specific cancer, namely leukemia, cancer of the central nervous system and to a lesser extent, lymphomas.

As early as the 1920’s, there have been studies done in Germany Winzer-Melzer survey of Stuttgart which determined that major geological faults, which emanated noxious radiation, crossed under the beds of a high percentage of cancer victims. Hundreds of studies since then by Dr. Ernst Hartmann of Germany and others has shown that radiation that builds up on crossing geopathic stress lines can weaken the immune system and cause many diseases. In a number of European countries having a survey for geopathic stress before buying or building a house is automatically undertaken.

Thousands of years ago, the sages of India wrote about the adverse effects of geopathic stress upon the human physiology. The impact of non-life supporting magnetic imbalances was recorded in the Vedas. Not only were these imbalances described, but also ways to ameliorate these distortions were provided in detail.

GETTING RID OF GEOPATHIC STRESS IS EASY!

How do you know if you suffer from geopathic stress The average person spends six to eight hours a day in the bedroom sleeping, making this part of the house the most likely to transmit geopathic stress into the body, if it exists underground. Cats tend to sleep in places of geopathic stress, while dogs avoid them.

Pulling your beds and desks away from the wall at least 4” will reduce the impact of geopathic and electromagnetic stress coming from wires and pipes in the walls.

Removing geopathic stress isn’t hard to do and reportedly 80% of the population has the ability to do it. Here’s an easy-to-do technique that you can do today that will make a world of difference in your life:

This is what you will need:

Make two coat hangers into an L shape 4”x 16” each

Several copper rods attainable from your local hardware store - #4 copper wire. You will need to either have them cut or cut them yourself 18” long. You should have at least 10.

Instructions:

Hold the short side of each L in each hand. Do not squeeze the rods too tightly as they need to move. You want to walk around the perimeter of your home or office clockwise. You can do this outside or inside, room by room. Begin by taking a deep breath in and out. After you do this, ask to be shown the geopathic stress lines coming from your left that are harmful to your health. Holding the rods parallel to the ground and parallel to each other, walk in a straight line slowly around the perimeter of your property or room. Where the rods cross, you have found a geopathic stress line.

For outside: Every time the L rods cross, copper staples must be placed at each spot where they cross. Take one copper rod and bend each end 2”, forming a giant staple and push the bent ends into the ground.

For inside: Lay a straight copper rod parallel with the wall at the each spot where the L rods cross. Doing this will divert harmful radiation supporting healthy people and a stress-free environment.

A Story of a Mystic and A King

Once a king brought a present to a great Sufi mystic Farid. He brought a beautiful pair of golden scissors, very valuable and rare. Farid took them and gave them back to the king, and said, "Sir, many thanks for the present you have brought. It is a beautiful thing but utterly useless to me It would be better if you gave me a needle."

The king said "I dont understand".

Farid said "Scissors cut things apart and needles put things together. I teach people to live in harmony with nature, to be one with God.

Whenever you attempt to do whatever you do alone, separate from the whole, it becomes failure. Success is within God and nature. Failure is you minus God."

A client recently ask me why is Vastu so important for success in life. I said "The universe is in precise order, moving in precise time through many billions of years. Vastu shows us how to design structures that are in tune with nature and that do not struggle against it. In this way nature supports our success and protects us from misfortunes of life."

About The Author

Michael and Robin Mastros synergistic approach successfully assists people in living in peace and harmony with themselves and others, and in creating balanced lives filled with unlimited possibilities. Visit us at www.VastuCreations.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Traditional Naturopath, Herbalist, Whole-Life extensionist, Industrial Engineer, Inventor, and Disability Advocate. - and remember - "Gorillas-Dont-Cook". JW

About the Author

Mr. Joe Ward is a Traditional Naturopath, Master Herbalist, and Whole-Life Extensionist, with 30+ years in self-education, research, product development, and sharing Natural Health and Wellness information. His Formal education is in new home construction, and industrial engineering technology. But, his passion and ongoing interests are in helping others to attain good health, naturally.

New Cancer Treatment Promises Hope by C. Bailey-Lloyd

Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC) with Mitomycin C after Cytoreductive Surgery for Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis - a long, technical term for modern medicine in the fight against cancer.

I had the rare opportunity to speak with Dr. Perry Shen of Wake Forest University. As I listened, he explained how this groundbreaking treatment is extending the lives of patients suffering from Peritoneal Carcinomatosis. *(Peritoneal membrane surrounds and lubricates the surface of organs within the abdomen; eg., colon, gallbladder, spleen, ovaries, intestines, liver, etc..) Because Advanced-stage Peritoneal carcinomatosis (cancer) and disseminated peritoneal lymphomas are often resistant to current chemotherapy treatment, medical researchers out of Wake Forest University have engaged in the study and treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis since 1991.

Dr. John Spratt first began describing using interdominal heated therapy in 1980, and found that this particular method worked well in conjunction with chemotherapy. By giving chemotherapy interdominally with much higher concentrated heat, (41 degrees Celcius - or around 105 degrees Fahrenheit) through tumor-removal surgery, the heated medicine showed an increase in its effectiveness; thus, decreasing tumors. (1. Cytoreductive surgery consists of the removal of all gross tumors and involved organs, peritoneum, or tissue deemed technically feasible and safe for the patient. Any tumors adherent or invasive to vital structures that could not be removes were cytoreduces using the cavitational ultrasonic surgical aspirator.)

Overall survival rates were improved of 109 Patients (with peritoneal carcinomatosis) treated between December 1991 and November 1997. (2. Clinicopathologic factors that independently predicted improved overall survival rates.)

A one-time treatment, IHPC lasts approximately 1-2 hours, but standardly, a 2-hour treatment is utilized by Wake Forest University. Initially, patients are cooled to a core temperature of approximately 34?C to 35?C. Once cooled, peritoneal perfusion inflow and outflow catheters are placed peroutaneously into the abdominal cavity. With temperature probes acting as moderators, the abdomen is gently massaged throughout perfusion to enhance drug distribution to all peritoneal areas. Because tumor tissue is more responsive to heat than normal tissue (due to intrinsic thermosensitivity) IHPC improves the chemosensitivity of tumor cells to Mytomycin C(MMC).

With an average life expectancy of 3-6 months after diagnosis of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis, patients are gaining new hope as IHPC treatment is extending life by as much as 15 months; and a few selected patients' lives have even been extended to 28-30 months.

IHPC is currently utilized by oncologists throughout 8 centers Nationwide, with treatment of an average of 40-50 cases annually. According to Dr. Shen, one study was performed in Europe of a randomized differential of Systemic (traditional) Chemotherapy as opposed to IHPC, and found favor towards Intraperitoneal Heated Chemotherapy. Dr. Shen optimistically explained that more cases could be substantially helped if caught in early stages. (3) Dr. Perry Shen is the Assistant Professor in the Department of General Surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.

As with all medical breakthroughs, the health hope of mankind rests in the hands of researchers and medical communities across the globe. While modern technology is steadily improving overall life expectancies, it is also important to remember that if we choose to live healthier, happier lives - prevention is key. In closing, I commend Dr. Shen and his medical research staff for the advancement and hopeful promise of enhancing patient's lives through committed research and human compassion.

© C. Bailey-Lloyd 2004 © Lady Camelot

C. Bailey-Lloyd / Lady Camelot currently serves as the Public Relations' Director and a Staff Writer for www.holisticjunction.com To contact Ms. Bailey-Lloyd, email her at ladycamelot@holisticjunction.com

References:

1) Ann Surg Oncol - 2004; 11(2):178-186 - Factors Predicting Survival After Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy with Mitomycin C after Cytoreductive Surgery for Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis - Perry Shen, MD, Edward A. Levine, MD, Jason Hall, MD, Doug Case, PhD, Greg Russel, MS; Cytoreductive Surgery - © 2003 American Medical Association

2) Ann Surg Oncol - 2004; 11(2):178-186 - Factors Predicting Survival After Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy with Mitomycin C after Cytoreductive Surgery for Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis - Perry Shen, MD, Edward A. Levine, MD, Jason Hall, MD, Doug Case, PhD, Greg Russel, MS; Cytoreductive Surgery - © 2003 American Medical Association

3) Shen, Perry MD., Biography: Clinical Interests: Surgical Oncology, Hepatic Tumors, Radiofrequency ablation, Sarcoma and Melanoma Surgery - Research Interests: Metastic Liver lesions, radiofrequency ablation, intraoperative ultrasound.

4) Wake Forest University - Academic Medical Center & School of Medicine www.bgsm.edu/school/ 5) American Medical Association

[All work by author is copyright protected. If you would like to use this article, please contact the author for permission.]

C. Bailey-Lloyd currently resides as the Public Relations' Director and staff writer for www.holisticjunction.com and

About the Author

Michael Monheit, Esquire is the managing attorney for Monheit Law, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monheit Law, P.C. concentrates its practice in the field of plaintiff personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. They can be found at http://www.monheit.com/Bextra?Bextra-Lawyer

Are Cancer Treatments Effective - The Real Story © By Lena Sanchez

I do not wish this article to be discouraging and I do offer an alternative at the end, so do not despair half way through reading.

Let's look at the 2000 sad stats on American Healthcare's $1.3B industry. 1 out of 3 people get cancer, 1 out of 2 get heart disease, obesity is at epidemic levels, 70% of children are getting hardening deposits in their arteries as early as 12 years of age. And here is the worst one of all, 62% of accidental deaths are attributed to prescriptions. 2001 found prescription deaths greater than illegal drug deaths. In 2000 109,000 people died from prescription drugs another 2.2 million survive but have illnesses or severe debilitation caused by prescription use. So what does that tell you about how well we are doing as a westernized medical society? The figures for 2001 & 2002 aren't in yet but believed to be even more severe.

"Deadly Medicine? Every year over 500,000 people worldwide die from illness or organ diseased from the side effects of pharmaceutical products," says the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). These pharmaceuticals are used to treat the most deadly diseases known to Western Man: heart attack, cancer, and stroke."

I shudder when reading reports like these, even though most are from a few years back, sadly the story is that the healing rate has not increased but actually decreased in some areas! I wonder how many people have lost their lives early because of money and the medical mess that has been created by perpetuating cancer cures in the medical community that aren't really cures but money producers?

Harvard University's published cancer mortality for 2,000 excluded non-melanoma skin cancer, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stomach cancers and other rare cancers. Their death figures from the top fourteen cancers were 216,700 men and 197,600 women, children were not reported. Aside from certain rare cancers, it is impossible to detect any sudden changes in the death rates for any of the major cancers that could be credited to chemotherapy.

Whether any of the common cancers can be cured by chemotherapy has yet to be established. In most common solid tumors-lung, colon, breast, etc. chemotherapy is NOT curative.

Why the growth in chemotherapy in the face of such failure? A look at the financial intercourse between a large cancer center such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and the companies that make billions selling chemotherapy drugs makes for revealing why.

James D. Robinson III, Honorary Chairman of the MSKCC Board of Overseers and Managers, is a director of Bristol-Myers Squibb, the world's largest producer of chemotherapy drugs. Richard Gelb, Vice-Chairman of the MSKCC board is Chairman of the Board at Bristol-Myers. Richard Furlaud, another MSKCC board member, recently retired as Bristol Myers' president. Paul Marks, MD, MSKCC's President and CEO, is a director of Pfizer.

Very few know that chemotherapy drugs are not FDA approved. They are legally administered under the Rule of Probable Cause" states that experimental drugs may be used if the side effect of the drug is no worse than the end effect of the disease. In fact, every chemotherapy bottle is stamped "For Experimental Use Only" and the patient must sign a release before the doctor will prescribe or administer it.

Multiple papers have been written stating that while some oncologists inform their patients of the lack of evidence that treatments work...others may well be misled by scientific papers that express unwarranted optimism about chemotherapy. Still others respond to an economic incentive. Physicians can earn much more money running active chemotherapy practices than they can providing solace and relief...to dying patients and their families."

In my research to find cure rates they are knowningly and loudly unobtainable, saying more than numbers. You know if they exist or were good the pharmaceutical industry would be singing them loud and clear.

Alan C. Nixon, PhD, Past President of the American Chemical Society wrote that "As a chemist trained to interpret data, it is incomprehensible to me that physicians can ignore the clear evidence that chemotherapy does much, much more harm than good."

In 1986, McGill Cancer Center scientists sent a questionnaire to 118 doctors who treated non-small-cell lung cancer. More than three-quarters of them recruited patients and carried out trials of toxic drugs for lung cancer.

They were asked to imagine that they themselves had cancer, and were asked which of six current trials they themselves would choose. Of the 79 respondents, 64 said they would not consent to be in a trial containing cisplatin, a common chemotherapy drug. Fifty-eight found all the trials unacceptable. Their reasons? The ineffectiveness of chemotherapy and its unacceptable degree of toxicity.

Famed German biostatistician Ulrich Abel, PhD, also found in a similar 1989 study that "the personal views of many oncologists seem to be in striking contrast to communications intended for the public."

"Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon, or lung cancers. This fact has been documented for over a decade, yet doctors still use chemotherapy for these tumors." Allen Levin, MD UCSF The Healing of Cancer, Marcus Books, 1990

Why so much use of chemotherapy if it does so little good? Well for one thing, drug companies provide huge economic incentives. In 1990, $3.53 billion was spent on chemotherapy. By 1994 that figure had more than doubled to $7.51 billion and tripled in 2002 when all other industries were struggling to stay afloat. This relentless increase in chemotherapy use is accompanied by a relentless increase in cancer deaths. Again death certificates state causes of death as cancer, when I personally know of some that were free of cancer but died from the ongoing chemotherapy prevention! This makes it impossible to know how many actually die from chemotherapy!

Oncologist Albert Braverman, MD, wrote in 1991 that "No disseminated neoplasm (cancer) incurable in 1975 is curable today...Many medical oncologists recommend chemotherapy for virtually any tumor, with a hopefulness undiscouraged by almost invariable failure." Twelve years hasn't changed that or the cancer death wouldn't continue to rise.

If you or a loved one should have need of such medical treatment look long and hard before buying what you are being told. Take charge of your life and get to the bottom of the truth before being treated.

I do not get a cent from this recommendation for cancer treatment or second opinion. That is the "Oasis Cancer Center" with the largest cancer cure rate of any other treatment center and theirs is with natural cures and sometimes surgery where surgery is needed… They are forced to practice medicine just across the border from the U.S. in order to practice without harassment… For a free consultation online http://www.cancure.org/oasis_hospital.htm or call in the US (888) 500-4673 outside the US call 011 52 664 631 61 00

*** Lena Sanchez Author of "Handbook Of Herbs To Health & Other Secrets," "Antibiotic Alternatives To Preventing Mega Bacteria," & "Dangers & Secrets Doctors Refuse To Tell You." Found online at http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com and Editor of "Natural Environmental Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach" ezine subscribe at http://www.envirodocs.com/newsletter.htm

Author of "Handbook Of Herbs To Health & Other Secrets," "Antibiotic Alternatives To Preventing Mega Bacteria," & "Dangers & Secrets Doctors Refuse To Tell You." Found online at http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com and Editor of "Natural Environmental Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach" ezine subscribe at http://www.envirodocs.com/newsletter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Monheit, Esquire is the managing attorney for Monheit Law. The practice focuses on plaintiff personal injury cases. For more infomation, please use our Ewings Sarcoma Case Inquiry Form

The triangle of diet, exercise, and relaxation can give your immune system a head start keeping general ill health at bay.

EAT WELL, NOT BIG Saturated fats, sugar, and salt all contribute to a weaker immune system. For example, when you digest sugar, there is a measurable slowdown in activity by a class of white blood cells involved in the immune system. It is not long lasting-a few hours, but those who continually graze for sugar might be experiencing constant suppression. The same happen if you eat a lot of sugar at one setting: drink that Big Gulp of soda and suppress your immune system. There are a number of publications and books that tell you exactly what nutrient you need for what part of the immune system . In a "roundtable discussion" in the Nutrition Action Healthletter, Susanna Cunningham-Rundles, associate professor of immunology at Cornell University Medical school, states that "Studies have shown that zinc helps the immune systems of the elderly. That may be because zinc is essential for the functioning of the thymic hormone, which is needed to produce T cells..." Does this mean we should zero in on specific foods are stuff ourselves? No. The consensus of experts in the field is that any one nutrient, or any one food, may help somewhat, but the best thing you can do is develop an all-around healthy diet. Indeed, it is even possible to have too much of a good thing. For example, garlic, which in lower doses has demonstrated immune-building properties, in large doses has the opposite effect. Speaking of a study that had to be canceled, Johanna Dwyer of Tufts Medical School and School of Nutrition in Boston is quoted as saying, "Patients developed flu-like symptoms. Researchers realized it was some kind of immune response to the very large doses." Does this mean giving up garlic for colds? Of course not. Just don't take it in massive quantities.

EXERCISE Exercise has also proven helpful to the immune system. Don't be fooled into thinking you have to become an athlete and exert maximum energy everyday. Something as simple as going for a moderate-paced walk has proven helpful. According to a study by University of North Carolina exercise physiologist David Nieman, women who walk 45 minutes a day are half as likely to catch a flu or cold bug. What's more, active women in their 70s had immune systems that were as healthy as women in their 30s and twice as healthy as more sedentary seniors. Perhaps the biggest benefit to exercise is indirectly related to the immune system in that exercise gives you "well-worked" organs, muscle, tissue, fluids, and so on which results in healthier bodies later in life and even more years. Many different studies have shown that exercise slows down the body's deterioration. According to the figures of Fred Kasch of the Fred Kasch Exercise Physiology Lab at Sand Diego State University, aging accounts for about one-third of a body's aerobic decline. Inactivity is responsible for the remaining two-thirds. Jim Graves of the University of Florida Center for Exercise Sciences, quoted in Health says, "Exercise will prevent most age-related-deteriorations through age 60." After 60, the body does slow down, but exercise can still keep your body fit and active.

RELAX Another important component in helping our immune system should be an easy one: relaxation. This means sleep, low stress, and a good attitude. When we sleep, our bodies recharge themselves: this means repairing tissue, healing, and fueling cells and organs up with fuel. Sleep may be the single most important thing we can do to help our immune system. Ever wonder why you catch a cold when you feel "tired and rundown"? That's why. Stress also hurts the immune system. Indirectly, when we worry about family, jobs, friends or school, we often lose sleep and cannot relax. This means taking valuable recharge time away from our immune system. On a more technical level, recent studies have shown that stressful arguments change the level of hormones that promote or reduce immune system functions. A 1993 study demonstrated that immune function markers showed significant changes after newlywed couples had words on a sensitive topic.

Finally, feeling good about things makes a difference. Although there have long been reports of laughter helping people through illness and the like, they were often dismissed as "testimonial." Now, however, science is discovering why a healthy mental attitude bolsters the immune system. Studies have shown that components of the immune system can respond to chemical secretions by the central nervous system. White blood cells, for example, become less active in fighting infection when exposed to a neuro chemical released in response to stress. David Spiegel of the University of California, San Francisco, led a study showing that women with advanced breast cancer survived nearly twice as long if they participated in a weekly support group. Other researches have found the same results in patients with melanoma, leukemia, and lymphoma.

So, what is the secret of a healthy body, less disease, and longer life? It is something found around us and found within ourselves. It is the desire and will to eat better, exercise, and relax. That is the secret to a longer and healthier life. It's yours for the taking.