That's Fit

When your time on this planet is almost up, do you want a doctor to tell you your days are numbered? Or do you prefer to be in the dark, living your days with hope that there will be a bunch of tomorrows? Me? I think I'd want to know. I'd want to prepare, take care of any final matters, say goodbye to my loved ones.

Many people do not get straight talk from their doctors, who think they are doing patients a favor by giving them hope. New research says these docs are wrong and they aren't doing anyone any favors by keeping their lips sealed.

Being in the know can be healthy. Research shows patients were no more likely to become depressed when told they were dying than those who were not told. They were also less likely to spend their final days in a hospital -- they avoided costly care and lived out their last days perhaps at home and in the care of hospice.

It's a tough issue, whether or not to discuss grim prognoses with patients. From an ethics point of view, "it's easy -- patients ought to know," says Dr. Anthony Lee Back of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. "Talking about prognosis is where the rubber meets the road. It's a make-or-break moment -- you earn that trust or you blow it." But people react differently. Some want to know; some do not.

If it were you, how much would you want to know?

The Environmental Health Perspectives journal recently published a paper claiming that certain ingredients in sunscreen are killing coral reefs. National Geographic, among others, picked up on it, and now beach-goers the world over are worried that the sunscreen they use to protect their skin is damaging coral reefs.

The Beauty Brains were asked about this last week, and they broke the issue down into an easy-to-understand format, explaining exactly what the concern was (certain chemicals found in sunscreen can cause bleaching in the reefs). The fact is that, yes, there are chemicals found in sunscreens that are detrimental to the environment, but the quantities listed in the paper failed to take a number of factors into account, such as those same chemicals being present in pollution as well as in sunscreen.

Their final opinion was that sunscreen use is not likely as big a culprit in the death of coral reefs as the paper indicates. However, if you're concerned because you swim near reefs (or just because you don't want to use sunscreen that could be damaging to the environment), you can look for natural sunscreens, or look out for the ingredients The Beauty Brains list as problematic.

A That's Fit we write about all the healthy choices you can make so you can have a long and healthy life. From childhood to senior years, managing health and wellness is a important part of enjoying life. But what do you do when someone you love is reaching the end of their life? Not too long ago one of my aunts was dying and it was so painful for the whole family. One of her children and my dad were by her side through everything. It's difficult enough to see someone fading because your grief is so great. But there are things that need to be taken care of as well. The Institute of Healthcare Advancement offers 10 tips for managing the physical, emotional, and legal necessities.

That's pretty much what the mayor of a town in France told the locals after the neighboring town's council refused to let them buy adjoining land to expand their crowded cemetery. Apparently needing more room to bury people isn't a a good enough reason to expand, it "isn't justified."

What?!?

Anyway, as a result of this frustration the residents were told they are "forbidden from dying" and are being threatened with "severe punishment" if they die anyway.

Ha! As if dying isn't bad enough.

One of the most devastating aspects of fighting cancer can be the long and exhausting courses of treatment. From what I've read and heard, dealing with the physical and emotional after-affects of chemotherapy and radiation can be as difficult as dealing with the disease itself.

A test developed by a scientist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia promises to ease some of the suffering associated with cancer treatments. Basically, a dye is injected into patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation, and molecules in the die attach to any dead or dying cancer cells, allowing doctors to see whether or not the treatment is actually working.

Until now, patients had to endure entire courses of treatment that could last up to six months before being able to assess whether or not their tumors where shrinking, had stayed the same or were growing larger. If the treatment hadn't worked, patients would have to undergo a new, exhausting course of treatment. The new dye test will hopefully allow doctors to tell right away whether or not the treatment on a particular patient is working based on whether or not there is evidence of dead or dying cancer cells.

Hopefully the test will cut down on the trauma associated with chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

What would you do if doctors said you only had one year to live? Take a trip? Write a book? Spend your life savings on the best that money could buy?

Then what if, two years later, it turned out that the doctors were wrong?

That's what happened to John Brandrick, a 62-year-old British man who started spending like crazy after doctors told him he was going to die within a year from pancreatic cancer. After quitting his job, Brandrick sold and gave away all his stuff, stopped paying his mortgage, and spent all the money on great food and an amazing vacation.

Now he's going to live -- which is great and all -- but he's totally broke. Subsequently, now that his"tumor" is just an inflamed pancreas, Brandrick figured doctors owed him some of that money back.

The hospital, as you might suspect, says they made their best diagnosis, and aren't responsible for their patent's spending habits.

It's a tired cliche that you should be "living each day as if it were your last," but -- as Mr. Brandrick's situation demonstrates -- that's not exactly practical (though I bet he had a great year).