MS Maze

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear appeals from both sides in the federal government’s racketeering lawsuit against the tobacco industry (The United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc.)

The decision is both a victory and a colossal disappointment.

Read this post in its entirety:

Supreme Court Declines Case: Big Tobacco Scores Big

Photo courtesy PhotoXpress.com

Do you recognize disability when you see it?

Last week’s post about an able-bodied woman using a handicapped parking space, then suing over the ticket she received, resulted in spirited conversation in the comments section.

It’s an emotional topic for a lot of people, not the least of whom are those who have the legal right to use the specially marked spaces, but who have an invisible disability. Judgements are often made based on nothing more than appearance.

Read this post in its entirety:

Savoring the Privilege of Walking

Image credit: PhotoXpress.com

The individual health insurance market is notoriously difficult to navigate. Finding insurers and the getting to the straight facts on plans, premiums, and requirements is a daunting task.

Help is on the way. Beginning on July 1, a government website will provide a list of private and government health care plans available for individuals and small businesses.

Read this post in its entirety:

Coming Soon: Government Website to Help Consumers Navigate Health Insurance Market

Photo courtesy PhotoXpress.com

Ronald McDonald is in trouble again.

The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) served McDonald’s with notice of its intent to sue over “unfair and deceptive marketing” by using toys to “lure small children into McDonald’s.”

Read this post in its entirety and check out the poll:

McDonald’s Accused of ‘Creepy and Predatory Practices’

Image used under Creative Commons License with thanks to

Adam NFK Smith

Ninety days after signing the Patient Affordable Health Care Act into law, the Obama administration issued regulations to implement the Patient Bill of Rights, which includes provisions that begin on September 23 for most plans:

Affordable Health Care Act Patient Bill of Rights: Change in Small Doses

Image credit: PhotoXpress.com

Janice Eberle, feeling put-upon over a $300 fine for parking in a handicapped parking space, is suing the town that issued the ticket.

It’s not that she wasn’t parked in a handicapped parking space — she admits she was.

It’s not that she actually did possess a handicapped parking placard — she admits she did not.

It’s not that she has a disability — no, not that either.

So what is her defense? Well…

Read this post in its entirety and check out the poll:

Is this Able-Bodied Woman Entitled to Handicapped Parking?

Photo copyright PhotoXpress.com

“You either stand for tolerance and diversity or you do not. You can not use such a message as a selling point and then pick and choose where you apply it.”

Care2 writer Steve Williams makes that compelling argument in addressing the controversy over McDonald’s ad campaign. McDonald’s is Only Gay Friendly When it Doesn’t Risk Hurting Sales? Interesting food for thought.

Speaking of restaurants, did you know that a typical restaurant employee cross-contaminates food with pathogens once per hour? Makes you think twice about dining out. Eat Out? Get Sick! Restaurants Are Cross-Contaminating Our Food.

I really had my work cut out for me this week.

The Patient Affordable Health Care Act was signed in March, but the health care crisis is not over. Millions of cancer patients are skipping treatments because of cost, putting long-term health and well-being at risk. And one woman, desperate for health care, shot herself in order to get treatment.

Is modern medicine making you sick? Americans may be over-exposed to radiation from medical testing. And doctors are having to cut medicare patients.

Want to do a good deed? Write a note of encouragement and help a city child experience nature this summer. It’s easy and won’t take long…

Happy summer!

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Care2 Healthy & Green Living
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Contact: writer@webcampone.com

WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.

Millions of cancer patients are skipping treatments because of cost, putting long-term health and well-being at risk.

An analysis conducted by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center shows that two out of 12 million adult cancer survivors have skipped treatment in the previous year due to financial reasons.

Among cancer survivors, 7.8 percent went without some kind of medical care…

Read this post in its entirety:

Millions Skipping Life-Saving Cancer Treatments Over Cost

Photo: visualsonline.cancer.gov

Too many doctors are being forced to stop accepting Medicare patients because of the program’s regulations and unstable payment system.

While Congress delays, doctors and their patients are left in a state of limbo.

Read this post in its entirety:

Doctors Cutting Medicare Patients: Stop the Trend!

Photo Source: National Cancer Institute, Photographer: Bill Branson

Do you really need that PET scan, CT scan, or x-ray? How will the results alter the course of treatment? Those are questions you should be asking your doctor.

The increased risk of cancer from radiation exposure to any single test is small, but the risk of cancer increases as the dose of radiation increases.

Read this post in its entirety:

Americans Over Exposed to Radiation: Is Modern Medicine Making You Sick?

Photo used under the Creative Commons Attribution License, with thanks to BlatantNews.com

A typical restaurant employee cross-contaminates food with pathogens (disease-producing agent) once per hour.

They do it by wiping their hands on their aprons and by using the same utensils and surfaces for both raw and cooked foods. Compliance with hand-washing guidelines decreases when kitchens hit peak hours.

Read this post in its entirety:

Eat Out? Get Sick! Restaurants Are Cross-Contaminating Our Food

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/157966

Remember the joy of being a child and the simple pleasure of rolling around in the grass, discovering flowers, and climbing trees?

A child growing up in the big city might not, but you can help a city child experience the power and the beauty of nature this summer… and it will only take a moment of your time…

Read this post in its entirety:

Help a City Child Experience Nature

Photo: photoxpress.com

I like the idea of different endings rather than failures. Very few things in my life have actually turned out the way I envisioned, but most of them have turned out well. Some have turned out even better than I dared hope.

Read this post in its entirety:

Not a Failure, but a Different Ending

Photo courtesy of Wendy Booker

Can’t afford a doctor? No health insurance? Well, you can always go to the emergency room.

Kathy Myers found out the hard way that the ER isn’t the answer. Out of work, lacking insurance, and unable to get proper treatment for a painful shoulder injury incurred a month ago, the 41 year-old Michigan woman took drastic steps…

Read this post in its entirety:

Desperate Woman Shoots Herself for Healthcare

Photo used under the Creative Commons Attribution License, with thanks to Rosser321

Why a memoir? I probably should have asked myself that question when I wrote chapter one. A year later, as the finish line approaches, I am asking that question.

I am an ordinary person who has lived an ordinary life. I have accomplished no great feats, held no public office, achieved no great fame. An auto-biography might well be tedious, but the memoir is not. It is but one slice of one life… no explosions, no vampires, no magic spells. It is the kind of book I like to read, so it is the kind of book I chose to write. I hope to be sharing it with potential literary agents in the very near future.

“If writers stopped writing about what happened to them, then there would be a lot of empty pages.”

-Elaine Liner

That sums it up rather nicely.

Here’s what I’ve been up to lately:

Not a Failure, but a Different Ending: I like the idea of different endings rather than failures. Very few things in my life have actually turned out the way I envisioned, but most of them have turned out well. Some have turned out even better than I dared hope.

Wendy Booker, Mountain Climber with MS: “I have attempted Everest twice. I took multiple sclerosis (MS) to the highest it would allow me to go. As the medical staff at base camp have documented, the bar has been set. I am a mountaineer, an adventurer, an explorer. And I’m not done yet.” – Wendy Booker, May 2010

What’s New in Health Care Reform? Seniors, your check is in the mail: Seniors: Your check is in the mail and the donut hole will be completely closed by 2020. With mid-terms looming and confusion about health care reform still a problem, the administration is looking to clear things up, especially for seniors.

Gates Foundation Pledges $1.5 Billion for Global Maternal and Child Health: The Gates Foundation is pledging to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years to support maternal and child health, family planning, and nutrition programs in developing countries.

Read More
Care2 Healthy & Green Living
Care2 Causes

Connect: Facebook – LinkedIn – Twitter

Contact: writer@webcampone.com

WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.