Sunday, July 02, 2006
Another one bites the dust
My mother had polio. She has so many pins in her ankles she has trouble walking. This has led to her hips giving out early. She will be getting her second hip socket replaced in a week. Polio was essentially eradicated via vaccine before I was born, my sister and I never had to worry about getting it.
I attended the funeral of one of my grandmothers earlier this year. She died of cervical cancer. Tomorrow my daughter goes into the doctor for her yearly checkup and vaccinations. This news seemed relevant:
They have a vaccine which will eradicate cervical cancer
It's so good I gotta quote from it:
In the United States, approximately 20 million people are infected with HPV, and approximately 80 percent of females will have acquired HPV by age 50. For most people, HPV goes away on its own; however in some, certain high-risk types of HPV, if unrecognized and untreated, can lead to cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide, resulting in nearly a half-million diagnoses and 240,000 deaths each year. In addition, certain low-risk types of HPV cause genital warts and can lead to abnormal Pap results. Approximately 1 million cases of genital warts occur each year in the United States and an estimated 32 million cases occur worldwide. Additionally, there are an estimated 4.7 million abnormal Pap results that require follow-up each year in the United States. At least 3 million of these results are caused by some type of HPV. HPV related disease, including screening, follow-up and treatment, costs about $5 billion per year in the U.S. Used in conjunction with screening, Gardasil can help significantly reduce the human and economic burden of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases in the United States.
So if you know a girl age 11-26 tell her to call her doctor and sign up. Get a shot, don't die of cervical cancer. If she complains tell her that her future grandchildren will appreciate it.
I attended the funeral of one of my grandmothers earlier this year. She died of cervical cancer. Tomorrow my daughter goes into the doctor for her yearly checkup and vaccinations. This news seemed relevant:
They have a vaccine which will eradicate cervical cancer
It's so good I gotta quote from it:
In the United States, approximately 20 million people are infected with HPV, and approximately 80 percent of females will have acquired HPV by age 50. For most people, HPV goes away on its own; however in some, certain high-risk types of HPV, if unrecognized and untreated, can lead to cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide, resulting in nearly a half-million diagnoses and 240,000 deaths each year. In addition, certain low-risk types of HPV cause genital warts and can lead to abnormal Pap results. Approximately 1 million cases of genital warts occur each year in the United States and an estimated 32 million cases occur worldwide. Additionally, there are an estimated 4.7 million abnormal Pap results that require follow-up each year in the United States. At least 3 million of these results are caused by some type of HPV. HPV related disease, including screening, follow-up and treatment, costs about $5 billion per year in the U.S. Used in conjunction with screening, Gardasil can help significantly reduce the human and economic burden of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases in the United States.
So if you know a girl age 11-26 tell her to call her doctor and sign up. Get a shot, don't die of cervical cancer. If she complains tell her that her future grandchildren will appreciate it.
speed limits
I've thought for awhile that most speed limits were really stupid. Here are some of the reasons why:
1. They don't make people safer
2. There are more effecient methods of taxation
3. They make traffic worse (follow that link, it's really funny)
4. Not all cars are created equal in how fast they can stop, accelerate, corner, etc.
Now of course there are places where speed limits are valid. Like school zones or residential neighborhoods. But on a 4 lane divided highway, it's just silly.
1. They don't make people safer
2. There are more effecient methods of taxation
3. They make traffic worse (follow that link, it's really funny)
4. Not all cars are created equal in how fast they can stop, accelerate, corner, etc.
Now of course there are places where speed limits are valid. Like school zones or residential neighborhoods. But on a 4 lane divided highway, it's just silly.
