Monday's health links

1. Liver and thyroid cancer rates rise in Canada. CBC.
2. Was the Million Women Study flawed?  If so, the anxiety around hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer may be misplaced. NY Daily News.
3. New blood test shows promise in early detection of pancreatic cancers. MSN. This could be huge news - one of the reasons pancreatic cancers are so hard to fight is that they go undetected until they have spread.
4. The debate continues. Here, on op-ed piece the National Post calling into question the value of mammograms. I hear both sides, all the time. Many women are offended that critics of mammograms point to the unnecessary anxiety that false positives cause, saying they would rather deal with anxiety than cancer. But my reality is that my mammogram did not find my 8 cm tumour. It was only because I continued to press about the cause of my pink skin that I was referred to a specialist. Perhaps we should be enriching the public dialogue by including more anecdotal evidence through individuals' stories of how their different cancers have presented. I am so tired of the pithy cancer sound bite and the cute marketing campaign.  I don't know about you, but I have time in my day to listen to the cancer experience. That's where the real learning is.
5. Magnesium may be one key to decreasing your risk of stroke. A new study finds that people with diets rich in magnesium have a much lower stroke risk. The mineral is found in beans, lentils, nuts, whole grains and, of course, green leafy vegetables. Magnesium also aides in calcium absorption, so it's an important mineral for people looking after their bones (like me!).  Globe and Mail.
6. Finally, back to my previous posts on daily tips for getting your healthy eating back on track. Day 7: snack on fruit. Day 8: drink a cup of green tea (here they suggest you use it while marinating or stir-frying) . Day 9: eat a leafy green vegetable (!).  Day 10 : plan next week's meals in advance (helps you avoid the dreaded drive-thru dash.)  Day 11:  pass on the salt. (Originally I read this as "pass the salt" and was all "woo hoo!" This makes much more sense. Nuts.)   Day 12: eat one vegetarian meal. And Day 13: add ground flax seed to your diet. The lignans are the key here so feel free to add chia seeds instead.  I had estrogen receptor positive breast cancer so should avoid flax seed - but chia is safe (and you don't have to grind it!). Globe and Mail.

Have a great day and, if you're getting snow dumped on you today, stay warm and please drive safely.