Dear Rona Ambrose, As a member of the federal government, you are currently titled Canada’s Health Minister. I question the accuracy of that nomenclature. You have recently taken it upon yourself to void a decision by Health Canada, the public agency granted the task of supervising health practices in this country.
A Letter to Canada’s Minister of Disease? Read More »
“I never get angry,” says a Woody Allen character in one of the director’s movies, “I grow a tumour instead.” Much more scientific truth is encapsulated in that droll remark than many doctors would recognize. For all its triumphs and technical progress, mainstream Western medical practice militantly dismisses the role of emotions in the physiological
The Healing Force Within Read More »
Recently, a seven-year-old boy in Timmins, Ont., became front-page news across the nation because his parents are suing the local board of education. They allege that he has been repeatedly locked in a closet at school to control his behaviour. Such punishment may seem cruel, but it is not all that unusual. It’s an extreme
Who Really Should Take a Time-out Read More »
The official U.S. response to the free heroin trial about to begin in Vancouver is predictably negative. A spokesman for John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, calls it “an inhumane medical experiment.” “I would bet any amount of money the U.S. has exerted extreme pressure on Canada to
The Naomi Project – It’s No Fix, But It’s The Best We Can Do For Addicts Read More »
The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Pre-School to High-School — How Parents and Teachers Can Break the Cycle of Violence By Barbara Coloroso HarperCollins, 217 pages, $34.95 And Words Can Hurt Forever: How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence By James Garbarino and Ellen de Lara Free Press, 238 pages, $38 Bullying has a long
Torment In The Schoolyard (a review by Dr. Maté of two books on bullying) Read More »
Many CBC listeners were chagrined to learn last week that radio personality Shelagh Rogers is taking a break from her national morning program, Sounds Like Canada. Although Ms. Rogers is rumoured to be exhausted from hassles with CBC management, the ebullient radio host insisted, “It is not a stress leave. It is because I have
Why They Call It Blood Pressure Read More »
During my years in family practice, I often noticed that the death or illness of a person, especially among the elderly, was rapidly followed by the illness or even death of the spouse. Such “coincidences,” noted by many physicians, have now been documented by a large-scale medical study. The report, published in the New England
You Can’t Care For Your Spouse Unless You Look After Yourself Read More »
Should cancer of the lung be added to the list of health risks women face just because they are women? A study presented recently at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago showed that women who smoke are twice as likely to develop lung cancer as their male counterparts. As
The Real Reason Women Smokers Are At Greater Risk Read More »
Researchers have deciphered the full DNA makeup of a single human being, a remarkable achievement which has, unfortunately, driven the crescendo of misplaced genomic enthusiasm to new heights. “This human’s life, decoded” was the front page headline in the Globe two days ago. Predictions of individualized gene-based therapies for a host of diseases are again
The Trouble With Our DNA Rat Race Read More »
Marlene, a 46-year old native woman, sat in my office last week, slumped on her chair, blinking away her tears. I’d just shared the news that her most recent blood test confirmed she had “seroconverted” to HIV, become infected with the AIDS virus. Although an injection drug user, Marlene had always been careful to use
Our Strange Indifference To Aboriginal Addiction Read More »
