Scientists have been conducting studies for years on the many beneficial uses of aspirin.  Aspirin is used to fight a multitude of aches and pains, such as headaches, muscle aches, and back pains.  It is also widely used to prevent heart attacks and strokes because of its blood thinning effects.

 Another beneficial use of aspirin may be for preventing colon cancer.  Taking aspirin regularly has been linked to a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.  Researchers studied more than 600,000 adults in 1980 about their aspirin use. After six years passed, researchers found death rates from cancers of the digestive tract, including colorectal cancer, were about 40% lower among people who took aspirin 16 or more times a month.  There have been a multitude of other studies that have reached this same conclusion.  However, the evidence is still not strong enough in order for doctors to recommend aspirin to their colorectal patients especially because it can have some pretty nasty side effects when taken long term, such as ulcers and liver damage.

 More recently, Dr. Andrew Chan of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston conducted a study and found that aspirin increases the survival rate of people with colon cancer, especially if they had high levels of the enzyme COX-2 in their tumors.  The enzyme COX-2 is an inflammation-producing enzyme and is abundant in most colorectal tumors. The studies found that people who took aspirin regularly after they were diagnosed were nearly 30 percent less likely to die from their cancer than people who did not take aspirin.  The study does not definitively prove that aspirin caused better survival rates, but the COX-2 link fits with other research showing that aspirin inhibits inflammation-producing COX-2.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. 

For more information on colon cancer, click here.  The study referenced above was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on August 12, 2009.

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Today, the World Health Organization claims that the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, more widely known as the swine flu, has killed 1,154 deaths around the world. Of all the deaths, 1,008 occurred in the Americas, 65 in Southeast Asia, 41 in Europe, 39 in the Western Pacific region and one in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Health officials from the CDC are claiming that the swine flu could affect 40% of Americans this year. If this is true, the swine flu will be a major global pandemic in 2009 and 2010. Many countries are in the process of planning major vaccination campaigns. A vaccine is being worked on and is expected to be available in the fall.

While in essence, the swine flu is just like the regular flu, it is still very important for people to watch for any symptoms. The swine flu is especially dangerous for people 65 years and older, children younger than five years old, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions. So far, the largest number of cases have occurred in people between the ages of 5 and 24 years old. At this time, there are few cases and no deaths reported in people older than 64 years old, which is unusual when compared with the regular flu. However, people ages 65 and older still need to take caution.

The symptoms of swine flu are just like the symptoms of the regular flu, which are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. If you have these symptoms, you could possibly be sick for a week or longer. You should avoid contact with people so you don’t spread the virus. If your illness persists or your symptoms become much more severe and you have difficulty breathing, it is urgent to seek medical care.

It is important to be cautious to protect yourself, your family, and your community. And most importantly, stay informed so you can be aware of what is going on.

The CDC has great information on their website about the swine flu.

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