Avastin's Failure in Breast Cancer: New Study May Explain Why It Happened

Avastin's Failure in Breast Cancer: New Study May Explain Why It Happened


Avastin's Failure in Breast Cancer: New Study May Explain Why It Happened

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST

breast-cancer-110912-02
CREDIT: Dreamstime

A new study may explain why the cancer drug Avastin hasn't worked in the treatment of breast cancer patients. Although the drug stops tumor growth for a short time, it often leads to more invasive tumors in the long run.

The reason for this revved-up invasiveness, researchers concluded from experiments done in mice, is that drugs like Avastin increase the portion of a tumor made of breast cancer stem cells.

Although Avastin, when initially given, causes some cancer cells to die and tumors to shrink, what's left behind are the cancer stem cells, according to the study. These cells can then multiply, and they are among the most lethal cancer cells — they can sprout new tumors more easily than run-of-the-mill cancer cells.

The finding suggests that clinicians could improve Avastin's effectiveness by blocking this unwanted effect of the drug. It's a potentially bright spot for the drug, after a November decision by the Food and Drug Administration that the drug should not be used to treat breast cancer after studies showed the drug failed to lengthen patient's lives.

"This result explains why they don't work as well as we hoped it would, and it really points to what we need to do to develop drug combinations that are more effective," said Dr. Max Wicha, author of the new study and an oncologist at the University of Michigan.

The new findings, which may also apply to other drugs in the same class as Avastin, were published Monday (Jan. 23) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The seeds of a tumor

Avastin falls into a category of cancer drugs called antiangiogenic agents, which aim to work by blocking the growth of blood vessels that supply tumors with vital nutrients and oxygen. Without a blood supply, tumors will die, the thinking goes.

"There was a lot of excitement about using these drugs to block the blood supply to tumors," Wicha said. "But the first large studies showed that while Avastin seemed to be preventing tumors from progressing for a few months, the tumors would then start to grow again, and be even more aggressive."

Wicha said he and his colleagues suspected the cause of the new, aggressive growth, might be cancer stem cells. "These cells are the most dangerous, if they're left in the body," he explained. "They're like the seeds of a plant."

The researchers tested their theory by giving an antiangiogenic drug to mice with breast cancer tumors. As expected, the tumors shrank and had fewer blood vessels feeding them. When the team analyzed the cells within the tumors, however, the tumors of mice that had been treated with an antiangiogenic drug had five times more stem cells.

Further, the scientists found, the lack of oxygen — called hypoxia — in the tissues that followed the death of the blood vessels had the side effect of encouraging the growth of these dangerous cells. If doctors could combine drugs that kill the cancer stem cells with antiangiogenic drugs, they may have a winning formula, Wicha said.

"Our research suggests that it's going to necessary to target both angles of this at the same time," he said.

Two sides of a drug

The new findings didn't surprise Celeste Simon, a molecular biologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who studies the role of the body's low oxygen environments to human health. 

"Stem cells really like to reside in a low oxygen area," Simon said.

What the study adds, Simon said, is evidence that drugs like Avastin increase the pool of cancer stem cells living in these low-oxygen conditions.

"The notion is that by making the tumor more hypoxic, you're actually selecting for the more aggressive cells," she said. "This and other papers underscore a growing idea in the therapeutic world that, like all treatments, antiangiogenic drugs need to be very carefully evaluated in terms of their full impact on human health."

But more work is needed, she said, to flesh out the full molecular details of the observation. Tumors implanted into mice, such as the study used, aren't always a perfect mimic of human biology. "While these results are intriguing, they need to be followed up, from my point of view, with experiments on more sophisticated mouse models or primary tumors," Simon said.

Pass it on:  Although Avastin successfully cuts off the blood supply of breast cancer tumors, it also increases the number of so-called breast cancer stem cells that can lead to tumor growth in the long run.

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"Aspects of Freedom" by Ajahn Nyanadhammo

Ajahn Nyanadhammo, abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat International Monastery, visits Perth. His talk had the audience spellbound as he explained Buddhist strategies that can take us out of the unsatisfactoriness of human existence to freedom. We also hear of the oldest monk in the world who was swallowed and then regurgitated by a giant python! And why red light districts have red lights...

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Use of Actors, Photoshop Not OK in Public Health Ads, Experts Say

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST

CREDIT: Copyright: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Whether shocking or saddening, pictures of people who are suffering the consequences of smoking or obesity can be powerful in public health messages. But in some cases, the moving stories are not entirely authentic.

Take the Strong4Life initiative, a campaign run by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta that aims to curb childhood obesity. A girl featured in one of the ads is portrayed as having diabetes, but she does not, according to ABC news. And recently, a New York Times investigation revealed that picture of a man in a diabetes awareness poster was photoshopped to show him without a leg.

You don't expect Red Bull to really give you wings, nor for Snapple to actually be made from the "best stuff on Earth." But how truthful do public health campaign ads need to be? Is it wrong to misrepresent an individual's story to get a do-good message across?

Bioethicists and health communicators say untruthful testimonials in public health campaigns are wrong, even if their messages are, in a broad sense, advertisements. Falseness in these ads loses the public's trust, which is critical in public health initiatives, experts say.

"I think it really hurts the credibility of a campaign when they're using actors," said Timothy Edgar, director of the graduate health communication program at Emerson College in Boston. "If it's not unethical, it's certainly on thin ice, and the ice has a crack in it," Edgar said.

And if the truth comes out — that the actors don't actually have the condition they're portrayed as having — the public's focus shifts to talking about the slipup, rather than the public health advice relayed by the campaign.

"The people who have done this campaign have done themselves a great disservice," Edgar said of the diabetes ads, which ran in New York City.

Personal connection

When Eric Asche, chief marketing officer at Legacy, an organization that advocates prevention of youth smoking, and his colleagues went about creating anti-smoking ads featuring the health effects of tobacco use, it was very important to use real people, Asche said. The goal of Legacy's ads is to present consumers with honest information about tobacco addiction and its consequences. Using real people in the ads is part of that honesty.

"We want to tell the truth," Asche said. "We want to tell the real story, and to tell the real story, we use real people."

To not use a real person would feed many people's perception that smoking's health effects "won't happen to me," which is a view many young people have, Asche said. "It's so easy to dismiss the consequences," he said.

Using real people in ads can also put a face on the struggle, and give the ads a sympathetic tone, Asche said.

Indeed, Edgar said, when he watched a Strong4Life's anti-obesity video ad featuring a girl with diabetes, he felt particularly moved by the girl's story. When he later learned the girl did not have diabetes, "I felt angry. I felt like I had been tricked," Edgar said. "And all of a sudden their whole campaign…went down in my eyes."

Pretending to have a condition when you do not is bad because "you are claiming personal knowledge that you do not have, and a link to others that does not exist," said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania.

Even promoting a behavior such as healthy eating can get you into an ethical mess if you don't eat healthfully.

"You should not urge people to do things that you yourself do not do, or do not believe in— that harms public trust, which is a key component of public health initiatives," Caplansaid.

Higher standard

City officials in New York said putting real people in their ads was not always feasible, according to the New York Times. "We might stop using actors in our ads if the food industry stops using actors in theirs," John Kelly, a New York health department spokesman, told the Times.

Edgar said he found this comment offensive. If public health campaigns are to be successful, "We have to be better than the food industry. We have to be better strategically, and better ethically."

"We're spending the public's money, that's why we have such an ethical obligation," Edgar said.

Edgar said it was lazy not to use real individuals in these campaigns, especially when conditions such as diabetes affect so many people.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to find someone who would be willing to devote his or her time," to the initiative, he said.

Pass it on: A public health campaign that features a testimonial from someone who doesn't actually have the disease they're portrayed as having is ethically wrong, experts say.

Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @RachaelRettner. Find us on Facebook.

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Early Morning Meditation Inspiration - 1/27/2012

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST


"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."

~The Buddha

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The Height of Happiness - 52-min documentary

See full film here: vodsite.journeyman.tv April 2008 Long thought of as a secluded paradise hidden deep in the Himalayas, and renowned for its pursuit of happiness over economic prosperity, Bhutan now struggles to accommodate the invasion of tourists, new media and western materialism in the twenty first century. As monks play with condoms, clowns offer advice on AIDS and farmers feed cannabis to pigs, we hear the thoughts of Government officials, Meditation monks, tourists and ordinary Bhutanese themselves, as they face up to the challenge to the underlying spiritualism of this mystical country and its rapidly changing identity in an internet shrunk world.

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China’s bloody crackdown on Tibetan protesters escalates, as self-immolations continue

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST

Xeni Jardin (BoingBoing): Ethnic Tibetans throughout Tibet this week held some of the largest demonstrations against Chinese rule in four years. Chinese forces responded by shooting protesters. Up to 5 are said to have been killed and more than 30 wounded, according to Tibetan advocacy groups.

On January 9, a 42-year-old monk became the latest in a continuing string of desperate protesters who burned themselves alive to protest Chinese military rule and cultural repression.

A New York Times report gathered accounts from a number of human rights groups. NPR's Morning Edition today aired an extensive report on the worsening human rights crisis in Tibet (MP3 link).

Details are hard to confirm, as foreign press access to the areas involved is all but impossible. Free Tibet has more, and Radio Free Asia has compiled various reports.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, issued a statement on the conflict, published in video on YouTube (and embedded above).

I want to tell my dear brothers and sisters inside Tibet that we hear your cries loud and clear. We urge you not to despair and refrain from extreme measures. We feel your pain and will not allow the sacrifices you have made go in vain. You all are in our heart and prayers each and every day. (…)

To demonstrate our solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet, I urge Tibetans and our friends around the world, to participate in a worldwide vigil on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Let's send a loud and clear message to the Chinese government that violence and killing of innocent Tibetans is unacceptable! I request everyone to conduct these vigils peacefully, in accordance with the laws of your country, and with dignity.

Transcript here.

The Chinese government responded to activist groups' reports on one recent shooting incident with a statement blaming monks and protesters, saying they attacked stores and a police station, and started a riot.

"The mob, some armed with knives, threw stones at police officers and destroyed two police vehicles and two ambulances," read the report from China's official news agency Xinhua.

And there are reports of fresh protests again today, with more shootings. From an item at Phayul.com, posted just three hours ago:

In reports coming out of Tibet, another Tibetan was killed and several others seriously injured in police firings in eastern Tibet earlier today. This is the third bloody incident this week when unarmed Tibetan demonstrators have been fired upon by Chinese security personnel.

At around 12 noon local time, a Tibetan man named Tharpa put up signed flyers around Zu To Bharma Shang, declaring that until the demands of the Tibetans who have self-immolated are met, Tibetans will never abandon their struggle and continue to organise more campaigns.

Since March 2011, 16 Tibetans have set their bodies on fire demanding the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and protesting China's continued occupation of Tibet.

In a release today, the exile base of Kirti monastery said that Tharpa had himself gone around the town putting up the flyers with his name clearly signed on it.

"You, Communist Chinese, come and arrest me," Tharpa had challenged.

Following the wave of self-immolations, numerous flyers and pamphlets have been reportedly cited in Ngaba and Drango areas, stating that many more Tibetans were ready to set their bodies on fire.

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Gordon Ramsay's Pad Thai

Gordon Ramsay prepares pad thai for the Buddhist monks in the Wimbledon Thai temple. He gets help from head chef at the Blue Elephantrestaurant. Season 5 of The F Word. A bold, modern and mischievous take on the world of food combines location VTs, kitchen actuality, celebrity interviews, stunts and recipe based challenges to give the format its trademark energy, pace and visual richness and create waves in the food world and beyond.

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The power of meditation: How a quiet mind can unlock wonders

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 07:00 PM PST

Cheryl Clemens (Baltimore Sun): To understand the impact meditation can have on the human mind, picture a glass of muddy water. If you stir it, the water stays cloudy and anything that might sink to the bottom is instantly sucked back into motion. But if you allow the glass to become still, slowly the dirt settles to the bottom and the water begins to clear.

Meditation means different things to different people, but most agree that it is a means of quieting the mind, of stilling the parade of daily distractions and becoming less reactive to the stimulation that assaults our senses and …

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(黃慧音) Imee Ooi - Namo Amituofo Chanting (南无阿弥陀佛)

Website: www.facebook.com Blog: fullandhappy.wordpress.com Chanting "Amitabha" out loud would calm and purify our minds. Amitābha Sanskrit: अमिताभ Hindi pronunciation: Amitābho Chinese: 阿彌陀佛 Vietnamese:A-di-đà Phật Japanese: 阿弥陀如来 Tibetan: འོད་དཔག་མེད། Mongolian: Одбагмэд, Аминдаваa, Аюуш Thai: พระอมิตาภพุทธะ Korean: 아미타불 is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia, while in Vajrayana Amitābha is known for his longevity attribute and the aggregate of distinguishing (recognition) and the deep awareness of individualities. According to these scriptures, Amitābha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. "Amitābha" is translatable as "Infinite Light," hence Amitābha is often called "The Buddha of Infinite Light." According to the Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life (Mahāyāna Amitāyus Sūtra) Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmakāra. In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmakāra is described as a former king who, having come into contact with the Buddhist teachings through the buddha Lokesvararaja, renounced his throne. He then resolved to become a buddha and so to come into possession of a buddhakṣetra ("buddha-field", a realm existing in the primordial universe outside of ...

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Expandable Lunch Boxes and Food Carriers Recalled

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 06:00 PM PST

CREDIT: CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with California Innovations Inc., of Toronto, Canada announced voluntary recalls of about 55,000 Travelin' Chef Expandable Thermal Food Carriers and about 248,000 Expandable Insulated Lunch Boxes with Freezer Gel Pack.

Hazard: Gel that contains diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol can leak out of damaged freezer gel packs, posing a poisoning hazard if ingested by children or adults.

Incidents/Injuries: None for the Thermal Food Carrier; The firm has received two separate reports of a dog chewing and ingesting gel from the gel pack in the Lunch Box. One dog reportedly died from ingestion of the gel. The other was reported to have received treatment and has recovered.

Description:

Travelin' Chef Expandable Thermal Food Carrier: The recalled product is a four-piece food carrier set, which includes a light blue thermal carrier with black carrying handles, a medium plastic food container, a large plastic food container and a freezer gel pack. The recalled thermal carrier has the code "1-38018-69-07" printed on a white label on the inside of the main compartment on the left hand side. The thermal carrier is 18 inches wide, 10.5 inches deep and 4.7 inches high and made of vinyl and polyester. The medium food container measures 9.75 inches by 6.25 inches by 3.5 inches. The large food container measures 11.75 inches by 8.75 inches by 3.5 inches. The gel pack is an 8.5-inch by 8-inch, opaque blue plastic pouch filled with liquid gel. The words "Cryofreeze" and "Ice Pack/Hot Pack" are printed in white letters on the front of the pouch.

Expandable Insulated Lunch Box with Freezer Gel Pack: The recalled product is a Ci Sport three-piece, expandable, insulated lunch box set, which includes the lunch box, aluminum bottle and the freezer gel pack. The lunch box of the recalled set has the code "1-61731-99-57" printed on one of the two white labels that are sewn under the white fastener inside the main compartment. The lunch box is 8 inches wide, 5 inches deep and 10.25 inches high. It is made of vinyl, polyester nylon and crushed nylon and has a logo with the words "Ci Sport" attached to the upper left corner. The lunch box has a carrying handle on the top and a mesh carrying pouch for the aluminum bottle on the side. The aluminum bottle measures 2.75 inches in diameter and 7.5 inches tall. The gel pack is a 6-inch by 4-inch transparent plastic pouch filled with blue liquid gel. The words "Cryofreeze" and "Ice Pack/Hot Pack" are printed in white letters on the front of the pouch. The lunch box was available in four colors: navy blue, red, black and denim blue.

Sold at:

Travelin' Chef Expandable Thermal Food Carrier: Walmart between August 2008 to December 2011 for about $ 22.

Expandable Insulated Lunch Box with Freezer Gel Pack: Costco Wholesale Clubs, Leon Korol and Cost U Less stores between May 2007 and September 2008 for about $ 10.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the gel packs and dispose of them according to federal, state and/or local regulations. It is recommended that consumers contact their local waste disposal authority for instructions. Consumers may return the gel pack to Walmart (for the food carrier) for a refund of $ 6 or contact California Innovations customer service at (800) 722-2545 for the same refund. Consumers may return the lunch box set to Costco for a full refund or may receive a $ 5 cash refund for the gel pack only by contacing California Innovations.

Consumer Contact: For additional information on the food carrier recall, call California Innovations at (800) 722-2545 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.californiainnovations.com. For more information on the lunch box set recall,  call California Innovations at (800) 722-2545 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, e-mail ci-recall@ca-innovations.com or visit the firm's website at www.californiainnovations.com.

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FPMT a Documentary

This Documentary is a Work in Progress that explores the history and future of FPMT and the Mahayana Tradition. For more information: www.fpmt.org

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Brain Diseases May Spread from Animals to Humans More Easily than Thought

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST

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CREDIT: Dreamstime

The deadly brain diseases known as prion diseases might pass from one species to another more easily than previously thought, a new study from France finds.

Prions, such as those that cause "mad cow" disease, spread via exposure to infected lymphoid tissues -- such as the spleen or lymph nodes -- more easily than they can through exposure to infected brain tissues, the study showed.

The finding suggests that the number of animals or people that are "silent carriers" of prion diseases may be higher than previously thought.

Unlike diseases caused by viruses or bacteria, prion diseases are caused by infectious protein molecules that pass from animals to humans. Although differences between species makes it difficult for prion diseases to spread from one species to another, transmission does occur.Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, as mad cow disease is properly called, can be transmitted to humans by eating meat infected with the disease.

This study might help researchers better determine the risk of exposure to animal prions and silent carriers, said study co-author Vincent Beringue, a scientist at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research.

The findings were published today (Jan. 26) in the journal Science.

Prion diseases are rare

The cause of prion diseases is unknown, but experts believe that somehow, normal proteins may transform into abnormal, harmful prions.

The most common human prion disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, occurs worldwide. The disease is rare, striking about one out of 1 million people per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It leads to a rapid decrease of mental functioning and movement and ultimately, death, about a year after diagnosis.

Is the species barrier as strong we think?

In the new study, researchers studied transgenic mice that were infected with prions from either sheep or humans, and found that their lymphoid tissues, including the spleen, tonsils, appendix and lymph nodes, had more prions than their brain tissue.

Researchers found, on average, 7 percent of mice's prions in their brains, whereas 65 percent were in their spleens.

"Prion proteins can multiply quite efficiently in the lymphoid tissue," Beringue said. "This was totally overlooked until now, most likely because studies were focused on brain tissue," he said.

The study has significant implications for public and animal health, according to ChristinaSigurdson, who researches prion diseases at the University of California at San Diego, and was not involved with the study.

For example, Sigurdsonsaid, chronic wasting disease is a prion disease found in deer and elk, and is currently spreading in these animals throughout the United States, according to the CDC.

"Although there is evidence of a species barrier for human infection with this disease, we don't know if there is a population of people that may be currently infected with deer or elk prions," she said.

"This is a major concern, because the infection could remain undetected for long periods of time," she added.

Pass it on: Brain diseases may pass from one species to another a lot easier than experts thought.

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Purple Rose of Cairo

For film review purposes only. For more Mindfulness content related clips, see DharmaFlix.com

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Bad news: I'm going to die. Good news: I'll be nirvana!

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

Oh, the unfairness of it all. I really like being alive. Yet one day I'll be dead. Gone. Nonexistent. Forever unconscious. 

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Who the hell arranged the cosmos in this fucked-up fashion?! I want to live forever, or at least much longer than I'm going to, so where's the Complaint Department, Customer Service, Warranty Fulfillment? I need to talk to who's in charge, because this death deal is totally screwed-up.

That's basically how I think in my least harmonious, accepting, live-and-let-die moments. Which are quite frequent, because such thoughts enter my mind a lot.

I've learned, though, to not obsess over them as much as I used to. Yes, I still have a fear of non-existence. But it's not as strong as when I wrote "Death and the primal fear of non-existence." And I'm better able to recognize the ridiculousness in my petulant complaining about death bringing an end to my enjoyment of life.

Where did I get the idea that I'm entitled to anything else but one life here on Earth? What justifies my feeling that something is wrong with the fact that when I die, that's finis for me? 

Religions, mainly. Early on as a child I was told about salvation, life after death, heaven, hell, and such. Later, when I delved into Eastern religions, I learned about reincarnation, bardos, cosmic consciousness, higher realms of reality.

Those notions created the schism in my psyche between what is and what should be as regards death. Unlike an animal, such as our twelve year old family dog, I don't simply live every day as pleasantly as possible until one day I'm no longer alive. 

I, along with the vast majority of people on this planet, have been infected with the worst sort of deceptive advertising.

All those religions and supernatural belief systems have marketed after-life products which don't exist. Yet the sales job has been so successful, most of us are desperate to possess something we've never seen, have no proof of, and will never be able to tell if anyone else has.

Life after death.

In my saner moments, I tell myself, "Who promised you a rose garden? (without thorns)" Life is what it is. Death is all around us. It's impossible to ignore. Yes, I fear death. Yes, I"ve bought into promises of everlasting life and thereby raised my hopes beyond what is reasonable to hope for. But I can still focus on what is real for me here and now, not on illusory dreams of eternal immortality.

Us secular churchless irreligious non-believers enjoy a gift that the faithful lack: a vivid appreciation of how priceless every passing moment is. Heaven isn't a place we aspire to; for us it's the present moment, or it's nothing at all.

There's nothing more amazing, more awesome, more mysterious, I'd even say more divine, than realizing, really realizing with every fiber of one's being, that this present moment will never come again.

And more: that eventually there will be a moment which brings an end to all moments for me, you, everybody. The moment of death.

This morning, during one of my pre-meditation reading moments, I came across these passages in Owen Flanagan's "The Boddhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized." It made me look upon death in a somewhat different manner. Hey, I may be dead, but at least I'll be in nirvana.

Selfless persons are something we naturalists can believe in. Selfless persons whose consciousness continue after they die are not something we can believe in. The problem is that orthodox Buddhism is all about rebirth, sometimes gazillions of rebirths. One rebirth is too many for the naturalist and more is not merrier.

There is some consolation perhaps in the fact that virtually every description of nirvana, the ideal state achieved only by truly enlightened souls, Buddhas -- when they depart the earth -- makes it seem identical to what we would think of as the state of "just being dead," a state totally unaccompanied by the presence of any deity or communing with some heavenly host of (other) saved souls.

Personal consciousness ends, and one's body and spirit are taken to -- absorbed into -- Nature's bosom. gone altogether is me... the state in which you have achieved peace and tranquility because your consciousness is gone, your career as a person is over, and you are as dead as the proverbial doornail.

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River of Light Padmasambhava Monjes Budistas

A video made with the song River of Light, from the CD The Stress Reduction Monks, by Sakya Tashi Ling monastery. Enjoy! -Padmasambhava Mantra- seven line invocation of Guru Rinpoche Om Ah Hum Vajra guru Padma siddhi Hum Om ah Hung benzra guru pema shidhi hung Please refrain from any negative comments, thank you. By this merit may all attain omniscience, May it defeat the enemy, wrongdoing, Through the stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death, From the ocean of samsara, may I free all beings. By the confidence of the golden sun of the great east, May the lotus garden of the Rigden's wisdom bloom. May the dark ignorance of sentient beings be dispelled. May all beings enjoy profound brilliant glory. Note: I did not take any of the photographs, all credits go to each individual photographer, etc. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to send me a message. Leave a comment if you like it!

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More Americans Need Cancer Screening, CDC Says

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 02:00 PM PST

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CREDIT: Dreamstime

Cancer-screening rates in the United States continue to fall short of national goals, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Screening among Asian and Hispanic ethic groups is particularly poor, the report says.

In 2010, overall breast cancer-screening rates were 72.4 percent, below the national target of 81 percent; cervical cancer-screening rates were 83 percent, below the target of 93 percent; and colorectal cancer-screening rates were 58.6 percent, below the target of 70.5 percent, the study says.

Screening rates for all three cancers were significantly lower among Asians (64.1 percent for breast cancer, 75.4 percent for cervical cancer and 46.9 percent for colorectal cancer) compared with other groups, the study found. Hispanics were less likely to be screened for cervical and colorectal cancer (78.7 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively), as compared with non-Hispanics (83.8 percent and 59.9 percent, respectively).

"It is troubling to see that not all Americans are getting the recommended cancer screenings and that disparities continue to persist for certain populations," said study researcher Dr. Sallyann Coleman King, an epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. "Screening can find breast, cervical and colorectal cancers at an early stage when treatment is more effective."

Women ages 50 to 74 years should be screened for breast cancer with a mammogram every two years, according to the United States Preventive Services Task Force. Women who have been sexually active for three years, or are ages 21 to 65 years, should be screened for cervical cancer with a Pap test at least every three years. Colorectal cancer screening is recommended for average-risk men and women ages 50 to 75 years, either with a colonoscopy every 10 years, or more frequently with other colon cancer-screening tests.

The report also found:

  • Screening rates for breast cancer remained relatively stable and varied by no more than 3 percent between 2000 and 2010.
  • From 2000 to 2010, colorectal cancer-screening rates increased markedly for men and women, with the rate for women increasing slightly faster so that rates among both sexes were nearly identical (58.5 percent for men and 58.8 percent for women) in 2010.
  • From 2000 to 2010, a small decrease of 3.3 percent was seen in the rate of women who reported getting a Pap test within the last three years.
  • Considerably lower breast, cervical and colorectal cancer-screening use was reported by people without any usual source of health care, or health insurance.

Screening rates may improve in the coming years, because the Affordable Care Act is expected to reduce financial barriers to health care by expanding insurance coverage, according to the report. However, other efforts are needed to improve screening, such as developing systems that identify individuals eligible for cancer-screening tests, actively encouraging the use of screening tests, and monitoring participation to improve screening rates, the researchers say.

The report was based on data gathered during the CDC's 2010 National Health Interview Survey, in which researchers interviewed U.S. adults about the health of their household. The data are limited in that they rely on self-reports, and because recommendations for cancer-screening tests have changed over time, the report noted.

The report is published today (Jan. 26) in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Pass it on: Efforts should be made to increase breast, colon and cervical cancer screening in the United States, particularly among Asian and Hispanic populations, a new report says.

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4 Reasons Stress Leads People to Cheat

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST

Article by TW Jackson

Stress is a common problem that leads to cheating among men and women who cheat. Stress has a way of coming into your life and completely taking over. The more stressed you feel, the more you engage in behaviors that make you feel stressed. It's a snowball effect for many people that causes a complete and totally destructive avalanche of emotional fallout that takes marriages down with it.

But why does stress cause people to cheat? These four reasons might not seem as surprising once you put them into perspective.

1) The grass looks greener with the other person. When you feel overwhelmed by stress at home the grass is going to look much greener with someone that doesn't carry the emotional baggage or the huge connection of life, property, and stress factors. And, honestly, why would it seem as brown and decaying as the grass that is constantly littered with things like responsibility, obligation, and need? All these things add stress to our lives but they also offer rewards that cannot be measured and certainly can't be accomplished or achieved by cheating on your spouse.

2) Lack of appreciation causes stress and cheating. Though the two are not always connected, feeling unappreciated or even under-appreciated can lead to stress at work and at home. At the office it can lead to you putting out your resume and beginning to look for options and alternatives. At home, sending out a resume is hardly an option by some people do cope by exploring their options in the single world. Most find that they prefer their own marital woes to the new problems that would arise by living with the other person but often not until the damage is done.

3) Some people cheat as a result of stress solely for the physical release of having sex. It's true. Stress does crazy things to marriages. The sex drive is often the first thing to go despite the fact that having sex relieves stress. In some marriages, there is no sex during highly stressed out stages of the marriage. Sex outside of the marriag! e is the way many people in this situation turn.

4) People haven't developed the proper coping techniques to deal with stress. Stress is something that more and more people are just learning about. They haven't even begun to explore the many ways to deal or cope with stress. The more we learn about stress reductions and relief techniques, the better prepared we will be to reduce the impact it has on marriages.

About the Author

There is no one size fits all solution to reduce stress to get your ex back.

Taking steps in the right direction like the ones taught in this free video: http://www.magicofmakingup.com can help.




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