Last Titanic Survivor Dies at Age 97
May 31, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Random Thoughts
The last Titanic survivor, Millvina Dean, died in her sleep today at the age of 97.
Dean’s friend Gunter Babler said Millvina Dean was found by staff members of the Woodlands Ridge Nursing Home in Southampton, Southern England. She had been hospitalized last week with pneumonia but had recovered and returned to the nursing home.
Babler, who is head of the Switzerland Titanic Society, said Dean was a “very good friend of very many years.”
The “practically unsinkable” Titanic hit an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912. Dean was just over 2 months old and was one of 706 people who survived. Her father died that night along with 1,517 others. The ship sank in less than three hours.
Stars of the 1997 Titanic movie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, along with the film’s director, James Cameron, had just this month contributed $30,000 to a fund for Dean. The stars came forward to help after learning the last Titanic survivor was struggling to pay her nursing home bills.
Findings do not Concur on Tamoxifen, Antidepressants and Breast Cancer Recurrence
May 31, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Featured Story
Findings do not concur on two separate studies done to see if taking antidepressants interferes with the cancer prevention drug, tamoxifen’s ability to prevent breast cancer recurrence. Antidepressants are taken by breast cancer survivors to help with the hot flashes caused by tamoxifen.One study conducted by Medco Health Solutions of Franklin Lakes, N.J. showed that use of some antidepressants, mainly Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, almost doubled the risk of breast cancer recurrence within two years after patients started tamoxifen.
Medco’s chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Epstein said, “no greater breast cancer risk was seen in women taking the antidepressants Celexa, Lexapro or Luvox with tamoxifen, and there are reasons to think that other antidepressants may be safe as well.”
In a second smaller study Dutch investigators reported just the opposite. They found no evidence that antidepressants increased the risk of breast cancer recurrence in women taking tamoxifen.
Both the Dutch and Medco studies were presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Both studies were based on a review of medical records, not a prospective clinical trial.
Since the findings do not concur on the recurrence of breast cancer while using tamoxifen and antidepressants, Dr. Claudine Isaacs, a breast specialist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, advised,”until these data are absolutely clear, I would avoid drugs that impact on tamoxifen metabolism.”
Dinner and a Show for Obamas in NYC
May 31, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Random Thoughts
The Obamas left Washington today for dinner and a show in NYC.
The President and his wife, Michelle, flew to New York City in a Gulfstream jet and landed at Kennedy airport at 4:45. After a short helicopter ride to Lower Manhattan, the couple rode to Blue Hill Restaurant off Washington Square Park.
The restaurant specializes in cuisine from the Hudson Valley.
After dinner, the Obamas were off to see the Broadway show, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at the Belasco Theater near Times Square.
The Republican National Committee released a statement Saturday afternoon saying, “Putting on a show:Obamas wing it into the city for an evening out, while another iconic American company prepares for bankruptcy”.
President Obama quickly messaged back that he was taking his wife to New York City because he promised her during the campaign that he would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished.
President Obama is a man of his word. He promised Michelle a dinner and a show and that is what she got! How could any Republican or any American wife fault that!
