Walking Significantly Reduces Chance Of Early Death

Three older women are holding pink dumbbells.


Walking just 4,000 steps per day can significantly reduce your risk of an early death, according to a new meta analysis of studies.  “The more steps you walk, the better the effects on your health, and significant mortality reductions,†author Dr. Maciej Banach, deputy editor-in-chief of the European Society of Cardiology, told a reporter.  Anything below 5,000 steps per day is considered a sedentary lifestyle.  “We showed that every increase of steps by 1000 steps/day is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of dying from any cause, and every increase by 500 steps/day is associated with a 7% reduction in dying from cardiovascular disease,†said Banach.

Cancer Moonshot Announced By White House

A group of people giving thumbs up to the camera.


President Joe Biden has promised to cut the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years and improve the experience of patients and families, “ending cancer as we know it.â€Â  The “Cancer Moonshot†coming out of the oval office thrilled doctors, patients and researchers.  Currently, effective treatments and early detection tools aren’t reaching enough people.  And people aren’t making the lifestyle changes needed to dramatically cut cancer rates.  However, with technology driving innovation in cancer treatment, Biden certainly has a shot.

https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20220202/biden-relaunches-moonshot-with-aim-to-cut-cancer-deaths-by-at-least-50-in-25-years

Assisted Suicide Becomes Easier In California

A person holding hands with another person in bed.


One of the many laws that Governor Gavin Newsome is about to sign into law is SB-380 which will make it easier for terminal patients to end their own life.  In 2016, California became one of a small number of states to allow people to end their lives with a prescription from a doctor.  Now that the public has come to accept the concept, lawmakers are streamlining the process.  Instead of requiring that the patient make two separate requests for fatal medicines 15 days apart, the person can now make the requests only two days apart.  The new law will also eliminate the need for a written statement from the patient.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB380&campaign_id=49&emc=edit_ca_20220111&instance_id=49985&nl=california-today&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=79349&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

Many Older American’s Still Haven’t Gotten The Coronavirus Vaccine, Fueling More Deaths : By Derek Baine

A close up of the word coronavirus with an image of a virus


Sadly, many senior citizens have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is causing hospitalizations across the country to soar as the highly contagious delta variant spreads rapidly.  The U.S. can now boast that is has a much higher share of seniors without full vaccine protection than many other wealthy countries, which means that we will likely see a disproportionate number of deaths of senior Americans compared to other developed countries.  In contrast, unvaccinated seniors in Britain, Canada and Spain are very rare.  Even London, which has higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among seniors than the rest of Britain, is far ahead of the United States in its vaccination rates.  Thankfully, California is doing much better than other states.  Low elderly vaccination rates in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Nevada have coincided with surging rates of hospitalizations and deaths.  Next on the list are likely to be Colorado, Kansas and North Dakota which have not yet experienced severe Delta outbreaks but has low senior vaccination rates.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/24/world/vaccines-seniors.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20210824&instance_id=38663&nl=science-times&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=67063&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

A Spouse’s Death Can Take Its Toll On Your Investment Portfolio

A blue and white logo of the social security administration.


The Wall Street Journal recently posted a story about the fact that your financial portfolio might quickly start unraveling if you don’t prepare for the financial consequences of your spouse’s death in advance.  Not only will you see two Social Security checks go down to one, some people have pensions that don’t have survivorship benefits and those would expire immediately.  In addition, since you will have to file single, your tax rate may go up.  “When that plan is disrupted by the tragic death of a spouse, there isn’t a lot you can do besides cut expenses or go back to work,†Jennifer Murray, a financial advisor, told The Wall Street Journal.  The bottom line: discuss this issue with your financial planner.

COVID-19 Is Now The Leading Cause Of Death In America

A close up of a cell with viruses inside


COVID-19has surpassed heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in America, according to a report which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  “It’s been a long time since an infectious disease was the leading cause of death for the whole country, Dr. Steven Woolf, lead author of the paper, told USA Today.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/12/17/covid-update-david-bernhardt-california-pfizer-vaccine/3929500001/