Top 10 Cancer Hospitals

The U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals 2010-11 report compiled a list of the top 50 cancer hospitals and ranked them by score. However, the U.S. News & World Report list only contains those hospitals that treated at least 270 inpatients that needed a high level of specialized expertise in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The hospitals were ranked on five performance indicators including reputation with specialists, survival of patients, patient safety, patient volume and nurse staffing. This article focuses on the top 10 from the list of 50.

University Of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

• This 507-bed cancer facility is located in Houston and it accredited by the Joint Commission. The center aims to eliminate cancer through patient care and research. MD Anderson Cancer Center is well known for its surgeons and for treating all types of cancer.

  University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

  1515 Holcombe Blvd.

  Houston, TX 77030

  (713) 792-2121 ‎

  e-mail: jtietjen@mdanderson.org

  mdanderson.org

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is a 434-bed cancer facility. The cancer center is well known around the world for providing excellent care facilities and treatment. The center is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

  Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

  East Drive

  New York, NY 10024

  (212) 639-2000 ‎

  mskcc.org

Mayo Clinic

• Mayo Clinic is a 1,302-bed general medical and surgical facility. The non-for-profit organization has been serving patient needs for more than 100 years. With more than 3,700 physicians and 49,000 medical support staff, the clinic aims to give the best service to its its patients. Mayo Clinic oncologists treat almost all types of cancer.

  Mayo Clinic

  200 1st St. SW

  Rochester, MN 55905-0001

  (507) 284-9669 ‎

  mayoclinic.org

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

• This 925-bed general medical and surgical facility is accredited by the Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center is a part of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

  Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

  600 N Wolfe St.

  Baltimore, MD 21287

  (410) 516-7159 ‎

  e-mail: eschaeffer@jhmi.edu

  hopkinsmedicine.org

University of Washington Medical Center

• The 389-bed general medical and surgical facility is accredited by the Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

  University of Washington Medical Center

  325 9th Avenue

  Seattle, WA 98104

  (206) 598-7688 ‎

  uwmedicine.washington.edu

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

• The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a 27-bed cancer facility accredited by the Joint Commission. The institute is a part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center network and is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Dana-Farber is supported by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and many private foundations and individuals.

  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  44 Binney Street

  Boston, MA 02115

  (617) 632-3000 ‎

  e-mail: dana-FarberContactUs@dfci.harvard.edu

  dana-farber.org

Massachusetts General Hospital

• The 907-bed general medical and surgical facility and teaching center is accredited by the Joint Commission. The Center for Cancers offers patients access to some of the best treatments in the country.

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  55 Fruit Street

  Boston, MA 02114-2696

  (617) 726--2000

  massgeneral.org

University of California, San Francisco Medical Center

• The 642-bed facility is located in San Francisco but attracts patients from all over the country. The center treats almost 18 cancer specializations in children and adults.

  University of California, San Francisco Medical Center

  500 Parnassus Avenue

  San Francisco, CA 94143-0296

  (415) 476--1000

  ucsfhealth.org

Cleveland Clinic

• The 1210-bed cancer facility is accredited by the Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The clinic was opened in 1921 when four renowned physicians got together to offer highest quality patient care with specialized research and education. The center was popularized when it came up with the development of the 'no-touch' technique to prevent spreading of cancer cells during colorectal surgery, and the first coronary angiography. The cancer specialization center has 250 full-time specialists.

  Cleveland Clinic

  9500 Euclid Avenue

  Cleveland, OH 44195-5108

  (216) 444--2200

  clevelandclinic.org

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

• Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a 595-bed facility that is located in Los Angeles on the campus of University of California and is accredited by the Joint Commission. The center was founded in late 1960s and aims to offer mesothelioma care. The cancer center employs more than 200 doctors and scientists.

  Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

  757 Westwood Plaza

  Los Angeles, CA 90095

  (310) 825--9111

  uclahealth.org

8 Food Tips to Lower Cholesterol

A low-cholesterol diet is one of the surest ways to improve heart health. In fact, studies show you can slash your bad cholesterol by as much as 10% to 20% by giving your diet a makeover. The secret? Follow a diet rich in healthy fats like vegetable oils and fish. And avoid foods high in saturated fats and trans fats. How do you know which foods keep your cholesterol low? Here are nine tips to help you get started.

Look over the TLC diet and make a shopping list of your favorite cholesterol-lowering foods.

1. Stock your pantry and your refrigerator with the right foods for a low-cholesterol diet. Buy your favorite canned or dry beans, fresh fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and vegetable juice.
2. For a low-cholesterol diet, toss the butter, trans fat margarines, and polyunsaturated oil. Replace them with canola oil, olive oil, or plant sterol spreads.
3. Look for products specifically created for low-cholesterol diets, like Minute Maid HeartWise orange juice and Benecol, Promise, Smart Balance, and Take Control margarines. These foods have been fortified with plant stanols and sterols that help to block the absorption of cholesterol.
   
4. Start your day with oatmeal. Experts agree this is one of the top cholesterol-lowering superfoods.
5. Try a cholesterol-free egg substitute instead of whole eggs.
6. For a tasty low-cholesterol dish, switch out the cream sauce on your fettuccine for lightly stir-fried vegetables.
7. Instead of using butter to keep your pan moist while cooking, use white wine vinegar. It doesn't change the flavor of foods and doesn't add fat -- a key to low-cholesterol cooking!
8. Don't lean on butter, sour cream, and other fatty additives for flavoring. Instead, reach for the spices -- either while cooking or at the table. Liven up your dishes with oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, coriander, or cumin.

VITAMIN E Important for Our Body

A vitamin is an organic substance essential for life that regulates metabolism and assists the processes that release energy from digested food. Vitamin E, discovered in the mid-twentieth century, assists in strengthening our immune systems and helps protect us from a variety of problems as well as several serious illnesses. This vitamin can be obtained from food or supplements.

What Vitamin E can help for our body???

• Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects tissue against free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that usually contain oxygen and can interaction with DNA and other molecules leading to an impaired cell function. Vitamin E, one of the chemical compounds that prevents oxygen from reacting with other compounds, neutralizes free radicals, and is, therefore, one of the body’s natural defenses against cancer and cardiovascular disease.
• Vitamin E is also important in the formation of red blood cells and helps the body use vitamin K. Vitamin E improves circulation, is necessary in the repair of tissue, promotes normal blood clotting and healing, and can reduce scarring, too.

• Women find it useful in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome and fibrocystic disease of the breast.
• Older adults take it to help reduce blood pressure, relax leg cramps, help prevent cataracts, and, perhaps, to assist in reducing age spots.
• Vitamin E also helps prevent anemia, maintains healthy nerves and muscles, and promotes healthy skin and hair.

Sources of Vitamin E

Food sources of vitamin E are nuts (e.g., almonds), sunflower seeds, cold pressed vegetable oils, whole grains (e.g., wheat germ), olives, legumes, and dark and leafy vegetable (e.g., asparagus and spinach). There are also significant quantities of this vitamin in such foods as brown rice, cornmeal, eggs, kelp, milk, and organ meats. Some herb vitamin E sources are alfalfa, bladderwrack, dandelion, flax, nettle, and rose hips.

Vitamin E, like all other vitamins, is not only available from food sources, but also as a supplement. It can be purchased in the form of a tablet, a capsule, or a liquid, and as a powder that can be mixed with water or juice or added to gels or bars. It can also be administered by injection. Read labels carefully so that you purchase only those supplements that have been extracted from a natural food source and have no harmful additives included. A proper balance of vitamins are needed in the body because they work in synergy, or cooperative action, and high doses of one vitamin can induce a depletion of another. You can take vitamin E safely in a one a day multivitamin, or as single vitamin supplement if you wish to take an amount higher than is included in a multivitamin. Visit a vitamin store and watch for the opportunity to purchase your vitamins at a discount.

Be Careful of Vitamin E

It is important to understand the different functions of vitamins if you are going to ingest them separately instead of within a multivitamin where the formulation will ensure a proper balance. In the case of vitamin E, there are a variety of concerns of which you should be aware:

• Vitamin E should be taken under medical supervision if you are also taking blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulant medication). Vitamin E acts as a blood thinner, too.
• Remember that vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, and since it will be stored in the body in fatty tissue, it can reach toxic levels. People who decide to take mega-doses of vitamins and don’t know what they’re doing can suffer from too much of a good thing with this vitamin. If you are taking a multivitamin supplement and a separate vitamin E supplement, make sure you are not taking a toxic dose. Anything over 1200 IUs should not be taken without consulting a health professional.
• Be careful if you take iron as well as vitamin E. These two supplements should be taken at different times of the day because iron in the form of ferrous sulfate will destroy vitamin E. Organic forms of iron such as ferrous gluconate or ferrous fumarate, however, will not harm the vitamin. Read the label and make sure you know which form of iron you are taking.
• Diabetics, people with overactive thyroids, and those with rheumatic heart diseases should be especially careful not to take more than recommended dosages of vitamin E.
• If you suffer from high blood pressure, begin with 200 IUs of vitamin E per day and gradually increase the dose over a period of six weeks until you reach the desired level.
• If you are taking vitamin E, you must also take a minimum dose of zinc as well, and some supplements will include the necessary amount of zinc in the Vitamin E tablet or capsule.

Vitamin E is an important element in our arsenal of disease-battling nutrients, and there is an increasing lack of vitamin E in our diets because of our dependence on processed food and the depletion of nutrients in the soil.

Fortunately, supplements allow us to obtain whatever amount of vitamin E we need to keep us healthy.

Source : http://health.learninginfo.org/vitamin-e.htm

Start Your Day With Simple Exercise

This must have something to do with your mornings. If you want to start your day right, you should do a morning exercise routine for at least 30 minutes before going out to your school or workplace.

You might ask what exercises you should do and what how can these help you start a wonderful day. Well, we gave that a thought in advance and we are going to tell you exactly what you want to know. Here are some ways where you can easily do morning routines without taking too much of your time and energy for a whole day. Remember, it is advised that you take 30 minutes of your day and allot it for exercise.

This is some exercise can you do it in the morning :

• Running/Jogging
• Stretching
• Aerobics
• walking
• Swimming
• Dancing
• Biking

Why exercise do in the morning???
1. When you exercise early in the morning, it "jump starts" your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours, sometimes up to 24 hours! That means you're burning more calories all day long just because you exercised in the morning!

2. When you exercise in the morning you'll be *energized* for the day! Personally, I feel dramatically different on days when I have and haven't exercised in the morning.

3. Many people find that morning exercise "regulates" their appetite for the day - that they aren't as hungry and that they make better food choices. Several people have told me that it puts them in a "healthy mindset."

4. If you exercise at about the same time every morning, and ideally wake-up at about the same time on a regular basis, your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms adjust to that. Physiologically, some wonderful things begin to happen; A couple of hours *before* you awaken, your body begins to prepare for waking and exercise because it "knows" it's about to happen. Why? Because it "knows" you do the same thing just about everyday. You benefit from that in several ways..

1. It's MUCH easier to wake-up. When you wake-up at different times everyday, it confuses your body and thus it's never really "prepared" to awaken.
2. Your metabolism and all the hormones involved in activity and exercise begin to elevate while you're sleeping. Thus, you feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake-up.
3. Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.

5. For many people, that appointed time every morning becomes something they look forward to. It's time they've set aside to do something good for themselves - to take care of their body, mind, and soul. Many find that it's a great time to think clearly, pray, plan their day, or just relax mentally.