• McCain Appears Cancer-Free, Healthy
• Experts Revisit Food Additives and ADHD
• Woman Wakes After Heart Stopped, Rigor Mortis Set In
• Oral hormone therapy pills double clot risk: study

Here are Dr. Walt’s takes on today’s health headlines

McCain Appears Cancer-Free, Healthy

Three-time cancer thriver (not just survivor), John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart, and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press.

By now, I suspect most of you have read or heard about the incredibly painful and tragic news in what was meant to be a celebratory week for the family of Christian musician Stephen Curtis Chapman. 

According to Jim Houser, Stephen’s Manager, “Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman’s completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago …”

Here is the 4th update on the brave young team of family physicians who crossed the border from Thailand into Myanmar to serve the victims of the cyclone. This message is from the wife of the team leader:

In the book that I co-wrote with my good friend, Donal O’Mathuna, Ph.D., Alternative Medicine: The options, the claims, the evidence, how to choose wisely, we wrote an evidence-based article on marijuana. Here’s our fourth excerpt of that information:

In earlier excerpts, we discussed “What It Is,” “The Claims People Make about Marijuana,” and “Study Findings.” In this excerpt, we’ll discuss, “Cautions.” Next week, our final excerpt will review “Our Recommendations.”