For patients who survive cancer, there may be lingering, unsuspected repercussions. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that cancer can cause cardiovascular damage and increase the age of the heart, which is a measure of risk of stroke and heart attack.

Among male cancer survivors, the average predicted heart age was approximately 57 years, but the excess age, or difference between the actual age and predicted age, was 8.5 years, making their heart age closer to 66 years.

For female cancer survivors, predicted heart age was 54.8 years, but the true heart age was more than 60 years.

The prevalence of excess heart age 5 years or more than the actual age was higher among males, those with lower education or income levels, and those who were Black.

Cancer and Suicide

Cancer may have significant implications for subsequent heart disease risk (see above), but cancer-related suicide rates are declining, going down 2.8% per year from 1999 through 2018. That's contrary to the overall national suicide rate, which has steadily risen, fueled by opioid overdoses and guns.

Researchers didn't draw any cause-and-effect conclusions from their analyses, but suggested better psychosocial, palliative and hospice care could be making a difference.

Body of Knowledge

A small minority of people carry a genetic mutation that makes them immune to the odious stink of fish.

Get Me That, Stat!

The world's population is expected to start shrinking in about 45 years. Currently, it stands at approximately 7.8 billion. The CDC says U.S. birth rates have reached an all-time low in the last three decades, with American women averaging just 1-2 children over a lifetime. Births have declined for women in their 20s and 30s but risen for women over age 40.

Counts

7: percentage of high schoolers who meet the recommended daily goal for fruit consumption (1.5 cups for females, 2 for males)

2: percentage for vegetables (2.5 cups for females, 3 for males)

Source: CDC

Phobia of the Week

Gnosiophobia: fear of knowledge (in which case, hopefully this isn't new information)

Best Medicine

A doctor informed his patient: "I'm afraid I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you are suffering from short-term memory loss."

The patient looked anxious: "Oh, no. What's the bad news?"

Observation

"In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the small-pox, taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen." — Benjamin Franklin

Medical History

This week in 1968, the first telephone system in the U.S. to use 911 as the universal emergency services telephone number was inaugurated in Haleyville, Alabama. The system was devised at the suggestion of the National Fire Chief's Association in 1957 because major cities often had multiple phone numbers covering different municipal areas. AT&T proposed the 911 number.

Self-Exam

Q: When you place your hands together to form a bowl, what is the space created called?

A: Gowpen, from the Norse word "gaupn," meaning "hollow made by cupped hands." Related, when you form an L shape with your thumb and index finger, the space between is called a purlicue.

Last Words

"Bring me a bulletproof vest." — convicted murderer James W. Rodgers when asked if he had a last request before facing execution by firing squad in 1960

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: StockSnap at Pixabay