When chemo is the right choice

Is chemotherapy EVER the right decision when you have cancer? Dear Friend,        "Chemotherapy never works." That's what some natural health advocates will tell you.        This is a touchy subject in the alternative medicine community. And it's a decision you'll have to make if you ever have cancer.        The fact is, some of the best alternative doctors and cancer clinics in the world use chemotherapy. I'm talking about top clinics in Mexico, Germany, and the U.S.        But here's the thing: they don't employ chemo the way conventional doctors do. They use low doses, and they have a few "tricks" that make these low doses MORE EFFECTIVE than the massive doses that conventional doctors use. What's more, they COMBINE chemo with the best alternative treatments.        If I had early stage cancer, I'd probably try the inexpensive do-it-yourself-at-home treatments. That's my take. I'm not a doctor. But if I had late-stage cancer, I'd head for one of these clinics and get a combination of chemotherapy and alternatives.        The fact is, chemo has a place in cancer treatment -- when it's done right.        Scroll down and read the message below. You'll see what I mean. You'll also learn about a couple of great cancer clinics we haven't talked about in our other reports. Best wishes, Lee Euler Publisher

Dear Friend, It's bad enough that doctors reject at least two dozen safe, effective alternative cancer treatments. But now I've learned there are mainstream, FDA-approved drug treatments that work far better than those used by nine out of ten cancer doctors - and the medical profession STILL WON'T USE THEM. How can this possibly be? I'll tell you how. It's the great oddity of modern medicine:  Cutting-edge treatments exist for even your worst health nightmares, but most traditional doctors either don't know about them or completely ignore them. That goes double for cancer breakthroughs -- and it's costing people their lives! Many patients - even those who prefer alternative medicine -- feel they can't turn their backs totally on chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Their doctor, their family, and everybody else insists they submit to the same mainstream treatments other patients get. The patient may be ready to try something new, but the pressure to conform can be too hard to resist. Your treatment could be failing miserably and the people around you still won't listen. They don't "get it"--and it's your health on the line! But you're not alone! Even doctors with cancer have to confront this same issue. Take the case of Dr. Elizabeth, for example. . . "Other doctors had written me off for dead" Elizabeth was a successful physician and the medical director of her own laboratory. She was in the prime of life. Then disaster struck...hard! She was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Her oncologists determined that chemotherapy, rather than radiation or surgery, was Elizabeth 's best option. Then came another huge blow: After two months, she learned that the chemotherapy she was using--the "first choice" of cancer doctors to fight ovarian cancer--was having ZERO effect on the growth of her tumor. The next chemo drug she tried failed as well. Time was running out and her doctors had resigned themselves: she was close to the end. Desperate for help, Elizabeth had her tumor cells sent to be analyzed and tested by a visionary doctor. (I'll call him Dr. Bob - you'll receive full details of his amazing new approach in the Special Report CANCER PIONEERS). Dr. Bob identified a certain combination of chemo drugs to use.  In the laboratory, this custom-designed, personalized combo effectively killed her cancer cells. Elizabeth started taking it immediately. The result? In just three weeks, Elizabeth 's tumor started to shrink dramatically. Five years later, she remains completely cancer-free! You'll find the remarkable details about Dr. Bob's methods, and other breakthroughs from cancer geniuses just like him, in the pages of a new Special Report entitled CANCER PIONEERS. Medical visionaries like Dr. Bob truly represent... The "best of both worlds" -- conventional AND alternative medicine My name is Lee Euler, and I've spent the last four years researching, writing and publishing information about cancer solutions.  I head up a team of passionate, dedicated investigators who sort through all the confusing, conflicting information and find answers to life-or-death cancer questions. Up to now, my team has focused on dozens of amazing alternative cancer treatments.  They do exist and they do work.  However, I realize how hard it can be to reject conventional treatments completely, especially if your doctor and family put you under pressure. But now you don't have to anymore, thanks to an extraordinary pair of CANCER PIONEERS. These amazing physicians offer "best-of-both-worlds" cancer care, straddling comfortably between conventional treatments and alternative therapies. Their discoveries have boosted survival rates for thousands of cancer victims--yet amazingly, their methods haven't gained a strong foothold in the U.S. But before I tell you more about    these Cancer Pioneers,      let me ask you a question... Did you know that, every time a cancer patient is given a new chemotherapy drug, there's over a 40 percent chance it's the wrong one? It's shocking, but it's true! Oncologists choose the wrong chemo drugs at least four times out of ten. You might as well just flip a coin. That'show random this process is! If you're the cancer patient, you're experiencing the unnecessary delay and discomfort of going through chemotherapy with the wrong drug.   Then after a certain period of time, your oncologist realizes that particular chemotherapy drug is NOT killing your cancer. What's next? I'll tell you what's next: drug after drug after drug - one round of chemotherapy after another (if you live through them) -- as your doctor searches aimlessly for the right drug.  And there are more than 70 different drugs to choose from! Tick tock, tick tock.    You're wasting precious time --   time you just don't have Obviously you know this, but it bears repeating: When you've only got weeks or months to live, there's no time to spare. And you feel even more frustrated because your treatment is completely out of your hands.  But now, this tragedy is PREVENTABLE...it doesn't have to happen. If your oncologist will just learn about the new discovery and try a BETTER approach to chemotherapy--you could get the right treatment from the very beginning.   I've witnessed the suffering of cancer. Many of my own family and friends have experienced the horrors of this evil disease. Too many! And almost every one of them endured failure after failure during their conventional treatment. I hope you or your loved ones will consider this powerful new "twist" on the conventional approach... "Personalized" chemotherapy:    Designed to target your own     highly individual cancer cells     Want to know why oncologists administer the wrong chemo drug more than 40 percent of the time? It's because they focus too much attention on overall cancer "statistics" and not enough on each unique individual.     For example, if you're suffering from breast cancer, most oncologists will give you the "best drug statistically", based on how well it's worked for other breast cancer patients. Seems like common sense, right? Too bad it fails almost half the time. Your cancer cells are almost as unique as your fingerprints. So here's great news: I found a doctor who identifies   the right chemotherapy drug   for each patient the FIRST time     Dr. Bob (mentioned earlier) is a highly respected M.D./oncologist who's developed an astonishing cancer test--one that determines from the cancer patient's own cancer cells which chemo drug or combination of drugs will most effectively kill those cells. "Patients are unique", says Dr. Bob. "Their cancer therapies should be, too."     Truer words were never spoken! The "personalized" approach to chemotherapy is a revolutionary improvement over normal chemo.  The results prove it: Patients who take this remarkable test before they start their chemo often DOUBLE or even TRIPLE their success rate! Let me put that another way - a blunt way:  Patients who DON'T have the advantage of this kind of targeted chemotherapy are two or three times more likely to die. Why is that? Because this doctor's technology chooses the RIGHT drug the FIRST TIME OUT. No more "cancer roulette", hoping to land on the right drug by chance.     Getting the correct drug right from the start...one that paints a huge "bullseye" on your own unique cancer cells...can save you from months and months of hit-and-miss chemo drugs and the horrible effects that go with them. It could even save your life when nothing else will... Mother of three refuses to go quietly Kathy was a 45-year-old mother of three when she felt a lump in her breast. The diagnosis confirmed her worst fears: Kathy had aggressive breast cancer.      Her doctors  performed surgery, but things went from bad to worse. The cancer spread to Kathy's liver. At that point, many oncologists would recommend only minimal treatment, to preserve the quality of the time she had left.     But Kathy was luckier than most patients: Her doctors sent her cancer cells to Dr. Bob for testing. He discovered an effective combination of chemotherapy drugs that killed her cancer cells in the laboratory.     Was Kathy willing to try the chemo? "Let's go for it!" she said.     Two years later, as this is written, Kathy is still in complete remission with only minimal therapy. The test--and her "never-say-die" attitude--saved her life.     Now you might be asking yourself... Why isn't every oncologist    using this cancer test   for every patient? That's a good question. As Dr. Bob says, doctors can be stubborn as mules. That's why some oncologists resist this breakthrough: They'd rather keep doing what they've always done.     Other well-meaning oncologists--like yours, maybe--would use the test before starting you on chemo if they knew the test existed. But the word hasn't gotten around as it should. And do you know why? Naturally, it's Big Pharma! Call me cynical, but I think giant drug companies like things just the way they are. Think about it: When oncologists must try multiple chemo drugs, searching high and low for the one that works, drug companies sell more drugs--whether they work or not. In other words, the drug companies can multiply their massive profits by keeping you and millions of other Americans sick!     Do you think these drug companies would welcome a test that slashed their sales to the bone? Don't count on it! Remember, their business is not to save lives, it's to SELL DRUGS!     But you don't have to put up with this heartless greed. At last, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from cancer and stop relying on the selfish people who line their own pockets while you fight for your life. Introducing Cancer Pioneers -- the modern world's most advanced information on the subject of beating cancer! Dr. Bob is just one of the brilliant physicians and trailblazing scientists you'll meet in CANCER PIONEERS, my brand-new Special Report. This unique manuscript was compiled by my valued colleague Larry J. Trivieri--editor of Alternative Medicine: A Definitive Guide and co-author of 12 best-selling books on natural health. Larry and I are proud to makeCANCER PIONEERS available to you. You'll discover case studies of doctors who put their patients first. These unique individuals have developed more effective, less toxic cancer treatments-- including chemotherapy that has fewer side effects and sometimes NO side effects! They've also found ways to combine conventional care and alternative therapies. Let me tell you about another one of the doctors in this Special Report. He's devoted his entire practice to "integrating" mainstream and alternative medicine. (I'll call him Dr. Keith for now--you'll get full details in CANCER PIONEERS). Dr. Keith is dedicated in heart and soul to helping patients beat cancer. His dedication saved a patient named Mary. She never missed a day of work or even a meal during her chemo Mary was a workaholic who held two jobs and an exercise fanatic who spent two hours a day lifting weights at the gym. She appeared to be in peak physical condition--until she discovered a lump in her breast. Even after radical surgery, her doctors told her she would die. But Mary did what she always did: she took action! She began reading everything she could get her hands on about cancer and--by pure chance--stumbled upon Dr. Keith. Dr. Keith put Mary on his "patient-focused" chemo. This amazing innovation calls for smaller bursts of chemo over time instead of a huge blast all at once. With smaller bursts, the chemo kills more cancer cells and fewer healthy cells. Mary also changed to a "cancer-preventing" diet...lowered her inflammation...reduced her stress levels...cut back on her intense exercise program (she was overdoing it)...and brought more balance and harmony into her life. Remarkably, Mary experienced almost no side effects. She would put her chemo in a fanny pack and take long walks on the waterfront while the drugs went slowly into her system. And she never missed a meal or a day of work!  Mary's been cancer-free for eight years now! Conventional chemo--coupled with alternative therapies --was the "one-two punch" she needed. As her case proves... You don't have to run away from mainstream treatments altogether     For most people I know, it'd be scary to abandon "the system" completely. But the good news is, now you don't have to! You'll soon discover how it's better to combine your options, drawing from the best of both conventional and alternative. That's because--make no mistake--chemo doesn't have to be painful, miserable and useless. With CANCER PIONEERS at your fingertips, you and your oncologist can work as a team to identify your best course of action. You might want to ask yourself... Will this cutting-edge Special Report help me defeat the scourge of cancer? Will it help me save a beloved family member, or one of my dear friends? I hope so. And if your loved ones are reluctant to try little-known treatments (you know how hard it can be to convince them!), they might just listen if you back yourself up with the scientifically proven information in CANCER PIONEERS. You could share this astonishing story from one of Dr. Keith's patients, a man named Gary ...  "If you want to live, call this number!" Like many generations of his family, Gary raised cattle for a living and found purpose in the long, hard days. He was also a proud meat eater who kept 800 pounds of red meat in his freezer and downed cartloads of cheese, milk and sweets. Life was good: until one day when Gary noticed he'd developed a huge mass in his stomach. But like many people who don't want to face such problems, he waited six months and dropped 55 pounds before consulting a doctor. The diagnosis? Kidney cancer that had spread to his other organs. Doctors told Gary to get his affairs in order and prepare to die.   In a last-ditch effort, Gary dialed a phone number that one of his nurses gave him. It was the number of Dr. Keith, who'd helped the nurse's father defeat his cancer. Gary was looking for the same kind of miracle. Gary committed to Dr. Keith's program 100%. He agreed to a highly targeted, minimally toxic dose of chemo that stabilized him in just two weeks. And with the help of his family, he changed his diet and lifestyle dramatically. The results? 18 years later, Gary is cancer-free and loving every minute of his life. He grows organic produce on his ranch...is enjoying his first grandchild...and tells every cancer patient he meets about Dr. Keith. And you can find out more about Dr. Keith in the pages of CANCER PIONEERS. Click here to get your copy. This Special Report could     truly save your life...      or the life of someone you care about! For just $19.95 USD, you'll get this astonishing, up-to-the-minute research on America 's most dreaded disease.CANCER PIONEERS is a "quantum leap" in cancer knowledge for anyone who's been stricken with this unforgiving disease or who worries about getting it. You'll discover... The noted physician who helped 88 percent of his colon cancer patients turn their cancers around The revered doctor and scientist who astounded the medical community by saving seven out of eight brain cancer patients The cancer expert who multiplied the survival rate for ovarian cancer patients by 500 PERCENT The medical legend who achieved 90% success with early stage cancers The amazing oncologist who DOUBLED the survival rates for both prostate cancer and breast cancer patients   You'll also discover other important but little-known facts, such as... Where America 's most famous alternative doctor would go if HE had cancer The scary connection between cancer and "concealed depression" How to "reprogram" your cancer cells so they commit suicide The dirty little secret about cancer "survival" statistics 10 simple steps to "cancer proof" your life and enhance your treatment But by now, you might be wondering... Why purchase this information when    it's probably free on the Internet? Yes, you might find it for free in other places, but as you can imagine, it's a full-time job to figure out which information is valuable enough that it's worth betting your life on. Would you be able to sift through all the misinformation on the Internet to identify the real gems...those wonderful, talented doctors and scientists who devote their lives to finding answers to your most challenging health problems? Enter "cancer" in Google and you'll get 22 million listings.  Which ones should you read? Which ones should you believe? That's where my team comes in.  We've made it our mission to serve you as the source you can trust for reliable cancer information. For this Special Report alone, it took my researchers months to find the health professionals who have solid, proven, breakthrough answers to your cancer questions. This new Special Report is the absolute latest information--information you must have now, not months from now, if you're in a life-and-death situation. And even if you're not in urgent need right now, you'll surely want the right information on hand if - God forbid -- you or a loved one gets this disease that's now the number two cause of death in America. The scary fact is, one out of every two men and one out of every three women in America will get cancer! Will you be prepared? This Special Report gives you   a crucial advantage when    there's no time to mess around With this Special Report at your fingertips, you can make the decisions you need to make, and make them quickly, when the clock is ticking and every moment counts. That's why it's so important that you get this information ASAP. That's why I'm offering you CANCER PIONEERS for only $19.95 USD. As you can probably see by now, $19.95 is a good value for this Special Report...all by itself. But I wanted to give you EVEN MORE value. So I asked the author, Larry Trivieri, to bundle in some FREE Bonus Reports for you. We receive so much remarkable information in our offices about cancer treatment, therapies and prevention--and we wanted to give you as much as possible to complement your copy of CANCER PIONEERS.     Let me tell you about the THREE FREE Bonus Reports Larry Trivieri selected for you... Free Bonus Report Number One:    Switch Off Your Cancer Genes Did you know it's possible to "switch off" your cancer genes and disarm cancerous cells before they can multiply and spread in your body? It might be hard to believe, but it's helping thousands of patients beat their cancer! Forward-looking oncologists from around the world have starting using gene therapy to head cancer off at the pass. And now they've developed some truly remarkable treatments--ones you can get access to right here in the U.S. In fact, this revolutionary gene therapy has been used successfully for malignant melanoma and lymphoma, bladder cancer, brain cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer. What's more, it's gentle, painless, and completely free of side effects. For details about this breakthrough gene therapy, send for this unbelievably valuable Bonus Report today. It's YOURS FREE with every copy of CANCER PIONEERS. Free Bonus Report Number Two: Cancer and Your Emotions Let me ask you: have you been angry or depressed lately? Yesterday? Today? How did you deal with it? Comfort foods? Alcohol? Drugs? Aggression? Or did you just hold it all in? According to scientists, 99 percent of people who die from cancer suffer from anger, depression or both. That's why it's urgent that you deal with your emotional issues if you want to get healthy--or stay healthy. If you're skeptical that anger and depression can cause cancer, you won't be after you read this FREE Bonus Report.  I thought this idea was strange myself, years ago--till I saw the proof! The evidence is overwhelming that people who change their attitude survive or avoid cancer at higher rates than those who don't. In this eye-opening Bonus Report, you'll find an easy-to-use "emotional health" questionnaire to help you determine your cancer risk quickly. You'll also discover the hotly debated link between cancer and traumatic events such as divorce or a death in the family...how fear, low self-esteem and pessimism can increase tumor growth...powerful mind and body therapies to heal your emotional "triggers"...and much more. This immensely valuable Bonus Report is YOURS FREE with your copy of CANCER PIONEERS. Free Bonus Report Number Three: The World-Renowned Anti-Cancer Diet The "anti-cancer" diet has probably influenced more alternative cancer practitioners and helped more cancer patients than any other therapy.      Developed more than 60 years ago by Albert Schweitzer's personal physician, this diet outlines the nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables you must eat to boost your immune system, strengthen your metabolism, and set the stage for optimum health. By following this astonishing diet... A German woman with a deadly eye tumor saved her vision--and her life--in little more than a year. She was still cancer-free 36 years later! An American girl with an inoperable brain tumor stunned her oncologist when, after 18 months, he could find no evidence of brain cancer at all. An English professor, told that his multiple myeloma would be fatal, cured himself and wrote about it in a highly-acclaimed book. Healthy eating is the master key to many cures. With this remarkable plan, you can make it a part of your own "cancer-beating" program. Get this Bonus Report absolutely FREE when you order CANCER PIONEERS. Add it up: you get this new Special Report, CANCER PIONEERS, for just $19.95 USD. Plus, you get THREE Valuable Bonus Reports FREE with your purchase. This is "must-know" info if you want to fight cancer...and win! Get this vital information in your hands in just two minutes               Of course you can receive a printed copy by mail, but. . .      To make it fast and easy for you, I'm also offering CANCER PIONEERS to you via digital download. No shipping and handling to pay for and worry about. No waiting by your mailbox. Just download it instantly to your computer screen. You can read it right away onscreen or print it out and read it at your leisure.  You can be reading it five minutes from now! Printed copy OR digital download -- it's your choice. Plus, when you order CANCER PIONEERS, there's absolutely NO RISK on your part. Why? Because I'm giving you... My Cancer Pioneers 100 Percent Guarantee: If you're not amazed and delighted with this NEW Special Report, you'll get every penny of your money back I believe wholeheartedly in CANCER PIONEERS and I stand by it completely. So, if for any reason you're not 100 percent happy with this unique new Special Report, you can get a total refund anytime within 12 months. WHAT'S MORE, if you choose to order a printed copy, you don't even have to return it to get a refund. PLUS, if you ever do ask for a refund, you can KEEP YOUR THREE FREE BONUS REPORTS, too, with our compliments and our best wishes for your health. I urge you to get your copy of CANCER PIONEERS immediately. Even one new insight can make all the difference, especially when cancer is involved.  And this Special Report is busting with powerful information.  Click here to get your copy! Yours for a cancer-free life today and always, Lee Euler     Publisher     Cancer Pioneers P.S. If you're not ready to walk away from conventional cancer treatments...or if you're just worried about getting cancer someday...CANCER PIONEERS is a "must-have" new Special Report. Inside these pages, you'll meet remarkable doctors who are giving their patients revolutionary cancer treatments--proven to save lives--with few or no side effects. P.S.S. For a limited time only, CANCER PIONEERS is available for the low price of just $19.95 USD. Health Disclaimer: The information provided above is not intended as personal medical advice or instructions. You should not take any action affecting your health without consulting a qualified health professional. The authors and publishers of the information above are not doctors or health-caregivers. The authors and publishers believe the information to be accurate but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. There is some risk associated with ANY cancer treatment, and the reader should not act on the information above unless he or she is willing to assume the full risk.

Non-stick unfortunately is not Non-Toxic

Teflon Update: It's Worse than We Thought

    Two years ago, I wrote to let you know the fumes from Teflon, given off when a pan is heated, were killing people's pet birds (that was Issue #49, if you want the details). As far as I'm concerned, if it causes a parakeet to keel over, I don't want it in my life.

    Now there's more news about this bird-killing toxin that's undoubtedly in your home — and in your bloodstream, too. It's in the bloodstream of almost every single one of us.

    PFOA is the ingredient used in Teflon that causes the problems. I'm afraid new findings have surfaced to support the health hazards of this modern-day "convenience."

Continued below...

You've got to watch this     I recently came across what I believe is the most promising cancer advancement of the past 30 years.     A neurochemist developed it over the course of 20 years. Already several major studies (on over 10,000 patients combined) have verified its accuracy. The FDA has even approved it.     But, strangely, this cancer discovery has been kept almost completely quiet. (The reason why made me furious -- I bet you'll feel the same way.)     I just finished creating this special video alert… It's got everything you need to know about this medical development.     You've got to watch it now...

Chemicals of "convenience" are literally everywhere

    Let's recap before I hit you with the latest unsettling revelations. Teflon itself was an "accidental" invention by a chemist in 1938. The fellow was trying to make a refrigerant and instead came up with the non-reactive, low-friction substance known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) — what we know as Teflon.

    Since then, PTFE has been employed as a coating on pots, pans, wiper blades, curling irons, stain-resistant carpets, and even microwave popcorn bags — just to name a few chemical-laced modern-day conveniences.

    The chemical PFOA is a key ingredient in Teflon (PTFE). PFOA, or perfluororctanoic acid (and also known as C8), is a carcinogen, is toxic to animals, and persists in the environment indefinitely.

    At least 99% of the general population in the U.S. have traces of PFOA in their bloodstream (up from 95% a few years ago). Folks who work in chemical plants or live near chemical plants probably have much higher levels than everybody else.

We knew this was coming

    We've known for a while that Teflon was a likely health offender. The fact that Teflon fumes kill birds was our first clue. For instance,

• When a Teflon-lined oven was used to bake biscuits at 325 degrees Fahrenheit, an owner reported the death of his parrots.
• When four stovetop burners lined with Teflon drip pans were preheated for a meal, 14 birds died within15 minutes.
• And when Teflon-coated heat lamp bulbs were installed in chicken pens, half of the chicken population passed away within a few days.

    Our next clue was the health concerns voiced by workers at the DuPont Washington Works plant in the Mid-Ohio Valley. DuPont paid out a $300 million settlement in response to a class action lawsuit from plant workers and those who live near the plant in Ohio and West Virginia, all alleging DuPont contaminated their drinking water with PFOA.

    If a corporation settles a lawsuit one always suspects they were in the wrong, but you can't be sure. There wasn't a proven link between cancer and PFOA ... until now.

No such thing as an "acceptable" toxic level

    Because of the allegations in that West Virginia and Ohio region, a panel of public health scientists have been monitoring the long-term health of the community through epidemiologic and other data. The panel was approved by DuPont as part of the class action lawsuit over PFOA.

    The evidence they've found is chilling. The low-but-constant levels of PFOA consumed by residents in their drinking water have upped the rates of kidney and testicular cancer. For kidney cancer, risk is up by a shocking 170 percent. Thyroid cancer may also be affected by PFOA.

    That same panel of independent scientists found another hair-raising health link last year. Their findings showed a link between PFOA and preeclampsia (a condition during pregnancy that can have catastrophic consequences for both the mother and the fetus). And they recently found a link between PFOA and both thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis.

    Olga V. Naidenko, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, said "Widespread pollution by PFOA should be a wake-up call that our chemical regulation system is severely broken." She added, "It is particularly urgent for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a legal limit for drinking water pollution by PFOA, which is currently unregulated and never should have come to market."

    I agree that this is a wake-up call. But I think the only acceptable "legal limit" is zero.

A global phase-out is our best bet for future health safety

    Right now, there's a voluntary pact between eight major U.S. companies, including DuPont, to "virtually" eliminate the use of PFOA by 2015. The pact was put together by the Environmental Protection Agency. The goal is to drastically reduce the shocking extent to which PFOA shows up everywhere (pizza boxes are another offender).

    According to DuPont's spokeswoman, Janet E. Smith, "DuPont has commercialized new alternatives that are made with short chain chemistry that cannot break down into PFOA."

    On the flip side, Leann Brown, press secretary for the Environmental Working Group (EWG), points out "Had DuPont done sufficient human safety testing before bringing this product into commerce, they would have found this chemical was unfit for commercial production and use."

    The American Cancer Society points out there is very little data about the ability of PFOA to cause cancer, but also states the major U.S. health agencies have not formally evaluated PFOA and its connection to cancer. And keep in mind, DuPont isn't the only offender that's been using this chemical, though it's the only current American maker of PFOA. Loads of companies overseas continue to produce and use it.

    There may not be any formal study results, but all signs point in that direction. If you ask me, it's not worth waiting around for a bureaucratic process to tell us what we already know. Although sadly, this doesn't help the fact that it's probably already in your bloodstream. PFOA has even been found in the blood of marine life and Arctic polar bears.

    All you can really do at this point is make an effort to avoid the stuff as much as possible. This means staying away from Teflon-coated cookware, or anything that's heat-resistant or non-stick. Clothes are also possible offenders, so avoid buying anything labeled wrinkle-free, stain-resistant, or waterproof.

    If you have a hankering for popcorn, here's good news: You can pop ordinary kernels in your microwave in a simple, chemical-free, brown paper bag. In the meantime, I'll be watching for updates from DuPont as it phases out the chemical. And I'll be hoping someday for a global phase-out.

The 10 Most Impressive Mental Athletes Alive Today

The 10 Most Impressive Mental Athletes Alive Today

2

August 6, 2012

While most of us are proud if we can remember all the state capitals or the bones in the human body, some serious mental athletes out there go above and beyond when it comes to pushing their brainpower. Able to remember dozens of random words and calculate numbers out to thousands of digits, these mental athletes put the average good memory and mental prowess to shame. Yet while these skills are impressive, the top mental athletes claim that anyone can do what they do with the right training and dedication. Read on to learn more about the impressive feats of some of the world's leading mental athletes and how you can emulate their methods for superior memory and mental abilities.

1. Wang Feng:

   
   Chinese memory champ Wang Feng is only 22, but his young age hasn't slowed his meteoric rise to the top of world memory rankings. Feng won the 2010 World Memory Championships with a record-breaking score of 9,486 points, moving him to the top of the world rankings, a spot he continues to hold. He is able to memorize 300 digits of spoken numbers, 500 digits of written numbers, and can read off the order of a deck of cards in just 24.22 seconds. Feng uses a combination of rhymes and pictorial associations to remember such large amounts of data. He associates numbers with a rhyming word (in Chinese) and the image that goes along with it. Feng has said that this system comes naturally to him, as it is often used in his native Chinese language as a memory device. While the system may be most conducive to Chinese, a similar method could be used in any language to help individuals remember numbers, names, or other information.

2. Simon Reinhard:

   
   Simon Reinhard holds two of the fastest times ever recorded for memorizing a 52-card pack of playing cards, both just over 21 seconds. He also holds top-10 honors in a wide range of other memory tasks from remembering names and faces to reciting random words. This German national began competing in memory competitions in 2005 and has never looked back. In order to attain his impressive records, Reinhard uses a technique called the method of Loci, creating memory places and images to help him recall vast amounts of information. It's a mnemonic device that dates back to Roman times, perhaps still popular because of its obvious effectiveness. Numerous books and studies have been done on the process, and it's likely that with proper training, most people will be able to master the basics in about an hour.

3. Johannes Mallow:

   
   According to world rankings, Johannes Mallow has the third best memory of anyone in the world. Mallow took top honors at the Cambridge Memory Championship in 2011 and the Swedish Open Memory Championship, as well as placing second in the World Memory Championship in 2009 and 2010. He holds the top records for 30-minute numbers, 5-minute historical figures and dates, as well as placing in the top five in a large number of other memory trials. Along with memory champ Simon Reinhard, Mallow also uses the method of Loci to help him remember. For example, every three-digit combination of numbers gets a unique image in his mind. Similarities in their methods may be because both Mallow and Reinhard are closely associated with the German group Memory XL, which helps anyone, even those with average memories, boost their skills.

4. Ben Pridmore:

   
   Ben Pridmore is one of the best-known mental athletes in the world today. He has been competing since 2000 and his long career has netted him a number of top honors in competitions around the world, including three first place World Memory Championship wins and five back-to-back UK Open Memory Championships. He boasts the No. 1 score in six different memory trials and held the world record for card memorization until his record was broken in 2010 by Simon Reinhard. Pridmore isn't just a champ for memorization, however, as this accountant has also taken top honors in mental calculation. Pridmore's methods are fairly similar to that of other top memory competitors. He begins by creating a mental story, creating a sequence of images that he remembers, each representing groups of numbers or playing cards. Pridmore often uses his old grammar school as the setting for these memories, though others wishing to copy his methods could use any familiar place.

5. Gunther Karsten:

   
   As of 2011, Gunther Karsten held the fifth best score at the World Memory Championships. Since 1998, Karsten has taken home first and second place honors at dozens of memory championships, including winning first place in the World Memory Championships in 2007. He excels at memorizing binary, recalling 3,570 digits with only 30 minutes to prepare. This German champ is a chemist and biotechnologist when he's not competing and also teaches classes on mental learning and memory training for the general public. Karsten is another proponent of mnemonic methods of memorization, showcasing his skills on television and even in a movie about his life. Along with other German memory champs, he is a member of Memory XL, which we have previously mentioned, and uses many of the methods they teach to attain his own titles.

6. Astrid Plessl:

   
   Astrid Plessl is the most highly decorated female memory champ in the world today. She ranks first in the world for memorizing poetry and sixth for memorizing cards, holding a number of other top positions as well for her memory abilities and capturing a number of memory championships, as well as two second place wins in the World Memory Championship. Plessl is currently retired from the memory competition circuit, but still comes out for certain festivals and events. While Plessl does use mnemonic devices for memorizing things like cards and numbers, the same methods don't work as well when memorizing poems, what she holds the world record for. She has never revealed her exact method, but some believe that it's a combination of natural memory and using mental imagery to help tell the story of the poem. No matter how she does it, the benefits of memorizing poetry can be numerous, and it should perhaps be one of the first avenues of building a better memory that individuals pursue.

7. Dominic O'Brien:

   
   Dominic O'Brien is an eight-time world memory champion, perhaps best known for his Guinness record-breaking performance in 2002 when he memorized the order of 2,808 playing cards with only eight errors. O'Brien became inspired to take on memory-related challenges in 1987 when he saw a BBC television program on record-breaking abilities and has since turned his interest into a thriving career. O'Brien is more than happy to share his methods with others, developing the Mnemonic Dominic System, which has been the basis for several books he has written on boosting memory power. Similar to many mental champs on this list, O'Brien uses a mnemonic method, the guidelines for which he shares through his company, Peak Performance Training.

8. Nelson Dellis:

   
   Two-time winner of the U.S. Memory Championship winner Nelson Dellis didn't get the title by luck. Dellis is able to memorize the full order of a deck of shuffled cards in 63 seconds and more than 300 numbers in under five minutes, breaking several records at the 2011 championships. Yet Dellis says these abilities aren't the result of a photographic memory or any kind of inborn abilities. In fact, he believes that anyone can do what he does, provided they train and practice just as if they were competing in any other physical event. Inspired by the memory loss he saw his grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's, endure, Dellis began researching memory improvement methods. He uses a number of mnemonic methods to help him remember everything from cards, to numbers, to names, and believes that anyone with average memory abilities can do the same.

9. Michael Glantz:

   
   Nicknamed "The Tank" for his power lifting prowess, this young memory champ (he's just graduated from high school) is both a formidable physical and mental force to be reckoned with. Despite an emergency appendectomy in 2011 just weeks before the USA Memory Championships, Glantz was on his game, capturing top honors in poetry memorization, finishing third overall, which is commendable against older, more experienced competitors. He would also help lead his high school to top honors in the team competition, the fourth consecutive win for the school. In this year's competition he would come out on top in both poetry and names and faces and is proving to be a name to watch in memory championships. How does he do it? Glantz uses many of the same mnemonic methods as other memory champs, associating words, numbers, or cards with images in his mind.

10. Priyashi Somani:

    
    When it comes to mental calculations, there is perhaps no better brain in the world today than that of Priyashi Somani. What is even more impressive is that Somani was just 11 years old when she captured the Mental Calculation World Cup. She was the youngest participant in the cup's history, and the only one to ever have 100% accuracy in addition, multiplication, and square roots, and set a new world record for calculating square roots. As for being able to copy her methods, that might prove a bit difficult. Unlike other mental champs on this list, her skills seem to be natural, and she only practiced for a few months before heading to and capturing the win at the MCWC. While average people may never be able to match her impressive abilities, a few mental calculations here and there can't hurt to boost your mental power.

THE 10 MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENTS IN NCAA HISTORY

by staff writers

July 31, 2012

We all love to see the embarrassing “Not Top 10″ plays where a player, say, picks up a football and runs it into the wrong endzone. It’s lighthearted fun that no doubt leaves the player feeling a bit sheepish for a little while. But sometimes, sports programs find themselves embroiled in much deeper, much more disgraceful scenarios of their own design. These highly public embarrassments can ruin lives, cost schools thousands or millions of dollars, and leave the entire country with a bad taste in its mouth. These 10 cases are hopefully the most embarrassing moments in NCAA history any of us will have to witness.

1. Jerry Sandusky brings down Joe Paterno:

   
   What a horrible irony that Penn State’s alma mater includes the words, “May no act of ours bring shame.” For more than 15 years, coaching assistant Jerry Sandusky disgraced the school by sexually abusing boys placed in his care. The resulting embarrassment enveloped once-beloved head coach Joe Paterno, the Penn State football program, the NCAA, and every fan of college football in America. “JoePa” did not live to see his statue removed from its place near Beaver Stadium and forklifted into storage, or his record vacated of more than 100 wins, knocking him from atop the list of winningest college football coaches ever. For the NCAA, having such a man in the record books was clearly too humiliating.

2. Reggie Bush stripped of the Heisman:

   
   Whether college athletes should be paid for their services is a debate worth having. Nevertheless, as the rule stands (and as it stood in the early 2000s), accepting nearly $290,000 in cash and gifts is $290,000 more than players are allowed to accept. USC star running back Reggie Bush was certainly not the first to take people’s offers of limo rides and free housing, but he was the first to go on to win the Heisman Trophy. In a huge black eye for USC and the Heisman Trust, Bush opted to relinquish the award before it was snatched out of his soiled hands, the first time the award has been returned.

3. SMU gets the death penalty:

   
   In the wake of Penn State’s devastating NCAA punishment, many are reminded of another name in the annals of college sports embarrassments: Southern Methodist University. Although Penn State will retain a crippled football program, SMU’s entire 1987 and 1988 seasons were canceled when it was discovered players had been paid thousands of dollars out of a slush fund with the full knowledge of people like former Texas governor and chairman of SMU’s board of governors Bill Clements and AD Bob Hitch. Ironically, Penn State was among the schools who raided SMU’s football roster for players. As a result of the death penalty, SMU’s program took two decades to recover, Clements’ political career was killed, and the Southwest Conference had one of the final nails put in its coffin.

4. CCNY point-shaving:

   
   Players accepting money for playing their best is one thing; players taking money for making errors and helping bookies beat the spread is a whole other can of worms. In 1951, a cloud was cast over NCAA basketball when a point-shaving scandal involving seven schools and 32 players came to light. What began with the arrest of three of the stars of City College New York’s NIT-winning 1950 team for conspiring with gangsters to fix games soon spread to NYU, Long Island University, the University of Kentucky, and elsewhere. The scandal remains one of the worst black eyes in college basketball history.

5. Jim Tressel and Tattoo-Gate:

   
   Jim “The Sweater Vest” Tressel was so ensconced as head football coach at Ohio State that when asked if Tressel was going to be fired, OSU president Gordon Gee responded, “No, are you kidding? I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.” Clearly Tressel’s 106-22 record with OSU had brought him significant power, power enough that, when informed his players were selling memorabilia to a known drug dealer in exchange for tattoos, he sat on the knowledge for eight months in 2011. Then he lied to investigators about how long he knew the truth. A red-faced OSU tried to keep Tressel’s chastening to a five-game suspension and $250,000 fine, but ultimately bowed to public pressure and asked for his resignation.

6. Minnesota brawls with Ohio State:

   
   The thought process while watching the clip of this embarrassing moment in college basketball history goes something like this: ‘OK, that was a pretty hard foul. Oh, nice, that player is going to help him up OH, NOT THE GROIN!’ Angered at an impending loss to their Big Ten rivals, Minnesota initiated a street fight by punching and kneeing Ohio State player Luke Witte and then stomping his head while he was on the floor. The crowd even booed him as he was helped off the court on his way to the hospital. The governor of Ohio called it a “public mugging.” Two Minnesota players were suspended for the season, and dunking before games — showboating that the NCAA believed attributed to the hostile environment — was banned.

7. Miami brawls with FIU:

   
   To call this Miami football’s all-time low is saying a lot, considering their history. But on the night of Oct. 14, 2006, the country watched in disgust as Hurricane players goaded Florida International’s Golden Panthers into a fight with taunting and showing off. FIU took the bait. A Golden Panther tackled a holder and punched him, and all hell broke loose. Miami players took their helmets off and used them as weapons. An injured FIU player swung a crutch at some Hurricanes. A ‘Cane body-slammed a Panther. Players were stomped and kicked in the head. State troopers had to help separate the teams. More than 30 players were later suspended. Even a TV commentator, former Hurricane Lamar Thomas, was fired for the embarrassing in-game comments, “You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked.”

8. University of Minnesota academic fraud:

   
   Minnesota basketball managed to go almost 30 years after the 1972 brawl before falling on their faces in front of the country all over again. On the morning of the team’s first-round game in the 1999 NCAA tournament, news broke of a former academic advisor claiming to have written 400 papers for Gopher basketball players over a period of five years, with head coach Clem Haskins’ total knowledge. Haskins later admitted paying the woman to do so and was subsequently fired and banned from coaching college basketball until 2007. Some supporters wished he would have fought harder to clear his name, but he correctly decided that would have only dragged the school’s name further through the mud than it had already traveled.

9. Nevin Shapiro blows the whistle on Miami:

   
   When Nevin Shapiro was imprisoned in 2010 for participating in a nearly $1 billion Ponzi scheme, more than a few people in the college sports world must have started to worry. Such worry is warranted. Eight players on the Miami Hurricanes football team have already been suspended for accepting gifts from this persona non grata, but according to Shapiro, dozens more players are involved. He says from 2002 to 2010 he hooked up at least 72 college players with money, prostitutes, yacht and limo rides, tackle bounties (which are currently roiling the NFL), jewelry, and travel. Shapiro is peeved at his predicament and has vowed he will take Miami football down with him.

10. Rick Pitino is blackmailed:

    
    Three, six, and 15. These are the numbers of Rick Pitino’s most notable achievements: three schools led to the Final Four, six NCAA Tournament regional championships, and 15 seconds of sex with extortionist Karen Cunagin Sypher. In one of Louisville basketball’s most embarrassing moments, and certainly the most embarrassing moment of Pitino’s storied career, the coach had an extremely brief sexual encounter with the wife of his equipment manager in a restaurant booth in 2003. The woman then tried to milk Pitino for $10 million. Pitino called the cops on her but in so doing opened himself up to some humiliating courtroom interrogation and accusations of rape by Sypher. Ultimately he was vindicated, but not until adding another sad chapter to the college sports history books.