The Case for Choice

Originally posted at www.healthcentral.com The other day my husband and I were making out our Last Will and Testament. Not a fun chore, to be sure, but ultimately necessary (though, of course, we're never going to die). The one thing we don't agree on is our living will. My husband wants to have a DNR (do not resuscitate) clause to be used if he is simply prolonging his life -- with no hope for recovery. He used to joke that if he were asleep and sneezed, I would tell a doctor it was time to pull the plug. He stopped

Going It Alone

Originally posted at blog.aarp.com. Married people live longer and healthier lives. Consider this: nine out of ten married men who are alive at 48 will make it to 65-years-old (no, it will not just seem like it) as compared with six out of 10 of men who are not married. Women on the other hand are in better shape statistically. So be aware men; Marriage can save your life. Be grateful. I will be forwarding this to my husband. But not everyone agrees with this hypothesis. One of my associates, Guy, insists that his wife will be the death of

Frozen Snickers for Everyone

Remember the good old days when statins were the safest drug to take? Oh, wait, that was last month. I am currently on a statin. I began a few years ago when I read an article that alleged that statins could help prevent Alzheimer’s. This was of no small concern to me since my Mom had died from Alzheimer’s and women are more likely to die from Alzheimer’s than men (65% of Alzheimer’s patients are women, 35% are men); even more so if their mother had Alzheimer’s – but that’s another story. So when I read an article that said

Fighting Alzheimer’s: What Would Thatcher Think?

Editor's note: The guest post below was written by James A. Cassidy, a caregiver and father of Colette Cassidy, a former news anchor who recently wrote for the first time about her mother's battle with early-onset Alzheimer's. Fighting Alzheimer’s: What Would Thatcher Think? By James A. Cassidy It’s no accident Margaret Thatcher earned the nickname “The Iron Lady”. Popular or not, she showed the world and its leaders that she had the courage of her convictions. She found a soul mate in Ronald Reagan, who stood at the Berlin Wall and demanded that Gorbachev tear it down. To a lesser

Up Close and Personal: My Mother and Alzheimer’s

As many times as I read reflections of a daughter writing about her mother with Alzheimer’s, it never gets old; it never fails to punch me in the stomach; it never fails to make me tear up. Such is the case with Colette Cassidy, a former news anchor, trained to be dispassionate about every story. But there is no being dispassionate about your mother living with Alzheimer’s. Thank you, Colette, for sharing your poignant story: As a TV reporter, I thought I had seen it all. In Philadelphia I covered every local story imaginable, and travelled for hurricanes, political conventions