Pancreatic Cancer destroys the body, but leaves the mind intact. Sometimes, traditional Chinese Herbal medicine is used in an attempt at a cure. This is a big mistake.

Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on restoring a balance of energy, body, and spirit to maintain health rather than treating a particular disease. Herbs are used with the goal of restoring balance by nourishing the body. What a wonderful fantasy; if only it could be even partially true. I am sorry to dispel the notion.

My NFL husband of 49 years, was diagnosed with the disease when he was 74 years old. Yes, we tried a Chinese green herbal drink, but it interfered with the chemotherapy that was critical for even a few months survival. His doctor was appalled that we had begun this type of treatment.

Chinese herbal medicine is not based on conventional Western concepts. It uses a variety of herbs in different combinations in an attempt to “balance” the body. Some practitioners claim herbs have the power to prevent and treat a variety of types of cancer.

Well, my experience would say that does not include Pancreatic Cancer. Steve Jobs had a liver transplant after living with the disease for 4 years. I guess he was luckier, or richer, than my husband. This is an absolutely debilitating devastating condition for everyone involved. Especially for the one who suffered with his brain intact.

Can you believe he gave a speech at a National Convention 2 weeks before his death and conducted a Board of Directors Meeting just 2 days before?

Stretch marks are a very common skin blemish affecting a huge number of people, both men and women. Women are the most susceptible to this form of scarring as pregnancy is the number one cause of stretch marks, and for generations both women and men have been searching for a way to get rid of stretch marks.

So are you noticing stretch marks for the first time? Or have you been putting up with those ugly silver lines for some time now? Either way, there is bound to be just one question on your mind - how do you get rid of stretch marks? Unfortunately, for most people there is no definitive answer to the question of how to get rid of stretch marks. Despite what you may read or hear, for most people the sad truth is you cannot get rid of stretch marks completely. The good news is you can certainly reduce their appearance drastically, often to the point where they are barely noticeable.

Stretch marks, or Striae Distensae as they are known in the dermatology world, are cause by rapid stretching of the skin, which occurs too quickly for the collagen in the skin to repair itself properly. This rapid stretching causes the tiny fibers in the skin to tear, leaving behind a purple indented scar that is a much different texture to the surrounding skin. This scar will eventually fade into the streaky silver lines we are all so familiar with. The stretching is usually caused by fluctuations in weight or body shape, which is why the most common sufferers of stretch marks are pregnant women or those undergoing body changes such as losing or gaining a large amount of weight.

Due to the nature of this sort of scarring, solutions like laser surgery and other surgical solutions are rarely successful, despite the claims to the contrary. This is because these methods treat the outer layer of skin, and not the deeper layers where the collagen resides. In addition to this, these methods are expensive, painful, and can even cause worse scarring than you might have had before. Sometimes these methods can be successful for those with very small areas of scarring and when the scars are very fresh, and this demographic unfortunately excludes most sufferers looking for solutions on how to get rid of stretch marks.

With this in mind, the only real way to reduce the appearance of stretch mark scarring is to help the skin repair itself, by boosting the production of collagen. The best way to boost collagen production is through an effective topical treatment. If you are suspicious at this point, you have every right to be, as the cosmetics industry has a checkered past in dealing with stretch marks (mainly due to marketing ineffective moisturizers as stretch mark cures) but to their credit due to a surge in real research and development in this area, the industry has recently come up with some very effective products for helping repair stretch marks.

Products containing collagen or elastin can help boost the collagen levels in your skin, as can natural ingredients squaline oil and aloe vera. Treatments containing Vitamins E, A and D3 can also help boost collagen and reduce the appearance of scarring. There is also much talk circulating and some very convincing research being done on emu oil, so this is another ingredient you may see turning up in stretch mark products in the near future.

So when looking to get rid of stretch marks, look out for products containing the above ingredients.

Male pattern hair loss is the most common hair loss pattern in the world. It occurs both in males and females, though females rarely undergo the more brutal and humiliating final phases of MPH. Usually, women only suffer from receding hairlines and generalized thinning.

Men, on the other hand, are mostly subjected to a saddening experience where the thinnest hairs fall off in the very end.

Pattern Thinning

As you may already know, hair loss is actually a complex process. First, the body will not allow every hair to fall at the same time. Accelerated, generalized hair loss is only possible when a person is ill, or is undergoing any treatment that involves radiation.

Pattern thinning is actually a cumulative process of hair loss. The death of the hair cells occur in measured waves. Usually, the front of the hairline suffers first. When the process of eroding the hairline is complete, only the wreath or fringe hairs remain.

Androgenic Alopecia

Androgenic alopecia is one type of pattern thinning that affects a large segment of the population. While figures vary from country to country it is estimated that in the United States, more than 95% of all balding men are affected by AN.

Men who really have the genetic predisposition to develop androgenic alopecia will notice that as they go through their twenties, their hairline will already begin to suffer. Characteristically, the hairline will begin to ‘creep’ backward, as hair falls successively from the front.

Some men on the other hand, would begin to lose their hair from the very top portion of the skull, slowly spreading outward.

What You should Do?

If you’re already seeing signs of androgenic alopecia on your scalp, the very first thing that we recommend that you do is to consult with your doctor. Looking into guides and books would be useless if you don’t know what you’re up against and to what extent.

Your doctor would examine your scalp for any signs of diseases and would study the current pattern of balding. Once he has established these parameters, he would probably give you a prescription. If all medical science fails, perhaps it’s time that you consult with a hair replacement specialist.

2 Types of Hair Replacement Specialists

There are 2 main kinds of hair replacement specialists. The first kind is also a kind of doctor that specializes in methods that aim to bring back hair production on your scalp. The second type doesn’t have training in medicine but can still help you.

The second type of hair replacement specialist is the wig maker. The wig maker specializes in measuring your hair, your level of baldness and what kind of wig would be best for you.

Propecia and Minoxidil

The 2 aforementioned drugs are the most popular with men and women who are suffering from balding. Minoxidil especially, has been gaining ground since the nineties. Do these products work? It depends on the patients themselves. The company that first distributed Minoxidil claims that progress with hair re-growth will come within a few months. Propecia on the other hand, has been marketed to counter balding in steroid users.