Children's Hospital gets $ 10 million for obesity program of booze ...-Philadelphia Inquirer

When City Council was considering a soda tax last spring, doctors testified from the children's Hospital of Philadelphia about the dangers of sugar-sweetened drinks. On Wednesday, the Hospital announced that it is his program of obesity with the help of $ 10 million of the very industry that would extend it produces.

The money can be as much as the number of overweight kids that children healthy weight programme will in the next three years triple. But critics said that it undermines the hospital's independent voice.

"There is no question that the children's Hospital good will do with the money," said Kelly Brownell, Director of the Rudd Center for food policy and obesity at Yale University. "The question is, at what cost?"

The three-year grant is the inaugural gift of the Foundation for a healthy America, a nonprofit created by the American Beverage Association.

The industry first made the offer last spring, when members of the Municipal Council Mayor Nutter's proposed 2 cent tax on every ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages were debating sold in the city. The tax was projected to bring in $ 20 million for measures for the prevention of obesity and more money for the General Fund. The idea fizzled in may without going to a vote.

Children's CEO Steven Altschuler said the agreement was fully vetted and imposes no restrictions on research.

"We can study soda," he said. "We can study what we want."

The healthy weight programme, which had an annual budget of $ 440,000, will double its staff of 10 and can move to a larger space, spokesman for the children of George Bochanski said.

The number of children who treats each year, approximately 225, can triple. Outreach and education through children's Hospital of the vast network of Pediatricians could grow more than 10 times, Bochanski said.

Altschuler said that he had started meeting with health insurers in the region. They often do not cover obesity treatment, unless it is part of the care for diabetes or any other disease. He hopes that the research of the program helps change that. "To tackle Some of these very big issues of health, you are not alone," Altschuler said. "You need the help of the industry."

Altschuler pointed to children from 13 years of partnership with State Farm Insurance to study teen driving and improve safety. Critics say that there is more at stake in this deal.

"[Children] Would take money from Philip Morris to do work on tobacco control?" Brownell said. "It is absurd. And the fact that they have convinced themselves that this is acceptable is the most startling piece of this. "

Nancy Huehnergarth, Director of the New York State healthy eating and physical activity Alliance, email Altschuler on Wednesday, asked him to return the "tainted, special-interest money."

Ten million dollars is considerably, said Gary Foster, Director of the Center for obesity research and education at the University of the temple, who is also research money of the beverage industry has accepted. Its center was one of the many contracted by Coca-Cola to study the impact of fortified diet soda on weight loss and receiving approximately $ 500,000, he said. The results are now written. On the children's grant, he said, "I think there's inherent conflicts in accept that much money from an industry that is strong in the obesity epidemic is involved."

Several researchers said they would look at how the hospital succeeded grant: does the program access to expand with care and legitimate research produce? And how will the hospital respond if her information about her benefactor negative thinking?

Larry Ceisler, spokesman for the coalition of bottlers, Teamsters and others who opposed the tax, said the grant fit with industry long history of philanthropy.

Nutter has said that he will not the soda tax again this year. But similar measures be considered in other States, including Texas, Utah and California.

And of the city fight continues, under the leadership of Commissioner Donald f. Schwarz, who is a pediatrician in children before he was the city in 2008. Schwarz would only say that he trusted his former colleagues.

He told City Council last year that Philadelphians about 60 million litres of sugar-sweetened beverages in one year – almost half a litre per inhabitant per day drinking. He pointed to the effectiveness of taxes on cigarettes in reducing use.

The city maintains a website on sugary drinks at foodfitphilly.org and a television ad, in which the stimulus money is running. In the vending machines on City Hall, water, diet soft drinks and fruit juices dominate the selections and 20-ounce bottles of soda have been replaced by 12-ounce cans. Nutter said through spokesman Mark McDonald on Wednesday that he had great respect for the researchers and doctors, on children. "I'm sure the fact that the money of the beverage industry will raise some eyebrows," he said. "But in the end, CHOP will control of the research and independent study will happen." Contact staff writer Chelsea Conaboy at 215-854-4,802 or cconaboy@phillynews.com.

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Dog walkers to get more Exercise time

If you are wondering about getting a pet dog, here is another reason to do it, and the journal of physical activity. health research shows that dog owners are 34% more likely than they need in the exercise of its sovereign rights to the owners.

For information about using the 2005 Michigan behavioral risk factor Survey, researchers keep track of the 5,900 people, 2,170, owned by dogs and found that dog owners who took their pets (defined as at least 10 minutes long) to use the regular walks in the middle of tottumukset60% of the minimum requirements are met the Federal exercise of moderate or severe. Nearly half of the dog walkers for 30 minutes per day spent at least five days a week. Among the third used the only dogs in the air that regularly.

What is more, dog walkers received more exercise walking the dog in the rest of the public — — compared with people without dogs. They participated in physical activity, such as dancing, gardening, and playing sports, free time and received on average 30 minutes more to use per week. "Of course, you expect the dog walkers to walk more, but we found the people who walked their dog was also a moderate and vigorous physical activity, in General, the higher the" Mathew Reeves, study author and Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan State, said in a press-epidemiology.

(: Msnbc.com more why you might not want to Snuggle with your own Tank McNamara bed)

The results of previous research findings support that benefits the health of the dogs were found in the rights of ownership. The New York Times well blog, which is rounded up to the recent observations post Tara Parker-Pope reported this week:

From the University of Missouri study last year showed that the use of dogs to the obtaining of better walking companions than humans. 12-week investigation, the older adults assisted by a 54-year-old living at the home of some of the selected friend, or the spouse of the walk, while others took a companion on the bus every day to the local animal shelter, where they were to walk the dog.

-Dog walkers showed a surprise to researchers in a much greater improvement of the fitness centre. Walking speed among dog walkers increased by 28%, only 4% of the items are distributed evenly among all the human walkers.

Dr. Johnson, lead author, said the investigation, that the human walkers often complained about the heat and spoke to each other, but that ran out of people, who were paired with the dogs they are excuses not to do.

Yet as the Michigan study, not everyone who owned the dogs walked by and even many dog walkers do well ramp activities. Although two-thirds of the dog owners walked their dog walkers, around half of the walk is not long enough or often enough to provide for a period of not less than 150 minutes per week of physical activity for at least a moderate Walking — a recommendation. Some people do not walk the dogs at all, mostly because the dogs ran free on the outside of their own way.

The researchers also found that younger people or better educated more likely to walk to their dogs as they are older than 65 or less than a college degree. People walked more often than younger dogs old and big dogs (or 45 lbs.) for longer than the smaller.

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Speakers at the Forum to discuss condoms in schools of Rochester - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Many of the speakers at the Forum of health of the Rochester School Board on the night of Wednesday a call for availability of condoms in secondary schools as part of the education of sexuality for preventing diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

But others were equally adamant that not having sex was the only safe options for adolescents.

"I know that we have a serious problem in our community with diseases of sexually transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS," said Cynthia Elliott, President of the community and the Intergovernmental Relations Committee which organized the Forum at the headquarters of the district. "Something has to be made." It necessarily is the school district? I do not know. "He has to tell me."

Conference room, which was held about 150 people, was full. Many of the approximately 40 speakers were received with applause or "Amen".

Jose Cruz, President of the development policy and the revision Committee, said that his group will study the comments. "We really want to hear what the community." We will all like? No. "But us to solve their problems and make the best possible decision".

Cruz said that he did not know whether it was possible to make changes before the end of the academic year.

The Forum was held after a meeting in January, in which the School Board heard presentations that expressed concern about cases of HIV among young people and the rates of sexually active adolescents.

Many of these ? of statistics especially that 35 of 78 cases of HIV reported in Monroe County in 2010 were among people under 25 ? are repeated as the Forum began with statements by the leaders of the communities of faith and health.

Director of health of the County Dr. Andrew Doniger gave data on the sexual behaviour of adolescents, including that 61 percent of adolescents who reported having sex using a condom in their last encounter.

"Another way to look at is not 39 per cent." "It is risky to 39 per cent".

Sheila Driscoll, director of Metro Council for the potential of adolescents, reiterated the call for the Organization of health centers in schools serving grades 7 to 12, allowing qualified community agencies to teach about sexuality and have condoms available to students sexually active.

The Reverend George Nicholas, pastor at Grace United Methodist Church, said that the parents are struggling with how to talk to their children about sex, and the emotional and spiritual aspects of sexuality are often lost. "Instead of saying"Do it", we must be open to having a conversation."

Many adolescents said that their peers will continue to have sex and that availability of condoms at school would give a trusted place to go.

TiAnna Manon, game of peek-a-boo of student in the school without walls, compared the problem with regard to the child. "Put your hands over your eyes does not mean that something has gone far."

Jacob Spezio, a leading youth senior action for front of best Community Action Center, said, "there are lot of knowledge in this room." "If we can take advantage of a fraction of this knowledge to make a positive change, we will be in the clear."

There were calls for the education of sexuality including emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of sexuality. Others said that condoms give a false sense of security and that adolescents should be practicing abstinence.

Dr. Barbara Fredericks, a retired physician, said the condoms to deny the need to learn sexual self-control. He said that early sexual activity may have negative effects on the formation of long-lasting relationships.

Kirsten Smith of place of Hope pregnancy Resource Center said that adolescents should focus on the hopeful future. "As adults, we have to stop having children, 'just go to do it anyway'."

Mary Burrows, who presented himself as a mother and a Christian, said she was disturbed by the statistics about teen sexuality. He supports abstinence, but said that it is not always the reality.

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The bipolar Blues - the guardian

I was before recently reminded it that people with mental illness are often vilified. As a result, people with mental illness are not only the disease but they are suffering also because of the way that society is isolated and they judge. A particularly debilitating mental illness, I am very familiar with is bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. This is a mood, affecting about one in every 100 adults. For those people, Störungen-to severe mood- either high or strong deprimiert-- normal functioning much more difficult.

This video offers a musical insight into bipolar disorder. There are two people: Professor Nicholas Craddock, at the University discover Cardiff School of medicine, of trying the underlying genetic factors that cause that this condition and Neil "Twink" tinning, photographer for the jam, talks about life with bipolar disorder during twelve bar Blues on his guitar playing:

Visit the WellcomeTrust YouTube channel.

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H/T: Richard grant, which the video first found.

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Calorie counts on menus not meant to solve America's obesity crisis-Los Angeles Times

Calorie counts on chain restaurant menus were created to help health-conscious consumers — you know, the type who cares already about eating right — more to make informed choices when eating out.

The information is not intended or realistic, is expected to save America from the clutches of a vegetated obesity epidemic.

So recent studies showing that nutrition labels have minimal impact on certain population groups must be greeted with a gaping yawn. The demographics studied — namely low-income children and adults — historically enjoy eating habits that have proven particularly resistance to change.

In fact, the only surprising thing about such studies that everyone would find their results surprising.

Take the study led by Brian Elbel, Assistant professor of medicine and health policy at New York University School of Medicine, and published last month in the International Journal of obesity. Elbel examined the purchases of 349 customers — children age 17 and younger, usually accompanied by their parents — frequenting Burger King, Wendy 's, McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in poor neighborhoods in Newark, N.J., and New York City. He collected his information is required both before the city calorie counts on menus and after 2008 mandate of the law.

The results: more than half of the adolescents and adults said they noticed the calorie information, but only 9% of adolescents and 16 percent of adults to make choices for their children said that it was important in their purchases, according to a USA Today story.

This modest numbers are about everything that you can expect to see in fast food joints.

If you're going to eat a Big Mac and Super-Size-me fries, or a bucket of Extra-Crispy dark-meat chicken from KFC, either you know all the food — as delicious as it may be — is unhealthy and not care, or you do not want to know. Thus it all out in black and white is going to be a limited impact.

That said, I'm impressed that one of the six adults — and one in 11 adolescents — the influential information found. Because let's face it, people who often fast food restaurants are not generally looking for nutritious food. They're looking for something quick, easy — and inexpensive.

This is particularly important in neighborhoods with fewer resources to eat healthy on a daily basis. The occasional trip to Wendy's is probably a healthy meal in the schema, no matter how informative that calorie counts are not.

Elbel himself noted in the USA Today article that it was "harder to see that an effect on these groups because they also choose based on availability and price of food." He said that he specifically targeted low-income neighborhoods because this demographic at greater risk of obesity, and fast-food chains tend to their restaurant of choice.

But don't expect something as simple as menu calorie counts to have no meaningful influence on such entrenched eating habits reveals more of wishful thinking than realistic prospect.

That does not mean that nutrition labels are not important. Many people, me included, struggling to stay on a healthy eating plan, and eating out could be the biggest foil to a well choreographed strategy.

Even choosing a "healthy" entrée as Applebee's Oriental chicken salad can mean more than half of an average person intake recommended daily calorie intake. In such cases, can dig the diet help a prone dinner choose not just for the taste, but for health. That makes for a more informed, better educated consumer.

And I suspect, empowerment of an educated consumer is what the architects of the health care reform had in mind when they mandated that all chain restaurants with 20 or more locations calorie counts post on menus from the first of this year.

As for making a dent in the rate of obesity, which is a more complex challenge that a more comprehensive approach will take. Elbel says that such a strategy should include questions restaurant owners to reformulate their menus, and there are many who would agree with him.

Personally, I feel that such a recommendation goes too far on the road to a nanny state. Give consumers more choices. Tell them what their choices mean for their health. And above all, healthy choices more available and affordable. Then, out of the way.

At the end of the day is good nutrition a personal decision. And Americans should be free to make choices their however they see fit. If it's a juicy, fattening, artery-clogging Whopper with cheese, so it — or dinner is obesity, or splurging on a rare treat. That is what freedom is all about.

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Psychologists search authority psychotropic medications - Washington Post prescribe

Each year, more than a quarter of the U.S. adult a problem have diagnosable mental health - still less than half of all kinds of depression, bipolar disorder - of treatment for it. The numbers are similar for children.

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Many care get, get it doctor, rather than a mental health by their primary care professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist. This is partly by choice: people would rather speak to someone they know and trust of medical problems, and for many, it is still a stigma see one "decrease".

But part of the reason people consult with their primary care doctors or go without worry is that it hard, can be get experts to an appointment with a mental health. Psychiatrist, are particularly scarce, especially in rural areas.

A recent survey for the Tennessee psychological Association, for example, found that the average waiting time was to see a psychiatrist for an appointment not dringenden 54 days for patients with private health insurance and 90 days for the TennCare, the State Medicaid program, says Lance Laurence, Director of Professional Affairs for the TPA.

"It is a huge problem," says Katherine Nordal, executive Director for professional practice at the American Psychological Association, a trade group for psychologists.

Psychologists say they have a solution to solve the problems of access: give them more authority to prescribe psychotropic medications. You can already in New Mexico and Louisiana, as well as in all branches of the military and the Indian health service require. Half a dozen other States to consider measures that more psychologists prescription authority would be.

Some of these States have considered and rejected such legislation above, but Nordal says her group is "cautiously optimistic", the it may in some States this year successful.

Psychiatrists are doctors with a specialization in Psychiatry; Psychologists have a doctoral degree, and their training includes coursework in the diagnosis and management of mental illness. Any physician may prescribe psychotropic drugs from dermatologists, surgeons, but before psychologists can prescribe medication - in the respective jurisdictions that allow - they need to complete work corresponds to an additional master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology, says Nordal. With the exception of the psychiatrist says they no medical professional as well as medication for mental illness as a prescription is psychologists versed in.

In addition, psychologists provide other types of treatment, such as talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, in contrast to the psychiatrist, which prescribe often only medication; a national survey found that only 10.8% speak offer for all of their patients by psychiatrists. "We have a larger Toolkit than many others also, which require," says Nordal.

Health insurance usually covers prescription drugs for the treatment of mental illness, but coverage for therapy sessions with a provider of mental health is less routine. This has led to an over-reliance on drug therapy in the last few years, are all. Experts say that this imbalance which should mental change health parity Act, entry into force of the last year; Requires use it for mental health, at least so generously offered as benefits for medical and surgical care. Also the type of treatment is somewhat moved, however, many patients will need even drug therapy.

Physician groups as the American Medical Association, and some patients stakeholders, however, are cool to the idea of letting psychologists to prescribe drugs. "These are the hard drugs with severe side effects," says Mike Fitzpatrick, executive Director of the National Alliance on mental problems, a consumer lobby organization. "We strongly believe that should be treated by a person with medical training [prescription]."

The problem will be expected to expected to win right more acute health insurance with about 32 million people to the health overhaul. The Association of American medical colleges projected a shortage of 45,000 family doctors alone up to 2020.

Experts agree that better integration solutions are between primary care and mental health care. This makes sense, in part because for more than a third of the patients with mental health problems, the only practitioner, which you see a primary care provider. In addition, people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma are significantly more common to mental health problems as you have without chronic disease. People with serious mental illness, the in fact 25 years earlier, on average, than the rest of the population.

The health overhaul, with its emphasis on medical homes and accountable care organizations that are responsible for the management of patients health, rather than only the medical services, offers promising models for integration, experts agree.

Provider in addition to family doctors, in the same Office work mental health in clinical psychologist Benjamin Miller primary care "Dream World". Miller is an Assistant Professor of family medicine at the University of Colorado School of medicine in Denver. His job is, mental health in the Department of family medicine clinical, education and research functions to integrate.

"There are a number of psychological needs, which is seen in primary care," he says. "It from the other conditions can tease you, that a person is facing."

This column is created through a collaboration between the post and Kaiser Health News. KHN, an editorially independent news service is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan health care policy organization, which not connected is with Kaiser Permanente.

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Traditional and modern medicine cross ways of helping patients-new media America

Yasmin Bhadha could have taken the diagnosis of stage-four breast cancer as her death sentence.

After all, this isn’t her first go-round with the disease. Seven years ago, Bhadha of La Crescenta, Calif., battled breast cancer, which went into remission. But cancer reemerged in 2009, this time manifesting in her bones.

“I feel very happy, that luckily it's not my children, it's not my grandchildren, it's not my husband, it's me,” said Bhadha, 63, a teacher originally from India. “I can take it. I'm strong, I'm strong like a pillar.”

Bhadha said she's feeling stronger, despite her diagnosis. She supplemented traditional chemotherapy with Reiki, the ancient Japanese energy therapy, which claims to promote healing for various of ailments. Thanks to both, she said, her cancer markers are declining drastically.

Patients like Bhadha, physicians and even pharmacists around the nation are throwing out a one-size-fits-all approach to medicine and incorporating alternative therapies in their lives, practices and businesses. Yet, while some therapies, such as acupuncture, are well accepted, others, such as many herbal remedies have proved ineffective.

This new model is gaining significant ground in Los Angeles, where a crop of practices and medical centers have sprouted across the region offering tailor-made healthcare to patients, such as at the two-year-old Beneveda Medical Group in Beverly Hills.

“More Than Blending East and West”

Clients at Beneveda indulge in salt therapy, thermography, chiropractic treatments and even hypnosis, alongside conventional modalities found at any doctor's office.

The clinic’s integrative medical practice aims to offer an experience is “more than just blending East and West,” stated Beneveda founder Thom E. Lobe, MD. “It's really taking a number of modalities and disciplines that exist within modern 21st century healthcare practices and looking at which of those things is most effective.”

For Lobe, starting an integrative medicine practice was personal. Among his earliest memories is having been hospitalized as a child. Being physically confined so severely, he would cry himself to sleep.

“I realized something's wrong here,” he said. “I said, ‘I'm going to grow up and make a difference in how people are treated.’”

A surgeon, Lobe has traveled the world delving into traditional medicinal practices. He has earned degrees in acupuncture and hypnosis, while serving as an advisor to the Institute for the Study of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He noted that the Beneveda group's specialty lies in the power to help patients interpret signals their body sends. To do so, they use noninvasive methods, such as thermographic body scanning, a test complimentary to mammograms that Lobe said is 99 percent accurate in detecting breast cancer in women from ages 30 to 55.

Many seek Lobe’s help as a last resort, after consultations with practitioners of conventional Western medicine. One is John Stack. Before visiting the Benveneda group, he saw many doctors who weren't able to figure out why he had developed a low platelet count since his home burned down in the 2009 Santa Barbara wildfires.

Stack, 87, and his wife Patty Kelly, 77, had spent thousands of dollars trying to get to the bottom of his ailment. For instance, at a Nevada medical clinic he paid $50,000 for an alternative chemotherapy regime. It seemed to help, but with a catch: John didn't actually have cancer.

Referred to Beneveda by another physician, Stack received a hands-on exam, CAT scan and one of Beneveda's energy tests, which suggested Lyme disease as the culprit, a possible consequence of severe stress and a weakened immune system from the fire. Weekly platelet transfusions and an immune-boosting herbal supplement, elevated Stack's platelet count from 5,000 to 25,000 in a few weeks.

Conventional Medicine Broken

Lobe said he isn’t surprised that some patients come to him out of desperation. He believes conventional medicine is more or less broken. He believes too few doctors in the United States “take the time to figure out what's wrong and how to change your life.”

Sharing Lobe’s view is Barry Perzow, who founded the Pharmaca chain of integrative pharmacies based in Boulder, Colo. At the stores, customers can pick up prescriptions and browse through numerous shelves of Chinese, homeopathic and other medications alternatives, or arrange to see a massage therapist, licensed chiropractor or acupuncturist at the store's Integrative Medical Clinic.

After being in the organic supermarket business, Perzow sought to open Pharmaca after realizing that conventional pharmacies hadn't changed in 50 years and have been slow to address the needs of an aging population. The first store opened in 2000, and there now are 23 in five states.

Perzow also recently formed the Integrative Health Advisory Board to help educate consumers, healthcare professionals and the media on the safe and effective use of integrative medicine, which he said is essential to the future of medicine.

A $33.9 Billion Industry

Meanwhile, the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) industry yields major profits and continues to grow.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, Americans spent $33.9 billion on CAM over the previous 12 months. In 2009, sales of herbal dietary supplements in the United States reached slightly more than $5 billion, according to a report published by HerbalGram, the quarterly journal of the American Botanical Council.

Still, there are detractors. A $2.5 billion study by the federal National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2009, found a majority of alternative and herbal health remedies don't actually work.

Some call CAM “pseudoscience” and say its lack of regulation and research haven't been able to prove its effectiveness. News reports [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31190909/] show customers CAM customers are often taken advantage of, losing a lot of money in the process.

Emperor's College in Santa Monica, California’s oldest Oriental medicine school is developing healers steeped in the desire to humanize medicine, said the school’s dean, Jacques MoraMarco.

“In the Oriental medical approach, there's no separation of mind and body, so if somebody comes to you, the number one thing you have to have is the attribute of compassion. If you don't have compassion, you're in the wrong field of care,”

The college recently connected with the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center in Burbank, where cancer patients receive acupuncture to alleviate undesirable side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

Emperor's CEO Yun Kim observed, “There are things that we can do in Eastern medicine to strengthen [patients’] terrain, strengthen the function of the organs, so that people don't have to be on pills for the rest of their lives.”

In La Crescenta, Yasmin Bhadha finishes work early on Friday afternoons and goes to her group chemotherapy appointments. But she contends the weekly reminder that cancer cells are damaging her bones doesn't affect her life.

“I think I'm going for a sauna,” she says. “I go there and relax and put my legs up.”

While the integration of alternative therapies into doctor's offices across the country faces challenges, Bhada hasn't felt as good as she does now for a long time. She is convinced her fellow chemotherapy participants could benefit from her brand of gusto.

“Say that it's going away and just feel it inside you,” she says. “Close your eyes and feel it and let the [cancer] cells fall out.”

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