Dear Pharmacist,

Two people in my neighborhood have pancreatic cancer, and my favorite actor Patrick Swayze died of it.  What is going on?  What do you know about this and how can we protect ourself? 

--E.D. New York City

For years I’ve been saying that many medical procedures are far less "proven" and far more dangerous than most people think. And now we can add another one to the list — one so commonly used, in fact, that its very commonness may be its biggest problem. 

I’m talking about medical imaging procedures, which doctors annually prescribe to about four million people under the age of 65.

I've been speaking out for years on the wrong-headed mantra of early diagnosis for cancer.

Some so-called experts want you to believe it saves lives. But I've seen it ruin more lives than I care to think about. Finally, the science is starting to back me up on this one.

Dear Pharmacist,

I really need your help because I am now up to 14 medications for the following problems:  High cholesterol, heart disease, pre-diabetes, cataracts, arrhythmias, allergies, memory problems and enlarged prostate (BPH).  The medications make me sick and sleepy.  The reason I am writing to you is because you always have a fresh perspective.  Can you help me get off these medications?  

-- C.P.  Kansas City, Kansas

A review of eleven long-term epidemiologic studies shows that using a cell phone for ten years doubles the risk of diagnosis with a brain tumor (glioma, acoustic neuroma) on the same side of head used for the cell phone

Formaldehyde has been used for decades to embalm dead bodies for open casket burials. It is a preservation fluid that replaces the blood, it is a recognized cancer causing agent (carcinogen) by the National Cancer Institute, and oh, by the way, it is in most of the products you buy and use around your home, even the materials your home was built with!

Mainstream medicine regularly ignores iodine. You’ll probably only hear about it if you have thyroid problems. But iodine is an essential mineral. It’s responsible for the production of every hormone in your body, not just the thyroid.

Iodine has anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, anti-viral, and anti-cancer properties. Without it, you are at risk for cancer of the breast, prostate, ovaries, thyroid, and uterus.

Dear Pharmacist,

I have painful arthritis (psoriatic) and I heard that my medicine can cause cancer on the news.  I am afraid of it being recalled because I need my Enbrel.

--D.T. Seattle, Washington

The brilliant sunshine streaming through my window reminds me that we can now spend more time outdoors. Just in time, too. After the gray winter doldrums, especially in northern latitudes, say above the axis between Boston and northern California, there is a silent, invisible epidemic: vitamin D deficiency. This is a major component of widespread osteoporosis and resultant hip and wrist fractures that orthopaedists are called upon to treat.

Dear Pharmacist,

My father and brother both died of prostate cancer.  I am still fine, but at age 45, I want to do everything I can now to avoid prostate cancer. Truthfully, I am terrified.  I’m a faithful reader, and I value your opinion. Can you give me more information? 

--M.M. Phoenix, Arizona