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Let's face it.  The Internet has become a wonderful resource to look up symptoms and treatment and other health concerns. But a group of people is taking it too seriously, without making sure of its credibility or accuracy.  Who are they?  Younger, college-educated men and women. A new study says consumers are increasingly turning to forums, video-sharing sites, and peer support groups to gather anecdotal information and advice, which may distract them from more reliable and trustworthy sources, according to newswise.com. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago, I immediately went online the minute it was even suspected I might have it.  Days before my diagnosis, I learned that what was spotted on my mammogram -- calcification -- is 80% of the time completely benign.  It didn't really help me relax all that much, but when it turned out to be malignant instead, I was horribly upset (probably more because of the diagnosis than the informatio...

Came across this recently.  Supposedly, most people fall in love 2.5 times in their life, according to an essay by Doug Coupland. That's true for me.  In my early 20s, it was an ill-conceived affair with an older man and in my late 20s, an older (by 4 years), grumpy dentist (or maybe that came later).  Thirty years later, we're still together. I was always taught that there's only one true love in your life, but, like the stats, I've had two.  (Men believe more in a third love, it's said. ) I sometimes wonder if there's one more (who doesn't when you've been married forever?), but I knew my husband was it, the night I met him. There was just something so right about him.  It may have taken us 10 torturous years to get down the aisle, and another 15 to 20 to get it right, but we'in a good place now, and we even kept it together long enough to conceive a son, 12 years ago, something I could never see happening when we met in the early '80s. ...

Now here's an interesting thought: Internet users are more likely to engage in cancer-preventive behaviors than intermittent users or those who never go online at all. According to newswise.com, a recent study  found that "Older men and women who used the Internet were more likely to participate in screening for colorectal cancer, participate in physical activities, eat healthily, and smoke less, compared with those who did not use the internet." I guess that's not a surprise.  People of a certain age are usually more likely to be hypochondriacs, too! But a large, population-based study of adults 50 and older in England, found that men and women who were consistent Internet users "were twice as likely to participate in colorectal screening than nonusers." Now, before you start thinking, well, what else are they going to do with their time, both men and women who were on the Web consistently were also "50 percent more likely to take part in regula...

I used to think that background checks -- while important -- were a weak deterrent to gun sales and a sad culmination of all the anguished lobbying in Washington after Newtown. But reading in The New York Times today, I was shocked to see how much gun violence they could possibly prevent.  I realize "possibly" is the operative word here. But The Times gave as an example a felon (who would not legally be able to purchase a gun through legitimate means) who advertised for one on armslist.com, and each day, his request grew more and more desperate.  Looking like a crime in need of a weapon. This felon was convicted of  burglary and domestic violence. And now, to hear that Republicans, once again, are caving in to the gun lobby, or at least, saying they will probably not vote for this most miniscule (in the end) legislation, I feel despair and rage. While you can't really connect the Boston Marathon bombings and disasters like Newtown, you can see the connection betwe...

I'm guilty, I admit it. When I get a cold and my chest hurts from coughing, I rush to the computer and know, just know, that I'm having a heart attack.  When I was a kid, I thought every stomachache was the onset of appendicitis.  And I won't tell you how I thought I was having a baby in 5th grade. But now there's a new "illness," and it's called cyberchondria.  It's a heightened awareness of symptoms and illness, thanks to the availability (and gullibility) of the Internet and us.  I definitely think I have it. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33816_162-57566001/do-you-have-cyberchondria/