Breast cancer, contrary to popular belief, can occur in men. Although male breast cancer is a hundred times less common than with women, it is a dangerous disease. According to the American Cancer Society, 1,910 new cases of breast cancer in men were recorded in 2009. It is estimated that 440 men in the United States will die from the disease this year.

Really? Men Have Breast Cancer?

Although men are not thought of as having breasts, they do have breast tissue that exists in small amounts behind the nipples. As such, men are not immune from the occurrence of breast cancer. It is easier to detect cancer in men because an asymmetrical lump tends to appear. However, the problem is that men tend to ignore symptoms. The signs of male breast cancer are similar to those found in women: enlarged breasts, lumps, discharge, and pain. Men who experience or observe these symptoms are encouraged to avail of health insurance options for breast cancer and have themselves checked out.

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One of the key components to making sure that there’s enough money and health care available for all of us living in the United States is plan, plan, plan. If experts were just to estimate what the population will be in a particular year (and much of it has to be some speculation) or if age and gender breakdown weren’t taken into consideration, health care providers would find themselves with a huge demographic portion needing care and with no money available to serve them with. Luckily for all of us, the National Health Care Expenditure Accounts Projections Team (NHCEAPT) is all over this type of things, and they have identified a trend that all of us, from young to old, should be aware of. Here is what we can expect to see through the year 2017 (doesn’t that year just sound so scifi?) and some suggestions on how we can be prepared for it.

Get Ready Medicare: Here Come the Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are little kids rocking out and bopping around to some music on the stereo. A “baby boomer,” a term created by the U.S. Census Bureau, is used to describe anyone born right after World War II, when everyone was so happy to see one another return home safely that all they did was sit around and make babies. The decade is usually considered between the years of 1945-1955. My parents? Proud baby boomers. And soon enough, people like my folks are going to be needing to access public programs like Medicare. According to the folks with the NHCEAPT, the outlook for national spending in the next eight years calls for steady growth. Spending growth is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, similar to its rate in 2006. Average annual growth over the projection period is expected to be 6.7 percent.

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Insurance carriers are always having to shell out the money-that’s just a part of what they do. When people need to draw on their insurance plans to cover things that happen, insurance companies open their pockets to make it happen. 2008 broke into the top numbers in terms of expenses for insurance companies. Hitting the #3 slot happened due to multiple catastrophes around the world in this past year, causing millions to turn to their insurance companies in the wake of a disaster.

Cyclones, Earthquakes and Hurricanes: Oh, My!

If you watch the news, you know that this hasn’t been an easy year for people around the world. There was the devastating earthquake in China, and the horrendous cyclone in Myanmar, and the list goes on. In fact, if you look up “2008 natural disasters” and visit a few different web pages, you might be surprised at how many events human beings endured around the world this past year. Flooding, tropical storms, landslides, typhoons and in so many different countries. All of these events contributed to making 2008 the 3rd most expensive year for insurers. When people lose everything, it’s insurance companies who take the hit.

Catastrophes and Insurance by the Numbers

Although there were less loss-producing events around the world this past year (dropping 210 from 2007), insured losses in 2008 were 50% higher than the previous year, coming in at $45 billion, as overall losses stood at $200 billion, when they had only been $85 billion in 2007. This past year, over 220,000 people were killed as the result of a natural disaster.

In looking at these horrible events individually, it was the United States who got hit the hardest in terms of losses. Hurricane Ike blasted through the nation like the nasty storm that it was, leaving insurers to clean up the mess to the tune of $15 billion. Following a close second was the terrible Hurricane Gustav, who caused overall losses of $10 billion and and insured loss of $5 billion.

Can This Insurance Trend Be Reversed?

This is a hard question to ponder, because when you’re dealing with things like natural disaster, the solution is quite complex. Such increases in the number of natural disasters and occurrences is caused by changes in our climate like global warming, rising sea levels and higher temperatures everywhere. This may not be able to be reversed, but we can certainly do things to slow it down or even stop it completely. This would require radical changes around the world, and we’re obviously looking at greater issues here than just insurance costs. Human life and quality of it is much more valuable, and we don’t want to lose either.

In the meantime, look over all of your insurance needs. Having health insurance is the first place to start. If you are looking for more information about how to protect your family, take a look online to help some answers to any questions you might have. If you are renting a home, get renters insurance for all your property within. If you own your home, home insurance is a wonderful investment for your future. Life insurance and everything in between may seem like a waste of money as you sign those checks each month, but in the event of an emergency, you will be so happy you spent your money wisely.

photo credit: eschipul

SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, can sound downright silly to those who have not experienced it. “You mean to say that you get depressed when winter time rolls around and there’s less light? What are you, a vampire?” Sadly (pun intended), those who suffer from SAD are just like the rest of us but they feel the changes of the seasons just as much as a bear hibernating for the winter. What exactly is SAD? According to webmd.com, SAD is “a form of depression that tends to occur as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter.

What Causes SAD?

It is believed that affected persons react adversely to the decreasing amount of light and the colder temperature as autumn and winter progress.” Depression, wanting to sleep all the time and sometimes a craving for starchy foods are symptoms of SAD, and while they may sound mild, imagine dealing with them for the long winter months. SAD isn’t a hopeless battle for those who suffer from it, so get some help in turning your SAD into happiness and joy.

Let There Be Light

One of the most effective treatments for SAD is lighting therapy. Light therapy comes in two forms, bright light treatment and dawn simulation. In bright light treatment, you sit in front of a light box for a specified amount of time (usually in the mornings), and you can actually buy these yourself. Plug one of these boxes in while you’re working in the morning, having breakfast or reading the paper, and enjoy its warmth for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Dawn simulation is just like it sounds: you have a certain amount of light shining on you while you sleep and it increases toward the morning hours. The treatment’s effectiveness varies, but since it’s not always practical for busy people to sit in front of a light box for a long period of time, dawn simulation seems to be the most efficient use of time for people on the go.

photo credit: Flóra

Last year was quite the roller coaster of a year. Even if your personal life was a bit of a snooze-fest, there was enough happening with the rest of the world to keep things interesting. We elected a new President, the country’s finances came crashing down around us, the auto companies took a swim and the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Jaw-dropping things weren’t just occurring in the stock and housing markets-they were happening in medicine and health as well. From ravings about running to BDNF, read on to find out what healthy happenings occurred in this past year.

A Healthy Thyroid Equals a Happy Human

If your thyroid is out of whack, it can throw the rest of your body into a tailspin as well. You may only associate thyroid problems with people who are obese, but people at a healthy weight can have their thyroid act up as well. Some thyroid problems can be treated with medicine, but if you are experiencing thyroid issues stemming from lifestyle stimuli (i.e. pollution, what you are eating, emotional stress…) then you may have some work ahead of you.

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If you’re anything like me, and many other HBO-loving Americans, you have seen a few episodes of “The Sopranos.” Ok, if you’re anything like me you’ve sat down and watched marathons of the show on DVD for weeks at a time, but that’s besides the point. There are a few of the mobster’s mothers who have to be cared for in assisted living and nursing home, and they are not shy about mentioning how much that type of care is costing them to pay for. Even if you’ve never seen a minute of this show and don’t have anyone in your life who needs long term care, it can’t be hard to imagine that it costs an arm and a leg.

Factor in the cost of the room combined with availability of medical services and round-the-clock attention and you can understand why a year’s worth of care in a private room back in 2007 cost $74,806. If you are looking into long term care insurance to help cover these astronomical costs for a member of your family, there are a lot of things to know and consider.

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