Besides preventing birth defects in the brain and spine and other congenital abnormalities, the folic acid found in prenatal multivitamins has now been shown to prevent cancer in children whose mothers take the vitamins during pregnancy.

A new Canadian study, appearing online in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, estimates prenatal multivitamin supplements can save hundreds of children each year in Canada -- where only 40 to 50 percent of women take prenatal vitamins -- from developing leukemia, brain tumors, or neuroblastoma. And the vitamins may prevent 900 cases of pediatric leukemia and more than 300 brain tumor cases annually in the United States.

It's not clear which vitamins or minerals, and in what amounts, could be protecting babies from cancer, but it's possible folic acid -- critical for cellular function -- may be acting alone.

One thing is certain, says lead investigator Dr. Gideon Koren -- this is one inexpensive way to prevent cancer.

Canadian researcher Evangelos Michelakis, associate professor of medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, has stumbled upon something quite remarkable -- a potentially new anti-cancer agent called dichloroacetate, or DCA.

DCA is nothing new -- it's long been used for treatment of rare metabolic disorders -- but using it to fight cancer puts an entirely new spin on the potential of this drug.

"This is one of the most exciting results I've ever had," Michelakis said. "But I can't be overenthusiastic until it works on a human."

Michelakis and his colleagues have successfully used DCA to shrink human lung, breast, and brain tumors in both lab rats and test tubes. And while this type of research may not ordinarily generate a lot of excitement, this specific study is creating a buzz because DCA has been safely used in humans for decades, without adverse side effects.

"One of the big concerns about drugs is that they can harm people but we already know this drug is safe," Michelakis says. "It doesn't even affect normal cells."

One of the fundamental premises of cancer biology is that mitochondria -- the energy producing units of cells -- are permanently damaged by cancer. What DCA does is revive the mitochondrial function, encouraging the death of cancer cells.

The overwhelming hope is that DCA will move right to human testing. But the overwhelming fear is that it will not -- because of economic reasons. There is no longer a patent on DCA so it is not owned by any one company. With little chance of one group making a large profit, there may be no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in research.

Sadly, this drug -- that appears to work remarkably well -- may never benefit cancer patients. All because no one stands to make billions of dollars from it.

Canadian researchers have made an unexpected discovery in a molecule that appears to drastically boost the ability of standard drugs to kill breast cancer cells. Currently, the discovery has been confined to the lab -- but researchers hope the power of this molecule, the ANK peptide, can one day be used to counter drug resistance for many women with breast cancer.

Scientists from Queen's University say the ANK peptide, not a drug by itself, gives drugs like taxol and nocodazole more than triple the ability to kill breast cancer cells. One scientist says the process of enhancing drug effectiveness is much like adding flavor to coffee to make it taste better.

This is exciting news, but the results -- published Monday in the journal Cancer Research -- only apply to lab experiments at this point. Researchers must now proceed with testing the peptide-drug combination in lab mice. If successful, they will move on to human testing. The whole process could take years. But early results are so promising that application for a U.S. patent on the peptide has already been made.

According the medical experts, breast cancer patients can become resistant to some drugs depending on duration of treatment, dose of medication, and genetic makeup.

"This peptide would be able to give them another chance," said a researcher from this study. "For those who respond reasonably well, they will do even better; for those who don't respond to this drug treatment ... we greatly hope this will make the current drug more useful by extending its impact to a wider range of people, particularly those with a resistance problem."

It's been reported that procrastination is on the rise. Not only that, but it makes people poorer, fatter, and unhappier too.

It took 10 years of research when it was projected to take only five years -- procrastination at its best -- to come to this conclusion. And now Canadian industrial psychologist and University of Calgary professor Piers Steel is talking about his giant 30-page study that appears in this month's Psychological Bulletin.

Something must be done about this problem, says Steel, who reveals 26 percent of the American public consider themselves chronic procrastinators. This is up from five percent in 1978 and is likely due to the tempting diversions facing us in this day and age -- TVs, cell phones, video games, iPods, the Internet, and Blackberries.

It's no surprise with such temptations that a quarter of Americans say they procrastinate. When it comes to the sexes, men are worse than women -- about 54 out of 100 chronic procrastinators are men -- and the young are more like to procrastinate than the old. Three out of four college students consider themselves procrastinators. And it seems perfectionists procrastinate less because they don't like to delay.

Steel says procrastination wastes time. And it's costly too.

"The U.S. gross national product would probably rise by $50 billion if the icon and sound that notifies people of new e-mail suddenly disappear," he said.

Steel found a delay in filing taxes on average costs a person $400 a year. Last-minute Christmas shopping with credit cards was five times higher in 1999 than in 1991. Clearly, procrastination is expensive.

Procrastination also has physical and emotional costs. Procrastinators tend to be less healthy, less wealthy, and less happy. They are also harder to heal of their problems than alcoholics.

Steel, who plans to one day compare the procrastination practices in various countries and cultures, says his field has benefits. The more he knows about the problem, the less he indulges in delay tactics. He did, however, acknowledge that his study was completed five years late. But what he likes about this study is this -- "If you take a day off from it, you can always say it's field research."

Canadian and international researchers suspect adding a high-dose vitamin D pill to chemotherapy might improve treatment for advanced prostate cancer. So they are recruiting 1,000 men for a two-year clinical trial in order to investigate their suspicions. Currently, there is little to offer patients who no longer respond to to standard treatment.

The trial will test the pill calcitriol -- a biologically active form of vitamin D and naturally occurring hormone -- to see how it works in combination with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. Precautions will be taken to minimize side effects that can occur with high-dose supplements.

The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that 20,700 men in Canada will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. About 4,200 of these men are expected to die from the disease.

When World Tag Team Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper underwent back surgery for an injury he sustained during the World Wrestling Entertainment tour in Europe last month, the surgeons discovered two small marble-sized areas behind his stomach that gave cause for concern that he might have cancer. After biopsy, a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made. Because the cancer was found early, Piper is optimistic that he will be able to wrestle cancer to the mat to complete defeat.

"It seems like I have been fighting someone, something, someplace, in some manner, my whole life. But this fight, is one I am gonna win! Ever Forward." stated Piper on his blog.

Canadian-born Piper lives in the Portland, Oregon area. If you are a fan who would like to send Piper your support and best wishes, you can write to him at:

Roddy Piper
18645 S.W. Farmington Rd.
PMB 312
Aloha, Oregon
97007
USA

Piper blogs about wrestling, his family, and now surviving cancer at Piper's Pit.

He was an Emmy-winning television writer who helped create the animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show. He contributed satire, wordplay, and puns for the Rocky and His Friends cartoon, later renamed The Bullwinkle Show. He also helped create The Munsters and in 1968, he won an Emmy for his work on the CBS sitcom He & She.

He is Chris Hayward and on November 20 -- at the age of 81 -- he died at his Beverly Hills home. Cancer was the cause.

Hayward was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. At age 17, he moved to Los Angeles where he studied scriptwriting and entered the world of television. His accomplishments include his work on Crusader Rabbit -- the first cartoon show created for television -- as well as Get Smart, My Mother the Car, and Barney Miller.

Hayward is survived by his wife and three children -- Laurel, Victoria, and Tony -- from a previous marriage.

The governments of Canada and the US are both closely involved in the delivery of health care. The main difference between the two is health insurance. In Canada, the federal government is committed to providing funding support. In the US health insurance must be paid for privately or is provided by the person's employer.

There are many uninsured Americans. I was lucky that I had a good insurance plan with my job. After my cancer diagnoses I didn't have to wait very long for appointments and medical procedures.

An article I read states that "American doctors and hospitals are more likely than their Canadian counterparts to purchase new and expensive devices and technologies. An American patient is more likely to be rapidly treated by a specialist with the most up to date equipment. Canadians are more likely to be treated by their GP and cared for over a period of time in the hospital."

Pink Strokes is dedicated to making a difference today for the daughters of tomorrow.

I met Allison Roberts at one of the Young Survival Coalition conferences. I learned of her website called Pink Strokes. Pink Strokes is a non-profit organization that seeks to raise awareness and assist in providing information and support to young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Allison was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2002 at 32 years old. She was delayed diagnoses and was told that she had lumpy breast tissue, that she was too young and that cancer didn't hurt. Allison had been having pain in her breast and eventually noticed a lump under her armpit. She did as I did and trusted her doctors when they said it was nothing to worry about.

Allison was diagnosed with a 3cm tumor in the breast and positive lymph nodes. She needed chemotherapy and radiation for her aggressive cancer.

Allison says "It really became obvious to me that I wanted to do more when my husband signed up to walk in The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, a 60 km. walk through Toronto streets". That next year Allison walked herself with a team called Ali's Alliance of Angels and raised over twelve thousand dollars.

Together they organized their first golf tournament to raise money for the walk called Pink Strokes.

Allison's son Tyler asked his mom, "Mommy is breast cancer over yet"? Allison told him "Someday breast cancer will be over"!

The bikini turns 60 this month and makes news not just for its birthday but also for its new feature -- a built-in alarm to warn wearers to get out of the sun. Not all bikinis will talk -- but those made by Canadian company Solestrom will. Solestrom has created a new bikini that goes on sale next month with a UV meter built into its belt and an alarm that sounds when it's time to seek shade. The meter on the $190 bikini displays a level of UV intensity on a scale from 0 to 20. Three to five is moderate strength, eight to 10 is very high, and anything above 11 is extreme. A person's sensitivity to UV depends mainly on skin type so this scale operates in general terms.

Despite increasing awareness of the sun's dangers, sales remain strong for the bikini. So Solestrom developed this suit to ease some of the worries about the sun's damaging rays. They have already been met with high demand from Australia and South Africa -- where skin cancer rates are highest. The United States -- now in the loop too -- has about 1 million new skin cancer cases each year.

Thanks to a tip from a reader, I have just ordered my free Pink Ribbon 25-cent coin from The Breast Site. The Royal Canadian Mint, in partnership with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, has produced the 2006 Pink Ribbon Coin as a symbol of hope for a future when breast cancer does not take the lives of our loved ones. Thirty million coins have been produced and are only available in Canada, at participating Shopper's Drug Mart stores and through the Royal Canadian Mint -- and now through The Breast Site too. One free coin, the first of it's kind and available since April 2006, is offered to each reader who requests one.

The Breast Site serves as a guide for breast health products, services, and information. Featured on this site are facts and tips and news about breast cancer, breast surgery, breastfeeding, bras, and breast-themed books. What a valuable website with a valuable offer for a valuable coin.

Thanks to Anna for the tip!

As Washington churns ahead with its no smoking policy in public places -- joining many other cities with the same policy -- much of eastern Canada now requires smokers to light up outside as one of North America's most restrictive bans went into effect on Wednesday. Smoking already has been banned from most workplaces across Canada but the ban in Ontario and Quebec now extends to public places in general, including bars, restaurants and schools. The ban also calls on employers to close designated smoking rooms and requires retailers to ask for identification from cigarette buyers if they appear younger than 25. Though similar bans exist in some American states, few are as restrictive as the bans launched in Ontario and Quebec, according to anti-smoking advocates on both sides of the border.

It seems that more and more local governments are taking the step to listen to the warnings of second-hand smoke and cancer warnings as well as other health issues. This smoking ban sets a safety policy to protect those that do not want to light up or do not want to breathe the smoke of others doing so while in public places. It sets off many conversational debates in public places like bars and nightclubs -- where smoking, drinking, and gathering with friends have always been the norm in night-life socializing scenes. Restaurant and club owners fear business will drop but statistics show that to be untrue in many areas like NYC and Seattle that have booming night-life socializing scenes.

I have friends and family members that work in night-life environments and they have welcomed these laws making it easier on them to continue doing their work with less health complications and colds. One friend actually moved to NYC to make her living as a bar manager when they first banned smoking in public places. As an entertainer and having many friends that are in the music industry, it opens up more places for us to perform that we otherwise would pass by because of the smoking inside. Of course not everyone is happy with the laws.

Nevada is home to the loneliest road in America, legalized brothels and Las Vegas. Now -- according to a spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn -- the state government will help Nevadans with the ability to purchase low-cost prescription drugs from Canada via the internet by providing direct web links to pharmacies in Canada. Nevada is not listening to the staunch objections from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the fact that it is illegal. The legislators state that the import option is needed because many people pay twice as much for similar prescriptions in this country and often cannot afford the drugs they need to live. Lawmakers contend that the federal policies regarding the ability to obtain low-cost prescription drugs are simply a disgrace.

Nevada lawmakers passed the measure allowing Nevadans access to less expensive prescription drugs from Canada, and Nevada regulators have given approval to move ahead with implementing links to pharmacies in Canada. There will be a warning on the state website saying that the federal government views getting prescriptions filled in Canada with non-FDA-approved drugs an illegal act. The state website and links to Canadian pharmacies is scheduled to go live today.

Billions of dollars and research hours have been spent on diagnosing and treating cancer, but little of the same money or time has been spent on the prevention of cancer. In an effort to get at the root causes of cancer in the hopes of preventing cancer before it develops, the province of British Columbia will be providing $4 million dollars to the Canadian Cancer Society for research exclusively focused on cancer prevention. The research will be done at the University of British Columbia after an international search for an expert to lead the research can be found. Ultimately, the research will lead to a national cancer prevention strategy in relationship to diet, exercise, body weight, stress, and environmental carcinogens.

"To the best of our knowledge this is the first in primary cancer prevention, which is a very specific focus on not treating the disease better or detecting it earlier but actually understanding how we avoid ever getting there," stated Dr. Gavin Stuart, dean of medicine at the University of British Columbia. This is potentially exciting news, as prevention is my first choice in confronting and eliminating the epidemic levels of cancer we face today. It will be interesting to hear what the research finds in this new cancer prevention program.