Christopher Hitchens To Undergo Chemotherapy For Esophagus Cancer
British-born author and journalist, Christopher Hitchens, 61, has announced that he is to undergo chemotherapy for cancer of the esophagus, cancelling any further commitments in his current tour to promote his new book Hitch 22. He made the announcement via Vanity Fair’s web site, a publication for which he contributes.
Hitchens is well known to be a heavy cigarette smoker. Although he appeared to have quit in 2008, various sources report that he fell off the nicotine-wagon. Fox News writes that in 2003 he admitted that his alcohol intake was enough to kill or stun the average mule.
Hitchen said:
I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice.
The Lifelong Impact Of Secondhand Smoke Exposure In The Womb
Newborns of non-smoking moms exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy have genetic mutations that may affect long-term health, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study published online in the Open Pediatric Medicine Journal. The abnormalities, which were indistinguishable from those found in newborns of mothers who were active smokers, may affect survival, birth weight and lifelong susceptibility to diseases like cancer.
The study confirms previous research in which study author Stephen G. Grant, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental and occupational health at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, discovered evidence of abnormalities in the HPRT gene located on the X chromosome in cord blood from newborns of non-smokers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Read more