A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave (Montaigne)

 If you are by chance in Berlin on 25.7. you can join me for a reading event on Medicine, Arts and Culture:

Pressemitteilung der Universität Erfurt: "Nicht alle Tage" - Roman von Markus Vinzent

Hier die Pressemitteilung von heute, dem Tag der Veröffentlichung von: Nicht alle Tage

"Letting go", Part One, Chapter Three ('Bruno and Anika'), sub-chapter two: Challenges for Anika

 Please join me on the next sub-chapter of the forthcoming novel "Letting go", Part One, Chapter Three ('Bruno and Anika'), sub-chapter two: Challenges for Anika

https://youtube.com/live/9a74anBWEvc?feature=share

Letting go - Part One Chapter Three ('Bruno and Anika'), sub-chapter one: In paradise (Saarland)

 Here comes the first sub-chapter of chapter three ('Bruno and Anika') of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go': I 3.1. In paradise (Saarland).

The novel will be published in German (title: "Nicht alle Tage") and potentially later in English. The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

"Letting go is a great novel about hidden facets of a relation between yourself and people that you care for"

(Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Jalid Sehouli, director of the gynecological clinic and tumor centre, Charité, Berlin).

"This novel brings out the importance of the relationship between patient and doctor. It is written from the heart having experienced turbulent but precious times caring for a loved one with cancer." (Prof Jonathan A Lederman, MD FRCP FMedSci, Professor of Medical Oncology, Clinical Director, UCL Cancer Institute, London)

"Written with a light hand it guides into the depth of risky relations, precarious situations and an adventorous journeys. With unusual humor the author describes a longlasting illness. History and geography extend in narration and grow into a European dimension of a liberated experience of the world" (Prof. Dr. Dietmar Mieth, em. Professor for theological ethics, University of Tubingen; founder of the European Society of Catholic Theology; author of "Ketzerflammen in Paris", 2024).

The first vol. will be published before Christmas with Verlag Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen. Please pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de copyright: Verlag der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen

Letting go - the next sub-chapter of the forthcoming novel: Feeny in panic

Here comes the next sub-chapter of chapter two ('Feeny') of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go': I 2.7. Feeny in panic.

The novel will be published in German (title: "Nicht alle Tage") and potentially later in English.

The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

The first vol. will be published before Christmas with Verlag Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen.

Please pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

copyright: Verlag der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen

Letting Go - the next sub-chapter: Bald head

 Please do join me on the next sub-chapter of chapter two ('Feeny') of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go': I 2.6. Bald head.

The novel is going to be published in German (title: "Nicht alle Tage") and potentially later in English.

The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

The first vol. will be published before Christmas with Verlag Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen.
Please pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

https://youtube.com/live/-oYTf5CWS98?feature=share

The next episode of "Letting go", I 2.2: Anika and Feeny again

 after a few weeks interruption because of conferences, here the next sub-chapter of my forthcoming novel "Letting Go": I 2.2 "Anika and Feeny again". You can join me live in a few minutes or watch the episode later on:

https://youtube.com/live/7hfePO3DsDY?feature=share

The novel is going to be published in German first with the titel: "Nicht alle Tage" and potentially later in English.
The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

The book (vol I) will be out before Christmas (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).
To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Letting go - chapter 2 sub-chapter 4: Rhythm

 Join me on the next sub-chapter of my novel "Letting go", I 2.4: Rhythm, simply follow this link in a few minutes: https://youtube.com/live/d4g8ZcvEaxs?feature=share

Here comes the next sub-chapter of chapter two ('Feeny') of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go': I 2.4. Rhythm
The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.
The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).
To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

"Mind the gap" - the next sub-chapter (3) of chapter 2 of my novel "Letting go"

 Before getting the next episode of my novel, perhaps you can help me - the German publisher has asked me for a more appealing title, as he thinks "Loslassen" would be not attractive enough. If you have a good suggestion, please let me know. For most of my books, others have created the titles, for which I am most grateful.

Now, here the link to the next episode (in a few minutes live): chapter 2, sub-chapter 3: Mind the gap

https://youtube.com/live/YXDhjyOLVm4?feature=share

The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.
The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).
To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

The next chapter,

 Please join me on the next episode, sub-chapter two of chapter 2 of my novel "Letting go", coming up in a few minutes here:

https://youtube.com/live/EvbbpaGnFUA?feature=share

Here comes the first sub-chapter of chapter two ('Feeny') of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go': I 2.2. All the best, Feeny.
The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.
The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now.

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).
To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Letting go - the first sub-chapter (it dawns) of chapter 2 (Feeny)

to join me (again) for the next episode, sub-chapter one: It dawns of chapter 2 ('Feeny') of the forthcoming novel "Letting go"

The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.

The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now...

here the link for the new episode of Letting go - Part One Chapter Two ('Feeny'), sub-chapter one: It dawns

https://youtube.com/live/8JKDHRP2rMY?feature=share

"Letting go" - all sub-chapters of the first chapter

 Here is the playlist with all four sub-chapters of the first chapter of my novel "Letting go":

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1qQuFYfwxOmvMskpI4xEnJDxy08UJp12

Fourth sub-chapter of chapter one: Shadow of light of my new novel "Letting go"

 If you wish to join me, please click

 

 

The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English. The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning how to live the now. In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen). To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Letting go - the third sub-chapter: Shake history off

 You are invited to another live-stream for the third sub-chapter of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go', I 1.3: Shake history off.

If you like, join me in a few minutes, or watch it later at: https://youtube.com/live/XxBoBaTVfFk?feature=share

The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.

The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning to live the now.

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).

To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Letting go - the next sub-chapter of my forthcoming novel: I 1.2 Vacation in Crete

 If you like to listen to the next sub-chapter of my forthcoming novel 'Letting go', please join me in a few minutes: 

The novel is going to be published in German and potentially later in English.

The book tells the story of two couples and their intricate relations. When Feeny, one of the two ladies, is diagnosed with a chronic illness, all relations change. Letting go is about learning to live the now.

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen).

To pre-order the German book (Vol I and II, each ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Letting go - Loslassen: My novel on relationship and the art of detachment

Bringing Eckhart as a Lebemeister (a master of how to live) into the 21st century, I wrote a novel, Letting go, or in German: Loslassen.

The novel which shares some elements (length and topics) with Thomas Mann's Zauberberg (had I only the skills of this author!) deals with two couples and their intricate relationships. The novel is also about challenges like misuse in the church, questions of relations (LGBT) and others.

One Feeny, one of the ladies in the book, is diagnosed with a chronic disease, the relations change again.

To watch and listen to the opening, join me here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Daf3_IElJYY

In a few weeks, the novel will be published, first in German (Verlag: Der Blaue Reiter, Göttingen). 

To pre-order the German book (ca. EUR 29): info@verlag-derblauereiter.de

Hier mein Beitrag zu der Ringvorlesung "Medizin und Literatur" der Charite Berlin und der Universität Konstanz zum Thema "Chronisch Sterben"

 Vor kurzem fand eine Veranstaltung in Berlin an der Charite statt, bei der ich im Gespräch mit Prof. Dr. Jalid Sehouli von der Charite und Dr. Jens Stupin, ebenfalls Charite, war zum Thema "Chronisch Sterben"

Hier der Link zu der Veranstaltung:

https://streaming.uni-konstanz.de/fr/vorlesungen/wintersemester-2020/lit-65530-20202/lit-65530-20202-2020-10-28-01/

Higher Chances of Surviving Ovarian Cancer through the right Diet: 8 Suggestions

0. The pre-diagnose diet, but also the post-diagnose diet has significant impact on survival rates in cancer, and, as focussed here, on ovarian cancer:

Here one of the latest overviews:

Beyond the role of diet in modifying risk for cancer recurrence, several reports have evaluated diet as a risk factor for mortality. In fact, prediagnosis diet may influence mortality even more than it impacts recurrence of cancer. For example, a 46% reduction in overall mortality (P=0.05) and a 44% reduction in cancer recurrence (P=0.08) was shown in relation to higher vegetable intake among subjects diagnosed with oral cancer. Similarly, a 43% reduction in overall mortality was shown in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) study of breast cancer survivors in relation to intake of a prudent, vegetable- and whole-grain–rich diet (hazard ratio=0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36 to 0.90). Whereas the Wheat Bran Fiber trial and Polyp Prevention Trial showed no significant reduction in adenoma recurrence with dietary interventions except among those reporting strict adherence to the high-vegetable and -fruit diet of the polyp prevention trial (20). An analysis of prediagnosis diet among colorectal cancer survivors suggested those with the highest Western diet score had a hazard ratio for disease-free survival of 3.25 (95% CI 2.04 to 5.19) and of 2.85 (95% CI 1.75 to 4.63) for recurrence-free survival. These studies reinforce the need to promote a cancer-preventive diet throughout life to improve post-treatment survival.
(Cynthia A. Thomson, David S. Alberts, Diet and Survival after Ovarian Cancer ..., Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 110, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 366-368)

1. Lots of Vegetable, especially from the family Cruciferae (eg, mustards) and the genus Brassica (eg, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower, but not Chinese cabbage), no salted fish

From the results of this cohort study, it was suggested that high intakes of dried or salted fish and Chinese cabbage were potential risk factors of ovarian cancer death. In contrast, however, a high intake of soy bean curd (tofu) might have preventive effects against the risk.
(JACC Study Group, F. Sakauchi, M.M. Khan, M. Mori, T. Kubo, Y. Fujino, S. Suzuki, S. Tokudome and A. Tamakoshi, Dietary habits and risk of ovarian cancer death in a large-scale cohort study (JACC study) in Japan. Nutr Cancer,  57  (2007), pp. 138–145).
Longer survival was associated with total fruits and vegetables (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.98, P for trend=0.10) and vegetables separately (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.01, P for trend <0.05). Subgroup analyses showed only yellow and cruciferous vegetables to significantly favor survival. Conversely, a survival disadvantage was shown for meats, not generally recommended (HR 2.28, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.89, P for trend <0.01), and specifically the red and cured/processed meats subgroups. An increased HR was also observed for the milk (all types) subgroup (HR 2.15, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.84, P for trend <0.05).

(Therese A. Dolecek, Bridget J. McCarthy, Charlotte E. Joslin, Caryn E. Peterson, Seijeoung Kim, Sally A. Freels, Faith G. Davis, Prediagnosis Food Patterns Are Associated with Length of Survival from Epithelial Ovarian Cancer, Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 110, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 369-382 - the most recent and best survey on the topic)

2. Vitamin E

Our data suggest that, by suppressing telomerase activity, Vitamin E may be an important protective agent against ovarian cancer cell growth as well as a potentially effective therapeutic adjuvant.

(Y. Bermudez, S. Ahmadi, N.E. Lowell and P.A. Kruk, Vitamin E suppresses telomerase activity in ovarian cancer cells. Cancer Detect Prev,  31  (2007), pp. 119–128)
How to get Vitamin E: Nuts and nut oils, like almonds and hazelnuts, Green leafy vegetables, like lettuce, spinach, turnip, beet, collard, and dandelion greens, Tomato products, Pumpkin, Sweet potato (0.26 mg/100 g so it corresponds to 5.8 kg of potatoes per day of the recommended intake for adults), Rockfish, Mangoes, Asparagus, Broccoli, Papayas, Avocados

3. Each cup of tee per day (green or black) lowers the risk of ovarian carcinom by 18% das (although don't think that drinking 6 and more cups eliminates the risk):

During an average follow-up of 15.1 years, 301 incident cases of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer were ascertained. Tea consumption was inversely associated with the risk of ovarian cancer after controlling for potential confounders (P for trend, .03). Compared with women who never or seldom (less than monthly) consumed tea, the multivariate hazard ratios for those who consumed less than 1 cup per day, 1 cup per day, and 2 or more cups per day were 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-1.08), 0.76 (95% CI, 0.56-1.04), and 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31-0.91), respectively. Each additional cup of tea per day was associated with an 18% lower risk of ovarian cancer (multivariate hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.99).

(S.C. Larsson and A. Wolk, Tea consumption and ovarian cancer risk in a population-based cohort. Arch Intern Med,  165  (2005), pp. 2683–2686)

4. Not too many eggs, but avoid saturated fats:

Among 523,217 women, 2,132 incident epithelial ovarian cancer cases were identified. Study-specific relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by Cox proportional hazards models, and then pooled using a random effects model. Total fat intake was not associated with ovarian cancer risk (pooled multivariate RR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.86–1.34 comparing ≥45 to 30–<35% of calories). No association was observed for monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, trans-unsaturated, animal and vegetable fat, cholesterol and egg intakes with ovarian cancer risk. A weakly positive, but non-linear association, was observed for saturated fat intake (pooled multivariate RR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.01–1.66 comparing highest versus lowest decile). Results for histologic subtypes were similar. Overall, fat, cholesterol and egg intakes were not associated with ovarian cancer risk. The positive association for saturated fat intake at very high intakes merits further investigation.

(J.M. Genkinger et al., A pooled analysis of 12 cohort studies of dietary fat, cholesterol, and egg intake and ovarian cancer. Cancer Causes Control,  17  (2006), pp. 273–285)

5. Low-fat milk is ok and a reasonable amount of milk products, but avoid full fat milk:

Eighteen case-control and 3 prospective cohort studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The findings of case-control studies were heterogeneous, and, except for whole milk (RR_summary for highest vs. lowest category = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.97–1.68), do not provide evidence of positive associations between dairy food and lactose intakes with risk of ovarian cancer. In contrast, the 3 cohort studies are consistent and show significant positive associations between intakes of total dairy foods, low-fat milk, and lactose and risk of ovarian cancer. The RR_summary for a daily increase of 10 g in lactose intake (the approximate amount in 1 glass of milk) was 1.13 (95% CI = 1.05–1.22) for cohort studies. In conclusion, prospective cohort studies, but not case-control studies, support the hypothesis that high intakes of dairy foods and lactose may increase the risk of ovarian cancer.

(S.C. Larsson, N. Orsini and A. Wolk, Milk, milk products, and lactose intake and ovarian cancer risk: A meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Int J Cancer,  118  (2006), pp. 431–441)
 increased consumption of animal-derived food may have adverse effects on the development of hormone-dependent cancers. Among dietary risk factors, we are most concerned with milk and dairy products, because the milk we drink today is produced from pregnant cows, in which estrogen and progesterone levels are markedly elevated.
(D. Ganmaa and A. Sato, The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers. Med Hypotheses,  65  (2005), pp. 1028–1037)

6. Switch from coffee to tee:
Coffee and caffeine consumption has been associated with ovarian cancer risk in several epidemiological studies. CYP1A2 is a key enzyme in the metabolism of coffee and in the activation of heterocyclic aromatic compounds that may be carcinogenic. Data from a preliminary investigation conducted in Hawaii of 164 epithelial ovarian cancer cases and 194 controls were used to examine the hypothesis that coffee and caffeine intake increases the risk of ovarian cancer and that these relations are modified by the CYP1A2 high-inducibility A/A genotype. A personal interview and blood specimen were collected in the subjects' homes. A significant positive trend (p = 0.02) in the odds ratios (ORs) was found with increasing intake of caffeine but not with tea or soda. Regular coffee drinkers were at significantly increased risk (OR = 1.8, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.1-2.8) of ovarian cancer compared with women who did not drink regular coffee. Women with any CYP1A2 C allele were at similar risk of ovarian cancer (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.7-1.7) compared with women with the A/A genotype. The associations of caffeine and coffee intake with risk were stronger among women with the A/A genotype than among women with any C allele. Somewhat stronger relations of coffee and caffeine intake to risk were found among women with cruciferous vegetable consumption above the median and among cases with mucinous histology. These preliminary data suggest a modest positive association of caffeine and coffee consumption with the OR for ovarian cancer that may be modified by CYP1A2 genotype and exposures, such as cruciferous vegetable consumption, that influence CYP1A2 expression.
(M.T. Goodman, K.H. Tung, K. McDuffie, L.R. Wilkens and T.A. Donlon, Association of caffeine intake and CYP1A2 genotype with ovarian cancer. Nutr Cancer,  46  (2003), pp. 23–29)

7. Moderate consumption of meat, especially read meat, better rare than well-done:

Despite these associations with meat, existing studies suggest that vegetarians do not have reduced risk of breast, bowel or prostate cancer, but there are no quantitative estimates of amounts of meat consumed by meat eaters in these cohort studies. ... individuals with the fast-acetylating genotype who eat high amounts of meat may be at increased risk of large-bowel cancer. ... the type, amount, and cooking method of meat or protein associated with increased risk are not certain. ... interaction between meat, NSP and vegetable intakes on the risk of cancer has not been studied comprehensively. ... Current Department of Health (1998) recommendations are that meat consumption should not rise, and that consumers at the top end of the distribution should consider a reduction in intakes.
(S.A. Bingham, High-meat diets and cancer risk. Proc Nutr Soc,  58  (1999), pp. 243–248.)
502 controls. The dietary assessment included several questions about usual cooking methods for meats and doneness preference for beef. High intake of red meat was associated with increased risks for both stomach and esophageal cancers. Overall, broiling or frying of beef, chicken or pork was not associated with the risk of these tumors. Barbecuing/grilling, reported as the usual cooking method for a small number of study participants, was associated with an elevated risk of stomach and esophageal cancers. after excluding those who reported usually barbecuing/grilling, a source of both PAHc and HCAs, we evaluated doneness level as a surrogate for HCA exposure. Compared to a preference for rare/medium rare beef, odds ratios were 2.4 for medium, 2.4 for medium well and 3.2 for well done, a significant positive trend. Doneness level was not associated with a significant trend in risk of esophageal cancer.
(M.H. Ward, R. Sinha, E.F. Heineman, N. Rothman, R. Markin, D.D. Weisenburger, P. Correa and S.H. Zahm, Risk of adenocarcinoma of the stomach and esophagus with meat cooking method and doneness preference. Int J Cancer,  71  (1997), pp. 14–19.)

8. Moderate consumption of alcohol is fine, but combine with 'dietary folate' (highest in Cereals, Chicken, Beans):

Alcohol has been hypothesized to promote ovarian carcinogenesis by its potential to increase circulating levels of estrogen and other hormones; through its oxidation byproduct, acetaldehyde, which may act as a cocarcinogen; and by depletion of folate and other nutrients. Case-control and cohort studies have reported conflicting results relating alcohol intake to ovarian cancer risk. We conducted a pooled analysis of the primary data from ten prospective cohort studies. The analysis included 529 638 women among whom 2001 incident epithelial ovarian cases were documented. After study-specific relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by Cox proportional hazards models, and then were pooled using a random effects model; no associations were observed for intakes of total alcohol (pooled multivariate RR = 1.12, 95% CI 0.86-1.44 comparing ≥ 30 to 0 g day^-1 of alcohol) or alcohol from wine, beer or spirits and ovarian cancer risk. The association with alcohol consumption was not modified by oral contraceptive use, hormone replacement therapy, parity, menopausal status, folate intake, body mass index, or smoking. Associations for endometrioid, mucinous, and serous ovarian cancer were similar to the overall findings. This pooled analysis does not support an association between moderate alcohol intake and ovarian cancer risk. (British Journal of Cancer Volume 94, Issue 5, 13 March 2006, Pages 757-762)

A high dietary folate intake may play a role in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer, especially among women who consume alcohol.

(S.C. Larsson, E. Giovannucci and A. Wolk, Dietary folate intake and incidence of ovarian cancer: The Swedish Mammography Cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst,  96  (2004), pp. 396–402.)

Our findings from one of the largest data sets of ovarian cancer collected to date, as well as the overall epidemiologic evidence, do not support a role of folate and alcohol in ovarian carcinogenesis

(C. Pelucchi, M. Mereghetti, R. Talamini, E. Negri, M. Montella, V. Ramazzotti, S. Franceschi and C. La Vecchia, Dietary folate, alcohol consumption, and risk of ovarian cancer in an Italian case-control study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev,  14  (2005), pp. 2056–2058)