by Lance D Reedy

The Part D Prescription (PDP) plans and Medicare Advantage plan were authorized by the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act passed by Congress in 2003 during the George Bush II administration.

2024 will mark the eighteenth year that I have been involved with the afore-mentioned plans. I have seen some reoccurring themes of what the PDP companies do to maintain their profitability, and that is the theme of this article.

The Original Structure of a PDP

Before discussing some of tricks of the trade that the PDP companies use to boost revenue, let’s look at the original plan design.

Phase 1: The member had to meet a $250 deductible.

Phase 2: The member paid 25% of the retail cost of the prescriptions up to the coverage gap limit.

Phase 3: The member was responsible for 100% of the costs when in the coverage gap (aka the donut hole).

Phase 4: This is the catastrophic phase where the member in general paid 5% for the cost of his/her meds. Note: In 2024 this is now zero percent.

Here are some takeaways:

The 25% co-insurance that I referenced in my companion article for the fictious Acme Value Prescription (AVP) plan is nothing new. However, most plans have gone to a flat copay system for several years. As several new expensive drugs have hit the market, the PDP companies are resurrecting the 25% coinsurance schedule.

Medicare has allowed the PDP companies to create alternative plans to the original design. This could consist of flat copays instead of the 25% coinsurance, no deductible plans, or reduced deductible plans. For several years we have seen plans where tiers 1 and 2 drugs were excluded from the deductible.

As many formerly expensive brand names have gone generic, we have seen some plans offering $0.00 or $1.00 copays for many of these low-cost generics. The following are a few examples of expensive brands that have gone generic. The brand name is followed by its generic equivalent.

Statins:

Crestor—Rosuvastatin

Lipitor—Atorvastatin

Zocor–Simvastatin

Blood pressure:

Norvasc–Amlodipine

Toprol– Metoprolol succinate

Cozaar—Losartan

Diovan–Valsartan

Diabetes:

Glucophage—Metformin

Actos– Pioglitazone

Others:

Plavix—Clopidogrel

Singular—Montelukast

and dozens more.

Expensive New Brand Name Drugs

What has changed the dynamic regarding the PDPs are the new generation of brand name drugs. Before going generic, many of these older brands listed above used to have a retail cost ranging from $100 to $200 per month. We used to think that these were expensive drugs.

Now we’re seeing brands with a retail cost of $500 to over $1,000 per month. Some popular examples are Eliquis, Xarelto, Mounjaro, Trelegy, and Ozempic.

The writing is on the wall. Many of the low premium PDPs will be phasing out covering these drugs with a fixed $40 to $47 tier 3 copay. Another popular plan made this change a year ago. Where we’ll likely see a continuance of the tier 3 and 4 fixed copays is with the high dollar PDPs. These premiums typically start at $70 per month and go up from there.

The PDP Companies’ Tricks of the Trade

First, it’s important to understand how the PDP companies are financed.

The government subsidy: We could dig though online documents of over 200 pages to feret out every last detail as to how the PDPs are financed. Let’s do the simplified version. According to KFF.org, Medicare (the Federal government) finances 74% of the PDP costs. Your premium covers 15%, and the states kick in around 11%. These percentages may vary from plan to plan, but this will give you the gist of how the financing works.

Even if your plan premium is zero, the PDP companies derive most, or all of their funding from state and federal governments. I fielded a phone call from a concerned client who read in her Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that her 2024 PDP premium was dropping to less than a dollar. She thought something must be amiss.

She was relieved when I explained where the bulk of the financing comes from. In addition, I discussed how her Acme Value Prescription (AVP) plan was changing its tier 3 copay structure.

Trick Number One

A prescription drug company comes out with a super low premium plan. Because of the low premium, the plan gains more market share. After three years, give or take, the members have a substantial rate increase. Many members will change, but the companies understand senior psychology which is that people don’t like making changes. In the end, the member that doesn’t shop ends up paying the higher freight.

Recently, we have seen a new trend, and that is decreasing premiums. That’s good but keep the big picture in mind.

Trick Number Two: Tier Juggling

A tier 1 generic is moved to a tier 2 generic. Generally, this means that a $0.00 to $3.00 copay goes to a $4.00 to $8.00 copay. Even worse is when a tier 2 drug is kicked up to tier 3. Even though tier 3 drugs are called “preferred brands,” there are often many generics included as a tier 3 drug. For example, the generic equivalents to the brands Diovan and Micardis are Valsartan and Telmisartan respectively. Some of the low-premium PDPs have moved these generics from tier 2 to tier 3.

Trick Number Three: Dropping an Expensive Drug from the Formulary of a Budget PDP

Let’s say that the AVP plan used to carry the popular blood thinner Eliquis on its formulary. Buried in the verbiage of its ANOC is the list of drugs no longer included in their formulary for the next year. Who reads every word of their ANOC? Worse, some members say, “It’s all Greek to me, and I don’t understand any of it, so it goes into file 13.” PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CAREFULLY READ YOUR ANOC!

Trick number Four: Changing a Tier’s Copay Structure

Going from a flat copay to a percent (usually 25%) co-insurance: I have discussed this one in detail in my companion article, This Tier 3 Copay Change Could Cost You Hundreds of Dollars.

Trick Number Five: Disenrollment Confusion

A few years ago, our fictitious Acme Insurance Company carried these three plans:

Acme Pharmacy X Plan: $26 per month
Acme Regular Plan: $38 per month
Acme Premier Plan: $56 per month

They made changes to its Acme Pharmacy X Plan and renamed it to the Acme Value Prescription (AVP) plan. Because there were so many changes including formulary changes, Medicare required Acme to send out disenrollment notices to its Acme Pharmacy X Plan members.

Buried in the ANOC verbiage was the statement that those who remained in the Acme Pharmacy X plan would automatically be migrated to the Acme Premier Plan. Notice that this caused the premium to more than double.

Between emails and phone calls, we did our best to alert our clients to this issue. Unfortunately, there were those who we were unable to reach who were unaware of what was happening. Sadly, they were shocked when they were hit the big rate increase in January.

I don’t believe the companies are being malicious when this happens. As I understand it, when companies want to make major changes to their plans, Medicare requires them to migrate their members to the plan with a formulary that is at least as robust as the one in the outgoing plan. This inevitably winds up being the highest premium plan.

However, I think the companies could be more diligent with even a second or third communication alerting their members to an ensuing train wreck. The bottom line is this: PLEASE BE SURE TO READ EVERY COMMUNICATION FROM YOUR PRESCRIPTION OR MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN. If you are not sure of what those notices mean, please contact us.

Conclusion

When it comes to casino gambling, most people understand that the House always wins. Slot machines have a payout ratio of around 83 to 95%. Sure, some gamblers hit the jackpot and win big, but it’s at the expense of the others that lose.

The Part D prescription companies lose on some members that are high prescription users. However, they are extremely profitable with those that are either non or minimal users. No matter how they structure their plans, they will be profitable. And that’s fine as long as it’s not too big of a profit. Just keep in mind as with the casinos, the House always wins. End

by Brett Arends

Hard-sell Tactics Target People with Lower Incomes in Particular

To read this article it its original online locations, please click here.

It’s probably just coincidence that the AEP (aka Medicare open enrollment) happens to coincide with traditional hunting season. But it sure doesn’t feel like it.

A new study shows how senior citizens are being effectively hunted by ruthless private insurance companies and brokers during the AEP, which runs from October 15 to December 7.

Aggressive marketing operations, comparable to infamous Wall Street “boiler rooms,” are subjecting people to a hard sell to try to get them to switch to a private Medicare advantage plan.

This includes torrents of cold calls, which are expressly forbidden under Medicare regulations, and offers of “time sensitive” deals and discounts that are actually illegal.

Three quarters of senior citizens say they received cold calls trying to get them to switch to a Medicare Advantage plan during last year’s AEP, according to a groundbreaking survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan think-tank.

Half of those surveyed, or 51%, told researchers that on these cold calls, the caller falsely claimed to be from Medicare.

“America’s seniors and people with disabilities … should be protected from bad actors who engage in misleading advertising and marketing tactics,” said Dave Allen, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association and lobby group that represents private-sector insurers, in a statement. “Health insurance providers strongly agree: Americans should have clear, accurate, easy-to-understand information about Medicare advantage plans, so they know what they are buying.”

Allen added that the industry will be subject to tougher regulations this year. “AHIP will continue to engage with [the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] and other stakeholders to assess Medicare marketing requirements including addressing certain elements to ensure they do not hamper the ability of agents and brokers to assist Medicare enrollees in choosing the best coverage option for them,” he said.

Medicare Advantage, in which Medicare is outsourced to for-profit insurance companies, is big business. It has been growing rapidly for more than a decade and this year for the first time exceeded the size of traditional, government-run Medicare. Last year, taxpayers paid Medicare Advantage insurers just over $400 billion, in addition to money paid through the Medicare Part D prescription-drug program, according to the government’s Medical Payment Advisory Commission.

Hard-sell tactics are being focused especially on seniors with lower incomes, the Commonwealth Fund reports. Those with incomes of less than $25,000 a year were twice as likely as those with higher incomes to be asked for their Social Security or Medicare numbers before being given any plan details, the survey reports. That’s against Medicare rules, Jacobson noted. And 28% of those with lower incomes said they’d been exposed to marketing or advertising that claimed something about a private Medicare Advantage plan that they later found out wasn’t true — a much higher percentage than among other income groups.

Jacobson said people with low incomes are often especially profitable to Medicare Advantage providers, because they are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare.

Seniors are struggling with the bewildering complexity of the Medicare program as well as hard-sell tactics. MedPac reports that last year, Medicare Advantage included 5,261 plan options offered by 182 organizations. According to the survey, the choice is so overwhelming that many seniors choose to simply stay with their existing plan.

My Comments: Every year Medicare advantage agent/brokers must complete an annual recertification. Included in this training is Medicare’s myriad of marketing rules, and one of them is that COLD CALLING is prohibited! And it has been prohibited since the dawn of Medicare advantage plans.  The tele-marketers blatantly ignore these rules.

If you receive a cold call from a tele-marketer, you can do the following.

• Some people screen all calls before picking up. They only pick up calls from family and friends.
• Others have a recording that tells the tele-marketer to hang up and put them on their do not call list.

If you pick up and start hearing the obvious tele-marketing spiel, you can do the following:

• Hang up immediately.
• Tell the caller you have an agent, say good-bye, and disconnect the call.
• Ask the tele-marketer for her/his name, phone number, and insurance license number of the state you’re in. Suggest that you will report him/her to your state insurance department for making illegal tele-marketing calls.
• Take the info as above and tell the caller you’ll get back with him after checking him out.
• Whatever you do, take control of the conversation by refusing to answer ANY questions about your current coverage. If a stranger calls you and asks how much money you make, how much you have in your checking account and other personal details, do you answer him? I hope not. Likewise, don’t give them any information such as what plan you have, your Social Security, Medicare, or bank account numbers. Be a brick wall and find out how fast the tele-marketer flies the coop.

There are two things to remember. Medicare or the Social Security Administration never calls you. They communicate via U.S. Postal mail. Lastly, these boiler room tele-marketers are 100% commission chasers. If they screw up your plans and cause you grief, they could care less.

End

By Dr. Al Sears,

I want to share a shocking statistic with you. Around 80% of all the pharmaceuticals sold in America — both prescription and over-the-counter — are manufactured in China.

I’m talking about drugs for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, blood pressure and blood thinners, diuretics, aspirin, antibiotics, and a big chunk of the world’s insulin and diabetes drugs — just to name a few.1

We don’t even make penicillin anymore. The last penicillin plant in the U.S. closed its doors in 2004. Americans who rely on medicine are now almost entirely at the mercy of a country whose relations with the U.S. have become more tense than they were just a few years ago. Yet, there’s no need to panic. And in a moment, I’ll tell you why…

First, let me share why we need to be concerned. Pharmaceutical companies can’t just pack up their overseas operations and build drug-making plants in America or move them to some other country.

It could take years to develop the infrastructure to re-establish manufacturing capacities in the U.S. and get the FDA licenses to replace the loss of the Chinese supply.

But there’s an even bigger problem. Drugs imported from China have additional safety risk factors that go beyond the well-known side effects I’ve written to you about before.

The FDA insists that pharmaceutical ingredients from China are safe. But I don’t buy it. The FDA has a long history of failing to oversee drug sources in other countries. In 2008, contaminated supplies of the blood-thinning drug Heparin from China led to the deaths of 149 Americans and hundreds more allergic reactions.

Though that scandal prompted the FDA to start stationing inspectors in overseas plants, a recent scathing report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office highlighted the FDA’s long history of failing to conduct oversight on foreign drug factories.2

The reason the FDA had little chance to uncover the heparin contamination before Americans started dying: It hadn’t inspected the plant.

Even now, the FDA is plagued by a staffing shortage. In China and India, there are just 15 combined inspector positions – and five of those remain unfilled. That’s less than 10 inspectors to oversee 5,000 Chinese drug-making facilities.3

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’ve been warning patients for years about the dangers of Big Pharma’s concoctions. At my clinic, I work to get my patients off prescription drugs. I prescribe pharmaceuticals only when absolutely necessary.

Blockbuster drugs like statins, ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, bisphosphonates, and antidepressants — all made in China — can often create new and dangerous health issues and can make recovery impossible.

Mainstream medicine wants to scare you into thinking you need these drugs to keep you alive and healthy. In fact, in many cases, the opposite is true. But here’s the secret Big Pharma and its Chinese partners don’t want you to know:

For every disease — and every Big Pharma drug — nature has provided a natural, non-toxic non-pharmaceutical alternative that’s free from side effects. Develop your own medical supply chain

I recommend that you become the master of your own “medical” supply chain – so you’ll no longer be at the mercy of Big Pharma, China, and an unreliable FDA. The natural alternatives and therapies I’m going to tell you about are much safer, often more effective, and cost much less than any drug from Big Pharma or its Chinese manufacturers.

Here are some alternatives to some of Big Pharma’s biggest blockbuster drugs:

Blood thinners. Studies also show that warfarin increases your risk of stroke, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis. One study estimated that nursing home residents alone suffer 34,000 fatal, life-threatening, or serious events related to warfarin every year.4

Natural alternative – curcumin. You know this spice has potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-cancer properties. But recent studies show it’s also a powerful anticoagulant, working to inhibit clotting factors and prevent blood clots from forming.

Choose a supplement with at least 90% curcuminoids. And look for one that contains piperine, a black pepper extract that boosts absorption. Take between 500 mg to 1,000 mg each day.

Arthritis drugs. NSAIDs increase your risk of heart attack and stroke after just one week of consistent use. And the more you use them, the more your risk goes up.5

Natural alternative – frankincense: Also known as Boswellia serrata, this herb has a long history of treating arthritis without side effects. In a large study, researchers followed 440 arthritis patients for six months. They found that frankincense relieved pain as effectively as painkiller drugs. It also significantly improved arthritic knee function.6

Frankincense contains enzymes that block prostaglandin e2 (PGe2). This hormone-like chemical is produced by the body in response to an injury. It makes blood vessels dilate and expand. This causes the injured area to become swollen and arthritic. By directly attacking PGe2, frankincense stops inflammation before it starts.

Look for a Boswellia serrata supplement standardized to at least 65% boswellic acids. I recommend 400 mg three times a day.

Blood pressure pills. Diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers have serious side effects. I’m talking about things like edema, dizziness, nose bleeds, rash, and hearing loss. They can lead to cardiac failure, heart attack, depression, colitis, and arthritis pain.

Natural alternative – magnesium: This is your body’s own blood vessel relaxer. I’ve used it in my practice with great results. It helps balance potassium, sodium, and calcium, all of which affect blood pressure.

In a review of 34 studies covering more than 2,000 patients, researchers found that taking magnesium daily for one month lowered systolic pressure by 2 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 1.8 mmHg.7

I recommend between 600 mg and 1,000 mg a day. Take it with vitamin B6. It will increase the amount of magnesium that accumulates in your cells.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

References:

1. Ewen M, et al. “A perspective on global access to insulin: a descriptive study of the market, trade flows and prices.” Diabet Med. 2019;36(6):726-733.
2. Denigan-Macauley M. Drug Safety: Preliminary Findings Indicate Persistent Challenges with FDA Foreign Inspections. GOA report December 2019. Accessed March 17, 2023.
3. “Comparing Global Pharmaceutical Markets, the US, UK, and China.” February 2023.

https://pharmanewsintel.com/features/comparing-global-pharmaceutical-markets-the-us-uk-and-china#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20Chinese%20pharmaceutical%20sector,according%20to%20a%20Forbes%20ranking. Accessed March 17, 2023.

4. Gurwitz JH, et al. “The safety of warfarin therapy in the nursing home setting.” Am J Med. 2007;120:539-544.
5. Harvard Health Publishing. FDA strengthens warning that NSAIDs increase heart attack and stroke risk.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthenswarning- that-NSAIDs-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138. Updated August 22, 2017. Accessed March 17, 2023.

6. Chopra A, et al. “Ayurvedic medicine offers a good alternative to glucosamine and celecoxib in the treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A randomized, double-blind, controlled equivalence drug trial.” Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013;52(8):1408-1417.
7. Zhang X, et al. “Effects of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials.” Hypertension. 2016;68(2):324-333.

Disclaimer

The articles in Northwest Senior News are for your education and general health information only, and the opinions of various writers do not necessarily reflect those of Northwest Senior News. The ideas, opinions and suggestions contained in Northwest Senior News are NOT to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from your doctor for any health condition or related issues. Readers of Northwest Senior News should not rely on information provided in these articles for their own healthcare. Any questions regarding your own healthcare should be addressed to your own physician. Please do NOT start or stop any medications or any other medical protocol without consulting your doctor or other licensed healthcare practitioners.

Book by Dr. Bruce Fife

A Brief Review of Part 3: Digestive and Oral Health

The health of trillions of tiny microorganisms in our digestive system has a direct effect on our health. These microorganisms are known as the gut microbiome and consist of tens of thousands of species of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

A disruption of this carefully balanced population is implicated as a causal factor with several health problems including obesity, type 2 diabetes, reduced immune function, neurological disorders, some forms of cancer, and many other diseases.

Sugar and other additives in ultra-processed foods disrupts a healthy gut biome. Ninety percent of all known human illness can be traced back to an unhealthy gut.

Oral Health: Consuming sugar causes tooth decay. Unfortunately for sugar lovers, the sugar loving bacteria produce acids and toxins which eat away at tooth enamel. It gets worse. These harmful by-products (the bacteria’s waste, if you will) also cause irritation of the gums, which leads to inflammation and bleeding.

The bacteria that cause the greatest harm feed on sugar. The more sugar we eat, the more these bacteria multiply and grow, outnumbering less harmful species. It is the imbalance in the oral microbiome that is the primary cause of poor health.

Poor oral health has been linked to other health issues.

Immune Function and Cancer

Dr. Fife describes how we live in an environment that is surrounded by potentially harmful bacteria, parasites, and other microorganisms. These bad guys assault through the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.

He suggests that with this bombardment of nasty things, it’s amazing that we survive. We can attribute our survival to our immune system.

It’s primarily our white blood cells that are patrolling our bodies and spearheading our defense. Ah, but there’s a problem. The ability of our white blood cells to be effective against the invaders is strongly influenced by sugar consumption.

Sugar depresses the white blood cells ability to phagocytize [devour] these harmful substances. Studies have shown that after a single dose of sugar, phagocytosis [the process of eating up the bad guys] drops by nearly 50% and remains depressed for up to five hours.

If a person has something sugary at all three meals along with a donut, soda, or something sweet for a snack, his/her immune function will stay depressed all day long.

Because sugar depresses immune function, it increases the risks of infection, reduces the body’s ability to neutralize and dispose of environmental toxins, and increases the risk of cancer. You become more susceptible to infectious diseases, have a more difficult time overcoming infections, are more vulnerable or sensitive to toxins and chemicals, and more likely to develop cancer.

Everyone has renegade cancer cells, but not everyone develops cancer. The is because our immune system seeks out and destroys these renegade cells before they get too far out of hand.

Cancer cells only develop in those individuals whose immune systems are so stressed or weakened that they are incapable of mounting an effective defense. A healthy immune system, therefore, is a key element in the prevention of all forms of cancer.

Another major cause of stress is bacteria seeping into our bloodstream through our mouths. Oral infections make it worse. Sugar, of course, promotes chronic oral infections and depresses the immune system, making it easier for cancer to take a foothold.

Folks, it gets worse. Not only does sugar depress your immune system, but sugar is a fertilizer that feeds cancer cells. It’s a double whammy. Yes, cancer cells feed on sugar. The more sugar you consume, the more you are feeding cancer cells inside of your body.

The mitochondria in cancer cells are defective and unable to produce their own energy. Thus, the cancer cells rely on another source of energy production which is called glycolysis [the breakdown of glucose by enzymes, releasing energy and pyruvic acid].

Fatty acids, ketones, and most other energy sources are useless to cancer. This makes cancer heavily reliant on glucose for its energy needs. The more sugar you supply them, from a diet filled with sugary foods and refined starch, the more resistant they become to cancer treatments…Without sugar they would starve to death and be far more vulnerable to the immune system and to cancer treatments.

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance and high blood pressure are considered to be independent risk factors for cancer. The association between diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, and cancer is well recognized. Studies show that people with diabetes are at substantially higher risk for cancer, especially of the pancreas, liver, lung, endometrium [the mucous membrane lining the uterus], breast, colon, rectum, and bladder.

My Comments: After my father-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his Mayo Clinic oncologist had him eating ice cream in order to gain weight. I have also heard of plenty of other stories about these doctors encouraging their patients to consume sugary foods. It makes you really wonder about their training.

Is Smoking the Main Driver of Lung Cancer?

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy. (2) SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that inhaling smoke from whatever source is not good for your body. Here’s the interesting thing, has there been any Surgeon General’s warning about the deleterious effects of consuming sugar, HFCS, and refined carbs?

Continuing:

Dr. Fife states the following:

Smoking has never been a major problem in any population until sugar and refined flour have been added to the diet. Many primitive societies have used tobacco for generations without suffering any apparent harm.

The Inuits: Early Artic explorers noted that the Inuits were habitual users of tobacco. The children were exposed to heavy doses of second-hand smoke in smoke-filled rooms. However, the explorers noted that there was an absence of lung cancer of any type. The Inuits didn’t have a protective diet of fruits and vegetables.

A doctor Otto Schaefer attended to the medical needs of the Inuits from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. He reported that cancer was not found among these people until after they began to add sugar and refined carbohydrates into their diets. Lung cancer was completely absent among them.

Dr. Fife points out the absence of lung cancer among the Inuits was not unique to just their society. Other primitive people were free from lung cancer even though they smoked.

To be clear, Dr. Fife is not letting smoking off the hook.

Smoking is not benign by any means; it is a risk factor for a multitude of diseases. However, it appears that smoking itself is not enough to cause lung cancer until it is combined with a diet high in sugar. It appears to be the tobacco-sugar one-two punch that is the real culprit in causing lung cancer. Sugar is likely the catalyst for other cancers as well.

Dr. Fife tells the story of George Burns, a cigar smoker who started smoking at age 14. He reportedly smoked 10-15 cigars per day for over 70 years. That’s over 300,000 cigars! Burns lived to the age of 100. He exercised regularly, wasn’t overweight, and didn’t have any blood sugar problems.

Concluding remarks:

Dr. Fife wraps up this chapter with the following statement:

Glucose is so important to the growth of cancer that it can’t survive without it. Removing sugar and other carbohydrates from the diet essentially starves cancer to death. Dietary therapies that restrict calories or carbohydrates has proven highly successful in the treatment of cancer both in combination with conventional therapies or on their own.

Being obese increases the risk of cancer, but it’s not the weight. It’s because obese people tend to have elevated glucose levels. High blood sugar is a risk factor for cancer even when a person’s weight or body mass index is normal.

Dr. Fife’s final admonition for anyone that is concerned about getting a cancer diagnosis is to prevent it by cutting out the sugar.

My Comments: I know of a man and a woman (both non-smokers) that died in their fifties from lung cancer. One was a distant cousin on my wife’s side of the family. I asked her, “Was he a smoker?” She said “No.” The story is virtually the same with one of my daughter’s mother-in-law.

I now realize that I asked the wrong question. I should have asked, “Was that person living with elevated blood-glucose levels? Was that person’s diet high in refined carbs?”

What’s also worthy of note is that William Dufty in his book, Sugar Blues, pointed out that lung cancer rates started to rise when tobacco was cured with sugar.

Maybe the Surgeon General should crack down on the sugar industry! End