Do you ever find yourself a little low on fuel, right when you could really use some? Men may discover they need a touch of help with their tiger, so to speak. But being low on steam could occur at less exciting moments too, like when walking up the stairs. […]
Why do so many women ignore one of the most obvious warning signs of uterine cancer? It’s a cancer that usually announces itself early. But women wait, or brush off the warning signs, and that allows the disease to take hold. Uterine cancer, also called endometrial cancer, is not rare. […]
Are you in the group of people who treat insurance the way you do exercise? You know it’s good for you, but you put it off until it’s too late. Human behaviour can be so irrational! But insurance really should be a priority for your attention among the list of […]
Every so often, history taps you on the shoulder. That happened to me recently when I discovered a book on the science, culture, and regulation of drugs by Professor Lucas Richert, a historian of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The book devotes its entire first chapter to none other […]
When it comes to health, my father always told me that good luck is as important, if not more so, than good genes. Like genes, luck is allocated at life’s outset. Watching nightly news on wars, famine, and other disasters has always made me grateful to have been born in […]
Many of us have the experience of boarding a plane with a prayer that the pilot has had enough sleep. With your surgeon, it’s a similar problem. Few people get to choose who will do their surgery. Even if you’ve gone to the trouble of arranging a referral to the […]
Starting in 1975, my father, Ken Walker, under the penname W. Gifford-Jones MD, wrote a weekly column first appearing in the Globe and Mail, and subsequently syndicated in Canada and the U.S. This year, the column crossed the 50-year mark, my father passed away at 101, and now I’m carrying on. […]
There’s no harm in being gullible when the stakes are low or when you are having fun. Being open to the incredulous is part of being a curious person. And playing along with a friend’s tall tale strengthens your connection while giving you both a good laugh. But in matters […]
One should never use the word “crusade” lightly. But if you’ve ever watched someone battle against deeply entrenched systems, close-mindedness, or worst of all, indifference, then there’s no better word for what needs doing. There is unfinished business that I must pick up. And sure as night follows day, there […]
In these final dog days of summer, take a moment to reaffirm the simplest and most powerful tools for staying healthy: timely, evidence-based screening tests. Forget the full-body MRI and the blood test that promises to predict your future. But remember, as if your life depended on it, the screening […]
I’m writing this column with a pencil and paper, in a therapeutic affirmation that what results comes only from me and my thoughts. I’m making a point about authenticity. There is something truly cathartic – and healthy – about “being oneself.” One’s authentic self. No mirrors. No makeup. No pretenses. […]
I have a strong belief in personal responsibility. From an early age, I was taught that my own daily decisions will determine my future. You will know, for example, where I heard that sugar is the “white devil.” It’s a conviction helps me avoid it. For another, if I don’t […]
I was 6 years old when I first calculated how many years I could expect to have with my father. He was 44 when I was born; and therefore 50 when I turned 6. I decided I would be lucky if I got to 35 and still had him. That […]
Dr. Ken Walker (W. Gifford-Jones, MD) Dr. Ken Walker was born in Croydon, England, the son of Walter and Annie Walker. At the age of three, his parents emigrated to Montreal and later moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario. He received premedical training at the University of Toronto and graduated from the […]