Compared to cancer patients who were never married, divorced, widowed, or separated, married patients are significantly more likely to present at an earlier stage, undergo therapy with definitive or curative intent, and live longer among each of the 10 most common cancers killers in the United States.
Obesity in the United States is an epidemic affecting approximately 72 million Americans. Individuals with body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2 have nearly a 100% increased risk of premature death as well as increased risk of developing more than 40 obesity-related diseases. With the recent recognition by the American Medical Association that obesity is a disease, it is incumbent upon primary care physicians to address our obese patients in a disease-model.