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Can a Fighting Spirit Cure Cancer? March 27, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - The pink teddy bears were what really got her. Here she was, a 59-year-old woman with breast cancer, and a stuffed animal was supposed to make her feel better. No thank you. “That did not go down well with me.…
How Long Are You Likely to Live? March 27, 2017 by Flora Davis - In the United States, life expectancy at birth is 79. Some people won’t live that long while others will survive much longer. What are the odds you’ll make it to 80? To 100? From heredity to gender and education to…
A Stranger Just Called Her ‘Sweetie.’ How Does She Feel? March 27, 2017 by Lisa Esposito - The language used to describe aging, the way people talk to and about seniors, matters. Ageism can hurt your health, research shows. Shedding negative stereotypes and embracing positive attitudes now can help make life better as you get older.
Retirement: Does It Have a Future? March 27, 2017 by Flora Davis - Someday, Americans may recall the 20th century as the heyday of retirement, when individuals left the workforce in their 60s with decades ahead in which their time would be their own. Life’s later years are apt to be very different…
Security in Later Life, Then and Now March 27, 2017 by Flora Davis - In 1801 in West Greenwich, RI, a woman named Christiana Lampher was sold at a pauper auction. As was the custom, she went to the lowest bidder: Ishmael Nichols agreed that for $1 per year, paid by the taxpayers, he…
Three-Generation Households: Are They History? March 27, 2017 by Flora Davis - Nestled within the American psyche is a nostalgic image of a three-generation household: an older couple sitting by the fire with grandchildren playing about their feet while the children’s parents look on fondly. Yet in the 21st century, so few…
Ellen Goodman: It’s Time to Talk about Death March 27, 2017 by Mary Jacobs - The first glimmer of Ellen Goodman’s vision for the Conversation Project started with a suitcase.
When she was 25, Goodman went home to visit her family. Her father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and would pass away three months later. Her mother had just given him a gift: a brand new suitcase.
What Is Old Age For? March 27, 2017 by William Thomas MD - Old age is humanity's greatest invention, and on an even deeper level, it invented us. Old age transformed the way our most distant ancestors gave birth, reared their young, lived together, and fed themselves. Later it propelled the development of culture, language, and society.
Living with Disabilities - Until a few years ago, doctors told Deanna Mann, 85, she was “healthy as a horse.” She lived independently in an apartment and enjoyed playing bridge with friends twice a week. Then one leg suddenly swelled up. The other followed…
Gallows Humor - I live in a retirement community, and when somebody turns 90 here, we like to celebrate. A few months ago, a friend had a 90th birthday party that made me envious. I’m just 88, but I announced that I too…