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Family history makes for a good story

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Family history makes for a good story - Prince Albert Daily Herald
How many of us can recall our grandfathers leaning back in a favourite chair, saying, “Let me tell you something you should remember.” What followed was usually a story that had grown larger with time, about hardship, happenstance, or a decision made when the stakes were high. On the other hand, if your grandmother was
paherald.sk.ca
December 30, 2025 at 3:33 PM
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Why big science matters

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Why big science matters - Prince Albert Daily Herald
We applaud people solving problems who are focused, efficient, and fast. But I was recently reminded that progress doesn’t always follow a straight line. Before investigators can conduct studies that yield breakthroughs, they often need others to finance and build major research infrastructure. It takes time, with various stops and starts, different collaborations often involving
paherald.sk.ca
November 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM
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How to protect against uterine cancer

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How to protect against uterine cancer - Prince Albert Daily Herald
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. And it can strike anyone.
paherald.sk.ca
October 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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Anger is its own illness

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https://paherald.sk.ca/anger-is-its-own-illness/
Anger is its own illness - Prince Albert Daily Herald
“He preaches patience that never knew pain.” That line has been around for more than a century, and it still holds up. Spend time around people who are struggling, and you see why. Some are not just discouraged. They are angry. Angry at their health, at the system, at the people around them, and at
paherald.sk.ca
April 28, 2026 at 3:16 PM
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The right attitude helps with a fractured hip

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https://paherald.sk.ca/the-right-attitude-helps-with-a-fractured-hip/
The right attitude helps with a fractured hip - Prince Albert Daily Herald
No one wants to get that call. A loved one has taken a fall. There’s always the hope that it will be just a bruise and shaken confidence. But when the ensuing emergency treatment confirms a fractured hip, it’s time for everyone to bring out their best skills in patience. Falls are, unfortunately, very common.
paherald.sk.ca
April 21, 2026 at 3:42 PM
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More information, less judgment

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https://paherald.sk.ca/more-information-less-judgment/
More information, less judgment - Prince Albert Daily Herald
It has been more than a year since I began writing this column on my own. When I first put my name alone at the top of the page, I was conscious of the responsibility. I was following my father, Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, whose name had appeared above this column for more than five decades.
paherald.sk.ca
September 8, 2026 at 7:55 PM
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Do statisticians pray?

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Do statisticians pray? - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Are you hoping for a long life? Most people would answer yes. But if you live into old age, what kind of life do you hope to have? That’s a question a lot of Baby Boomers are pondering right now. Their demographic wave transformed schools, workplaces, housing, politics, and now they are redefining old age
paherald.sk.ca
August 11, 2026 at 6:23 PM
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The summer kidney stone surge

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The summer kidney stone surge - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Some medical tests involve long waits to see a specialist. But one of them is as simple as looking in the toilet before you flush. Is your urine pale straw-yellow, like the look of light lemonade? Or ...
paherald.sk.ca
July 14, 2026 at 2:48 PM
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Dying rich and too young

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https://paherald.sk.ca/dying-rich-and-too-young/
Dying rich and too young - Prince Albert Daily Herald
This week, another vintage Gifford-Jones column from well over a decade ago that notes the avoidable – and unavoidable – hazards that can cut a life short. *** How many legions of men and women work to achieve financial success and then die prematurely of a needless disease? I've seen it too often: patients who
paherald.sk.ca
June 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM
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What Gifford-Jones said a decade ago

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https://paherald.sk.ca/what-gifford-jones-said-a-decade-ago/
What Gifford-Jones said a decade ago - Prince Albert Daily Herald
It has been almost a year since my father penned his final column at the age of 101. To mark the occasion, I offer his own timeless words, this week edited from the forward to his book, 90+ How I Got There! *** George Bernard Shaw once remarked, “The single biggest problem in communication is
paherald.sk.ca
June 16, 2026 at 3:30 PM
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Will getting active make aching joints worse?

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https://paherald.sk.ca/will-getting-active-make-aching-joints-worse/
Will getting active make aching joints worse? - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Few health problems are more discouraging than the pain of osteoarthritis. Day after day, aching knees, hips, or ankles can make simple tasks seem like major obstacles. Suffering people ask, "Should I start exercising to help my joints, or will it simply make the pain worse?" For years, there has been a common belief that
paherald.sk.ca
June 9, 2026 at 4:03 PM
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Too many pills, too little thought

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https://paherald.sk.ca/too-many-pills-too-little-thought/
Too many pills, too little thought - Prince Albert Daily Herald
A few weeks ago I wrote about hip fractures in the elderly. I did not disclose at the time I had someone specific in mind: my 93-year-old mother, Mrs. Gifford-Jones, wife of the late Dr. W. Gifford-Jones. I chose not to mention it then because hip fractures at that age are no small matter. They
paherald.sk.ca
June 2, 2026 at 3:39 PM
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There’s no one medical truth

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https://paherald.sk.ca/theres-no-one-medical-truth/
There’s no one medical truth - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Advice has a habit of changing. One decade, eggs are dangerous. The next, they’re back on the plate. Butter was once a villain. Now it’s got its place. Coffee? Bad, then good, then possibly essential – depending on which expert you ask. It leaves people wondering: if the science is so clear, why does it
paherald.sk.ca
May 12, 2026 at 2:58 PM
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Meeting them in their game

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https://paherald.sk.ca/meeting-them-in-their-game/
Meeting them in their game - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Video games have a reputation – and not a good one, at least among parents. For years, I kept my distance. “Brain rot” some experts say. I’ve said it myself, often and with conviction. I’ve worried as my four children have grown up, eyes glued to screens. But over the recent holiday weekend, I caved.
paherald.sk.ca
April 14, 2026 at 3:12 PM
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Fighting cancer with precision

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https://paherald.sk.ca/fighting-cancer-with-precision/
Fighting cancer with precision - Prince Albert Daily Herald
In my work with universities, I meet an array of Canada’s leading researchers. This week, it was Arghya Paul, Canada Research Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Chemistry at Western University in London, Ontario. Professor Paul and his team of young researchers are investigating new ways to fight cancer. For decades,
paherald.sk.ca
April 7, 2026 at 6:08 PM
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Leading the life you want

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https://paherald.sk.ca/leading-the-life-you-want/
Leading the life you want - Prince Albert Daily Herald
There’s something quietly heartbreaking about waiting too long to start living the life you might have had all along. An 83-year-old reader wrote to me recently. For decades, this person lived with social exclusion, low self-esteem, and fear. Then, just last year, they did something about it. They signed up for modern line dancing at
paherald.sk.ca
March 31, 2026 at 4:01 PM
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Does your doctor care?

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https://paherald.sk.ca/does-your-doctor-care/
Does your doctor care? - Prince Albert Daily Herald
If doctors depended like actors do on an ability to connect with their audience, the medical profession would get better reviews. But most patients will tell you the same thing about their doctor: they don’t make that connection at a human level. They are elusive – virtually impossible to reach for a discussion. When they
paherald.sk.ca
March 24, 2026 at 3:10 PM
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Could air travel be any worse?

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https://paherald.sk.ca/could-air-travel-be-any-worse/
Could air travel be any worse? - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Air travel isn’t what it used to be. “Getting there” is no longer half the fun. It’s an exercise in survival. We’ve achieved incredible feats in aviation. Yet somehow, we’ve lost our way when it comes to intercontinental travel. Flying back to Toronto from Tokyo, I looked with envy at the business class seats as
paherald.sk.ca
March 17, 2026 at 2:53 PM
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Tiny fish offer great nutrition

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Tiny fish offer great nutrition - Prince Albert Daily Herald
This week, I write from Tokyo, where small fish are eaten with remarkable regularity. A traditional Japanese breakfast includes such fish – salted, dried, grilled and served cold – consumed head-to-tail, bones, eyeballs and all. Small sardines are tucked into lunch boxes. Convenience stores sell little fish for snacking. It’s common to add sardines or
paherald.sk.ca
March 10, 2026 at 3:29 PM
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Feeling alone? Take comfort - you’re in excellent company

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Feeling alone? Take comfort – you’re in excellent company - Prince Albert Daily Herald
It’s a sad irony. But the truth is, loneliness is one of the most crowded experiences in modern society. Some prefer their own company and are emotionally stable. There’s no harm in letting them be. But there is an astonishingly high number of people who can be called “situational loners”. These are people who may
paherald.sk.ca
March 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
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Statins, Side Effects, and the Silence About Choice

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Statins, Side Effects, and the Silence About Choice - Prince Albert Daily Herald
There’s a common organizational saying: structure drives behaviour. In institutional theory, it’s called path dependence. Once a structure or pattern is established, it becomes self-reinforcing. This is a problem in medicine. Researchers and specialists become deeply immersed in their own areas of expertise. They network within tight knowledge clusters. They protect their territory. And when
paherald.sk.ca
February 24, 2026 at 4:46 PM
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Gold medals are not the goal in health

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Gold medals are not the goal in health - Prince Albert Daily Herald
The Olympics showcase people pushing to their limits. Athletes soar, leap, slide and score! Watching from the couch, feet up, drink in hand, we marvel at these feats. In the natural world, certain animals push their limits too. Some migratory birds can fly for days – sometimes weeks – without landing. The bar-tailed godwit, for
paherald.sk.ca
February 17, 2026 at 6:31 PM
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Medicine keeps getting heart disease wrong

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Medicine keeps getting heart disease wrong - Prince Albert Daily Herald
History has a way of humbling doctors. When my father, Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, was a student at Harvard Medical School in the late 1940s, one of his professors – Paul Dudley White – told the class something that would be unthinkable today: heart attacks used to be rare. So rare, in fact, doctors at Massachusetts
paherald.sk.ca
February 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
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A century-old problem we still ignore

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A century-old problem we still ignore - Prince Albert Daily Herald
In 1982, PubMed, a research database, indexed 740 papers with “vitamin D” in the title. In 2020, there were 5,566. Clearly interest has increased. Today, vitamin D is studied as a system-wide regulator and an essential component of skeletal, immune, metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and inflammatory processes. But even a century ago, nutritionists feared the dangers
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February 3, 2026 at 3:01 PM
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Plant-based alternatives to HRT

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Plant-based alternatives to HRT - Prince Albert Daily Herald
Hot flashes, disrupted sleep, decreased sex drive, and irrational urges to kick your husband for no good reason. The menopausal transition can make life hard to manage! Many women find themselves weighing the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But not everyone can take HRT, and not everyone wants to. Interest is growing
paherald.sk.ca
January 27, 2026 at 2:59 PM