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Miami Herald
25 minutes ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Marco Rubio is one of us. He understands what happens to Haitians who go back
Ironic twist The silver lining of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake was the finest hour of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and indeed, all of Miami. UM faculty were in Haiti from day one, performing thousands of life-saving operations and treating thousands of desperately ill patients. We organized volunteers and raised medical equipment and supplies from around the nation. Private aircraft, lent by some of Miami's wealthiest families, flew round the clock, bringing in volunteers and supplies, while evacuating the injured. Private companies donated millions in dollars and in-kind services to aid recovery. No example of Miami's response captured our collective heroism more than the rescue of Baby Jenny — an infant buried for five days in the rubble, wrapped in the arms of her dead babysitter. She suffered a skull fracture, flail chest, dehydration and shock. She would have died were it not for the skill of our doctors and nurses, the good fortune of a private plane on the runway and an available bed in the NICU of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Later, a team of Haitian-American and Cuban-American attorneys used DNA tests to reunite her with her parents. We celebrated this miracle during the fifth and 10th anniversaries of the earthquake, with follow-up news stories. Jenny survived to become a happy, healthy and in every sense normal child. To mark the 15th anniversary, we attempted another follow-up story a few months ago. However, her family refused, due to fear of deportation. They, like hundreds of thousands of our neighbors (not just Haitians) are here under Temporary Protected Status. That status is about to be canceled. I cannot speak about conditions in Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua, but I can speak on conditions in Haiti with authority. Haiti is now a failed state. Gangs have destroyed hospitals, churches, universities and whole communities. Kidnappings and senseless killings occur daily. People are starving and malnutrition is rampant. To return decent people — whose lives we saved and were embraced by our community — to such nightmarish conditions is cruel and shameful. No one understands this situation better, perhaps, than the people of Miami, our nation's most vibrant melting pot. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is one of us. He should know better. Let him hear your voices. Arthur Fournier, co-founder, Project Medishare for Haiti, professor emeritus, Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami Lasting legacy Few have given more to the state of Florida than John Thrasher. He was a statesman, soldier and a friend. Throughout his career, he served Florida with dedication. From serving on the Clay County School Board, to his tenure as speaker of the Florida House and later as president of Florida State University, Thrasher's leadership left a lasting legacy. May the Thrasher family find comfort in the legacy of service and integrity that he leaves behind. Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach Broken streets Infrastructure, safety and potholes make Miami among the worst cities for drivers. Some streets in the Brickell Avenue and Coconut Grove areas are critical, with road surfaces heavily damaged and posing significant safety hazards. Unfortunately, this situation has existed for years. As a resident, I find it difficult to understand how Miami's city government leaders — specifically, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Chairwoman Christine King and Commissioners Damian Pardo and Miguel Gabela — manage our budget. With so many condos in Brickell and downtown providing millions and millions of dollars in taxes, it is difficult to understand why our infrastructure is in such poor condition. Perhaps too much money is being spent on unnecessary city employees? These leaders need to solve this issue as soon as possible. Carlos Ortiz, Miami National misconduct Reading the June 2 Miami Herald, I felt sad at the situation in our country. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of a man who, along with a partner, fleeced the government of well over $85 million after filing 866,000 false claims to Medicare. Apparently, it is mere peanuts to him. Meanwhile, Trump does not think twice about cutting funding for Medicaid, flood prevention, childcare, food banks and other agencies. In the same Herald edition, there was more evidence of wanton corruption regarding The Hope Florida Foundation,created to support a program spearheaded by Gov. Ron DeSantis' wife, Casey. Are we on our way to becoming a kleptocracy? Can we really afford another three years of this malfeasance? Ana M. Bacallao, South Miami Catalans in Miami On May 14, the Catalan American Council (CAC) held its first event in South Florida at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, marking a milestone for our community. The CAC, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., was founded to represent and support the Catalan-American community across the United States. The event raised funds for the CAC's Diaspora Project, the first national effort to document the modern Catalan-American experience. South Florida is home to a significant part of this community, with many tracing their roots to Catalan-speaking regions of Europe — often via Cuba or Puerto Rico. The event also honored the 2025 recipients of the Transatlantic Bridge Award, which recognizes efforts to strengthen ties between Europe, the U.S. and the Catalan-American diaspora. The awardees were Carlos Curbelo, co-founder of Vocero LLC and former U.S. Congressman and Enrique Roig, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Seattle International Foundation and a former senior official at the State Department. Andrew Davis, Washington, D.C. What agenda? President Donald Trump and his cronies are laser-focused on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government. So why did Trump pardon Lawrence Duran who, according to the June 2 Miami Herald article, 'Trump commutes sentence of Miami exec in Medicare fraud case,' filed 866,000 false claims with Medicare and received more than $87 million from the scheme? Furthermore, Trump also pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, who defrauded banks and the IRS out of millions of dollars. Barry Alan Wilen, Hollywood Unseemly actions Some members of the Biden family allegedly traded on the former president's name or position, whether in China or Ukraine. Comparatively, President Trump's son, Eric, is now doing about the same with a luxury residential development and golf course in Vietnam. If I were in politics, I might allow the same for my family. Still, this is the unseemly aspect of our world of politics. Roger Shatanof, Coral Gables Leadership styles One can see the great contrast in styles and leadership qualities between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with brilliant planning and innovation, recently pulled off a devastating blow to Russia's military air fleet. At practically the same time, President Trump, in all his brilliance, re-posted a conspiracy theory that former President Joe Biden was actually executed and a clone had replaced him in 2020. Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito has engineered some remarkable trades. Perhaps he can do the American public a huge favor and trade our president for Zelenskyy. With a courageous leader like Zelenskyy leading our nation, we would have a very bright future. With Donald 'TACO' Trump as our president, the future is very dim indeed. Martin Kleinbart, Aventura Terminal forecast I always look forward to coming home to Miami, with one exception: the airport. Upon my recent arrival, it was raining and American Airlines would not unload luggage. I went outside and the sky was clear. After three hours, I asked if they could deliver my luggage. You know the answer. This should be a world class airport. Instead, trains rarely work, escalators and elevators are in constant disrepair and MIA is ill prepared for any weather other than clear skies. Michael Friend, Kendall
New York Post
4 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Doctors warn of ‘big and concerning rise' of alcohol-related cancer deaths in the US — who's been hit worst
A shocking new study finds the number of alcohol-related deaths in the US has nearly doubled in the last two decades. This is the first study to look at long-term trends in alcohol-linked cancer deaths across the country and was led by a team from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. But not every demographic has been hit equally. Advertisement 4 Earlier this year, the former US Surgeon General issued an advisory cautioning Americans of the strong link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk for 'at least seven types of cancer,' including breast, colon, and liver. maeching – Alcohol — classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer — is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity. Earlier this year, the former US Surgeon General, calling for a warning label to be placed on alcoholic products, issued an advisory cautioning Americans of the strong link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk for 'at least seven types of cancer,' including breast, colon and liver. In this new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers used data from the Global Burden of Disease database to understand how alcohol use contributes to cancer-related deaths. Advertisement Their research revealed that in the U.S. between 1990 and 2021, the total number of alcohol-related cancer deaths nearly doubled, from just under 12,000 deaths per year to just over 23,000. 'That's a big and concerning rise. We need to increase awareness of this link among the general population and even in the medical field,' said Sylvester hematology and oncology fellow Dr. Chinmay Jani, who led the study. Jani noted that while there is widespread awareness about the relationship between tobacco and increased cancer risk, there is less recognition of the link between alcohol and cancer. Advertisement A 2024 report by the American Association for Cancer Research found that while more than 5% of all cancer cases are caused by drinking alcohol, 51% of Americans are not aware that alcohol increases cancer risk. 4 Liver, colorectal, and esophageal cancers saw the most significant increases in alcohol-related mortality. Nadzeya – Researchers reviewed total cancer deaths, as well as those linked to alcohol consumption: breast, liver, colorectal, throat, voice box, mouth, and esophageal cancers. Advertisement Jani and his team found that the cancer mortality burden was especially high in men 55 and over, whose alcohol-linked cancer mortality rose slightly more than 1% every year from 2007 to 2021. The increase in alcohol-related cancer mortality rates is owed nearly entirely to an increase among men. In women, rates have actually slightly declined since 1990. However, even for cancers with declining mortality rates, the proportion caused by alcohol for nearly all of them rose between 1990 and 2021, for both men and women. Among all cancers combined, the percentage of cancer deaths due to alcohol consumption increased by nearly 50% between 1990 and 2021, meaning even if factors like improved screening and treatment are reducing cancer deaths, alcohol consumption is responsible for a larger percentage of cancer mortality than in the past. 4 There are a few ways that drinking can contribute to an increased likelihood of developing cancer. HHS Liver, colorectal, and esophageal cancers saw the most significant increases in alcohol-related mortality. On a state level, Texas and the District of Columbia had the highest rates of alcohol-linked cancer mortality, while Utah had the lowest. Advertisement Researchers think these differences could reflect regional differences in drinking cultures, as well as socioeconomic disparity and variances in health access. According to the Surgeon General, alcohol is responsible for 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths in the country each year. 1 in 6 breast cancer cases can be attributed to alcohol. There are a few ways that drinking can contribute to an increased likelihood of developing cancer. Advertisement 4 Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that alcohol causes cancer earlier this year. Getty Images One is acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen that the body creates when it breaks down the ethanol in alcohol. This compound damages DNA and prevents cells from repairing the damage, allowing cancerous cells to grow. It can also impact hormones, which affect how cells grow and divide. When that goes wrong, there's room for cancer to develop. Moreover, drinking interferes with the body's ability to absorb nutrients like iron, selenium, folate, and vitamins A, B1, B6, C, D, E, and K. Excess alcohol intake can contribute to weight gain, and being overweight or obese has been linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer, including those in the breasts, liver, ovaries, kidneys, thyroid, and colon and rectum. Advertisement 'We hope that our study will help educate the public on the impact of alcohol on individual cancer risk, as this is a potentially modifiable factor,' said Gilberto Lopes, M.D., Sylvester's chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and the study's senior author. In addition to reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption, experts recommend other modifiable factors such as quitting tobacco, eating more green, leafy vegetables and whole grains, reducing or eliminating highly processed foods, maintaining a healthy body weight, and being physically active, all of which can lower cancer risk. For those who choose to consume alcohol, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests limiting intake to no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
National Geographic
12-05-2025
- Health
- National Geographic
Alcohol is killing more women than ever before
Federal guidelines recommend that women who want to drink consume no more than one serving a day. But from a health perspective, less—or none—is a better target. Photograph by Artur Widak, NurPhoto/Getty Images Jasmine Charbonier's heavy drinking started in college. By her early 30s, she was downing up to eight tequila cocktails daily, several days each week. A few years ago she tried to quit and was surprised when she plummeted into withdrawal. Research shows that while men are still more likely to die from an alcohol-related disease, the gap is narrowing. The most recent figures, published in 2024, found deaths in women have risen at a rate of 35 percent, while men increased just 27 percent. (8 things we've learned about how alcohol harms the body.) The rise in deaths results from an unfortunate gender equality: Women now raise their glass almost as frequently as men. A recent U.S. government survey found 45 percent of women drank in the prior month, compared to 50 percent of men. Women in their 30s and 40s, in particular, are now drinking more than their male counterparts. The gap in binge-drinking rates is closing too. And while alcohol-use disorder has fallen in both sexes in the past decade, the decline is more pronounced in men. Unlike hard drugs, alcohol is generally viewed as a less dangerous way to destress and reduce inhibitions for women, says Dhruti Patel, a specialist in addiction psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. 'It's legal, readily available, and not so taboo in society, so women feel less worry drinking,' she says. That was certainly the case for Charbonier. 'I was the friend on vacation having mimosas at 8 A.M.,' says Charbonier, a 37-year-old content marketer, entrepreneur, and blogger, in Tampa, Florida. Drinking made nights out and travel more fun, enabling her to meet new people and dance without inhibition. In 2023, she temporarily gave up alcohol to lose a few pounds and was startled by the withdrawal symptoms: intense cravings, heightened anxiety, and periodic hand tremors. 'I was completely shocked,' she says. 'I didn't think I had an addiction until then.' (When you go sober for even a month, your body will change. Here's how.) High rates of drinking in women span racial, socioeconomic, and lifestyle spectra. White women comprise the largest share of those using alcohol, but drinking is up in young and middle-age Black women, as well as in young Latin women who emigrate to the U.S. and adopt the country's permissive drinking culture, according to a pair of studies published in 2025. More younger women are also prone to excessive imbibing as they delay parenthood, a life stage that generally corresponds with reduced rates of drinking. Different bodies, stronger effects Cute terms like mommy juice or liquid courage belie the reality that even small amounts of wine, beer, or cocktails endanger health. Several years ago the global nonprofit World Heart Federation challenged the widely held notion that a daily glass of red wine is good for you. Any amount increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, and aneurysms, the group stated. In 2023, the World Health Organization chimed in with its own statement that no level of alcohol use is safe for anyone's health. Even when consuming the same amount of alcohol as men, women are more susceptible to its negative effects. For example, scientists evaluating alcohol's effects on men and women with similar genes for alcohol metabolism found women are more impaired in the hours afterward, with slower reaction times and reduced coordination. (Why that cocktail before bedtime isn't as helpful as you think.) Experts attribute some of these differences to women's body composition, which has more fatty tissue and less water than men of similar weight, leading to higher and more persistent blood-alcohol concentration. Women also have fewer enzymes that metabolize alcohol. And their hormonal fluctuations are thought to play a role in how quickly alcohol breaks down. Moreover, women who drink develop a greater number of medical problems, and at much lower alcohol levels, than men. Consuming two drinks a day increases the risk of death in women from any cause compared to nondrinkers, while men require more than three drinks, according to an analysis published in 2023. Alcohol-related deaths Annual alcohol-related deaths in the United States were relatively stable for both sexes until 2007, after which they increased a few percentage points for each. But starting in 2018, the numbers jumped dramatically. Women's deaths began rising 15 percent annually, versus a 12.5 percent increase for men. This finding is not unexpected, says Ibraheem Karaye, associate professor of population health at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, who studies the issue. 'It's logical that we would see these sex differences in alcohol-related deaths considering the literature has been showing that the gap in consumption has been narrowing and complications in women are rising,' he says. A portion of the stark increase may also be attributable to the opioid epidemic, since people tend to abuse more than one substance simultaneously, he says. Deaths from alcohol can occur swiftly, such as the sudden heart or liver failure of alcohol poisoning, or the car accidents, falls, or drownings after drinking too much. But most of the deaths reflect the toll from longer-term consumption, Karaye says, including from its eventual impact on the liver, the pancreas, or heart. Drinking can also lead to breast cancer, where lifetime risk rises as much as 9 percent even with one daily drink (each additional glass boosts rates further), and to disturbances to the immune system, which can increase infections and decrease wound and post-operative healing. Fertility problems and early menopause are also tied to alcohol. And of course, women who drink while pregnant put their children at risk of physical, mental, and behavioral problems. Alternatives to alcohol Some 29 million Americans are thought to have an alcohol use disorder. But women who have a problem are less likely to seek help than men. Seven percent of men but just four percent of women are diagnosed annually. One reason may be that women don't always recognize how much they're drinking, Patel says. An official serving of wine is just five ounces, but today's large stemware often holds 10 ounces or more. When two people polish off a bottle over dinner, they've each had two-and-a-half servings. Federal guidelines recommend that women who want to drink consume no more than one serving a day (two for men). But from a health perspective, less—or none—is a better target, Patel suggests. Reducing consumption starts with replacing alcohol in social situations. Charbonier now does water shots when her friends down tequila. Ordering sparkling water, a soft drink, or mocktail with dinner or at happy hour gives a person a glass to hold when others do, Patel says. She also recommends telling friends and family you are no longer drinking. (Mocktails are on the rise—here's what we know about their benefits.) Those who frequently rely on alcohol to manage stress or who regularly experience symptoms of overconsumption—such as lethargy or foggy thinking—should talk to their primary care physician, Patel says. A doctor may recommend seeing a therapist to learn alternative stress-management techniques or joining a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Or it might involve a referral to a psychiatrist, who can prescribe craving-reducing medicines such as naltrexone, disulfiram, and acamprosate. But these drugs—like many others—have primarily been studied in men, so it is uncertain how much they improve the health or mortality of women. Several novel treatments are also on the horizon. When the psychedelic drug psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) was administered twice along with psychotherapy, it significantly lowered heavy drinking days in people with alcohol use disorder. And preliminary research indicates the weight-loss drug semaglutide (aka Wegovy) reduces the desire to imbibe. Charbonier was able to quit on her own, motivated by how much physically and mentally healthier she feels. Her insomnia is gone, replaced by nightly sleeps that are deep and refreshing. Her skin is clearer, her mood less volatile, and her work life is flourishing—the latter thanks to the extra clarity and focus she attributes to not drinking. 'Alcohol suppressed my creativity and contributed to limiting beliefs I no longer have,' she says. And stepping away from the bar may have another effect, as research continually shows: It could be saving her life. Editor's note: This story was originally published on August 22, 2023. It has been updated with new research.
