STORY BYWhen Steven Cantrell, 43, noticed a “small blister” on his lip, he thought it would go away within a few days. Several years later the blackened and graveled lesion had grown to cover his entire lower lip. During a trip to the emergency room, Cantrell was diagnosed with cancer, but never pursued treatment because he knew he couldn't pay for it.
Humiliated by his own appearance and unable to find work, Cantrell was convinced he would live the rest of his life disfigured by the cancer. “It was difficult going out looking for jobs because of all of the stares I would receive,” says Cantrell, “So, without a job I wasn’t able to afford treatment.”
Cantrell, a smoker since age 10, was unable to do the simple things such as brush his teeth or even smile and ultimately resigned himself to his appearance. “I would stay indoors more and more as the lesion continued to grow because I didn’t want to keep getting weird looks,” Cantrell says.
One fall morning, all that changed. Cantrell lined up for a free day of medical care in Houston sponsored by The Dr. Oz Show, where he was seen by volunteer ear, nose and throat physicians Ron Karni, MD and Tang Ho, MD, otorhinolaryngologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
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What a Difference
60 Minutes Can Make
It’s just an hour. At 2 a.m. on March 14, time changes as we “spring forward” one hour overnight. It wouldn’t seem to be that big of a deal, but it is according to researchers at the University of Michigan’s Center for Sleep Science. They have found that in the days immediately following the spring time change each year more people have serious car accidents, most likely due to the sleep loss and adjustments that our biological clocks must make to the new schedule.
To prepare for the time change, start going to bed and waking up 15 minutes earlier each day between now and the start of Daylight Savings Time. This helps reset your biological clock.
The spring time change isn’t the only time we should be concerned about our levels of sleep. According to the sleep researchers, adults ought to get 8 to 8.5 hours of sleep every night, but few of us do. This does more than leave us groggy in the mornings. Findings have shown that a lack of sleep may increase risks of obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart attacks.
The National Sleep Foundation offers this advice for healthy sleep:
