Radon Books

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/07)

Cancer touches countless lives every day. Chances are that either you or somebody very near and dear to you has had to fight it at some point in your life. While medicine has certainly advanced greatly in the past, mortality rates from cancer are still high and still scary.

While it seems to me that the American way of medicine tends to be geared much more towards curing the disease once it manifests itself than to preventing it in the first place, I found "Avoiding Cancer One Day at A Time" a very refreshing departure from the usual pattern. Extremely well researched and comprehensive, this incredibly readable book leads the reader through many facets of possible cancer prevention. While it is obvious that the authors have done an incredible amount of serious research, the book never gets too technical for an average reader. From a simple introduction to cancer prevention to an eye-opening Cancer Prevention IQ Pretest and a chapter on what cancer is and what causes it, the authors alert us to numerous things that we could do to increase our chances of not being one of the scary cancer statistics in the future.

While authors primarily focus on primary cancer prevention - as in before it actually happens, there is also a chapter on secondary prevention (finding cancer and preventing it from spreading) and some notes on tertiary prevention (support methods for individuals with cancer). Each of the chapters concludes with a list of practical points, and if you start your journey just by reading those, you'll have to agree that there are very many simple and eminently sensible steps we can take to increase our chances of staying healthy. If any of the topics discussed in the particular chapter really intrigue you, there are very comprehensive lists of resources and further online information available for advanced research.

Chapter 10, the "Avoiding Cancer Recipe Collection," features not only mouth-watering, yet sensible recipes, but also stories of people whose lives were changed by cancer forever. Do take a particular note of the conversion table for the recipes there: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care.

The book concludes with Appendices, the first Appendix being the worksheets for applying cancer-prevention principles, the second one a scarily long list of carcinogens; and a nearly 30-pages long list of references.

"Avoiding Cancer One Day at A Time" was a fascinating read, which showed me how little most of us know about proper cancer prevention and how easy a great majority of those prevention steps really are. This book should find a permanent place in every American home, where it should be read, re-read and used often.

"In 2004, the medical world was shaken a bit when scientists found a link between the incidence of breast cancer and antibiotic use... There has been much debate about this study, but given the increasing resistance of microbes to antibiotics, it generates further concern over the overuse of antibiotics in the United States." Written by Lynne Eldridge, M.D. and David Borgeson, MS, MPT, Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer is a health and wellness guide to preventing cancer through avoiding carcinogens and implementing lifestyle and diet practices that can reduce cancer risk. From a healthy sex life to the right amount of sleep to maintaining a proper weight, choosing one's medications carefully, and much more, Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time covers reasonable, practical strategies with a strong benefit for overall health. Written in plain terms for lay readers, Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time is highly recommended for its solid health and lifestyle improvement advice.

Dr. Lynne Eldridge and David Borgeson have written an authoritative, good-humored and remarkably practical book on how people can alter their lifestyles and add years to their lives. "Avoiding Cancer: One Day at a Time" is about do-able prevention, and sets a needed example for American health care, where research and resources disproportionately address diagnosis and treatment to the neglect of keeping people healthy in the first place. This is an easy read, loaded with practical information - from everyday environmental hazards, to avoidance of carcinogenic lifestyle choices, to a deep and useful discussion of preventive nutrition. And there is a terrific "Avoiding Cancer Recipe Collection" which could be expanded into a book of its own. In sum, the best reader-friendly cancer prevention book I've ever read.

In the introduction, the author says she wrote this book because she wants you to "be prepared" before the siren blows, announcing the disaster.

Say this out loud: One in every two American men and one out of every three American women will get cancer over the course of their lifetime (pg. 1). Now does the author have your attention?

Quoting from the British Cancer Control Society, "...treating disease is enormously profitable, preventing disease is not."

If far more money is spent to treat than prevent, and physicians are restricted by managed care--now is the time for us to know more and advocate for our own health. Other money issues concern how our food is produced (what is put on our plants to increase yield and what animals are fed to grow faster).

As consumers we will spend whatever is needed to treat illness, but we do not spend time and money to educate ourselves about avoiding the disease in the first place. And yet ... "80-95% of cancers that have a environmental component, only one third are due to smoking."

However: "One thousands Americans stop smoking every day--by dying." (Author unknown)

Chapter 2 starts with 25 questions--and now I AM concerned because I answered yes to too many--and my ignorance is showing. You may feel the same when you answer them.

The authors left no cancer-causing stone unturned. Through charts, graphs, lists, recipes and action suggestions, you will understand your body and your environment--and how what you eat and drink and do can affect your health. The back of the book has worksheets, very helpful appendices, a carcinogen list, references and index so you can find things easily.

Author Lynne Eldridge, M.D. is a medical doctor who has studied human exposure to pesticide and has practiced family medicine with an emphasis on prevention. David Borgeson has a Masters in epidemiology and is a practicing physical therapist that emphasizes health promotion.

The authors have asked us to make many changes in our lives to live longer and cancer free--and some are easy and some will be hard. They do not want us to become overwhelmed and do nothing--just start with what you can change today.

Armchair Interviews says: The contents can--and should frighten you into action and change. Maybe then you will never have to hear the words: You have cancer!

Paranoia would be a perfectly logical response to this cancer-prevention book. You might be tempted to rifle through your medicine cabinet and laundry room shelves, disposing of any product that isn't vinegar, baking soda or bottled water. You may never use an air freshener again or allow another French fry to pass between your lips. In fact, Dr. Lynne Eldridge and her brother, epidemiologist David Borgeson, warn against becoming fanatical in attempting to reduce carcinogenic threats in your environment. But they aren't apologetic about presenting a wealth of valuable information that could help prolong your life. The authors admit that links between certain chemicals and cancers are inconclusive, and they judge the medical establishment pretty harshly. Then they present the most current information based on studies and statistics, and leave it to you to accept or reject their recommendations. We recommend this book in the belief that much of what the authors cover makes sense. Don't get scared; get busy.

This book was recommended to me by a supplier of radon mitigation equipment and is excellent. It has more than adequate design and installation to allow a reasonably competent DIYer to design and install their own radon mitigation system. In addition, it covers the necessary safety precautions to take in the process.

If you don't plan to install your own system, but simply want to be informed as you work with a professional, then this book will also serve you well.

Now if I can just find a book of this type for septic system design...

Matt

January 2005 is National Radon Action Month!
EPA and organizations nationwide dedicate January as National Radon Action Month to encourage the public to test their homes for radon and get radon problems fixed. Did you know?

Radon comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air you breathe. Radon can be found all over the U.S. It can get into any type of building - homes, offices, and schools - and result in a high indoor radon level. But you and your family are most likely to get your greatest exposure at home, where you spend most of your time

You can't see radon. And you can't smell it or taste it. But it may be a problem in your home.

-Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer
-Nearly one in 15 homes in the U.S. has a high level of indoor radon
-The U.S. Surgeon General and EPA recommend all homes be tested for radon.
-Homes with high radon levels can be fixed.

I saw a previous (1st) edition of this book in my college library. It's too theoretical for engineers--useless for engineers. It's written for mathematicians. I thought this would help since u can't see what's inside online.

Stanley Roderick Deans shows us radon transforms like never before seen. This is quite a technically sound spell-bounding book. I have found every page to be useful. I even often go through it again and again on a daily basis. Quite a stunning techinical achievement. A must read for anyone serious about the study of mathematics.

This book discusses the definition of the Radon transform, it's properties, it's relation to other transforms (Fourier, et al.), it's inverse, and so on. It is well documented. (It even contains a translation of Radon's original 1917 paper!)

This book is the most useful source of such information I've found, so far. I judge it to be a bit challenging to advanced undergraduate students in mathematics and engineering. Graduate students should be able to handle it and may also feel that it extends them.

Four stars instead of five because some of the proofs reference papers apart from the book. It could be more readable, but it is quite good as it is.

I recommend it.

A very good book, especially because it has a lot of imagination. If you want to try something familiar enough to be digestible, but different enough to truly keep you guessing, try this.

The Radon File is written in a "police procedural" style--you know, the kind where the detective talks like: "I'm Joe Friday. On Monday my partner Fred and I cruised over to Floyd's bungalow to grill him about the Jenkins case. He wouldn't talk until I accidentally spilled coffee on his shoes. He yelled, 'That was no accident!' 'Oh, no?" I asked. 'Well what about this, does this look like an accident?' And I stroked his ugly mug a few times with the butt of my .38. Then he sang like a parakeet..."

But it's set in a semi-dark future, where a hybrid communist global government is in charge, but dissent is openly tolerated, and personal creativity is encouraged, even mandated. The decrepit economy is reminiscent of Soviet-era Eastern Europe. Amid this mess, low-grade supernatural events have started to sprout like mushrooms all over the landscape, and alien influences may be involved.

There are 5 or 6 books with the same central character, a woman named Ty Merrick, who has a trauma-induced form of lycanthropy. It's not stereotypical at all; she doesn't turn fully into a wolf, and doesn't eat people. Like the main detective's lycanthropic disorder, the dystopian setting of the book is treated completely differently than anything I've read before. Among the other titles are "Manjinn Moon" and "Opalite Moon". I have ordered all of them.

Everything and everyone in the story is broken, but I was not left depressed. It's all strangely rather encouraging in regard to the ability of average humans to overcome the craptastic plans of their governments.

I was completely unimpressed by this book. The characters are undeveloped and do not gain any depth in the course of the novel. The plot is confused, and ineffective. Many of the events did not follow logically, and there was little basis for much of the plot.

I usually do not like dystopian novels. Current headlines are bad enough without looking into a future where the US has become enmeshed in an economic and ecological nightmare. I do, however. like mystery novels. I've always been fond of the theory that mysteries are popular in times of stress because they demonstate the triumph of order over chaos when the culprit is identified and the rule of law restored. Which may explain why I like these novels so much.

Detective Ty Merrick due to an encounter with a defective heater, has become a modern lycanthrope. She has what she describes as "stretches" where she changes mentally and physically. This is not covered by her medical plan.

Her partner, LaRue, collects Soviet Communism and drives an antique East German Trabrant with a spring necked plastic statue of Lenin that with each bump bobs its head and squeaks "comrade, comrade." He also believes fervently in the effectiveness of magic spells to help control the external world.

Together, They struggle to maintain order in a world of constant shortages, where all officials are corrupt and most of the population manages to bridge the gap between what is provided by the state and what they need to survive by scavaging.

Which leads back to the theory about mysteries. By continuing to do their job in the midst of intolerable conditions, Ty and LaRue show that order can triumph over chaos, that there is some hope of resolution of the larger problems, and (in their loyalty to one another) that there is some interest other than self interest.

The books could best be considered police procedurals set in hell. They should, by the way, should be read sequentially to appreciate the evolving nature of Ty's lycanthropy.

I usually do not like dystopian novels. Current headlines are bad enough without looking into a future where the US has become enmeshed in an economic and ecological nightmare. I do like mystery novels though. I've always been fond of the theory that mysteries are popular in times of stress because they demonstate the triumph of order over chaos when the culprit is identified and the rule of law takes over. Which may explain why I like these novels.

Detective Ty Merrick due to an encounter with a defective heater's fumes, has become a modern lycanthrope. She has what she describes as "stretches" where she changes mentally and physically. Her partner LaRue collects Soviet Communism and drives an antique East German Trabrant with a spring necked plastic statue of Lenin that with each bump bobs its head and squeaks "comrade, comrade." They struggle to maintain order in a world where there are constant shortages, all officials are corrupt and most of the populations manages to bridge the gap between what is provided by the state and what they need to survive by scavaging while they rely on supersition and magic to try to gain some control of their environment.

Which leads back to the theory about mysteries. By continuing to do their job in the midst of intolerable conditions, Ty and LaRue show some order does exist, there is some hope when they suceed in solving a crime that order can be restored at least to some small part of the world.

the books, by the way, should be read sequentially to appreciate the evolving nature of Ty's lycanthropy.

Yes, this book really needs an update, but if you are worried about radon levels in your home, this book is required reading. The author clearly presents the science of radon and its relationship to lung cancer. He thoroughly reviews the data and, most importantly, the uncertainties involved in linking lung cancer rates to radon levels. You will learn that there isn't much disagreement about the scientific data but it has been used to reach widely-varying public policies on acceptable radon levels. He does a fine job of presenting the policy positions of people who think that the EPA 4 pc/l limit is too high, too low, or "just right". The author's sympathies are clearly with those who maintain that the EPA limit is too low, and he argues effectively for using the 10-20 pc/l limit that is the policy in other countries, - specifically Canada, Sweden, and Norway.

A good bit of the book is devoted to reviews of the US media coverage of radon issues and the struggles that politicians have had with setting public policy. These sections contain some interesting stories of bureaucratic confusion and mismanagement, but this part of the book is mostly of interest to students of media and political science.

My conclusion from reading this book is that you are a non-smoker, you should consider taking action if your long-term (3 months or more) radon levels are above 20 pc/l. Below that level, the health risks are somewhere between low and none. And if you are a smoker, quitting smoking will reduce your chances of getting lung cancer far more than anything you can do about radon.

A worthwhile book. For those wanting to learn about radon, it is far better than the "dumbed down" publications the EPA provides to the general audience. Presents several points of view as to the possible radon health threat. The book also provides insight into how one U.S. federal standard (the 4 pCi/L "limit") was set. What this book really needs is an updated edition. A lot more data have been collected since this book was published in 1993.

This book is a good overview of the subject by a recognized expert written for the layman. As I am writing (July 2007) this book is being offered new for $81 or used for $0.01, and some other low prices. I wouldn't pay $81 for it but for under $20 it's a good value. My survey indicates that it is the only reasonably thorough cheap resource on human exposure to radon. I am particularly impressed by the numerous useful tables and charts. References to primary sources of information are provided (pre-1900 of course). A rough list of topics covered: Physics, geology and toxicology of radon. Geography of radon risk. Entry of radon into homes and methods of remediation for homes with high radon exposure. Radon risks vs other risks. Unlike the editorial reviewer I didn't find it to be "dry". Published in 1990 it is obviously somewhat out of date; if the author is still alive I would like to see a second edition.

X-RAY PROTECTION AND ABSORBTIO

I'll say that I greatly enjoyed reading this book. With a deep plot of an FBI investigation on a giant cult that is impacting nations all around the world, the stakes become very high for Clare Conroy who is an FBI agent that has managed to "get in" into the cult and work as a spy. Many times her life will be put on the line all for the safety of the world! A real thriller!!!
In the beginning I will have to admit however, that it is a little slow going with all of the talking and narrating. However even though it can be boring in the first few chapters of the book thing will start to get interesting. It REALLY starts to pick up. With near death experiences because of car bombs, raids, and other exciting circumstances. This book is not one that is easy to put down.