The number of radical prostatectomies performed increased nearly six times in the time period of 1984 to 1990. A study from the Biomedical Information Communications Center of the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, suggests that many men with localized prostate cancer may benefit from watchful waiting, rather than radical prostatectomy. They point out that vigorous treatment may result in such unwanted effects as loss of control of the urine and impotence, which may greatly reduce the man's quality of life. Treatment of advanced prostate cancer may prolong life an average of only about one year. The researchers conclude that in prostate cancer patients older than 70 years of age watchful waiting is a reasonable alternative.
Smoking seems to damage the memory and limit one's ability to remember previous experiences.
This may mean that smokers are less able to handle emergencies such as a car skidding on a wet road or after a tire blowout. They point out that birthweight is not an indication of health or lack of it. Illness in small infants is not attributable to low birth weight, but to the disease process which caused the low birth weight. Furthermore, there is no evidence that increasing birth weight reduces sickness or death in newborns. Efforts to increase infant birthweight also increase the risk of complications during labor.