To cruise or not to cruise?

When it comes to vacations, everyone seems to love them, but no one really loves planning them. Though choosing where to go can be exciting, the more minute details, such as booking a flight, reserving a hotel room or arranging for a rental car, can prove tedious.

One popular road many vacationers travel isn't a road at all, but rather the sea. Cruises remain popular among vacationers, likely because someone else does all the planning, typically for one bottom-line price.

But is a cruise right for you? Consider the following pros and cons of cruise vacations before making your final decision.

The Good

Savings: The vast majority of cruise vacations are package priced. That means room, dining, most entertainment and extra incentives are all agreed upon and paid upfront, lessening the chance for financial surprises. Drinks are usually not included in the package price, but those can be part of the budget you plan before setting sail. Many times, vacationers spend less money out-of-pocket on a cruise because the daily expenses are taken care of before they ever get on the boat.
Better personal treatment: Because you'll be spending significant time with the crew while you're out at sea, cruise staffers tend to pamper their guests more than typical hotel staffers. Also, staffers and guests get to know each other better, which can make for a more friendly vacation.
Open your suitcase once ... and you won't have to pack it again until your vacation is over. While most cruise ships do dock in a handful of ports, your belongings stay on board, unlike other traveling vacations where you'll need to keep hopping hotels to experience more than one city.
More relaxation: On a cruise, you essentially have a chauffeur to do your driving for you. The only real difference is that the chauffeur is "driving" a boat and the "road" is really a body of water. With someone else doing the "driving," you can kick back and relax as opposed to being stuck in traffic or scrambling to catch a train to your next destination. For families, a cruise can be a great way to avoid cramped cars and questions such as, "Are we there yet?"

The Bad
Not much time to explore: For many vacationers, a big joy of traveling is taking a day to just wander around and explore, with no set schedule and no specific plans. On a cruise, however, such exploration time is often limited, and most of your time will be spent aboard the ship. If you're looking for a vacation that will show you what it's like to live in a different culture, a cruise probably isn't your thing.
Food: Another thing many vacationers look forward to is sampling the food exclusive to certain countries or regions of the world. On a cruise, however, the menu is typically standard fare, regardless of where you might be docking that day.
Places tend to mesh into one: A cruise ship can't dock inland, and many coastal port towns tend to be very tourist-laden with respect to shops and restaurants. It's very hard to get a feel for a country's culture or way of life in a coastal port town.
Whether or not to go on a cruise typically boils down to the individual. For some, the idea of having a vacation already planned out can be a great way to kick back and relax. For others, a vacation is a great way to satisfy their sense of wanderlust, so a more traditional vacation might be the way to go.

Knowledge a strong ally in fighting prostate cancer

Despite only affecting men, prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America. As men grow older, their chances of getting prostate cancer increase greatly.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), men under 40 need not worry nearly as much as their elders. While 1 in 10,000 men under 40 years of age will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, those chances increase dramatically for those same men once they're between the ages of 60 and 69, when they have a 1 in 14 chance of diagnosis. Though that can understandably induce fear in men and the people who care for them, prostate cancer isn't unbeatable. In fact, when diagnosed and treated early, the cure rate for prostate cancer is 90 percent, offering hope to those facing such a diagnosis.
Symptoms
Men should not leave the detection of prostate cancer up to their doctors and their doctors alone. Since prostate cancer has such a high cure rate when detected early, much of the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the individual, who shouldn't be afraid to report any of the following symptoms the moment they take effect.
·Frequent urination, especially throughout the night.
·Blood in urine or semen.
·Lower back, hip or upper thigh pain that is frequent and persistent.
·Painful urination, where a burning sensation can be overwhelming.
·Difficulty urinating, when the flow of urine is noticeably weak or even interrupted.
While those are some of the symptoms, others can show up as well, including difficulty obtaining an erection as well as painful ejaculation. Any of the aforementioned symptoms should be reported to a physician immediately, as early detection is a man's biggest ally in his fight against prostate cancer.
Risk Factors
Another important ally in battling prostate cancer is not only the knowledge of potential symptoms, but the knowledge of risk factors as well. These can be beyond a man's control, but should shed light on just how likely he may or may not be to eventually be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
·Genetics. Statistics have shown that African-American men are far more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian males. Though the precise reasons for that are unclear, it's important that African-American men recognize that increased susceptibility and take any potential symptoms seriously.
Genetics also affect those men who have seen first-degree relatives suffer from prostate cancer. The likelihood of developing prostate cancer doubles in men whose father, brother or son have had the disease. Similar to how a son with bad knees might say, "I have my father's knees," if your father has had prostate cancer, you unfortunately might also follow in his footsteps.
·Diet and lifestyle. Diet and lifestyle affect nearly everything men and women do these days. Poor diet and a lack of exercise can open the door for a multitude of health problems for men, one of which is prostate cancer. According to PCF, recent research has shown that modifying your diet can help in the fight against prostate cancer, whether it's preventing recurrence of the disease, lessening the chances you'll get it, or slowing its progress, which in turn can make treatment more effective.
Just which foods can help remains somewhat of an enigma, as research is ongoing with respect to certain theories. For instance, PCF, in their Nutrition and Prostate Cancer Guide, note that a current study is being conducted at Northwestern University to determine if tomato-based products delay the onset and progression of prostate cancer. At a minimum, two servings per week of tomato sauce seem to reduce development and progression of the disease thanks to the antioxidant lycopene found in tomatoes. Lycopene supplements, however, might not have the same effect, as absorption of lycopene can change depending on the way it is cooked or processed.
Numerous other studies, concerning what types of vegetables, the different pros and cons concerning certain vitamins and minerals, and even the truth about red meat have also been conducted.

Prostate Cancer by the Numbers
65%: of prostate cancer cases diagnosed in men over the age of 65
1 in 10,000: chances of men under the age of 40 of being diagnosed
1 in 38: chances of men between the ages of 40 and 59 of being diagnosed
1 in 14: chances of men between the ages of 60 and 69 of being diagnosed
1 in 6: number of American men suffering from prostate cancer
61%: African-American men are 61 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men
2.5: African-American men are 21/2 times as likely to die from prostate cancer than Caucasian men
90%: cure rate for prostate cancer when the disease is diagnosed and treated early.

Encouraging reading beneficial to kids

Nowadays, television seems to be more popular than ever. Programs appear to be more hyped, advancements in technology make television viewing akin to going to the movies and busy schedules have many people feeling as if some time with the tube is a great way to relax.

The pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of quality programming per day for children. Yet, despite such recommendations, the children typically watch four hours of television per day. This includes children under the age of two, who the pediatrics suggests should not watch any television at all, for fear of stunting cognitive, social and emotional development.

Watching TV is far more damaging to kids than it is to adults for a number of reasons.
·Weight problems. Common sense tells you sitting on the couch won't benefit you physically and it hurts children even more. The children who spend four hours or more per day watching television are more likely to be overweight. Overweight children do not develop appropriate patterns of exercise, which will hurt them well into their adult years.
·What television teaches. Studies have shown that television has consistently reinforced gender roles and racial stereotypes. In spite of a parents' best efforts, subtle nuances between what parents teach their children and what the television is teaching them could be negatively influencing how they see the world.
·What kids might see. While adults have the ability to differentiate between reality and the fictional world of television, children might not always be able to do so. For example, studies have indicated that children who see violence on television are more likely to believe something bad will happen to them, despite the two being entirely unrelated.

For parents, each of those potential consequences should understandably be cause for concern. Limiting television time is one solution some childcare professionals have suggested, while others suggest replacing typical programming with more educational programming. Where most advocates seem to agree concerns varying children's activities to include exercise and reading, among other things. While most children enjoy exercise, getting them to read can be a different story, meaning parents might have to come up with some creative ways to get their kids to embrace reading.
·Don't force it. As any parent knows, telling kids they have to do something often results in them not doing it. Such is the case with reading. Forcing a child to read can turn him off to reading forever. Try establishing a time each day when the television's turned off and everyone reads. Parents don't need to force reading during these times, but since children are greatly influenced by their parents' behavior, chances are they will also start reading.
·Buy kids magazines. Magazines geared toward children can be great ways to get them excited about reading. Unlike adult magazines, these magazines will feature stories written at reading levels more appropriate for children. In addition, most kids enjoy getting mail, so a subscription in their name will be something that excites them.
·Consider a reading allowance. Allowances aren't just for video games or ice cream cones. Along with their usual allowance, give kids an allowance for reading materials, be it books or magazines. Make sure they know such an allowance is intended solely for reading material, and bring them along each time you go to the bookstore. Again, since children often mimic their parents' behavior, if they see you buying a book, they'll be more inclined to buy one, too.
·Use your older kids. Perhaps the biggest influence on young children is their older brothers and sisters. If you have older children who enjoy reading, ask them to encourage younger siblings, simply by reading in front of them, suggesting books they read when they were younger or having them include the younger kids on trips to the library or bookstore.

Encouraging kids to read can be a great way to promote their cognitive development.