Officials from Medicare already announced, Wednesday, that they will cover the $93,000 cost of Provenge. Provenge is a drug that is said to give men with end-stage prostate cancer four more months to live.

Medicare said that the drug manufactured by Dendreon Corporation is a very important drug and they want to ensure the drug will become accessible to a lot of men. Because of this, analysts said that Dendreon could sell up to $1 billion worth of the drugs. The decision will be finalized on June 30 and is said to be very important because most men with prostate cancer are 65 years old and above.

Naturally, Medicare covers drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration. FDA cleared Provenge April 2010. Medicare’s decision to review coverage of the drug caused outburst from the public. They said that this is only the government’s way of avoiding reimbursing a costly drug.

Provenge is one of a kind as it is the first, and so far the only drug that utilizes the patient’s immune system to fight the cancer cells. Studies have shown that it can increase prognosis of prostate cancer by 100%. Moreover, it causes fewer side effects than chemotherapy.

Jim Kiefert, a prostate cancer patient, said that among all the treatments he had, Provenge had the least number of side effects. He further said that no one can put a price tag on human health, especially for a drug with very minimal side effects.

Bioethicists, however, argue that Medicare’s decision shows how bias the overall health care system in the U.S. is. Health care takes one fifth of the country’s economy only because the government tends to take pride in high technology, rather than going back to the basics.

A current study has shown that smokers are at a greater risk of developing throat and stomach cancer. The study also mentioned that smokers who quit years ago are still at risk.

Italian researchers studied 33 different and independent studies and concluded that smokers have twice the likelihood of developing esophageal and stomach cancer than those who never smoked in their lifetime.

Smoking has already been noted to increase the risks of developing throat and stomach cancer for years. Even more disturbing is the fact that the risks remain even after you quit smoking. However, they pointed out that quitting this vice is still highly beneficial.

Both types of cancer are not common in the Western part of the world as they are more prevalent in third-world or developing countries. In the recent years, however, occurrence of these cancers has increased in Europe and the United States.

Studies show that there is only one out of 200 chances that an average American will develop esophageal cancer, and one in 114 chance of having stomach cancer. That means if you are an American who has never smoked in their lifetime.

It is also further noted that these kinds of studies do not prove that smoking can directly cause esophageal and stomach cancer. To prove that, researchers have to intentionally expose their subjects to tobacco smoke and that can be questioned from the ethical stand-point.

However, Dr. Eva Negri, head researcher, insisted that the study still gives smokers one more good reason to quit and those who do not, to never start smoking.

Three Filipino drug smugglers have been confirmed as executed by the People’s Republic of China. Execution was conducted despite the Philippine government’s efforts to political concession and clemency for the convicts.

42 year-old Ramon Credo and 32 year-old Sally Villanueva, two of the three convicts, saw their families for the first time in years, but the last in their lifetime just a few hours after their scheduled lethal injection. The two were sentenced of lethal injection in Xiamen City, Southeastern China. Elizabeth Batain, 32, on the other hand met her family hours earlier before her scheduled execution in Shenzhen, City.

The three were not informed, as mandated by the Chinese law, that they were to be executed Wednesday late morning. However, Consul Noel Novicio said that their sentence was promulgated earlier that day. He also said that this is the first time Filipinos were executed in the People’s Republic of China.

All three were arrested on 2008 but on separate occasions after they were alleged to have been carrying 4 kilograms of heroin. They were all convicted and sentenced a year later. Carrying at least 51 grams of heroin and other illicit drugs is punishable by lethal injection in China.

Sister of Sally Villanueva, Maylene Ordinario, said in one of her text messages from Xiamen that they were only given an hour with her sister and that “they [Chinese government] have no mercy.”

Foreign ministry of China spokesperson Jiang Yu, said that drug trafficking is recognized all over the world as a serious crime. She also said that the foreign convicts were treated and sentenced like all the other convicts, Chinese citizens alike.

Yu further stressed that they would not want to see negative impact on China’s bilateral relations with the Philippines. The Philippine government respects the decision of Chinese courts.

Thousands of people attended the memorial service for a Georgia police officer, who was shot dead by an armed carjacker, on Sunday.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald paper, the funeral was attended by nearly 2,500 people, which include law enforcement officers from Georgia and different parts of the country.

Country Officer Elmer “Buddy” Christian was killed during the latest police shootout in Athens on Tuesday afternoon. A days-long manhunt was instigated for the suspect who then surrendered on live telecast.

The suspect, Jamie Hood, 33, also injured Georgia Police Officer Tony Howard during the incident. The second officer was seriously wounded after he was shot in the face and upper body. Reports say he is currently recovering from his injuries.

On Saturday, several armed personnel surrounded a house where Hood held four hostages. Hood surrendered to police and freed his hostages unharmed. The negotiations took a total of 7 hours before the suspect surrendered.

Sources said Hood was worried about his safety after his brother was shot dead by a policeman in 2001 after he aimed a gun to the officer’s head.

Hundreds of police officers lined the streets as Christian’s body was carried by a horse-drawn hearse to Evergreen Memorial Park for burial. His wife, Melissa Christian, followed the carriage and was escorted by two police officers.

In addition to his wife, Christian, 34, is survived by his two children, Wyatt and Callie. Pastor Randy Crowe of Hull Baptist Church warned Christian’s relatives, friends, as well as co-workers to not let anger consume them. Christian was a member of the church.

Crow said becoming a police officer was Christian’s lifelong dream.

A sailboat turned over throwing 10 people in to the water off of San Diego Bay, Sunday. Two men died on the spot, a woman was sent to intensive care, and seven people were injured said the authorities.

The harbor police rescued and pulled out of the water and in to a boat dock everyone aboard the sailboat. Paramedics and firefighters provided first aid but two elderly men in their 60s died on the spot. The other eight were immediately sent to a local hospital. Two children were discharged from the hospital following brief treatment.

Although only 10 people were reportedly aboard the sailboat, divers made sure that there were no any other additional victims in the accident site. Maurice Luque, spokesman of the San Diego Fire and Rescue Team, said that they are confident no one else was a part of the accident.

Most of the injuries were not fatal, although a woman was treated in the intensive care unit of the UCSD Medical Center due to hypothermia. None of the names of the victims were released immediately; however, Luque said that most of them are Asians.

Investigators are still trying to figure out why the boat capsized and sank. Marguerite Elicone, spokesperson of the Port of San Diego, said that there were no other vessels involved and that although there were witnesses they are not sure how significant what they saw are. Investigations are led by the Harbor Police.

The Coast Guard were also on the scene, however, many said that they did not immediately respond to phone calls regarding the accident.

A very violent protest started in Syria last Friday. Many people were reported killed in Daraa city and a boy was slain in Latakia. The spokesman of UN, Rupert Colville, said that tear gas and live ammunition are now being used in Syria, killing no less than 37 people; two children included.

Friday’s event was marked by thousands of protesters marching toward the governor’s office where they burned a huge photo of Bashar al-Assad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, while toppling a statue of Hafez al-Assad. Just a few minutes after that, a witness said that he saw armed men on the roof of the club fronting the governor’s office, and they started firing guns on the protesters.

A political nonconformist, Aman al Aswad, said that many people were killed or wounded in the incident; however, he does not have the precise numbers. The government is yet to confirm the exact number of protesters injured during the security clashes.

Even before Friday’s incident, hundreds of thousands of people already attended a demonstration against the Syrian government. The protesters went out on the streets to support the martyrs who were killed while fighting for their dignity.

The killings and violence in Syria has drawn attention from other countries. The US government strictly condemns such cruelty imposed on the people of Syria. Human Rights Watch said Thursday that around 36 people were murdered within a 48-hour period.

President Bashar al-Assad already talked about reforms and his plans on addressing his people’s woes. All these efforts, however, are put to waste when his armed forces are killing people on the streets who want to see these plans take in to action.

Mutiple Myeloma took its toll on the health of Geraldine Anne Ferraro, Saturday. She is a Democratic politician who was a lawyer, a member of the House of Representatives representing New York’s 9^th district, and also an Ambassador to the United Nations. She also ran to the Senate and as a candidate for Vice President, but was unsuccessful on both.

Ferraro first found out about her condition November of 1998, however, it was kept in the dark until 2001. All she felt back then was unusual fatigue during her senatorial campaign.

Kahler’s Disease or more commonly known as Multiple Myeloma is a type of Cancer that is usually characterized by fatigue and bone pain. This disease attacks the plasma cells leading to the depletion of white blood cells. This causes the body to become susceptible to other diseases and infection.

Multiple Myeloma is a rare form of Cancer affecting only one percent of the total population of Cancer patients, however, it is very deadly. This is more common among dark-skinned people and the usual life-span given to someone who is diagnosed is three to four years; although recent advances in technology have significantly increased patients’ prognosis.

The most common symptoms of Multiple Myeloma are fatigue, bone pain which usually centers at the spine and ribs and exacerbated by activity, infections due to decreased white blood cell, anemia, renal failure, retinopathy, and radicular pain. Radicular pain is the kind of pain that radiates from the nerves of your spinal column to the peripheral part of your body.

Four journalists for the newspaper New York Times were reported missing while covering the war in Libya, the paper informed on Wednesday.

The newspaper said the journalists were last in touch with their editors from the town of Ajdabiya on Tuesday morning.

The journalists include Anthony Shadid and Stephen Farell. Shadid is a two-time winner of Pulitzer Prize while Farell is a videographer and reporter who was also kidnapped in 2009 by the Taliban group and was saved by the British commandos.

Also, two photographers are missing who include Lynsey Addario and Tyler Hicks, the New York Times reported.

The New York Times’ executive editor Bill Keller said they have already talked with the Libyan government officials in Tripoli. The Libyan officials said they are trying to determine the journalists’ whereabouts.

Keller said the government of Libya had assured them that the journalists would be freed promptly and unharmed once they have known that they are captured.

Last week, a reporter from Brazil was released by the government forces in Libya. However, a journalist from the newspaper Guardian in Brazil is still missing.

A news team from BBC also informed last week that it had been arrested at a checkpoint by the security forces in Libya. They said they were beaten and submitted to mock execution.

A revolt occurred in Libya last month, a time when Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan leader since 1969, lost control of a large group in the country. However, Gadaffi’s security forces have battled back since then.

A luxury tour bus from New York’s Chinatown was headed to Philadelphia and crashed on the New Jersey Turnpike Monday evening. Two people were killed and many are injured on the second bus accident on one of the busiest roads in New York City, the police said.

The Chinatown bus carried 45 passengers when it smashed into a concrete support column after it swerved onto a grass divider near East Brunswick of New Jersey, the New Jersey police officials said.

The bus came to a halt and stood at a 90-degree angle to the flow of traffic. According to 21-year-old bus passenger Ashley Wilson, the bus driver lost control and they started to swerve from side to side.

The impact of the collision pushed Driver Wei Wang through the bus’ windshield and was killed. The driver, who was 50-years-old, was not wearing a seatbelt even though it is enforced by law, the police said.

Passenger Troy Nguyen, partially expelled through the bus’ rear window, died after he was brought to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital located in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Officials said five other passengers were seriously injured and were already taken to the trauma unit. About three dozen passengers with minor injuries also received medical treatment at the hospital.

The crash came just a few days after the Saturday bus accident in New York City, which killed 15 passengers from a Connecticut casino headed to Chinatown.

The two buses involved in the recent road accidents were operated by companies based in the neighborhood of Chinatown. The buses were popularly known as “Chinese buses” and were developed by immigrants from China who offer low trip rates around the northeast US.

Authorities were already investigating the Saturday crash whose driver survived in the accident. Safety standards have also been raised since the Saturday accident.

In April, when Prince William and Kate Middleton perform their wedding rites in the Westminster Abbey, they will also participate in a tradition of blue-bloods that has been observed for decades. All of Britain’s royalties have been crowned on these hollowed grounds since 1066 and most of them were wed there too.

The Gothic Church, one of United Kingdom’s finest, is also home to the remains of some of the world’s most important people – Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Charles Dickens. The structure of the church itself, rumored to be priced at £50,000, is already awe-inspiring with light going through the stained-glass windows and echoing corridors.

The Abbey is where you will find the historical Coronation Chair where all monarchs were crowned starting in the 14^th century. The chair is said to be 700 years old. Dr. Tony Trowles even said that the church is home to the widest and most beautiful collection of British sculptures.

The future king’s bride-to-be will walk down the aisle beneath the Gothic arches. She will walk pass tombs of past royalties and priceless medieval paintings. Serenading her will be a remarkable organ and choir.

Prince William’s secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton mentioned in his Clarence House statement that the couple chose the venue because of its timeless beauty and royal history. He also said that even though the church is huge, being in the high chair still exudes a wonderful feeling of intimacy.

Thousands of people visit the Westminster Abbey every day, and probably even more will visit it on the April 29^th royal wedding. For Kate Middleton, however, the Abbey will be more than just a place where her wedding will take place; as this is also where her husband-to-be could be crowned the next King.