Feisty people seem to live longer

Dear Dr. Gott: Let me preface my remarks by telling you I was born Sept. 27, 1922. You can do the math.

If it weren’t for a deteriorated disc in my lower spine I could be out doing cartwheels. I am 25 pounds heavier than I was at 25. I can’t walk miles and miles, but thanks to modern medicine, I walk without pain. I have controlled high blood pressure. My cholesterol is OK, as are my heart and lungs. At my age it’s a miracle. Even more of a miracle is the fact that I have smoked since I was 20 years old – that’s almost 62 years of smoking. I have an annual physical and the doctor just shakes his head.

I sometimes think it’s all in the genes whether one is prone to cancer. The only cancer in my family (both sides) was my 93-year-old grandmother, but then she had to die of something (she also smoked).

My only medical problem is my husband, who is an Alzheimer’s patient. Enough said. Next week we will have been married for 61 years.

Dear Reader: Cancer is certainly genetic, but we don’t know exactly which genes and what to do about them.

You sound fairly feisty – that’s admirable. Feisty people seem to live longer. Keep making your doctor shake his head. His neck probably needs the exercise. Keep going, stop smoking, and God bless.

Dear Dr. Gott: I’m a 39-year-old female in good health. I exercise three to four times a week by playing tennis, fitness walking or rollerblading. Lately, my knees often feel weak when I walk up or down stairs, and I am worried that I’m headed for greater problems as I age. Is there anything I can do to strengthen my knees, and would you recommend wearing a brace on my knees as I see some women do on the tennis court?

Dear Reader: The problem you describe – some weakness on stairs – is probably due to quadricep deconditioning. The quadricep muscles of the thigh flex and extend the lower leg. You can strengthen these muscles with special exercises, such as leg lifts, or use the machines designed for this purpose in fitness centers. I do not believe that your knees are to blame, because you are not experiencing pain. Therefore, I don’t recommend knee braces, which are useful primarily for unstable joints such as can occur from injuries or arthritis. Braces protect, but do not rehabilitate. I think that you would be better served by a program of strengthening.