According to a recent Conference Board of Canada research project report, Canadians are not any healthier than they were a decade ago, despite having much more knowledge of what makes up a healthy lifestyle, “An alarming number of Canadians are moving very little, sitting too long, eating poorly, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much, and continuing to smoke,” said Thy Dinh, Senior Research Associate. [...]
When news about a startling new insight into the cause of Alzheimer’s disease first emerged in 2005, it was highly speculative. But now the evidence for it has become very strong: Alzheimer’s is a form of diabetes, and the name being given to it is type 3. […]
Family Consulting I am delighted to announce I am growing my family consulting practice. I’ll outline briefly a case I am working on now, which concerns my client, a 60-year old son and his 85-year old mother. […]
In addition to being featured the above mentioned Financial Post Magazine, I was recently asked to participate on a panel for the CBC’s Radio One show The Current. The show topic: Palliative care experts say it's time for Canadians to talk about end of life care. The program opened with an interview with U.S. oncologist Dr. Atul Gawande who has written a wonderful book “Being Mortal: [...]
It’s not as hard to make it to 100 as you think. Statistics Canada says there were 5,825 centenarians in 2011, up from 3,795 just a decade earlier. By 2061, the federal agency estimates close to 80,000 people will reach the century mark. There are five major things that determine how long you live. Smoking Being overweight Exercise The type of food you eat Your family [...]
I know a great deal about aging but this study surprised even me. They are called "the oldest old ‘ – those who are people age 90 and above, and they are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Yet very little is known about the oldest old, since until recently, there were so few of them. So what determines which of us will make it [...]
Exciting news!! We are delighted to announce the re-launch of our web site, Canada’s most informative educational resource centre for Canadians and their professional advisors! New to the site: What Karen is Saying. ; hear Karen being interviewed about such topics as financial preparation for aging, long term care planning and when aging parents can no longer care for themselves. There is also a new section [...]
The Alzheimer Society of Ontario has asked Karen to become a volunteer Champion for Dementia. In this role Karen will advocate for change in the care for persons with dementia and their caregivers. She will meet with her MPP with the goal of influencing the 2014 budget by putting a face to dementia for the MPPs and getting the message out. Desjardins Financial Security asked Karen [...]
There are ardent advocates on both sides of the argument; a growing number of physicians feel that they should have the right to cease life-sustaining treatment when it clearly is not helping and may be even causing additional pain for the patient. Quebec is leading the charge on medically assisted suicide; palliative sedation is already legal in Quebec. The province has recently tabled Bill 52 which [...]
The average 21st century North American is projected to spend more years taking care of aging family members than raising children. Ken Dychtwald, Psychologist/Gerontologist, author of Age Power It’s no secret that your clients are aging, and with their aging comes the aging of their parents. A few families anticipate this eventuality but the majority hope that the issue will look after itself because they cannot [...]
Before you attempt to sell long-term-care (LTC) insurance, consider examining your own life and plan for your own care. This hands-on experience then provides the confidence needed to approach clients, and points out where the gaps are in your knowledge and planning process. Since women are at the top of the risk list for needing long term care, meet an advisor named Mary. She is 49 [...]
There is a Sufi saying that two veils separate us from the divine—health and security. As we age we begin to understand how these two words start to define what is truly important in life. According to Moshe Milevsky, finance professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, for a couple who is 65 today, there is a 50% chance at least one of them will [...]
