Who Is
W. Gifford-Jones, MD
Dr. Ken Walker (who writes under the pseudonym of Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, MD) is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Harvard Medical School. He trained in general surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University and in Gynecology at Harvard. His storied medical career began as a general practitioner, ship’s surgeon, and hotel doctor. For more than 40 years, he specialized in gynecology, devoting his practice to the formative issues of women’s health. In 1975, he launched his weekly medical column that has been published by national and local Canadian and U.S. newspapers. Today, the readership remains over seven million.
His advice contains a solid dose of common sense and he never sits on the fence with controversial issues. He is the author of nine books including, “The Healthy Barmaid”, his autobiography “You’re Going To Do What?”, “What I Learned as a Medical Journalist”, and his latest book, “90+ How I Got There!”.
Many years ago, he was successful in a fight to legalize heroin to help ease the pain of terminal cancer patients. His foundation at that time donated $500,000 to establish the Gifford-Jones Professorship in Pain Control and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto Medical School. At 93 years of age he rappelled from the top of Toronto’s City Hall (30 stories) to raise funds for children with a life-threatening disease through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. His hobby is trap shooting.
He is married to Susan and has four children and twelve grandchildren.
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Health Tips
Get into the Garden and Grow Organic Vegetables
May 20, 2024
Gardening can be enjoyable, productive, and great exercise. Growing your own organic vegetables can ease grocery bills too. Even in a small urban plot, it's remarkable what can be grown. But getting a garden off...
Read on and get more Medical Tips... →Nutrition, Pain
Weight and Diet Strain Knees and Hips
May 18, 2024
How many thousands of knee and hip replacements, and how much pain, could be avoided by the right diet? Arthritis has been called the chronic-care challenge of the 21st century. It is no small problem in...
Read Article →Alternate Treatments, Cardiovascular, Cholesterol, Nutrition, Vitamins
Cardiovascular Health 101
May 11, 2024
Heart attacks are common and deadly. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control acknowledges that one person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease. The Government of Canada reports about 14 adults aged 20...
Read Article →Cancer
Large Bowel Cancer in Younger People on the Rise
May 4, 2024
New statistics published by the American Cancer Society should be alarming. The numbers point to an increase in colon malignancy in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Yet, there’s been a decrease in large...
Read Article →W. Gifford-Jones, MD
Tells It Like It Is
“You’re Going To Do What?”
How is such a busy, professional, well-traveled doctor and writer able to extol great advice at 90+? By leading a healthful, intentional life, and by applying his knowledge and common-sense approach — gained from years of research — to his own daily routines. Journey with Dr. W. Gifford-Jones through the remarkable career as a hotel doctor, ship’s surgeon, family physician, surgical specialist, syndicated medical journalist, and maverick. Along the way, learn the “do’s and don’ts” of reaching the age of wisdom.
W. Gifford-Jones, MD: 90+ and going strong.
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