Month: October 2025

Is Halloween really associated with the devil?

Having noted a recent post by the leader of the church of Satan, I noticed that everyone started freaking out. The post went something like this. It was a thank you to all Christians allowing devil worship at least one night a year. It didn’t specifically reference Halloween, but we all know what he meant.

So, every body started freaking out and declaring that their children would never trick or treat again and that’s why they stopped them in the first place! Oh sweet Jesus.

Ok, now let’s take a minute and put our brain caps back on and discuss the actual history of the evolution of the commercially popular Halloween that we have today.

Ok, here we go. Halloween is an annual holiday that is celebrated on october 31st. It has roots in an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian observance of All Hallows’ Eve. What? Christian roots as well?! More modern celebrations include things like trick or treat, costumes, and carving pumpkins and haunted houses. This has become a commercialized culture of celebration of horror and the supernatural, hopefully all in good fun.

Let’s take a closer look at the Celtic roots. This holiday traces all the way back to Samhain which was an ancient Celtic festival that celebrated the end of summer and the harvest and the onset of the new year. Participants used to light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts and spirits. There was no devil worship involved.

Now let’s talk about the Christians. Halloween evolved when the Christian Church designated November 1st as All Saint’s Day way back in the 8th century. So, then the night before became All Hallows’ Eve which then further evolved into the Halloween that we know today. Even Halloween today incorporates some of the original Samhain traditions.

Let’s go further and talk about the Irish and Scottish influence. Actual trick-or-treating that we know today started with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century and this practice became a more mainstream even by the 20th century.

So, before you go freaking out and stopping kids from collecting candy while wearing a costume, take a step back and realize that Halloween as we know it today, or even in the past, has nothing to do with Satan or the Devil. Last time I checked, Satan himself used to be a fallen angel so there is a religious background there as well.

Having said all that, I will be wearing my costume this year and handing out candy and spreading joy and spookiness to my neighbors and all the kids that come by.

Happy Halloween folks!

Dr. Katz

Cancer Awareness Months

There are many different cancer awareness months with focused awareness on certain cancers. January is cervical cancer awareness month. February is Nation Cancer Prevention Month and Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer awareness month. March is Colorectal Cancer awareness month and Multiple Myeloma Awareness month. April is Esophageal, Head and Neck Cancer and Testicular Cancer Awareness month. May is National Cancer Research Month, May is also Bladder Cancer, Melanoma, Brain, and Skin Cancer Awareness month. June is National Cancer Survivor Month. July is Sarcoma and Bone Cancer Awareness month. August is Appendix Cancer Awareness month. September covers a lot of cancer awareness. It is Childhood Cancer, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Ovarian, Prostate, and Thyroid Cancer Awareness month. October is Breast and Liver Cancer Awareness month. November is Neuroendocrine Tumors, Gastric, Lung, and Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. Somehow December is not any kind of cancer awareness month.

These are all well and good and should be acknowledged. As a two-time cancer warrior, I guess I would fall into the May and September category, having had lymphoma and brain cancer. Whenever I see postings about these months, I try to educate people and patients about the particular cancer that the month concentrates on. Still, I believe that there are so many additional unmentioned cancers that also deserve attention. I realize while saying this that it would be impossible to list them all. I get that. I guess what I am really trying to say is that cancer is something that we should remain vigilant for and attempt to screen for and diagnosis every single day, not just for a month or a day or a year.

As patient I realize that my particular battles and surveillance will never ever really be over for good. I will always have to be vigilant and follow up. This is why I even stay away from the word survivor because it implies a kind of finality that I don’t really think I have the luxury or confidence to truly embrace. That is ok. I am so happy just to still exist that the lifetime of surveillance does not trouble me. I plan to be in it for the long haul and whatever I have to do to help make that happen, I am in!

Digest these thoughts for a bit and have an amazing and grateful day!

Dr. Katz

Ruth and Helen

I met with my aunt yesterday and I learned, or rather, relearned, yesterday that I have two amazing great great aunts named Ruth and Helen Hoffman. I am sure that I heard a tidbit here and there about them in my youth but the facts did not stick and I hadnt heard about them since.

Boy was I missing out!. These two fierce, intelligent, and adventurous women travelled and lived around the globe for years. They were artists, writers, and adventurers. They studied in Paris. They painted beautiful art. I was lucky enough to get one of their works from my aunt yesterday and it is now hanging in my office. It is of a beautiful middle eastern woman breastfeeding her child. Apparently my aunt did not notice this detail but I saw it right away. She let me have it and I was so grateful that I hung it immediately.

They hung out with famous artists, composers and the like all of the world. They ate with sheiks at the men’s table and lived in their own separate tent in the desert. They were not technically a part of an official harem, but the sheikh found them so fascinating he interacted with them regularly and engaged in meaningful conversation.

They designed a great deal of postcards, greeting cards and advertisements. They produced a great deal of art and used to have their own showings at Macy’s. My aunt and I sifted through hundreds of their cards and artwork. It was amazing the variety of color and detail and the continued shifting themes.

Then, we got to my favorite part! Their books. Yes, that’s right. They were authors and illustrators as well. They wrote three books with their own illustrations within. One was titled We Married An Englishman. One was titled Our Arabian Nights. The final book was titled We Lead A Double Life. I was even able to see the prelude letter to Our Arabian nights to their then publisher notifying them that something even better was coming after their first book. I am hoping to get a copy of that letter as well.

The bottom line is, that I feel a kindred spirit tie to these women. We share a love of life, love, art, literature, and adventure. I feel honored to even know about their presence and I can’t wait to read those books! I will let you know how they turn out!

Dr. Katz