CHOO CHOO CHOW: Have a favorite healthy dish that might be fun fuel for Thomas the Tank Engine? PBS KIDS Sprout is asking viewers to submit healthy recipes named for Thomas (for example, "Choo Choo Chopped Salad" or "Thomas' Tasty Tomato Dip") in its first "Sprout Diner Contest," through Dec. 31. See contest details and prizes at www.sproutonline.com.

Health tips

Ten ways seniors can stay healthy this winter:

* Get vaccinated against the flu, which can be fatal to older adults.

* Ask your doctor about Pneumovax, the vaccine that protects against pneumonia.

* Keep rooms evenly lit: Older people have difficulty adjusting to changes in light, and high contrasts increase the risk of slip and falls. Use night lights and tape extension cords to the floor.

* Check your rugs for wrinkles or tears; use padding or tape to prevent them from sliding.

* Have mats inside and outside the tub; grab bars inside the tub if needed; always check water temperature getting in.

* Keep exercising - preferably indoors - but avoid strenuous activity like shoveling snow.

* Drink at least four daily glasses of water; don't change this just because it is winter.

* Make sure your smoke alarms work. If you live in a house, add carbon-monoxide detectors.

* Wear shoes with anti-slip soles to help on icy streets.

* Have a programmable phone with emergency numbers entered. Consider a personal emergency response system, a device worn around the neck or on a bracelet that can summon help.

Source: New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

By the numbers

Surviving cancer

New and improved treatments and earlier diagnosis are contributing to a growing number of cancer survivors.

Some changes in the cancer survival landscape, as reported in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter:

* 10 million-plus: number of Americans with a history of cancer alive in January 2002, the most recent figure available.

* 1 in 6: ratio of cancer survivors over age 65.

* 65 percent: five-year survival rate for cancer diagnosed between 1995 and 2001; the rate was 50 percent from 1974 to 1976.

* 2.3 percent: decline in breast cancer deaths each year between 1990 and 2004; in the 1950s, the five-year survival rate for cancer that hadn't spread was 80 percent. Now that rate is at 98 percent.

* Nearly 100 percent: Five-year survival rate for prostate cancer, up from 67 percent in the last 20 years.

* 1.8 percent: decline in colorectal cancer mortality rates each year over the past 20 years; early detection of colorectal cancer is associated with a five-year survival rate of 90 percent.

* 42 percent: one-year survival rate for lung cancer between 1999 and 2001, up from 37 percent in 1975; still the most common cancer killer in men and women.

Source: Mayo Clinic Health Letter, November issue