Dear Dr. Gott: I have read your column for more years than I can remember. I cannot believe your many readers who claim to be in very good health or in the best of health.

Then they go on to explain that they have cancer, heart trouble, strokes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, fainting, dizziness and some other diseases I cannot even pronounce.

Why do they insist or believe they are in very good health? What do they consider poor health?

I am a 72-year-old male. I've had a couple of stents put in my heart. I'm on Plavix and blood-pressure medication. I also have skin cancer and have had several lesions removed.

I wear a hearing aid. I can still walk and mow the lawn, do work around my house and ride a bicycle, but I don't consider myself to be in good health, just lucky and in better health than all those people who write to you. Who are they kidding?

Dear reader: So much of life is in a person's attitude. To some of us, the glass will always be half empty. For others, it will always be half full.

Hopefully, we go through life eating and exercising properly, watching our weight and health, and visiting a physician for routine medical matters.

Problems arise when our bodies don't work as perfectly as we would like.

We may be under stress and develop high blood-pressure readings. A cancerous lesion may be discovered during a routine physical examination and need to be removed.

We may have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and a host of other issues over which we have no control. What isn't beyond our control, though, is the attitude with which we approach health matters.

By maintaining a positive attitude, we can learn to deal with some pretty gruesome issues and be grateful the situation isn't worse.

There are few promises in this world. When it comes to health, no amount of money can buy a perfect body that functions without mishap.

Were this the case, we would attempt to barter with the powers that be for an additional five or ten years because we haven't done all the things we set out to do.

The bottom line is to make the most of life despite the glitches and snags along the way. That's what builds character. You're active and in better health than many of my readers, despite your medical issues.

Well, you're a reader and still going strong.

Work on your outlook: You'll have much more fun. And your friends and family might just enjoy you more, too.

Because you mention stent insertion and hypertension, I am sending you copies of my Health Reports "Coronary Artery Disease" and "Hypertension".

Other readers who would like copies should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 for each report to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, Ohio 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s).

Dr. Gott is a retired physician and the author of "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet" and "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook" . Contact him c/o United Media, 200 Madison Avenue, fourth floor, New York, New York 10016.