Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Developmentally delayed women less likely to get screened for breast, cervical cancer

Excerpt from: Sun News (click for full article)

 

Canadian women with developmental disabilities are much less likely to get routine screening for breast and cervical cancer, even though their risk is just as high, a new study has found.

Women with disabilities such as Down syndrome or autism are half as likely to get a Pap test every three years, and 1/3 as likely to get a mammogram every two years, according to the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

"The findings of our study suggest that women with intellectual and developmental disabilities face important health inequities in missed opportunities for the prevention and early detection of cervical and breast cancer," researcher Yona Lunsky said.

The researchers say there is a widespread, but unfounded, belief that women with developmental disabilities don't need to be tested.

Wayne State Law School fellowship program helps low-income Karmanos cancer patients

Excerpt from: Crain's Detroit Business (click for full article)

 

After she graduated from the Wayne State University Law School in 2011, Kathy Smolinski was awarded a fellowship to open a program that provides legal advice to outpatients at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

The two-year fellowship made sense to Smolinksi, 45, in that she had spent 16 years as an oncology social worker. She decided to become a lawyer to continue advocacy for low-income cancer patients.

"It is a medical-legal project, but it really is a health care delivery model because legal services are integrated right into the other (health care) services provided" at Karmanos, she said.

Through the Legal Advocacy for People with Cancer project, Smolinksi has helped more than 120 Karmanos patients.

"We focus on patients in the outpatient setting because those inpatients are too sick to do anything," she said.

Smolinksi receives referrals from Karmanos' nine-member social work department, of which she is a member.

"We focus on helping patients with insurance, housing, employment, legal or long-term planning (wills and advanced directives) and public benefits" such as Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, Smolinski said.

The Wayne State clinic follows the model developed by the Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Medical Legal Partnership. There are 97 partnerships in the U.S. at 235 medical institutions, including clinics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak.

Uncork this secret ingredient in red wine to fight age-related illnesses

Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)

 

Scientists have homed in on how resveratrol -- a chemical commonly found in red wine and chocolate -- works to prevent cell aging, which could eventually lead to the development of synthetic drug treatments for obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other conditions, according to new research published in Science.

Though researchers have been looking at resveratrol for years, this new research, from Harvard Medical School, is considered a breakthrough in understanding the chemical's potential to increase the activity of a protein called SIRT1, which helps fuel the power-producing parts of cells and in turn may fight age-related illnesses like cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.

"This was the killer experiment," said David Sinclair, PhD, senior study author and genetics professor at Harvard Medical School, in a press release. "There is no rational alternative explanation other than resveratrol directly activates SIRT1 in cells. Now that we know the exact location on SIRT1 where and how resveratrol works, we can engineer even better molecules that more precisely and effectively trigger the effects of resveratrol."

Researcher: Cancer doctors need to recognize patients’ exhaustion

Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)

 

A Wayne State University researcher said cancer doctors need to recognize the “sudden exhaustion syndrome” of patients undergoing cancer treatments and help them deal with it.

Horng-Shiuann Wu, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing in the College of Nursing, is researching why some patients suffer from the exhaustion more than others.

 This type of exhaustion “goes far beyond just being tired,” said Wu, of Troy. “It’s more draining, more intense, lasts longer than typical fatigue and is often unexpected.

“Patients can suddenly become so exhausted they cannot move at all,” Wu said. One participant experienced an onset while being surveyed, causing her eyelids to droop and rendering her unable to form words.

Register Now for Advocacy Day 2013!

Excerpt from: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (click for full article)

 

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will hold its Seventh Annual Advocacy Day on Tuesday, June 18, with a training day on Monday, June 17, in Washington, D.C.

Please click here to register.

As part of the event, we will conduct training sessions on how to meet with your elected officials, so no previous experience with advocacy is necessary. The only requirements are that you are excited about educating your elected officials about pancreatic cancer, our organization, and the need for more federal funding for pancreatic cancer research.

We ask that you commit to a full day of training on Monday, June 17. Because of this commitment, you should plan to arrive in Washington, DC sometime on Sunday, June 16, and expect to attend meetings on Capitol Hill until at least 5:00 pm on Tuesday, June 18.

Why Prostate Cancer Screening Is So Tricky

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

Men can be forgiven for being confused over screening for prostate cancer. Doctors are confused, too.

When it comes to figuring out if the benefits are worth the risks, the simplest solutions may not be best, a study of the options finds.

Last spring, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said that the test most commonly used to check for prostate cancer, the PSA test, is so unreliable it shouldn't be used for routine screening.

Cynthia Osborn

Excerpt from: Insuring Our Future (click for full article)

 

This is a story is about the lump in Cynthia Osborn’s breast that went ignored far too long. It’s about having to fight for medical care while fighting for her life. It’s about healing. And gratefulness. And a commitment to making sure that her neighbors in her rural county don’t have to wait as long as she did for treatment.

“I’m lucky. That was the difference between living and dying,” says Cynthia, 61, of Fort Morgan. “If I hadn’t stumbled on the program I did, if I didn’t have Medicaid, if I didn’t have my boss and office supporting me, I wouldn’t have seen my great grandkids born. I wouldn’t be here today telling you my story.”

4 Tips To Help A Foodie Get Through Chemo

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, it was clear that I would be thinking about a lot of things — myriad doctor visits, multiple tests, surgeries and chemotherapy.

Here are some things I knew about chemotherapy going in: it is unpleasant; it poisons your body; it makes you nauseated.

But there was also something I wasn't quite as aware of: it plays havoc with your taste buds and even impacts your reaction to food smells and food textures. In short, eating can become an unpleasant chore. As someone who both loves food and loves to cook, I prepared myself to enter a period of not eating or at least not enjoying eating.

But does it have to be that way? Not necessarily. Here are four tips I learned to help cope with treatment.

1. Avoid Risk.

2. Manage Nausea.

3. Beat Metal Mouth.

4. Focus On Flavor.

Expanding support for families

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

n 2006, while awaiting the completion of the physical Caregiver Center (which opened in November 2007), we first developed the counseling program; free of charge, this program provided emotional support and advice for family caregivers from a professional social worker and trained volunteer coaches. We got referrals from doctors and nurses who recognized that they could use help in dealing with families of ailing loved ones. Among other topics, we provided guidance on end-of-life issues, health care proxies, discharge planning and how to talk to children about illness. The success of the program was apparent early on, by the appreciation from families and from the hospital staff. It was also very gratifying to see that the patient-satisfaction surveys reflected positive growth, which, of course, made the hospital administrators pleased.

The award-winning Ken Hamilton Caregivers Center at Northern Westchester Hospital, now in its seventh year, was the first of its kind in the New York Metropolitan area.  Today, the Center has become a model for other hospitals around the country, including Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY; Overlook Hospital, Summit, NJ; Mid-Michigan Medical Center, Midland, MI; White Plains Hospital, White Plains, NY; and Westchester Medical Center, in Valhalla, NY.  The Center now has 28 community volunteers who offer support to family caregivers and has more than 7,000 interactions with patients and their families each year.

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Praises President Obama for Signing the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act into Law

Excerpt from: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (click for full article)

 

President Barack Obama made history in the fight against pancreatic cancer by signing the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act into law. The legislation, formerly known as the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act, passed the U.S. Congress on December 21 after it was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The landmark legislation requires the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to examine its current research efforts on cancers with very low survival rates and work to develop early detection methods and better treatment options to help improve outcomes for those diagnosed with the most deadly forms of cancer, including pancreatic and lung cancer.

“The adoption of the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act is a historic victory in the fight against deadly cancers—particularly pancreatic cancer—as it is the first legislation designed specifically with the disease in mind,” said Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. “On behalf of thousands of pancreatic cancer advocates and patients around the country, we are deeply grateful for the incredible bipartisan support in Congress and to President Obama for signing the bill into law.”