2-3-12 GO RED for Women Day

More women die of cardiovascular disease than from the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

But 80 percent of cardiac events in women could be prevented if women made the right choices for their hearts involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.

Make it your mission to learn all you can about heart attacks and stroke — don’t become a statistic.
CALL 9-1-1

About half of bladder cancer cases in women age 50 and older are now traceable to smoking, up from 20 or 30 percent in earlier decades, researchers report.

It is estimated that 69,250 men and women (52,020 men and 17,230 women) will be diagnosed with and 14,990 men and women will die of cancer of the urinary bladder in 2011
Bladder Cancer Prognosis

Researchers from the University of Michigan recently reported that women who go to their primary care physician
with a new or recurrent episode of blood in their urine are less likely to be referred to an urologist for further
examination than are men.  They believe that this may contribute to the fact that women with bladder cancer are
being diagnosed at more advanced stages, when their chances for survival are markedly decreased.

According to a report published by the National Cancer Institute, the survival rate for women with bladder cancer lags behind that of men at all stages of the disease. African-American women, particularly have poor outcomes when diagnosed with bladder cancer. They present with the highest proportion of advanced and aggressive tumors when compared to African-American men and Caucasian men and women. In addition, the number of women diagnosed with bladder cancer has been increasing.

The five-year survival rate is the percentage of people who survive at least five years after the cancer is detected, excluding those who die from other diseases. This rate depends on many factors, including the stage of bladder cancer that is diagnosed. For people with non-muscle-invasive/superficial urothelial carcinoma, the five-year survival rate is 97%. About half of people are diagnosed with this stage. If the tumor is invasive but has not yet spread outside the bladder, the five-year survival rate is 73%. If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or nearby organs, the five-year survival rate is 36%. If the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, the five-year survival rate is 6%.

What are the key statistics about bladder cancer?

The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for bladder cancer in the United States are for 2012:

• About 73,510 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed (about 55,600 in men and 17,910 in women).
• About 14,880 deaths from bladder cancer (about 10,510 in men and 4,370 in women).

The rates of new cancers and of cancer deaths have been fairly stable over the past 20 years. More than 500,000 people in the United States are survivors of this cancer.

Bladder cancer occurs mainly in older people. About 9 out of 10 people with this cancer are over the age of 55. The average age at the time of diagnosis is 73.

Men are about 3 times more likely to get bladder cancer during their lifetime than women. Overall, the chance men will develop this cancer during their life is about 1 in 26. For women, the chance is about 1 in 86. (The risk for a particular person may be higher or lower, based on risk factors such as whether or not they smoke.) Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in men.

Whites are diagnosed with bladder cancer almost twice as often as blacks. Hispanics have an even lower rate than blacks.

In about half of all cases, patients are first diagnosed with bladder cancer while it is still confined to the inner layer of the bladder (non-invasive or in situ cancer). About 35% have bladder cancer that has invaded into deeper layers but is still contained in the bladder. In most of the remaining cases, the cancer has spread to nearby tissues outside the bladder. Rarely (in about 4% of cases), it has spread to distant sites. Black patients are slightly more likely to have more advanced disease when they are diagnosed, compared to whites.

Source:  cancer.org/

Resources:

http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/Bladder+Cancer?sectionTitle=Statistics

http://www.medicinenet.com/bladder_cancer/article.htm

http://www.videojug.com/interview/bladder-cancer-prognosis-2

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BladderCancer/DetailedGuide/bladder-cancer-key-statistics

http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/urinb.html

Immediate full time opening for LVN Resident Care Supervisor in Atascadero, California

In a boutique upscale 15 bed Assisted Living RCFE -Residential Care Facility for the Elderly
Cozy home like atmosphere with respect and dignity for those who can no longer live alone.
Engaging activities that focus on maintaining and stimulating cognitive and emotional growth.

Ingleside Assisted Living in Atascadero

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Supervise 3 CNA’s
Medication (MAR) Management, for Elderly Residents
Create and implement Needs and Care Plans for residents

Compensation: Depending on experience
Participatory health care insurance provided after 90 days

Excellent opportunity to learn and grow in this fast growing industry using technology to increase the quality of life for elderly residents.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:
California LVN License
At least 1 years supervisory experience
Computer skills for use in e-charting, e-assessments and e-MAR
Good communication skills with the ability to liaison between
management, families, doctors, home health agencies, and public
Confident, take charge personality
Ability to multi task

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please email your resume with your:
Salary history and salary requirements.

Successful candidates must provide a minimum of three personal and 3 industry specific references that will be contacted.

If you have ever been arrested for any reason or take narcotic medications please do not respond.

Extensive background check and drug screening is required for this position.

DOJ Fingerprints required

TB Test and Physical Required

Email Resume

Resumes can also be faxed to 805-773-6154

Here are three easy New Year’s Resolutions for 2012.  They work for all age groups

1.  Give yourself permission to relax
We all enjoy our lives more if we aren’t exhausted. Moments Count! Take a moment to  enjoy a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate or some other healthy drink. Sip slowly, Savor the Moment! Extra moments can be spent by putting up your feet for a while. Enjoy your favorite magazine article or book.

Indulge Yourself

2. Indulge Yourself
So you’re craving a cookie or chocolate? Indulge your craving and have A “really good cookie” or one piece of quality chocolate. Just don’t eat the whole box.
Studies have shown that severely depriving yourself of indulgences (like chocolate or french fries) will almost always lead to binge eating down the road. So allow yourself some treats in moderation, and even it out with a smart food choice, like a piece of fruit. You’ll be happier and most likely, it will lead to smarter diet choices.

3. Catch Up on Sleep
Allow yourself to sleep in…or go to bed early… or take an extended nap.
Lack of sleep has been linked to anything from disease to, moodiness, and childhood obesity. Resolve to squeeze in a few more hours of sleep a week ­ your body will thank you!

Every moment we have in life is precious. None of us know just how many moments we have left on the planet.
So cherish the ones that you have!

Click here to read 7 more easy New Year’s Resolutions

Source:  http://life.familyeducation.com
Click here to read some New year’s Resolutions for Seniors

Tips on dealing with menopause with the extra added holiday stress.

If you’ve stepped outside at all since mid-October, you’re well aware that it’s coming. The holiday season—the tornado of wish lists, baking, family reunions, and house cleaning, with a 90% chance of stressor thunderstorms. You may find yourself building a mental bomb shelter to avoid the incoming ribbon, tempting cuisine, and raucous of silver bells. If you’re experiencing menopause concurrently with the holidays, highs could be in the low 100s, and emotional lows could come in high frequency.You can now safely emerge from your bomb shelter, keeping these tips for survival close at hand. Above all, remember to BREATHE.

Reaching out is IN

Holidays bring families and friends together. Tensions rise with pressures to clean the house, make meals, and buy gifts. This year, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Any little thing a family member can contribute helps, whether it’s decorating cookies or curling ribbon. Furthermore, take this family reunion as an opportunity to talk with your mother or daughter about your experience with PM&M. Busting open the conversation about menopause is a way to learn from your mother and prepare your daughter. Reaching out is IN. Suffering in silence is OUT.

Exercise

Take notes with reminders to relax

Click here to read more about this author

Generic Lipitor – known as Atorvastatin
Lipitor, the top-selling drug of all time, has made Pfizer more than $81 billion in sales since launching in 1997, according to IMS Health. At its peak, more than 11 million Americans took it, says Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, another health-care data firm. Yet once the drug’s patent runs out Nov. 30, most patients are expected to switch to less expensive generic versions.

Off-patent Lipitor should give Pfizer $3.8 billion in world-wide sales next year, estimates Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold. That’s a far cry from the $13 billion that the drug made at its peak. Yet it would still be one of the company’s top five selling products.

During the 180 days, Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages the benefits for 60 million Americans, will send brand-name Lipitor at generic prices to the million-plus customers in its mail-order program. Another pharmacy benefit manager, Catalyst Rx, has told pharmacists that brand-name Lipitor will function as the generic during the six months, with a generic’s $10 co-pay and a price that could end up being $12.50 less than a generic would cost.

“We could expect not to have as extreme an attrition of the brand,” said David Simmons, who runs Pfizer’s established products business. “We’re still going to have a cliff, but we’re going to” still get significant revenue from Lipitor.

Lipitor goes generic

To stem the exodus, Pfizer has partnered with Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in Flint, Mich., to mail Lipitor to patients who order the pills directly through the pharmacy. Diplomat would bill the patients’ health plans. Those that have contracted with Pfizer would pay about a generic price for Lipitor, while plans that didn’t would pay a higher price.

Source:  wsj.com

Click here to read the article

 
(CBS News)

Lipitor, the world’s best-selling drug, will lose its patent protection on Wednesday.

That’s a big change for Pfizer, the company that made $11 billion on the the cholesterol-fighting drug last year – and for the 19 million people worldwide that take statin drugs.

But should people make the switch to the less expensive generic versions that are sure to hit the market or stay with the prescription brand Lipitor?

Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist, said on “The Early Show on Saturday Morning,” said she’s been talking with her patients about making the switch to generic Lipitor – known as atorvastatin – for a month.

She explained, “These are really hard times economically for people, and they can’t afford their medication. Lipitor has been a very powerful drug in terms of lowering cholesterol and lowering risk for heart disease. Now patients can have it at a cheaper price and also reduce their risk for heart disease.”

The drug will have the same active ingredient, but will have filler ingredients different from the brand Lipitor, Goldberg said.

She explained, “It will have the same cholesterol lowering capacity. What will be different are the fillers. So instead of being oblong and white, the pill could be round or yellow, pink or green. … It’s just about the look of the drug, that’s why it’s important for people to carry a list of their medications. You can’t go by the color and say to your doctor, ‘I’m on the pink pill.’”

However, Goldberg advised patients still confer with their doctor before making the switch.

“I think it’s very important for patients to ask their doctors about which statin is right for them,” she said.

Click here to read the article

(WASHINGTON-AFP) – The first shoes with built-in GPS devices — to help track down dementia-suffering seniors who wander off and get lost — are set to hit the US market this month, the manufacturer says.

GTX Corp said the first batch of 3,000 pairs of shoes has been shipped to the footwear firm Aetrex Worldwide, two years after plans were announced to develop the product.

The shoes will sell at around $300 a pair and buyers will be able to set up a monitoring service to locate “wandering” seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.

Andrew Carle, a professor at George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services who was an adviser on the project, said the shoes are likely to save lives and avoid embarrassing and costly incidents with the elderly.

“It’s especially important for people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s who are at the highest risk,” Carle told AFP.

“They might be living in their home but they’re confused. They go for a walk and they can get lost for days.”

Carle said studies indicate more than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, a number expected to quadruple in the coming years. He said 60 percent of sufferers will wander and become lost and up to half of those lost who are not found within 24 hours may die, from dehydration, exposure or injury.

Other devices such as bracelets or pendants can provide similar protection but seniors often reject these.

“The primary reason is that paranoia is a manifestation of the disease,” Carle said. “If you put something on someone with Alzeheimer’s that they don’t recognize, they remove it. If it’s a wristwatch and it’s not their wristwatch, they will take it off. So you have to hide it.”

The GPS system, which is implanted in the heel of what appears to be a normal walking shoe, allows family members or carers to monitor the wearer and to set up a “geofence” that would trigger an alert if the person strays beyond a certain area.

The shoes are being developed by GTX Corp., which makes miniaturized Global Positioning Satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology, and Aetrex. They received certification from the Federal Communications Commission this year for the system.

The makers say the market for such shoes is growing, given the soaring costs of Alzheimer’s.

“This is a significant milestone for both companies and while the $604 billion worldwide cost of dementia has become and will continue to be a significant fiscal challenge, the under $300 GPS enabled shoes will ease the enormous physical and emotional burden borne by Alzheimer’s victims, caregivers and their geographically distant family members,” said Patrick Bertagna, chief executive of GTX Corp.

Click here to read the article
SOURCE:  boston.com

Quitting smoking is not easy, but you can do it. To have the best chance of quitting and staying quit, you need to know what you’re up against, what your options are, and where to go for help. You’ll find this information below.

PDF Link to the Guide to Quitting Smoking

What do I need to know about quitting?

The US Surgeon General has said, “Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.”

Quitting smoking is not easy, but you can do it. To have the best chance of quitting and staying quit, you need to know what you’re up against, what your options are, and where to go for help. You’ll find this information here.
Why is it so hard to quit smoking?

Mark Twain said, “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.” Maybe you’ve tried to quit, too. Why is quitting and staying quit hard for so many people? The answer is nicotine.
Nicotine

Nicotine is a drug found naturally in tobacco. It is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Over time, a person becomes physically dependent on and emotionally addicted to nicotine. The physical dependence causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit. The emotional and mental dependence (addiction) make it hard to stay away from nicotine after you quit. Studies have shown that smokers must deal with both the physical and mental dependence to quit and stay quit.
How nicotine gets in, where it goes, and how long it stays

When you inhale smoke, nicotine is carried deep into your lungs. There it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and carried throughout your body. Nicotine affects many parts of the body, including your heart and blood vessels, your hormones, the way your body uses food (your metabolism), and your brain. In fact, nicotine inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body through a vein (intravenously or IV). Nicotine can be found in breast milk and even in mucus from the cervix of a female smoker. During pregnancy, nicotine freely crosses the placenta and has been found in amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord blood of newborn infants.

Different factors affect how long it takes the body to remove nicotine and its by-products. In most cases, regular smokers will still have nicotine or its by-products, such as cotinine, in their bodies for about 3 to 4 days after stopping.
How nicotine hooks smokers

Nicotine causes pleasant feelings and distracts the smoker from unpleasant feelings. This makes the smoker want to smoke again. Nicotine also acts as a kind of depressant by interfering with the flow of information between nerve cells. Smokers tend to increase the number of cigarettes they smoke as the nervous system adapts to nicotine. This, in turn, increases the amount of nicotine in the smoker’s blood.

After a while, the smoker develops a tolerance to the drug. Tolerance means that it takes more nicotine to get the same effect that the smoker used to get from smaller amounts. This leads to an increase in smoking over time. The smoker reaches a certain nicotine level and then keeps smoking to keep the level of nicotine within a comfortable range.

When a person finishes a cigarette, the nicotine level in the body starts to drop, going lower and lower. The pleasant feelings wear off, and the smoker notices wanting a smoke. If smoking is postponed, the smoker may start to feel irritated and edgy. Usually it doesn’t reach the point of real withdrawal symptoms, but the smoker gets more uncomfortable over time. At some point, the person smokes a cigarette, the pleasant feelings return, and the cycle continues.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms can lead quitters back to smoking

When smokers try to cut back or quit, the lack of nicotine leads to withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal is both physical and mental. Physically, the body reacts to the absence of nicotine. Mentally, the smoker is faced with giving up a habit, which calls for a major change in behavior. Both the physical and mental factors must be addressed for the quitting process to work.

Those who have smoked regularly for a few weeks or longer, and suddenly stop using tobacco or greatly reduce the amount smoked, will have withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms usually start within a few hours of the last cigarette and peak about 2 to 3 days later when most of the nicotine and its by-products are out of the body. Withdrawal symptoms can last for a few days to up to several weeks. They will get better every day that you stay smoke-free.

Withdrawal symptoms can include any of the following:

Dizziness (which may only last 1 to 2 days after quitting)
Depression
Feelings of frustration, impatience, and anger
Anxiety
Irritability
Sleep disturbances, including having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and having bad dreams or even nightmares
Trouble concentrating
Restlessness or boredom
Headaches
Tiredness
Increased appetite
Weight gain
Constipation and gas
Cough, dry mouth, sore throat, and nasal drip
Chest tightness
Slower heart rate

These symptoms can lead the smoker to start smoking cigarettes again to boost blood levels of nicotine back to a level where there are no symptoms.

SOURCE:  cancer.org

Click here to read the rest of the article

Great American Smokeout

The American Cancer Society is marking the 36th Great American Smokeout on November 17 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke. However, more than half of these smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year.

Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. The American Cancer Society can tell you about the steps you can take to quit smoking and provide the resources and support that can increase your chances of quitting successfully. To learn about the available tools, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345.

Click here for more info

]]> http://www.patient-advocate.com/wordpress/great-american-smokeout-nov-17th-2011/feed 0 http://www.patient-advocate.com/wordpress/great-american-smokeout-nov-17th-2011 Kitty WildenonadultKitty Wilde - Patient Advocate - Your Health Care Coach