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HEALTH IN THE NEWS 

 

News For Breast Cancers
By Joan Estelle High
©1-31-2010
It is a very scary thing for a women to find a lump in her breast tissue. Getting a
mammogram is  usually the next step.  Getting  Mammograms  yearly  is causing
some disagreement between  the health care professionals. That and PSA tests for
men's prostate problems maybe given further study.  When you are young with
firm breast mammograms range from uncomfortable to hurt. I used to think that
the man that invented them should have his testicle x-rayed that way. The problem
with them is false negative, they miss some cancer, false positives they find other things
than cancer and they expose women to more radiation than was originally thought.
If something suspicious is found the next step is getting a biopsy.

In the past and currently the treatment for breast cancer
 has been a trial by fire for women.
Although there are a few men who get breast cancer this disease is life threaten mostly to women. I remember as a young women hearing the screams of a neighbor lady who
was suffering some thing awful with breast cancer. Surgery had left her arm swollen to twice the size.  Thank God we have come a long way down the road,  from those days 60 years ago.   Now there is a 90 percent survival  rate,  if the cancer is found early.
Yet only lung cancer l kills more women each year.

Mastectomies are not the only treatment used today. Surgery, chemo, Radiation,
immunotherapy , vaccines can be part of the treatments as well. They are looking
at possibility that some of the bone drug used  for bone thinning osteoporosis may
be adapted to use in preventing breast cancer in healthy women. At this time these
medicines  have sided effects that can cause bone and joint pain.  In rare cases
they have caused the patient being treated to have their jawbone decay.

A interesting study that sounds like something from a Sci.Fi.  story is
using microwaves  with chemo to shrinks breast cancer which may eliminate
the need for mastectomies  up to 90 %,  in as little as 5 years.
This could be a major break through in preventing  lost of a women's breast.
Clinical trials are scheduled for this coming year.
 (Don't try this at home. It is not an microwave oven as you know it.)

Researcher looking for the cure and prevention of breast cancer have to take
a lot of different  factors involved. Age, weight, smoking, diet can all be part of the
problem. Women who drink regularly have a 50 percent greater chance of getting
breast cancer than women who do not drink. Of course drinking also increase your
rate of liver, head and neck, esophageal cancers as well. So even if you have
heard that light drinking might help your heart, the damage it does to other organs is worth thinking about. The risk facto is directly tied in to genetic factors.

 

January Update 
Health Reform

by Joan Estelle High
©1-17-2010

Well this year so far we have gone from a ticking clock to  more of a ticking bomb.
At least some people are finding some aspects of the proposals being considered
to be likely to do more  a disaster  than a blessing .

 Folks get a little worried when they start  talking about 900 Billion dollar programs
.
  Right now they are comparing the proposed Senate bill with the one from the House.
The hope is to find the things that they agree on and iron out a compromise.
  Both sides want  health coverage to be a mandatory
that would fine individuals  who  don't have health coverage.
They differ in how much they  people will be fined if they don't participate.
They will need to fine tune the employers mandate.
There is some help for small business in the form of tax credits.
Medicaid would be expanded for those under 65
depending on their percentage of federal poverty level. 
They are close in their ideas for help with premiums
but have difference on the starting date for this help to kick in.
In the matter of health exchanges the difference mainly is,
 if it will be state wide or nation wide. 
While the House would like a government run insurance program
the Senate  proposes a federally supervised privately run multistate plan.
Both sides want benefits to be covered from 60  to 90 % medical bills
 
or 65 percent to 95 depending on which version gets picked.
Abortion is still a hot topic.

Odds are the Catholic Bishops
will have some influence  in pressure to going with the House position.
Personally I think that if  any religious organizations 
that  is going to spend their time and money in the political arena
 should lose their tax exemptions.
That would alone could raise a lot of money

Looks like they are going to lessen  the Donut hole problem starting with
adding $500.00 more per person  and hopefully giving a 50% discount on
brand name prescriptions.
 
Send any comments to
thecrystallady @hotmail.com

 


Send your comments or information to
the crystallady@hotmail.com
or you can
write me:
J.E. High
        P.O. Box 1333
                   Sulphur Springs, Texas ,75482.

 

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