by R. Alonso-Zaldivar WASHINGTON (AP)—When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare law in 1965, seniors got their health insurance cards less than a year later. When President Barack Obama finally gets to hold a signing ceremony for his health care overhaul, the major expansion of coverage for uninsured workers and their families won’t come until 2014—after the next presidential election.
by Sandra Jordan (NNPA)—Nathan Brass of St. Louis gets up early to get in his exercise before class at Florissant Valley Community College, where he is studying to be a dietician. Nutrition is important to him, because it is an important element to overall good health and one way he can give back to others. Brass knows about giving because he has been given a lot—almost four years ago he received a new kidney and pancreas from the same donor.
(NNPA)—Cervical cancer is in many ways unlike other cancers. It strikes women in midlife when they are often taking care of families. Cervical cancer is also one of the few types of cancers that is caused by a virus. Fortunately, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and also, when caught and treated early, one of the most curable cancers. Now is the perfect time to educate yourself about this disease and what you can do to protect yourself.
Sudden Infant Death Services of Pennsylvania, held their fifth Annual Women of Achievement Awards Dinner at The Omni William Penn Hotel on William Penn Avenue, Downtown. SIDS of PA, is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to provide support to families, friends and communities affected by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or other infant death. PROUD AWARDEE—From left: Jean Bryant, founder of Miss Black Teenage Pageant, Judith A. Bannon, executive director of SIDS, and Brenda Waters of KDKA-TV.
When 18-year-old Margaret Larkins graduated from McKeesport High School and headed off to the University of Pittsburgh, it was the a result of mastering an extremely difficult advanced science class that had landed her admission into the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She had never been that far out of McKeesport. Literally a real life “coal miner’s’ daughter,” she had always been told by her parents that she could be whatever she set out to be, and she mastered the art of believing them. With four siblings, finances were at a premium for her family; and winning this scholarship was the timely ticket that would make her the first in the family to receive a college education. “I recall the day my mother came to the University of Pittsburgh financial aid officer to ask him when she could get the $50 due to us so that we could purchase my books,” said Margaret. How ironic it was that same finance officer at that time was 25-year-old Chenits Pettigrew, who would later become Margaret’s husband, held various progressive positions within the university. MARGARET LARKINS-PETTIGREW
It is the most common mind diminishing disease and approximately the seventh leading cause of death among individuals over the age of 60. But it is the least likely to be talked about or taken seriously, until it strikes one’s family—it’s Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Jeffrey Harris, of Harris Neurological Associates and an Alzheimer’s disease specialist in Alabama, says that Alzheimer’s is a progressive memory disorder that starts with the loss of short-term memory and progresses into long-term loss. One loses the ability to do any activity associated with daily living, for instance feeding themselves, grooming themselves or going places without assistance.
Award-winning actors and recording artists Jamie Foxx and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges are joining other celebrities and African-American leaders to promote “i know,” a social media effort launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The “i know” effort will provide new channels for African-American young adults to talk openly and often about HIV, both online and off.
Although the number of HIV infections is growing at an alarming rate throughout the Black community, African-American women are the group most disproportionately affected. While representing only 12 percent of the U.S. female population, they account for 61 percent of all new HIV infections among women. AWARENESS AND OUTREACH—Artistree performs at a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event at Central Outreach Center Feb. 27. “African-American women are 20 times more likely to get infected with HIV than White women,” said Dr. Debbie Hagins, clinical director of outpatient services for the Chatham County Health Department IDC Clinic. “This is in part due to the increased likelihood of being exposed to HIV through heterosexual contact because HIV is so prevalent in communities of color.”
by Marilynn Marchione SAN ANTONIO (AP)—A moment on the lips, forever on the hips? A bad figure is hardly the worst of it. Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that’s in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds. We already know that diets rich in fat, particularly artery-clogging trans fat, are bad for the heart and the waistline. A computer image mapping parts of the brain. The new study is the largest to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat. It showed a clear trend: Those who ate the most fat had a 44 percent higher risk of the most common type of stroke compared to those who ate the least.
by Marilynn Marchione SAN ANTONIO (AP)– People at risk of a stroke because of narrowed neck arteries can be safely treated with a less drastic option than the surgery done now, the largest study ever done on these treatments concludes. If Medicare agrees to cover it, hundreds of thousands of Americans a year might be able to have an artery-opening procedure and a stent instead of surgery to remove built-up plaque, doctors say. A stent is a wire-mesh tube that props the blood vessel open.
