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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2000)
“Cha-may weeya” Siletz Communi Medicine Talk Health Clinic Honoring a Friend by Sandra Hahn, RN Clinic staff made a new friend when they crossed paths at the Elders Conference with Mary Lavoto. Mary was in Pendleton to tell the elders about the cancer support group she founded at her home in Santa Domingo Pueblo, N.M., when she was fighting cancer 12 years ago. Mary invited Kathryn Dick, Connie Delisio, Cathy Rasmussen, and I to her house for a home-cooked traditional dinner when we were traveling to a conference in New Mexico. While visiting her pueblo, we came to realize the extent of Mary’s work. In Mary’s pueblo, cancer is considered taboo. A person is not to speak of it and should refuse Western medicine. They often believe misdeeds or ill thoughts cause cancer, thus they Teach, con’t from page 20 When Smokers Quit Within 20 minutes of smoking that last cigarette, the body begins a series of changes that continue for years: should look toward spiritual healing only. Cancer is also considered contagious. Mary’s now teen-age children were shunned and teased to the point they left the pueblo for a boarding school in another state. Mary’s work has come far since the tribal council allowed her first group to gather under strict rules: only during daylight hours, only at her home, and no more than once a week. Her group raised funds by selling jewelry that members crafted. Mary still sells jewelry from survivors but luckily, she now has learned to write grants for more support. Mary’s home is filled with evidence of her work, from symbolic baskets and pottery that people have crafted for her in gratitude to newspaper clippings and videotapes about cancer, Mary, and her work. She is traveling all over the nation to tribal communities to speak on cancer issues and help establish local support groups. She has 1 to 9 Months ♦ Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease ♦ Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the Within 20 minutes of your last lungs, and reduce infection cigarette ♦ Body’s overall energy level ♦ Blood pressure drops to normal increases ♦ Pulse rate drops to normal rate 1 Year ♦ Body temperature of hands and feet ♦ Excess risk of coronary heart increases to normal disease is half that of a smoker 8 Hours 5 Years ♦ Carbon monoxide level in blood ♦ Stroke risk is reduced to that of a non- drops to normal smoker five to 15 years after quitting ♦ Oxygen level in blood increases ♦ Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat to normal and esophagus is half that of 24 Hours a smoker ♦ Chance of heart attack decreases ♦ Lung cancer death rate for the 48 Hours average smoker (one pack a day) ♦ Nerve endings start regrowing decreases to almost half ♦ Ability to smell and taste is enhanced 10 Years 72 Hours ♦ Lung cancer death rate similar to that ♦ Bronchial tubes relax, making of non-smokers breathing easier ♦ Precancerous cells are replaced ♦ Lung function increases 30 percent ♦ Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, 2 Weeks to 3 Months esophagus, bladder, kidney, and ♦ Circulation improves pancreas decreases ♦ Walking becomes easier 15 Years ♦ Lung function increases up to ♦ Risk of coronary heart disease is that 30 percent of a non-smoker visited the White House several times (and claims to have been alone with the president, too). In 2000, she also will travel to Japan and Australia. Perhaps most impressive is the plaque on her wall from the governor of New Mexico, proclaiming Dec. 22 a state holiday for her. So from your friends in Siletz, Ore. - Happy Mary Lavoto Day! 11 There are 30 chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer. Just one cigarette a day takes away all the benefits of being a non-smoker. Now is the time to make that New Year’s resolution to stop smoking and chewing tobacco. We start Tobacco Cessation classes again this month, meeting every Tuesday and Thursday at noon at the clinic. If you stopped and started again, don’t get discouraged. Tobacco is a very addictive drug and really hard to kick. Together, we can help each other and form a support system to beat this habit. If you have never tried to quit, now is the time. Just think of what it would be like to feel healthy again and be able to breathe easier. Anyone interested in Smoking Cessation can call Danelle or Kathryn at the Siletz Community Health Clinic, 541-444-1030 or 1-800-648-0049. You also can call the area offices in Eugene, Salem and Portland for information on classes to be held there. 21
