“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!
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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.
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