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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1997)
Page A3 DEC. 10, 1997 ----------- ---------------------------------------------------- (The JJortlaitò Oihscrocr------------------------------------------------- : H ealth (S'Science Furse honored Nationally on behalf of people with Diabetes The Honorable Elizabeth Furse. was honored by the A m erican D ia betes Association. Oregon A f f i l i ate, during their Annual Gala A u c tion on Novem ber 8. 1997 Because o f her effo rts on behall o f people w ith diabetes. Medicare w ill reimburse fo r supplies to r all patients w ith diabetes, effective July I. 1998. There w ill also be dra m atically increased spending on diabetes by the D epartm ent o f Health and Human Services Grants totaling over $150 m illio n w ill be awarded over five years tow ard research into the prevention and cure o f type I diabetes A n addi tional $150 m illio n in grants over five years w ill be awarded fo r pro viding services fo r the prevention and treatment o f diabetes among the Grande Ronde com m unity and O regon's Governor, John Kitzhaber. The T rib e annually contributes six The A m erican Diabetes Asso ciation is the n ation's leading v o l untary health organization support ing diabetes research, inform ation, and advocacy. Founded in 1940. the A ssociation is represented in A Portland leader in health issues is sharing information gathered at a national conference on prostate can cer in the African American com m u nity Aleem Shabazz, executive direc tor of the Northeast Health Resource Center of Portland and coordinator of the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer Mens Health Committee, was a delegate at the Nov. 19-22 conference in Houston, Texas. The meeting brought together a wide range of disciplines for the pur pose of building a collaborative agenda for action against prostate cancer, a disease of increasing inci dence among African American men The event was sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. Local sponsors included the Port land Observer, National Black Ini tiative on Cancer, American Heart Association, Northeast Health Re sources Center, Musi im Community C e n te r o f P o rtla n d , O ne Stop Records, African American Health Coalition. Reflections Coffee Shop and Reality Word Progressive Real percent o f its net p ro fits from S pirit every region in the country. ity. betes grant program in honor o f Furse. The program , now called the E liza beth Furse Diabetes Grant Program, provides local funding fo r proposals w ith a cleai education or com m unity service orientation Funding fo r this year's grant program is made pos M o u n ta in C asino to the S p irit M ountain C o m m u n ity Fund Io be used fo r grants to c o m m u n ity projects in I I northwestern O r egon counties The estim ated amount fo r the S p irit M ountain C o m m u n ity Fund in 1997 is $2 sible through in d ivid u a l donations and a grant fro m the S p irit M ountain C o m m u n ity Fund. The S p irit M ountain C om m unity Fund, established by the C onfeder ated Tribes o f the Grand Ronde C om m u n ity o f Oregon and the S p irit M ountain Casino, has approved a grant o f up to $50.000 in honor o f Congresswoman Furse to match in d iv id u a l d o n a tio n s . K a th ry n m illio n Diabetes is a serious disease in H arrison. C hair o f the Grand Ronde T rib a l C o u n cil, made the n o tific a tion o f the grant monies during the the Native A m erican population Furse led the non-partisan e ffo rt to get this coverage included in the Balanced Budget A ct. w hich was signed by President C lin to n in A u A uction. The S p irit M ountain C om m unity Fund was created earlier this year gust. The Am erican Diabetes Asso ciation. serving Oregon and SW Washington, has renamed theirdia- Shabazz joins cancer fight under an historic gam ing compact between the Confederated Tribes ol w hich the body either does not produce insulin (type I) o r does not e ffe c tiv e ly use or produce ad equate amounts o f in su lin (type 2). Insulin is a hormone that allow s blood sugar to enter the cells o f the body and be used fo r energy. D ia betes can lead to severely d e b ilita t ing or fatal com plications, such as blindness, kidney and heart d is ease, stroke and lo w e r-e xtre m ity am putations. It is the seventh lead ing cause o f death in the United Stales; cu rre n tly, there is no cure. Aleem Shabazz, executive director of the Northeast Health Resource Center in Portland represented Oregon at the national conference on prostate cancer in the African American community. Survey says women want more accuracy from Pap Smear Testing Authentic Food from the East African Coast 3939 NE MLK Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97212 503/ 331-9X44 Also cite fearful waiting between abnormal tests Com plete Survey Results Avail able Upon Request. A survey of m ore than 800 women in Los A ngeles, S acra mento, Calif, and Portland, Ore. was conducted by independent re search firm W ilson A s s o c ia te s to d e te r m in e w om en’s understanding of the need for Pap testing for cervical cancer. The random survey ij the first in a series o f Healthy H abits Surveys sponsored by U nited H ealth care of C alifornia designed to learn more about how fam ilies in the western United States take care of themselves. “The survey show ed that a high percentage (80% ) o f women with an average age o f 39, received regular, yearly Pap te sts,” said Art Sm all, M .D., m edical director of United H ealth care o f California. “This is wonderful news. W hat surprised us, was that many women, who were so good about regular testing, also exp ressed concern about the accuracy of the conven tional Pap sm ear itself, and shared the anxiety o f w aiting several months for a new test if their first test was abnorm al.” Forty percent o f women sur veyed were aware of issues or prob lems concerning accuracy of the conventional Pap sm ear. Accord ing to the N ational Institutes of H ealth, 20-40% of tests will yield abnorm al results, potentially indi cating cancer O ne-third of women surveyed were aw are of this fact W omen who receive an abnor mal reading require follow -up lest ing, which often takes place 60 to 90 days later. Thirty percent of those surveyed had received an initial abnorm al reading, some of w hich were indeed “ false p o si tives." The great m ajority of these women (82% ) felt extrem ely an x ious about their health during this w aiting period. According to Juan Felix, M.D , USC School of Medicine, W om en’s Hospital. “Women with a minimally abnormal pap can now have an ad ditional test performed on the same sample that would help their physi cian determine if they would require more frequent follow-up. The ad ditional testing would also take ad vantage of leftover cells remaining in the liquid preservative to detect human papilloma virus (HPV), the agent responsible for cervical can cer.” In response to w om en’s concern about accuracy, United H ealthcare of California will be offering the new Pap test — called the ThinPrep Pap Test — developed by Cytyc Corp., to its members. The test, which was approved by the Federal Drug Ad ministration in 1996, is adminis tered in the same way as the tradi tional Pap smear, by collecting cells from the cervix in an in-office proce dure. But that’s where the similarity ends. The ThinPrep procedure im proves the way cervical cells are prepared. Rather than smearing a small portion of the cervical cells onto a slide, the collection device is rinsed in a vial of preservative solu tion, capturing virtually all of the cell sample. The patient's specimen is then sent to a laboratory where a ThinPrep instrument disperses and filters the specimen to reduce blood, mucus, and inflammation and ap plies a thin, even layer of cells to a microscopic slide. The result of this process is a uniform preparation of well-preserved cells representative of the cervix and ready for micro scopic examination and diagnosis. “From a single visit, it is pos sible todeterm ine if a patient would require treatm ent for an abnormal pap or return to routine follow -up — minim izing the anxiety involved in repeat office v isits,” said Felix. United H e alth care o f C alifor nia is offering this new Pap testing technology to its m em bers begin ning this month, as many women use the holiday period to visit their doctor for their annual tests. “W hat we learned from this sur vey is that 95% of the women ques tioned would feel more confident about a more accurate test,” said Sm all, "Even though it will cost us more to offer a new test and goes beyond what we are required to do, we believe our members dem and and deserve the best procedure. This new test can detect more accurately for cancer or at least elim inate an unbearable w aiting period for results.” Virtually all cervical cancer is treatable ifeaughtearly. The Ameri can Cancer Society estimates that in 1996, there were nearly 16,0(X) new cases of invasive cervical cancer re ported, and 65,000 cases of carci noma in situ, a pre-cancerous condi tion. Cervical cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in women, with 450,000 cases reported worldwide. The H ealthy Habits Surveys are designed to measure health aw are ness levels of Californians and resi dents of other W estern states so that United H ealth care of C alifo r nia can launch appropriate health prom otion and aw areness c am paigns. Horn of Africa Short Cut To The Horn o f Africa ____ IV _____ r J y,,M can have it the way you want, spicy or mild. W e are open Tue-Thursday II AM to 8PM Fri llA m to 9 P M Sat. 1PM to 9:30PM ■■■ ERA POUNDER REALTY Each office independently owned and operated Carol (Page) Collier REALTOR Elbow Room Great old Portland starter bungalow, 3 + BR’s. 1.5 BTH.over 1400 sq ft, fenced large yard, gas heat, electrical update, awaits your personal touch just $98,(XX). Great investment opportunity in solid PNE neighborhood. Call Carol Page Collier (e1 (503) 768-4046 or Rose Marie at 256-0220 for a private showing. A NEW DENTAL RESEARCH STUDY AT RUSSELL STREET C LIN IC B y P eter C asano M.D. A specific viral disease character ized by fever, runny nose, cough, headache, malaise and swollen nose and throat mucous membranes. The Flu usually occurs in the winter and occurs in epidemics. In some severe cases, the flu can actually be fatal. What causes the flu?, The flu is caused by a virus called influenza type A. The virus changes slightly from year to year, but is predictable. This yearly change is the reason that the vaccination is different from year to year. The virus is spread from person to person by direct contact and by air- born droplets. Unlike the viruses that cause the cold, we can fight influenza A virus with both vaccinations and anti-viral medications. Signs and Symptoms. For 48 hours after expo sure. the virus replicates and spreads throughout your body. The onset of symptoms is rapid, with high fever and chills. Muscle aches in the back and legs, and headaches are common. Later the throat, lungs, nose and eyes be come affected. The cough can be severe and produce colored sputum. The illness usually begins to resolve in two to three days. Cough can persist for weeks. In persons who are very young, very old. or have lung disease, pneumonia and bloody coughing can develop. Influenza can be fatal in these patients. ARE YOU HIV POSITIVE? Do You Have Tooth Pain? Do You Have These Symptoms? Do you have a persistent tooth ache, interm ittent tooth pain, or swelling in your m outh or face? Have you been told your tooth needs a root canal? Participate In A N ew Free Research Study You may qualify to participate in the Oral Health Enhancement S h aly being conducted by the Russell Street Dental Clinic, a part of OIISU. Volunteers must be HIV positive, 18 to 65 years of age and have at least 15 teeth. Benefits ,77r POWELLS BOOKS ( )rt hdf'it en iFire Participants w ill receive free root canal treatment, free CD4 counts and viral load blood tests, free check-ups, and $125 for participation. Participants w ill also be helping to improve the quality of life for people with HIV. For m ore in fo rm atio n , call: (503) 4 94 -6300 O ver / m illio n I set! A \ < n H unk s ORIGON H t AL TH SCHWCtS 1005 W Burnside, Where Healing. Teaching and Discover)' Come Together downtown Rortlond 503-22 8-4 651 www.powells.iom An equal opportunity, allinnaH 'r arttnn instiliilKMi HARCO URT RRACf
