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
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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.
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W e are open
Tue-Thursday II AM to 8PM
Fri
llA m to 9 P M
Sat.
1PM to 9:30PM
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ERA
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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