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Brother of Former Blazer
Waits for Kidney Transplant
Tigard resident Wali C D. Lucas
has polycystic kidney disease, a
genetic disease that forms large
cysts on the kidney causing them to
eventually fail. Wali is the brother o f
former Trailblazer and All-Star
Maurice Lucas.
“ It is imperative that the public
become aware of the importance o f
organ donation,” says Wali. “Be
cause polycystic kidney disease is
genetic, our family is predisposed to
kidney failure, but all African Ameri
cans have a higher chance for
chronic kidney disease and trans
plantation is the best treatment op
tion. They need to learn the facts
and discuss this decision with their
family members.”
Nationally, 69 percent o f Afri
can-Americans support the general
concept o f organ and tissue dona
tion, but only one out o f five have
told their family about their decision
to be an organ donor, as opposed to
more than half the general popula
tion. Nationally, only 13 percent o f
African-Americans believe that or
gan donation helps families cope
Wali C.D. Lucas
with grief, compared to 60 percent o f
the general population. A frican-
American transplant recipients are
10-20 percent more likely to experi
ence rejection o f organs donated by
Caucasians, and they wait twice as
long to receive a kidney transplant
because o f the shortage o f African-
American donors.
Wali has spent one and one-half
years on hemodialysis and will soon
be on the list for a kidney transplant.
He hopes a match is available soon,
because the financial burden o f kid
ney disease is very difficult on his
family, and his health and energy for
almost 5 hours each session. In addi
tion to kidney failure, he has signifi-
Our history shows that African
American women are at greater risk
of dying from breast
cancer than ail other
women.
cant anemia that requires hospital
visits for a special intravenous iron
supplement and he has high blood
pressure as a result o f the chronic
kidney failure, which require addi
tional medications.
Wali is married with four children,
and because o f his disease is only
able to work for brief periods o f time.
The family is asking the community
for financial assistance, and they
encourage everyone to sign a donor
card and talk with their family about
organ donation.
“We hope to help increase the
num ber o f people signing donor
cards,” says Wali.
Donations to assist the Lucas fam
ily are set-up at any Bank o f America
under the “Lucas Transplant Fund”
(Account #2665110286)
For more information about kid
ney disease, transplantation or con
tact with the Lucas family, please call
the National Kidney Foundation of
Oregon & W ashington. The NKF is
a non-profit health agency dedicated
to the prevention, treatment and cure
o f kidney diseases.
• Learn Breast Self-Exam (It only
takes a few minutes)
• Talk to a doctor about breast cancer
• Get a mammogram '
The Doctor's Corner
The earlier you find breast cancer the
longer you'll live.
Beware of Expensive
Model Schools
Dear Doctor John,
I have a daughter who wants to
be a model. W e went to a modeling
school where they told us that she
has “the look.” My daughter be
came so excited that she wants to
model professionally. The salesper
son told her that there was only one
spot open and advised her take it
right away. He also told us that this
would help her self-esteem and im
prove her grades. I wanted her to
become a model, until the salesper
son told us about the hidden cost.
He wanted us to pay $1,400. As a
concerned mother, is it worth pay
ing that much?
Monica o f northwest Portland
Dear Monica,
Thanks for writing. I need to be
totally honest with you. In most
cases, modeling schools tell die
potential clients that they have “the
look” because they want your
money. They often have lots o f
pictures ofmodels working fortheir
agency to create a big impression as
away to lure in innocent girls. Inmost
cases, they know that it’s everyone’ s
dream to become famous.
If the modeling agency wants you
to pay $ 1400, will they guarantee her
a job when she finishes the class? In
most cases, they won’t guarantee
anything. I suggest that you find a
reputable agency like the ones I’ve
listed below. If your daughter truly
has “the look,” they will do the mar
keting and find work for her. I f the
agency doesn’t have a modeling
school, you will need to get her pri
vately trained.
The modeling agency said that if
your daughter joins, it’s going to
improve her self-esteem, make her
more outgoing and improve her
grades. If you want your child to
have better self-esteem, find some
class in your area that offers self-help
programs. 1 advise you to beware o f
modeling programs that are expen
sive. Watchout forprofessional sales
people in the modeling business who
g fiLflC R JjISTOfly
February 21, 2001
For information and support:
African American Health Coalition,
503-4134850
To find out if you qualify for
services, including a mammogram:
Multnomah County - (503) 988-4043
Clackamas County - (503) 557-6446
Washington County - (503) 846-2814
CALL TODAY -
and change the course of history.
Sponsored by
A«.WC
The African American Health Coalition, Inc.
The Oregon Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
Sb
By John Oda, Ph.D.
for The Portland Observer
John P. Oda, Ph.D., NLP is
a Peak Performance Expert with
13 years experience in the men
tal health field and a regular
featured writer fo r the Portland
Observer. I f you have any ques
tions fo r The Doctor’s Comer,
em ail your question to
news(a>P ortlandObserver.com.
Oda Research International
provides corporate training,
workshops and seminars, also
presonal and professional
coaching. For consultations call
503-471-2954.
prey on innocent people. It’sbestto
call around and do your homework
before making a large investment.
Until the next time.
University Students Lobby For Child Care
Fed-up student-parents ofPortland
State University urged their local gov
ernment to provide childcare funding
during a media event on Valentine’s
Day. They asked state legislators to
su p p o rt R e p re se n ta tiv e Jack ie
W inter’s legislation to direct $3.9 mil
lion o f state funding to Student Block
Grants.
“Education is an investment in
Oregon’s economy and its citizens,”
said Amy Wright, a PSU student-par
ent, “it’s is an opportunity for students
to gain intellectual capital to support
their families and contribute to the
state economy in the future.” Many
students are alarmed and outraged
that the state o f Oregon does not cur
rently allocate any money for the
childcare.
Portland State University students
have been actively involved in this
issue for some time. Students have
sent letters to the states legislators,
lobbied for more funding.
“While I don’t have much time for
anything else in my life because I have
a three year-old daughter, work and go
to school full-time, I can certainly take
time out o f my busy schedule to sup
port an issue that is so relevant to my
life,” said Cory Phelps, a student-par
ent who attends PSU.
WSU Vancouver Continues Strong Growth
Spring enrollment numbers show
that Washington State University in
Vancouver is continuing to grow.
T he sp rin g 2001 e n ro llm e n t
headcount is 1,611 — a 9 percent in
crease from last year. PTE totals grew
by 12.6 percent to 1,033.
“This has been an exceptional year
for WSU Vancouver,” said Nancy
Youlden, director o f student services.
“Enrollment has remained strong from
fall to spring, which shows me that
awareness o f our campus is increas
ing. It’salso apparent thatmore Orego
nians are recognizing and taking ad
vantage o f the Border Bill, which al
lows them to pay in-state tuition if
enrolled in eight credits or less.
“I believe we’re also just beginning
to feel the impact o f the opening ofour
new Engineering Life Sciences build
ing, which houses our computer sci
ence, engineering and science pro
grams,” she added.
WSU Vancouver has seen increas
ing enrollment since the campus was
established in 1989.
T hink It’s PM S? It Could Be PM DD
Each month, approximately 30mil-
lion women experience the symptoms
o f PMS. W hat many women don’t
know is that they may be suffering
from a disorder that is m uch more
serve and possibly devastating to
their lives. Approximately three m il
lion A merican women experience
PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric
disorder. They suffer each month,
thinking “it’s just part o f being a
women.” What they don’t know is
that PMDD is not PMS it is a distinct
medically recognized disorder char
acterized by intense mood and physi
cal premenstrual symptoms that in
<
terfere with women’s daily activities
and relationships. W hat’seven worse
is that many women are reluctant to
seek help, fearing the stigma attached
to “that time o f the month." They fear
that complaining about their symp
toms even to their doctor would be a
sign o f weakness.
BlueCross BlüeShield o f Oregon
Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
www.or.regence.com