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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2002)
UlMwmirr August 07, 2002 (Elje ^fînrtlanh ©bseruer Page A6 H ealth / E ducation Kaiser Forums Address Hormone Replacement Kaiser Permanente will con tinue a series o f free com m u nity forums for women inter ested in learning more about new findings in horm one re placem ent research. One o f the discussions will take place W ednesday, Aug. 14, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Interstate South Medical O ffice, 3500 N. In terstate Ave. A Saturday forum will be held Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Kaiser Salmon Creek M edical Office, 14406 N.E. 20th Ave. in V ancouver. The forums are led by Kaiser Permanente physicians, health care experts and researchers who worked on a federal study, just concluded this summer that when post-menopausal women with a uterus take estrogen and progestin, they increase theirrisk o f heart disease and breast can cer. To attend, RSVP by calling K aiser Perm anente at 503- 813-4388 or 1-888-524-7378. Minority Teacher Program Expands The University o f Portland will join the Portland Teachers Program to recruit minorities into the teaching profession. The P I P is a collaborative ' e ffo rt o f P o rtland Public Schools, PortlandContmunity College, Portland State Uni versity, and now the Univer sity o f Portland, to increase the diversity o f the teaching corps in Portland’s classrooms. The program places a special focus on the recruitment o f his to ric a lly u n d e rre p re se n te d groups in the teaching profes sion. The program is housed on the PCC Cascade Campus. Heart disease, which blocks the blood vessels to cause heart attacks, strokes, or high blood pressure, ranks as a c t a g a in st th e b o d y ’s ow n tissue, affects nearly 250,000 A m e ric a n s. T h e a rth ritis- re la te d d ise a se is a c h ro n ic an d so m etim es life th re a te n ing d isease that o ccurs in one o fth re e form s: discoid lupus, w hich a ffe c ts the skin; d ru g - in d u ced lupus, w hich occu rs b e c a u se o f a re a c tio n to one o r m o re d ru g s and u su a lly d isap p ears w hen the drug use h as sto p p e d ; and sy ste m ic lu p u s e ry th e m a to s o u s (o r SLE), w hich involves the skin, jo in ts, k id n ey s, n erv o u s sy s tem , lungs, heart and/or other organs. A cco rding to the A rthritis F oundation, 90 percent o f lu Expanded Rockwood Medical Office Getting a medical appointment at Kaiser Permanente’s Rockwood Medical Office on a peak-demand day, such as a Monday or Friday, should be easier now that the health care organization has opened a new addition there early this year. Construction started last fall on the 7,300-squre-foot addition, which added 16 exam rooms and eight clinician offices on two floors. Internal medicine, family practice and obstetrics-gynecol ogy services will be available in the new wing. E x istin g exam ro o m s at Rockwood had already been fit ted with computers, so Rockwood now becomes the second North west Kaiser Permanente medical office to have a computer in every exam room. General contractor for the $ 1.2 million addition at Rockwood was Baugh Construction. Legacy Offers Advanced Radiation Therapy Legacy Health System is the first in Portland to offer IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) - the most advanced radiation therapy available for patients with tumors located in the head, neck, prostate, chest and other locations. Legacy also hired a medical physicist to imple ment the IMRT program at vari ous Legacy sites; oversee and participate in treatment planning; and provide quality assurance. “ IM RT is a powerful new tool that helps us m ore accurately and effectively deliver radiation to tum ors w ithout im pacting nearby stru ctu res or tis su e ,” says N athalie Johnson. M.D., M edical D irector, Legacy C an cer Services. “T his new level o f precision should offer added reassurance to patients who are facing diagnosis and treatm ent o f tum ors, especially those lo cated in critical areas o f the body, students. African Americans are dying at higher rates than whites from heart disease. the number one killer of African Americans. Black Women Can Learn Common Signs of Lupus W h at is lu p u s? H ow d o e s it fe e l? A sk th e o n e in 250 A fric a n -A m e ric a n w o m e n w h o h a v e th e d ise a se an d th e y ’ll probably all say so m e thing different. M any people w ith lupus feel tired , e x p e ri e n c e jo in t a c h e s an d p a in s, lo ss o f h air, sc a rrin g skin le sio n s, w h ile o th e rs m ay d e v elo p co m p lic a tio n s w ith in v o lv e m e n t o f th e k id n e y s o r cen tral n erv o u s sy stem . T he sy m p to m s c a n be p e rsiste n t o r in te rm itte n t, an d th e d e v a sta tin g re a lity is th a t m a n y w om en d o n ’t even know they h a v e th e d ise a se . Lupus, an autoim m une d is e a se in w h ic h a n tib o d ie s re- The University o f Portland w illpaytuitionforupto 10PTP students each year, planned for full phase-in by 2010. The agreement also calls for PCC to waive tuition for 33 students this year, and PSU will provide tuition waivers for up to 45 such as the b rain .” Ho» IMHT Worte IMRT requires highly sophis ticated com puter softw are pro grams that use a variety o f data -in e lu d in g C T and MRI s c a n s - and com putation m ethods to determ ine the best plan for su c cessfully treating each tum or. R adiation is used to shrink or control the grow th o f tum ors by killing tum or cells or interfering with their ability to grow. The radiation is adm inistered through a linear accelerator m a chine that is equipped with a m u lti-le a f c o llim a to r (m etal leaves that m ove to conform to the tu m o r shape c re a tin g a “cookie cutter” outline through which the radiation beams pass). Since a tum or is three-dim en sional, beam s are directed at the tum or from different angles or directions to conform to its ir regular shape. pus patients are w om en and — a larg e m a jo rity o f th o se w om en being A frican-A m eri can. Studies suggest that there is an inherited tendency to get lupus. H ow evor. the disease o v e r w h e lm in g ly a f f e c t s w om en and m ost com m only affects them in theirchildbear- ing years— ages 15 to 45. T he A rthritis F oundation w ants w om en, especially A f rican-A m erican w om en, to b e aw are o f the com m on signs o f on’t have to Prevention works. Get screened. Ask your doctor about cardiovascular disease today. lupus. F o rm o re in fo rm atio n , call 800-283-7800 for a free book let titled “ L u p u s,” o r visit the A rth ritis F o u n d a tio n ’s w ebsite at w w w .arth ritis.o rg . It’s our right. African American Health Coalition, Inc. 2800 N. Vancouver Avenue-Suite 100 Portland, Oregon 97227 Phone: 503-413-1850 www.aahc-portland.org Made possible by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Smoking doesn’t work in Oregon.” I remember walking out of our conference room and my eyes were literally stinging. My boss smoked, so everybody felt they had a right to light up whenever they felt like it. That was before the Oregon Smokefree Workplace Law. Because now smoking doesn't work in Oregon. And I'm breathing a lot easier. If you’ve got questions, please contact us: Information About The Law • Toll-free 1-866-621-6107 • www.healthoregon.org/tobacco • Your county health department Oregon Tobacco Quitline • 1 877 270-STOP • 1-877-2NO-FUME (Spanish) • TTY: 1 8 7 7 777 6534 If you have a disability and need the material in an alternate format, call 503-731-4273 (TTY: 503-731-4031) SMOKEFREE WORKPLACES. IT’S OREGON LAW. O regon D epartment O f H uman S ervices ____________________________
