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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2012)
Minority & Small Business Week September 26, 2012 Page 17 Sickle Cell Awareness Month Foundation active in the community The Portland metro area’s Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation serves the State of Oregon and parts of south west Washington with information and education. Volunteers who work with the Oregon Chapter of Sickle Cell Dis ease Association of America say as far as they know there are no other Sickle Cell foundations in the re gion. The group has been active since 1986 providing the following services: Counseling, parent and client education, care provider, and community education, limited finan cial support to those meeting the foundation criteria, moral support, advocacy between agencies and support group meetings. In the past, the foundation pro vided free diagnostic testing, but because of the economic downturn needs donations to continue to of fer this service. The foundation also seeks funding for administrative of the drug. overhead to provide full-time office There are some promising treat support. ments and new medical procedures Sickle Cell Disease is a debilitat that give hope. Patients are encour ing disease and is still very much aged to talk with their physicians present affecting people in the com about their own personal condition munity and resulting in early death. and treatment plans. Although there is no known cure, The local Sickle Cell Anemia there is treatment. Many lives have Foundation is on the frontline fight been improved through hydrox ing the fight and will keep the com yurea and a few have reported suc munity informed on what’s going cess with bone marrow transplants. on in this area. Hydroxyurea is a chemotherapy In the meantime, the group is agent with potent effects on the recruiting new board members and bone marrow. The agent was used community workers to share their for many years to treat people with professional skills, ideas, and com certain malignancies before being mitment to the foundation (no sickle used for sickle cell disease. The cell related knowledge is necessary) primary side-effect of hydroxyurea to help keep a commitment to people is suppression of blood counts, suffering this dreadful, painful and particularly the white blood cells life-threatening inherited blood dis (neutropenia) and platelets (throm order. bocytopenia). Neutropenia and Potential board members should throm bocytopenia, respectively, send th eir resum es to place patients at risk for infection loelegance@aol.com or fax them to and bleeding. Patients with sickle 503-252-9730to the attention of Pas cell disease who require hydrox tor Marcia Taylor. The group’s web yurea therapy are best served by Riley Dews, 4, (le ft) a n d Tracy Dews, 8, are brothers who were bo th is sicklecellanemiaportland.com for having their treatment coordinated born w ith sickle ce ll anem ia. A story in the New York Times te lls ab out those who wish to learn more about by specialists familiar with the use m anaging th e ir d ise a se as a ro u tin e p a rt o f th e ir fa m ily life. Sickle Cell Anemia. Knight Donates $125 million OHSU receives largest gift ever Oregon Health & Science Uni versity Monday announced a trans formational gift of $ 125 million from Nike co-founder and Chairman Phil Knight and his wife Penny to ad vance OHSU's world-class programs in cardiovascular medicine and re search. The gift is the largest in the Port land medical school’s history and may likely be the largest private contribution ever made by living donors to benefit a single Oregon organization. It is the Knights' sec ond landmark gift to OHSU, follow ing a 2008 pledge of $ 100 million that advanced the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. OHSU leaders said the gift will establish the OHSU Cardiovascular Institute, an integrated center for translational research, clinical care, professional training and outreach in all aspects of heart and vascular disease. The institute's mission: to accel erate new prevention, diagnostic and treatment strategies being de veloped in the laboratory and tran sition them into patient care clinics as Rapidly as possible. U nder the u m brella o f a multidisciplinary institute, OHSU will pair researchers and clinicians to gether on projects while also build ing strategic partnerships with phar maceutical and medical device devel opers whocan extend OHSU's unique expertise to more patients through the global commercial marketplace. Flu Shot Season Begins Flu vaccine is now widely avail able and health officials are recom mending that everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated early. “We want people to get the vac cine as soon as it’s available, which means now,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer. “This should provide protection if the flu season comes early.” Flu can occur at any time, but it occurs prim arily from O ctober through May. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibod ies to develop and provide protec tion against the disease. Flu shots remain the best de fense for preventing flu-related ill ness and missed days at school or work. DO YOU HAVE HEART DISEASE? Suffer from angina? Lack stamina? Shortness o f breath? If you said yes to any o f these questions, EECP® may be the help you need. EECP® (Enhanced Exter nal Counterpulsa tion) to Medical Director Dr. Ronald r a Schultz, MD is board-certified • Clinically proven, non invasive treatment for angina and/or congestive heart failure • FDA-approved and covered by Medicare and most insurance www.hceecp. *EECP® is performed on referral and in conjunction w ith your providers • Being offered by leading medical centers physician. including the MAYO CLINIC, JOHNS-HOPKINS, and in Portland at Heart Centers Of America cardiologist and Fellow of the American College of Cardiology with over 30 lence and is the years of expene founder of Heart Centers of America An Authorized t ECP Proedet
