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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2014)
Health News Kidney Donor Needed for Dad One Million March Against Colon Cancer Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News African Americans are disproportionately hit by this preventable disease PHOTO CREDIT ARTHAREE FAMILY PHOTO CREDIT BAKER FAMILY H asan Artharee is a big, strong man. In his years of working in his family’s business, and now as a supervisor for Portland Parks and Recreation, Artharee has helped a lot of people. Now he needs some- one to step up and help him. Artharee, 35, suffers from a rare genetic con- dition called polycystic kidney disorder – and he needs a kidney donor as soon as possible. This is because the only cure for polycystic kidney disorder is a transplant. The donor could be anybody, of any race or gender – they just need to have type-O blood, be A married father with four young sons, Artharee physically healthy and counts a small handful of life goals he would like have a selfless desire to to achieve; here he is with his baby son Emil. save someone else’s life. A married father with four young sons, Artharee Bernadette Artharee – her brother, and an array counts a small handful of who also received a kid- of cousins have all been life goals he would like to ney transplant about 15 diagnosed with the kidney achieve, including at years ago and is one of the disorder and so far, every- some point rejoining his most staunch volunteer one has been able to find a family’s company, Coast spokespeople at Donate donor before it was too Industries, the oldest Life Northwest – is presi- late; currently, Artharee Black-owned business in dent of Coast Industries. says, he has one cousin Over the years Oregon. Bernadette, her mother, It’s where his mother, See DONOR on page 10 Michell and Marsha Baker’s lives were transformed by the death of their father, Steve, from colorectal cancer -- which is preventable if detected early enough through screening. by Michell Baker Special To The Skanner News Editor’s note: The National March Against Colorectal Cancer comes to Portland on Saturday, April 12, in Pioneer Courthouse Square. More on the event below. At the time of my father’s diagnosis, I was living in beautiful sunny San Diego, Calif., without a care in the world. Life was good, so I thought. In July of 2007, we found out our strong, sen- sitive, humble father had colon cancer. Just hearing the word cancer was a huge blow to the stomach, and then days later find- ing out that it was stage IV cancer was a complete body blow. In August, I flew home to Portland, OR for my daddy’s surgery. It removed a portion of his colon and some lesions on his liver. The waiting See CANCER on page 9 Missed the Healthplanfinder Deadline? Washington officials are reaching out to catch folks who fell through the cracks Of The Skanner News PHOTO CREDIT AP PHOTO W ith the deadline to enroll in a Qualified Health Plan through wahealthplanfind- er.org now passed, Washington Healthplanfinder is reaching out to residents who couldn’t complete their application by March 31 with impor- tant guidance to qualify for a special enrollment. Washingtonians who were prevent- ed from submitting their application by the deadline should complete these steps as soon as possible to qualify for coverage that begins May 1, 2014. As a reminder, those who qualify for Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) may enroll at any point during the year, as well as American Indians/Alaskan Natives who are enrolled members of a federally rec- ognized Tribe or an Alaska Native Corporation. “We recognize that some customers may have experienced difficulty meet- ing the deadline due to long wait times at the Customer Support Center or other barriers to enrollment,” said Richard Onizuka, Chief Executive Officer for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. “If these individu- als are seeking coverage by May 1, they should complete these steps as soon as possible to have their case reviewed by staff.” The Exchange has already reviewed several groups of applications in the system based on application activity and will open a special enrollment period for individuals who have encountered technical problems on or before March 31. Individuals who See DEADLINE on page 8 April 9, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7
