18
S moke S ignals
OCTOBER 1, 2017
Attention members in the
six-county service delivery area
Tribal members residing within the six-county service delivery area
(Marion, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Polk and Tillamook) will be
receiving new Skookum Health Assistance Program cards in the mail
on or around Oct. 1.
We try to coordinate address changes/updates with Shasta. If you
reside in the six-county service delivery area and you do not receive
a new card in October, contact Shasta Customer Service at 800-880-
5877 or Barbara Steere at 503-879-2487 to request a new one.
Please replace your old card with the new card.
Thank you,
Tresa Mercier
Health & Wellness Center closures
• Friday, Oct. 6 – 20th Anniversary
Event preparation (closing at noon)
• Monday, Oct. 9 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day (All day)
• Friday, Nov. 10 – Veterans Day (All day)
• Wednesday, Nov. 22 – Restoration Day (All day)
• Thursday, Nov. 23 – Thanksgiving (All day)
• Friday, Nov. 24 – Day after Thanksgiving (All day)
Be sure to request your prescriptions
early to cover closure days.
October is Breast Cancer
Awareness month
When you’re told that you have breast cancer, it’s natural to wonder
what may have caused the disease, but no one knows the exact causes of
breast cancer.
Doctors seldom know why one woman develops breast cancer and anoth-
er doesn’t, and most women who have breast cancer will never be able to
pinpoint an exact cause. What we do know is that breast cancer is always
caused by damage to a cell's DNA.
• One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast
cancer in her lifetime.
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women.
• Each year it is estimated that more than 246,660 women in the United
States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.
• Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,600 men will be
diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 440 will die each year.
• On average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer
and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.
• More than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors are alive in the United
States today.
Risk Factors
• Gender: Breast cancer occurs nearly 100 times more often in women
than in men.
• Age: Two out of three women with invasive cancer are diagnosed after
age 55.
• Race: Breast cancer is diagnosed more often in Caucasian women than
women of other races.
• Family History and Genetic Factors: If your mother, sister, father
or child has been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, you have a
higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future. Your
risk increases if your relative was diagnosed before the age of 50.
• Personal Health History: If you have been diagnosed with breast
cancer in one breast, you have an increased risk of being diagnosed with
breast cancer in the other breast in the future. Also, your risk increases
if abnormal breast cells have been detected before (such as atypical hy-
perplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or ductal carcinoma in situ
(DCIS)).
• Menstrual and Reproductive History: Early menstruation (before
age 12), late menopause (after 55), having your first child at an older
age or never having given birth can also increase your risk for breast
cancer.
• Certain Genome Changes: Mutations in certain genes, such as BRCA1
and BRCA2, can increase your risk for breast cancer. This is determined
through a genetic test, which you may consider taking if you have a
family history of breast cancer. Individuals with these gene mutations
can pass the gene mutation on to their children.
• Dense Breast Tissue: Having dense breast tissue can increase your
risk for breast cancer and make lumps harder to detect. Several states
have passed laws requiring physicians to disclose to women if their mam-
mogram indicates that they have dense breasts so that they are aware
of this risk. Be sure to ask your physician if you have dense breasts and
what the implications of having dense breasts are.
Source: All materials are from the WebMD
Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Fair
Thursday Oct. 5 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Come join our Health and Wellness Fair in the Grand Ronde Clinic Atrium
Get your blood pressure checked and if you’re a diabetic you
can get your blood sugar tested as well.
Some great information that will be here from all of our departments
Come join the fun!!!!