Lawrence classes help patients and their loved ones cope with cancer diagnosis
Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the American Cancer Society have partnered to provide an “I Can Cope” series of educational classes for cancer patients and their loved ones.
The FREE classes are from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at LMH, 325 Maine. They are:
• Sept. 9 — “Understanding Treatment Options and Their Side Effects” by Dr. Darren Klish, radiation oncologist; Dr. Ronald Stephens, medical oncologist; Karen Finkbiner, oncology pharmacist; Jodi Carlson, clinical research coordinator; Dr. Cheryl Rice, general surgeon; Dr. Farhang Khosh, naturopathic specialist; Julie Tuley, registered nurse and clinical coordinator.
Heart attack survivor now training for triathlon
I wanted to share this story written by Margie Carr. It's about Michelle Derusseau who suffered a heart attack at age 39. Since then, she has changed her lifestyle and will be competing in her first triathlon on Saturday. Michelle uses her story to inspire others. She has started a group page on WellCommons called "With All My Heart."
Lawrence resident Michelle Derusseau will be competing in her first triathlon on Saturday after four months of training. Derusseau, now 46, suffered a heart attack at the age of 39, is using her efforts to raise awareness about heart disease, particularly among women. by Nick Krug
By Margie Carr
The first indication that something was wrong was when 39-year-old Michelle Derusseau went to sleep halfway through the KU-Syracuse NCAA college basketball championship game in 2003. Her husband, Ron couldn’t believe his wife, a loyal Jayhawk fan, was sleeping through the biggest game of the year.
Derusseau didn’t think much of it.
“A week later I got up feeling really nauseous and just soaked with sweat,” she says. “I thought I had the flu, so I called in sick and went back to bed.”
After dinner the next evening (a BLT slathered in mayonnaise), Derusseau felt a sharp pain in between her shoulder blades.
“I thought it was a muscle spasm, and I kept trying to work it out,” she says, reaching back to indicate the space where the pain originated. “Then I couldn’t seem to catch my breath, and my arm went numb. I called for Ron, and he said we should go to the hospital.
We don’t know we’re too fat!!
Change Your Brain, Change Your Body by jestevens
Each of us sees the world through our own pair of colored glasses, and that goes for how we regard our weight.
This HealthDay article was fascinating: It's about a Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey that showed 30 percent of people who are overweight think they're normal.
Thirty percent of those in the "overweight" class believed they were
Root ‘n’ roll
“I saw you ride up on your bike.”
It wasn’t so much the words uttered by the receptionist at the endodentist as the tone that rubbed me the wrong way.
There was a sneer to my ear. It sounded a bit like that cute-but-bratty girl I sat next to in ninth-grade science, accusing me of sneaking a peak at her exam. (I swear, I didn’t look; if I were going to cheat, it would have been off the egghead on my other side. Generally, it’s better to cheat off the dude with the pocket protector.)
Let high-schoolers sleep in, state health officer says
The state’s top health officer says high schoolers need to get more sleep — and if that means starting classes later statewide, so be it.
Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, who serves as Kansas State Health Officer and is director of health for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, says that adults need to do more to prevent what he calls “teenage sleep deprivation” — a mounting problem that’s becoming even more of a concern for teachers, parents and health professionals.
Surveys indicate that only 15 percent of teens get 8.5 hours of sleep each school night, he said, and even that’s short of the nine or 10 hours they should be getting to help them function at their best. Many get by with six hours or less.
“What this means is that most teenagers today — kids whose lives are filled with homework, sports, after-school activities and part-time jobs — are falling well short of the sleep their bodies require for good health and full enjoyment of life,” Eberhart-Phillips said recently. “Some kids get so little sleep they might best be described as walking zombies.”
New state park opening Saturday in Topeka
Just minutes from downtown Topeka, the state is opening a new park that has miles of trails, abundant wildlife and a boat ramp on the Kansas River.
The Kaw River State Park will be dedicated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday by Gov. Mark Parkinson.
But before that, there will be the inaugural Kaw River Run, a four-mile run and two-mile walk with entry fees going to the adult education program of Let’s Help of Topeka. That starts at 8 a.m.
After the park dedication, the new boat ramp will be dedicated at 11:30 a.m., and a canoe flotilla will paddle down the Kansas River to the Great Overland Station on Kansas Avenue.
The park, under development since 2007, is at 5630 SW Sixth Ave. — at the former location of the Menninger clinic, which moved its operations to Houston.
The Kaw River State Park is a day-use park that is free and open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Baldwin City man charged after striking bicyclist in July
Douglas County prosecutors have charged a Baldwin City man in connection with a July 15 altercation with a group of bicyclists south of Lawrence.
Scott A. Young, 48, who was arrested Monday, faces charges of aggravated battery and criminal damage to property.
Prosecutors allege Young drove his pickup truck into the lead cyclist of a group of riders in the 1000 block of East 1400 Road. That cyclist was thrown from his bike. Bicyclists said the truck driver didn’t stop.
According to Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson’s office, sheriff’s officers canvassed the area for drivers fitting the description of the vehicle. Undersheriff Steve Hornberger said assistance from the cyclists was key in the investigation.
Young has posted $10,000 bond. His next court appearance is set for 3 p.m. Sept. 14.
Music and equipment sale to benefit KU’s Audio-Reader service
Music, collectors’ items and audio equipment will be available at the For Your Ears Only sale to benefit Kansas University’s Audio-Reader service.
The sale takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, in Building 21 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St.
Admission on Friday night includes prize giveaways and free food donated by local restaurants. It is $10 at the door and $7 in advance at Audio-Reader, 1120 W. 11th St.
Admission is free on Saturday, and prices will be marked down throughout the day.
Trying to cut out refined sugar? Try these sweeteners on for size
Dates (foreground), raw honey (spoon) and agave nectar (right) offer different flavor profiles and nutritional value than white sugar. by Mike Yoder
Granulated sweeteners
Sucanat: Sounds strange, but Sucanat is actually an abbreviated way of saying “sugar cane natural” — su-ca-nat, get it? To create sucanat, producers dehydrate freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. The flavor is molasses-heavy, making it a good substitute for brown sugar in recipes. It is also free-flowing, so you don’t have to worry about it clumping or getting hard, like you do with brown sugar.
Turbinado sugar: One step closer to everyday brown sugar than sucanat, turbinado sugar is often marketed as “raw cane sugar.” It is made from evaporated cane juice that has been spun in a centrifuge to produce large crystals. Turbinado sugar is much closer to white sugar than anything else on this list.
Stevia: Pourable stevia, marketed under various names like Truvia and PureVia, is made from the stevia plant, an herb that has been used for more than 400 years in South America. In addition to the powdered and natural herb forms, stevia is also sold in liquid drops. It is considered to be 300 times sweeter than sugar.
Liquids
Maple syrup: An all-natural sweetener made from the sap of the sugar maple tree. It is often labeled by “grade” which denotes its characteristics. There’s Grade A Light Amber, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber and Grade B (which is super dark and normally used only in baked goods).
Honey and raw honey: Probably one of the longest-used unrefined sweeteners in the world, honey comes in different grades, types and colors, and the taste can vary depending on region and the bees’ nectar source (aka flowers). In addition to the traditional, pourable honey, there’s also a version called “raw honey” that is not heated or strained and is, therefore, so thick its texture is reminiscent of half-melted caramel.
Agave nectar: Relatively new to the sweetener scene, this liquid tastes a bit lighter than honey, and is extracted from the heart of the agave plant, which also is used to make tequila. Agave is about 25 percent sweeter than sugar, but is considered to be a low glycemic index sweetener, meaning it’s absorbed slowly by the body, unlike refined sugar, which causes spikes in blood sugar.
Molasses: The byproduct of the process that turns sugar cane or beets into refined sugar, it contains vitamins and minerals including calcium, potassium and iron, making it a truly healthy option. Two teaspoons provide about 13 percent of your daily iron and 12 percent of your daily calcium.
Other choices
- Dates
- Brown rice syrup
- Sorghum
- Barley malt syrup
- Date sugar
- Yacon syrup
- Maple sugar
Click here for the complete story and recipes.
Officials seek to raise awareness of hunger problems in Kansas
TOPEKA -- One in seven Kansas households fear they will not have enough food, officials said Wednesday. That’s the eighth highest rate in the country.
“No Kansan should be faced with having to decide between making ends meet or putting food on the table,” said Gov. Mark Parkinson.
Not having sufficient nutritional food leads to a number of health and education problems, he said.
At a news conference, Parkinson signed a proclamation designating September “Hunger Awareness Month,” and issued an executive order making permanent the already existing Kansas Food Security Task Force.
Barb LaClair, who has served as chair of the task force, said many Kansans are “struggling to put food on the table.”
She said that according to surveys nearly one in four families with children in Kansas are food insecure.
In the past fiscal year, the Kansas Food Assistance program served an average of 117,000 families per month, and the three non-profit Feeding America food banks in Kansas distributed more than 16 million pounds of food. During the 2009-10 school year, 47.5 percent of students participated in free or reduced price school meal programs.
LaClair said there also are concerns about getting nutritional food. Eleven farmers markets, including the one in Lawrence, accept food stamps for payment. She said she hoped to increase that number.
Heart attack survivor now training for triathlon
I wanted to share this story written by Margie Carr. It's about Michelle Derusseau who suffered a heart attack at age 39. Since then, she has changed her lifestyle and will be competing in her first triathlon on Saturday. Michelle uses her story to inspire others. She has started a group page on WellCommons called "With All My Heart."
Lawrence resident Michelle Derusseau will be competing in her first triathlon on Saturday after four months of training. Derusseau, now 46, suffered a heart attack at the age of 39, is using her efforts to raise awareness about heart disease, particularly among women. by Nick Krug
By Margie Carr
The first indication that something was wrong was when 39-year-old Michelle Derusseau went to sleep halfway through the KU-Syracuse NCAA college basketball championship game in 2003. Her husband, Ron couldn’t believe his wife, a loyal Jayhawk fan, was sleeping through the biggest game of the year.
Derusseau didn’t think much of it.
“A week later I got up feeling really nauseous and just soaked with sweat,” she says. “I thought I had the flu, so I called in sick and went back to bed.”
After dinner the next evening (a BLT slathered in mayonnaise), Derusseau felt a sharp pain in between her shoulder blades.
“I thought it was a muscle spasm, and I kept trying to work it out,” she says, reaching back to indicate the space where the pain originated. “Then I couldn’t seem to catch my breath, and my arm went numb. I called for Ron, and he said we should go to the hospital.
Root ‘n’ roll
“I saw you ride up on your bike.”
It wasn’t so much the words uttered by the receptionist at the endodentist as the tone that rubbed me the wrong way.
There was a sneer to my ear. It sounded a bit like that cute-but-bratty girl I sat next to in ninth-grade science, accusing me of sneaking a peak at her exam. (I swear, I didn’t look; if I were going to cheat, it would have been off the egghead on my other side. Generally, it’s better to cheat off the dude with the pocket protector.)
LiveWell initiative seeks to increase healthy foods in restaurants
LiveWell Lawrence wants to increase access to healthy foods in restaurants.
Trish Unruh, a nutritionist with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said Americans spend 44 percent of their food dollars on eating out.
“My goal with the restaurant program is to have nutritious and delicious healthy food choices when going out to eat,” she said.
For example, the program could encourage restaurant owners to offer:
• Salad, fruit and/or vegetables as a side dish.
• One entrée prepared with a lower-fat method such as baked or broiled.
• Whole-grain products.
• A low-sodium entrée.
• Low-fat sauces and dressings.
Is it time to bring back the martini lunch?
Specialty wines from all over the world fill the shelves at City Wine Market. About 90 percent of the stores inventory is priced under $25. by Richard Gwin
Time magazine came out this week with a fascinating article looking at the life expectancy of those who drink moderately, versus those who drink heavily and not at all.
The perhaps surprising result? Those who totally abstain from drinking die at a younger age than either those who drink heavily or those who drink moderately.
The standard Alcoholics Anonymous explanation for this finding is that many of those who show up as abstainers in such research are actually former hard-core drunks who had already incurred health problems associated with drinking. But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers.
The study tried to account for all possible influencing factors: socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support, the article said.
The article theorizes possible causes for this surprising finding, including that moderate drinking is a part of so many social situations, and that social interaction is crucial to maintaining good brain function and other a positive outlook on life, which leads to greater longevity.
What do you think? Should we be encouraged to drink a glass of wine at lunch, or a martini in the afternoon?
