Health related information and news from around the world.

WE CANNOT OVEREMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A CONNECTION WITH ANOTHER WOMAN WHO HAS LIVED THROUGH BREAST CANCER. She will help you in many, many ways—more ways than we can begin to enumerate here. FIND HER.

What we are about to say now will probably seem crazy to you right now, but someday you too will recognize that there has been a silver lining to this experience. Most of us truly believe that the most precious benefit of this entire ordeal is the relationships we have developed with the other women whom we have met. The community of women who have had breast cancer is enormous and remarkable. You now have friends, sisters beyond number, and each is waiting to help in any way she can. We mean it sincerely when we tell each other “Call me anytime.”

You have been through a lot already; you have found the strength you needed to confront difficult moments: mammograms, biopsies, X-rays, bone scans, and blood tests, and certainly the phone call from hell. You may feel devastated; you feel you can’t deal with one more decision; you may feel as though you want to snuggle under the covers and sleep so that you won’t have to address all the overwhelming questions that crowd into your mind. This is all normal and common. Of course you know that you will have to make decisions and choices; remember that it is okay not to like any of this. No one would choose to be in this predicament; none of us voluntarily made that choice, either. We are all reluctant, if not rebellious, members of a sorority we never wanted to join.

As you have already discovered, the time around the initial diagnosis is very difficult, painful, and stressful. You should know that you are at a very bad time emotionally; you may have heard from your doctors that this is the very worst time. Believe it. Once you have made the necessary decisions and once you have begun treatment, you will feel more settled, more in control. We are not suggesting that you will feel happy or carefree, not at all. But we are suggesting that you will experience some measure of relief. Before you arrive at this point, you will need to do your homework. It is very important that you make informed decisions about your treatment. Remember, it is your body and it is your life.

These first days are harder than anything yet to come. We know you don’t believe this now, but you will look back and see that this is true. Right now, however, it is normal to feel that your life is over, that your life is out of control, and even, perhaps, that you are crazy. Many women report, during the inevitable sleepless nights, that they are lying awake planning their funerals. Some of us stop eating. Some of us eat continuously. Most of us cry a lot. You will be impatient and short-tempered. You may either tell everyone you meet about your diagnosis, including the cashier in the market and the UPS deliveryman, or you may tell almost no one.

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Description and Possible Medical Problems

Most of us accept the fact that, in one way or another, the aging process is going to affect the hair on our heads, whether it becomes thinner or grayer or we begin to lose some of it and it doesn’t grow back. For some people, the process began in their 20s; others still have a full head of hair into their 60s, though the color is probably gray or white to some degreee.

The fact is that 50% of men and women will see some significant changes in their hair by the time they turn 50.

Treatment

The effect that aging has on our hair is biologically not reversible, though by using hair color, a body wave or permanent, or even a new hairstyle, these effects can be minimized.

You can either color or perm your hair yourself or go to a professional salon. One caveat about doing it yourself: when coloring or perming hair, many people have a tendency to leave the preparation on too long. This can lead to dryness, breakage, and loss of even more hair. Many of the chemicals that are used in hair color or permanent solution can cause the scalp to become irritated. This may also be more of a problem in elderly men and women, since their scalps produce less of the protective oils than younger people’s do. Besides the professional attention you get, it’s a good idea to go to a salon because the coloring and perming preparations used in salons tend to be gentler on the hair and scalp than over-the-counter preparations are. To play it safe, you may want to have a professional stylist care for your hair.

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There is a new medication used to treat migraines called Imitrex, or Sumatriptan. It comes in a kit that provides the patient with everything she needs to adminster the medication through self-injection. The medication is injected at the first signs of a migraine, when nausea and spots before the eyes begin to appear and the head begins to hurt. If the symptoms have not begun to subside after an hour, another injection can be given; this is usually effective. However, people with heart disease shouldn’t use Imitrex, since the medication can cause spasm in the coronary arteries.

Ergotamine is another medication that should be taken at the beginning of a migraine, except it is taken orally or sublingually and can be repeated at 30-minute intervals, or as often as necessary until the symptoms subside. If you want to take ergotamine, your doctor will want to monitor your health, since the medication can be habit forming and a rare disorder called ergotism can develop. Since ergotamine helps decrease the pain of a migraine through a process known as vasoconstriction, in which the blood vessels become narrow and the pain is reduced, some of the side effects of the medication include rapid heart rate, muscular aches and pains, coldness in the hands and feet, depression, and seizures, which explains why ergotamine is not a medication to be taken lightly.

A migraine headache doesn’t necessarily have to immobilize a person. The most important part of treatment is to recognize the onset of a migraine and treat it with medication immediately, as well as to eliminate foods that tend to trigger a migraine.

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Many physicians and hospital personnel find the Mini Mental Exam shown below to be a useful screening tool for cognitive disorders. Scores less than 24 are usually a sign that there’s a problem. Obviously, dozens of factors ranging from medical illness to depression to educational levels can influence scores, but whatever the reason, such results should be looked at by a qualified doctor.

MINI MENTAL EXAM

Maximum Score

Score

Orientation

() What is the (year) (season) (date) (day) (month)?

() Where are we: (state) (county) (town) (hospital) (floor)? Registration

() Name 3 objects: 1 second to say each. Then ask the patient all 3 after you have said them.

Give 1 point for each correct answer. Then repeat them until he learns all 3. Count trials and record. Trials

Attention and calculation

() Serial 7s. 1 point for each correct answer.

Stop after 5 answers. Alternatively, spell “world” backwards. Recall

() Ask for 3 objects repeated above. Give 1 point for each correct answer. Language

() Name a pencil and watch. (2 points)

Repeat the following: “No ifs, ands, or buts.” (1 point)

Follow a 3-stage command: “Take a paper in your right hand, fold it in half, and put it on the floor.” (3 points)

Read and obey the following: “Close your eyes.” (1 point)

Write a sentence. (1 point)

Copy design. (1 point)

ASSESS level of consciousness along a continuum.

Total Score Alert Drowsy Stupor Coma

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When doctors begin to practice, they soon realize that they will have to purchase specialized equipment that will allow them to perform tests right in the office instead of sending them to a lab. This not only increases doctors’ revenue but also makes them appear to be more high tech than the doctor next door, helping them to attract new patients. Of course, if the office next door already has all the same high-tech equipment, the new kid on the block usually has to go one better, purchasing either more expensive equipment or simply more of it.

As many medical practices evolved into high-tech profit centers, the old American image of the physician naturally began to erode. The friendly family doctor who made house calls became the high-tech whiz-kid specialist who used CAT scans, MRIs, and other high-tech devices to help make a diagnosis. It became clear that the public was torn: they still wanted the old family doctor, but they were also very attracted to the exciting high-tech aspects of medicine. Access to this new wave of medical care also began to expand to many parts of the country, especially in major metropolitan areas, where the physician population has normally been more concentrated. In essence, it became almost impossible for patients to decline to have a certain test done, since they could choose from a number of conveniently located testing centers where the test could be performed. In this way, patients could seek the opinion of several specialists, who would give them numerous tests in order to offer second and third opinions on the previous doctor’s diagnosis. The more patients who walked through the door and the more procedures performed by a physician, clinic, hospital, or diagnostic test center, the more money everyone would make.

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