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Top Ten Most Popular Health Topics from Callers: Breast Cancer Colon Cancer Pregnancy Menopause Sleep Disorders Heart Disease Breastfeeding Diabetes-Type 1 Women's Health Nutrition
| From the NWHIC Project Director U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ”You may be here for only a short while. But, in whatever part you play, be remembered as part of a legacy...changing someone’s life for the better. It's that legacy that never dies.” ~ Unknown author When you think of leaving a legacy, the first thing that most often comes to mind is the amount of money you’ll leave behind. From stocks to bonds to real estate, most of us think of our inheritance in terms of dollars and cents. In that way, we are missing the bigger picture. We all have a legacy that is more secure than a trust fund, more valued than diamonds, and more prestigious than a million dollar home. That legacy is our health. The legacy of a healthy life is not only one of the most important things you can leave behind, it’s something you can build on every day. Like a trust fund, a life of good health develops over time and should be invested in daily. Your children watch what you eat, how you spend your free time, and how you treat others. When they get older, the “health legacy” you leave them will shape the ways they take care of their own health. Looking at your life right now, what do you think your “health legacy” will look like when you’re gone? If it’s an inheritance you think could be made better, perhaps it’s time for a change. If you are due for a mammogram, celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness month by scheduling one in October. Check out NWHIC’s screening guidelines at www.4woman.gov/screeningcharts to see which tests you need. On October 7, Depression Screening Day, talk to your doctor about feelings of anxiety, sadness, or depression you may be having. Celebrate the National Red Ribbon Campaign and talk to your children about the dangers of illegal drugs. Simple things such as these are the building blocks to a healthy life for you and your family. To ensure a lifetime of good health for generations to come, invest in your health and pass on a legacy that will make a great impact on the people in your life. Valerie Scardino, M.P.A. NWHIC WEB SITE SERVED OVER ONE MILLION VISITORS IN A SINGLE MONTH! THE OFFICE ON WOMEN'S HEALTH WAS SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE NORMAL BIRTH MEDIA AWARD AT THE LAMAZE INTERNATIONAL 2004 ANNUAL CONFERENCE. HHS LAUNCHES PILOT PROJECT WITH WEBMD TO MAKE HHS CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE. "WebMD and HHS share the same mission of ensuring that all Americans have immediate access to critical health information so that they're able to make more informed health care decisions," said Wayne Gattinella, President, WebMD Health. During the pilot, HHS will select health content supporting national priorities and relevant to a general consumer audience from the broad range of information produced by HHS agencies. WebMD will make the information available in an HHS-branded educational center on WebMD Health and through WebMD's partner health sites, including MSN Health with WebMD and AOL Health with WebMD. Topics addressed will include physical activity (the first under the pilot), nutrition, preventive screening, and diabetes. The new HHS channel on WebMD will feature information from across the many HHS agencies that disseminate health information for the general public, including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR 4GIRLS HEALTH—BECOME AN ENDORSER. BABIES ARE BORN TO BE BREASTFED! JOIN NWHIC AND THE OFFICE ON WOMEN’S HEALTH IN THE EFFORT TO INCREASE BREASTFEEDING NATIONWIDE.
Fit for Fall: New Online Program (in English and Spanish) Promotes Physical Activity Members of the public can now interact with Angela - a virtual lay health educator to learn how making some simple changes in their lives that can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease. A Spanish language version of this program is also available at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/salud/pa/indexsp.htm. For lay health educators, a virtual trainer of trainers, named Doña Fela, will help educators learn how to personally and confidently approach members of the Latino community with the same information contained in the online program for the public. The program is at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/salud/pa/teaching.htm.
This year’s NCE will take place October 9-13 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. The scientific program has been carefully planned to expand knowledge, enhance skills and techniques, and provide the most up-to-date information. A special highlight this year will be programs on obesity and mental health. Web site: https://s12.a2zinc.net/clients/aap/aap2004/ CELEBRA LA VIDA CON SALUD
As part of the Closing the Health Gap campaign, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sponsoring traveling health fairs in collaboration with local supermarkets and radio stations. The fairs will be held in Hispanic dominant communities on Sundays beginning September 26 through December. Participants will receive free health screenings by local providers and health materials from HHS. Web site: http://omhrc.gov/healthgap/healthfairs.htm U.S. CONFERENCE ON AIDS The mission of The United States Conference on AIDS is to increase the strength and diversity of the community-based response to the AIDS epidemic through education and training, new partnerships, collaboration, and networking. The United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) is something you cannot afford to miss. If you have gone before, you witnessed over 4,000 dedicated AIDS workers – from case managers and physicians, to public health workers and advocates – who take four days to learn from one another, as well as envision strategies to fight this epidemic. USCA is the largest conference of AIDS workers in the United States. Web site: http://www.nmac.org/conferences/USCA2004/default.htm 2004 National Rural Women’s Health Conference The 2004 National Rural Women's Health Conference is designed to discuss the following issues related to America's rural women.
Web site: http://www.hmc.psu.edu/ce/RWH2004/index.htm October Featured Health Topic
We’ve changed this feature to give you better and more comprehensive information. Instead of featuring ONE article each month, we will now give you links to several different articles on a special monthly health topic directly from the NWHIC web site. October’s Featured Health Topic: Breast Cancer According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Early detection and treatment are key. If breast cancer is caught before it has a chance to spread, the survival rate is greater than 95 percent. If you were to enter “Breast Cancer” into our search function, this is some of the information you would find: www.familydoctor.org has a brochure, "Breast Cancer: Steps to Finding Breast Lumps Early," Breast Cancer Resource Guide for Minority Women is a booklet that can be accessed online (http://www.omhrc.gov/breastcancerguide.pdf). The Office of Minority Health Resource Center has complied a list of organizations, documents, journal articles, and other resources relevant to people affected by breast cancer including patients, health professionals, students, and researchers. Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Risk: What Does It Mean to Me? is an online publication (http://www.familydoctor.org/handouts/332.html) that answers some frequently asked questions regarding the link between genetics and breast cancer such as what genes cause breast cancer, what steps to take if breast cancer runs in the family, and how to get tested. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists FDA-certified centers where mammography is performed and can be accessed at http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/mammography/certified.html. The database, which is updated weekly, can be searched by zip code. Your Rights After a Mastectomy is a brochure published by the Federal Citizen Information Center (www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/mastectomy/mastectomy.htm) and gives advice to women who have had a mastectomy or expect to have one. This publication explains a woman's basic rights under the WHCRA (Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998).
HOT APPLES WITH OATS APPLE HAZELNUT SALAD CHICKEN WITH APPLES ACORN SQUASH WITH APPLE PUREE APPLE DUMPLINGS Also, SPINACH is October’s Vegetable of the Month. Not only is this the vegetable responsible for making “Popeye” strong, spinach is low in calories, a good source of iron, and provides essential nutrients such as vitamins A and C, minerals, and fiber. Be sure to look at the entire 5Aday Campaign web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/5ADay/campaign 
October 2004 Health Observances In addition to Breast Cancer Awareness month, there are other health observances in October, which you can view at Healthfinder.gov. Click here for more details:
Featured Organizations
American Lung Association Screening for Mental Health, Inc. Maternal and Child Health Bureau National Red Ribbon Campaign
Who is Using NWHIC's Services?
California, Texas, and New York are the leading states, bringing in the most calls this month. Our most frequent health topic requests were for information on these topics: breast cancer and colon cancer.
User Support
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Guest Editor Feature for October 2004: Author: Lori Feldman-Winter, M.D., FAAP More children than ever suffer from respiratory illnesses, and ear infections continue to be the number one reason why children visit their doctors. These are conditions that may be prevented by exclusive breastfeeding and are addressed in the article “Pediatricians Needed to Make National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign Successful.” Read the rest of this month's article.
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