Edwards Do not neglect mammograms
Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:43:58 GMTBy NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
DAVENPORT, Iowa - Elizabeth Edwards said Wednesday she feels she let down her family and the country by neglecting to get mammograms that could have caught her cancer earlier. Mrs. Edwards — appearing with her husband, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, in their first trip to Iowa since announcing her cancer had returned — admonished women to get their mammograms.
She said she didn't, and by the time she felt a lump in her breast in 2004 and was able to get it removed, it had grown to nine centimeters and the cancer had spread elsewhere.
"I do not have to be in this situation," Mrs. Edwards told about 500 people at a banquet hall. "I am responsible for putting myself, this man, my family and, frankly, putting you all at risk, too, because I think you deserve the chance to vote for this man."
Later, John Edwards said he knows his wife didn't get mammograms because she isn't in the habit of putting herself first.
"It's not surprising to me that she would say that, but I think she's being too hard on herself," Edwards told The Associated Press.
Mrs. Edwards' comments came in response to an audience member who asked her to spread the word about the importance of mammograms.
"It had the chance to migrate because I sat at home doing whatever I thought was important and didn't get mammograms," Mrs. Edwards said. "It wasn't that I didn't know. There are women in this audience who know perfectly well whether or not they're doing what they need to do and get mammograms. If you are one of the people who knew but aren't doing it, obviously you need a new strategy.
"Women often put themselves at the bottom list of things to do. When I put my health at the bottom of the list, I was putting him at the bottom of the list, my children at the bottom of the list, the country at the bottom of the list," Mrs. Edwards said.
Mrs. Edwards found out two weeks ago that her breast cancer had spread to her rib bones. John Edwards and his wife announced the news at a press conference where they said it would not affect his decision to run for the White House.
Mrs. Edwards said Tuesday that she has received some good news on her first doctor's visit since learning the cancer had spread: She has a type of cancer that is more likely to be controlled by anti-estrogen drugs.
She also expressed frustration with reports that she's likely to die within five years. She said doctors can't give her a reliable life expectancy and regardless she plans to fight the disease as hard as she can.
New TB strain in South Africa a concern
Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:01:27 GMTBy CELEAN JACOBSON, Associated Press Writer
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The extent of the deadly new strain of tuberculosis in South Africa and the region is not known and is cause for concern, an international health expert said Wednesday.
Dr Fabio Scano, a TB expert from the World Health Organization in Geneva, has been sent to South Africa at the request of the government to assist with the outbreak of the extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis strain, or XDR-TB.
"We don't know the extent of multiple drug resistant and extreme drug resistant TB in sub-Saharan Africa and the southern African region. There is not yet the capacity to test in these countries," Scano said at a news conference.
South Africa has reported 352 cases of the virulent strain since it was discovered last year in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. There have been 221 deaths and concerns have been raised about the strain spreading across the region.
Scano said an epidemiological investigation was under way to determine the full extent of the disease.
"I don't think the situation in KwaZulu-Natal is unique," said Professor Ronnie Green-Thompson, special adviser to the health minister. "If we test in other provinces we may well find a similar prevalence."
Multiple drug resistant TB, known as MDR-TB, does not respond to a "first line" of drugs while the extreme strain does not respond to a "second line" of drugs.
Africa is the only continent where TB rates are increasing and the disease is complicated by high rates of HIV infection, which lowers a person's immune system.
"MDR-TB and XDR-TB and the way they are magnified by HIV infection is the biggest public health challenge both nationally and internationally," Scano said.
He said that without the drug resistant strain, 12-14 percent of TB patients who have HIV die because of the "lethal combination" of the two diseases.
Scano said WHO was committed to working with South Africa to address the challenge presented by the disease.
"There are a lot of interventions under way but we have yet to see the results ... the fight against TB is a marathon, not a sprint. But there is a need for action now," he said.
Drug resistance grows when people do not complete a grueling six month regime of medication, and South Africa has a low adherence rate.
Part of the two-year collaboration between WHO and South Africa is to ensure greater adherence of patients to the treatment programs.
The health department has had to force a number of XDR-TB patients back to hospital after they tried to return to their homes and in the United States, a 27-year-old man suffering from the extreme strain has been locked up indefinitely as a danger to the public.
Nthari Matsau, Deputy Director-General of the health department, stressed that while it was important to separate TB patients, issues of discrimination and human rights had to be considered.
"Incarceration is not an ideal way of separating TB patients. There are much more acceptable and humane ways," she said.
Scano said new drugs to treat XDR-TB were now available in South Africa but he said there was a huge need for new medicines to be developed to combat the disease.
"Unless there is massive investment in new drugs, we won't make headway in the fight against TB. We have to do the best we can with what we have," he said.
Exercise may fend off arthritis in women
Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:00:21 GMTBy MARGIE MASON, AP Medical Writer
Get moving, Grandma! Exercise isn't just about improving your heart and fighting flab that comes with aging. It may also be the answer to preventing stiff, achy joints that can lead to debilitating arthritis. An Australian study suggests the more time older women spend exercising, the better their chances are of staying pain-free from one of the biggest chronic conditions plaguing developed countries.
Even exercising as little as one hour and 15 minutes a week now can make a difference over the next three years, according to findings recently published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.
"I don't think the results are suggesting that you should just become this maniac exerciser," said lead author Kristiann Heesch from the University of Queensland, Australia. "What it does suggest is that just adding some walking and moderate activity to your life can make a big benefit."
Doctors have long encouraged exercise among aging patients to keep joints flexible, muscles strong and to keep off weight, which is a leading risk factor for arthritis. This is the first study that focuses specifically on middle-aged and older women who did not have a history of stiff and painful joints. It looked solely at pain and symptoms reported by more than 8,700 Australian women over a three-year period, and could offer a vital clue about prevention.
Women in their 70s who exercised 75 minutes a week reported fewer symptoms of arthritis than those who did less, while more spry women who were active at least 2 1/2 hours weekly had even less pain in the three years that followed. Although there appeared to be a direct correlation between exercise and lower joint pain, the reasons why were less clear.
"Maybe the exercise directly benefits the joints. Maybe exercise makes you lose weight and the latter benefits the joints. Maybe exercise causes pain sensing receptors to become less sensitive so one feels less pain," said Dr. John Hardin, chief scientific officer at the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation, who did not participate in the study.
Conversely, exercise had no effect on arthritis symptoms reported by middle-aged women. Heesch said it's unclear why the results differed among the two age groups.
The findings also contradict some earlier research, which found no direct link between fitness and arthritis. The Australian study, published last week, focused on specific age groups of fairly healthy women predominantly from rural areas who had not been diagnosed with arthritis, which may partially explain the difference, Heesch said.
"If we could put out a pill that would solve a lot of problems, it would be physical activity, but we can't wrap it up into a little pill and give it to people," she said. "Particularly with the baby boomers getting older, there's going to be a lot more griping and need to address this."
She said walking, swimming, yoga, tai chi and even some weight training were all great ways for older women to exercise after getting their doctors' approval. More women than men suffer from arthritis, and the risk increases greatly with age.
"The fact that the study showed change in a short time speaks to the fact that exercise shows benefit quickly and is another reason to encourage people that exercise has a payback sooner than many people think," said Dr. Patience White, chief public health officer at the Arthritis Foundation.
One in five American adults has been diagnosed with arthritis — half of those over age 75 have reported it — costing billions of dollars each year. In both the United States and Australia, it is the No. 1 cause of disability.
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Margie Mason covers medical issues for The Associated Press across the Asia-Pacific region.
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On the Net:
Link to the study:
http://www.arthritis.org/
