Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention

One simple test could end up saving thousands of women’s lives. Yet, for those without health insurance, the test comes too late. According to the American Cancer Society, this year alone an estimated 40,170 women will lose their lives to breast cancer. Meanwhile, it is estimated that 4,000 breast cancer deaths could be prevented just by increasing to 90 percent the percentage of women who receive breast cancer screenings.

Breast cancer often can be treated with early detection. That’s why health insurance that pays for mammograms is especially important. But mammography rates declined between 2003 and 2005, with a notable decrease for Hispanic women (from 65 percent to 59 percent) and African-American women (from 70 percent to 65 percent). Never mind the controversy over mammograms for women under 50; an estimated one in five women over 50 has not received a mammogram in the past two years.

Everyone needs health insurance to keep healthy, yet women are disproportionately underinsured. An estimated 21 million women and girls went without health insurance in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And a recent congressional report found that 18 percent of all women not eligible for Medicare are uninsured.

Why are so many women left uncovered? Perhaps it’s because many medical situations faced by women are treated as pre-existing conditions, including breast cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimated that in 2004 approximately 2.4 million women had a history of breast cancer. Without continuing coverage, cancer survivors face steep risks.

Health Insurance Facts: Fighting Cancer With No Insurance

Why are women falling behind in insurance coverage faster than men? According to the Department of Health and Human Services, various factors restrict women’s access to health care, which include a vast array of “pre-existing conditions” such as breast cancer, pregnancy, caesarian section and domestic violence. In addition, women are less likely to be employed full time, which makes them less likely to be eligible for employer-based health benefits. In fact, fewer than half of women have the option of obtaining employer-based coverage.

Any health care reform proposal should take that into consideration and include access to comprehensive care, including preventative care such as mammograms. Americans, men and women alike, understand this need. A recent poll commissioned by Moving Forward, a values-based research initiative developed by the Women Donors Network and the Communications Consortium, found that a strong majority of voters — 87 percent — think insurance companies should be required to cover women’s preventive care and screenings, such as contraception, Pap tests for cervical cancer and breast cancer screenings.

Public health experts recommend health insurance coverage be universal and available to all regardless of work status, place of residence, health status or other factors unrelated to need. Reform should be aimed at achieving quality outcomes and eliminating disparities as well as at being affordable. Coverage also needs to be continuous from birth until end of life without interruptions or delays, as gaps in existing coverage allow women to fall through the cracks.

Reform will bring health care to more American women and their families than ever before in our nation’s history. Women would do well to learn more about their stake in health care reform. One good resource is www.WomenandHealthCareReform.org. The best thing we can do to end breast cancer is to make sure all health insurance coverage is universal — not limited by exclusions due to pre-existing conditions — and includes preventative care and basic services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings. Let’s create a system that provides health care, not just sick care.

Wendy C. Wolf is a board member of Living Beyond Breast Cancer and Women Donors Network and leads WDN’s effort on reproductive and other health issues.

There are always conflicting reports about what can or can’t help with cancer prevention. The issues to do with cancer prevention often are confusing — sometimes what’s recommended in one report is advised against in another. What you can be sure of when it comes to cancer prevention is that making small changes to your everyday life might help reduce your chances of getting cancer.

Cancer prevention step 1: Don’t use tobacco

All types of tobacco put you on a collision course with cancer. Rejecting tobacco, or deciding to stop using it, is one of the most important health decisions you can make. It’s also an important part of cancer prevention.

Smoking has been linked to several types of cancer, including:

Bladder
Cervix
Esophagus
Kidne
Lip
Lung
Mouth
Pancreas
Throat
Voice box (larynx)

Chewing tobacco has been linked to multiple types of cancer, including:

Esophagus
Mouth
Throat

Inhaled chewing tobacco (snuff) may increase the risk of cancers, including:

Esophagus
Mouth

Even if you don’t smoke, avoid exposure to secondhand smoke. Being around others who are smoking may increase your risk of lung cancer.

Cancer prevention step 2: Eat a variety of healthy foods

Though making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can’t guarantee you won’t get cancer, it may help reduce your risk.

The American Cancer Society recommends that you:

Eat an abundance of foods from plant-based sources. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. In addition, eat other foods from plant sources, such as whole grains and beans, several times a day. Replacing high-calorie foods in your diet with fruits and vegetables may help you lose weight or maintain your weight. A diet high in fruits and vegetables has been linked to a reduced risk of cancers of the colon, esophagus, lung and stomach.

Limit fat. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-fat foods, particularly those from animal sources. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and may increase the risk of overweight or obesity, which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.

Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Your risk of cancers, including mouth, throat, esophagus, kidney, liver and breast cancers, increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you’ve been drinking regularly. Even a moderate amount of drinking — two drinks a day if you’re a man or one drink a day if you’re a woman, and one drink a day regardless of your sex if you’re over 65 — may increase your risk.

Help to Stop Smoking – Mayo Clinic
There are proven treatments that help people stop smoking. Medications and supportive discussion with a health care provider and counseling with a specialist will greatly increase your chances for stopping. In this video, health care providers from the Mayo Clinic describe medication and counseling options and explain how they work to help smokers stop smoking Patients tell how treatment provided for them the help they needed to become and stay smoke-free. There is effective treatment for anyone who smokes. Visit the Mayo Clinic website.

Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention – Local cancer survivors — some with their arms linked in a show of strength, solidarity and support — kicked off the inaugural lap of the 2009 Paso Robles Relay for Life event on Saturday morning.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, tasking its participants all around the country to celebrate survivors, remember those who have lost their lives to the disease and, most especially, to fight back against cancer. The event has been going on for 11 years in Paso Robles and 25 years nationwide.

This year, 44 teams — amounting to roughly 400 participants — took to a makeshift track at River Oaks Hot Springs in Paso Robles, each team committed to have at least one person on the track at all times for 24 hours.

Relay for Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will have support and that one day cancer will be eliminated, according to the ACS. Moreover, the event raises both awareness and funds for ACS, which will be utilized for cancer research and services for patients facing cancer.

Paso Robles Mayor Duane Picanco thanked the hundreds of Paso Robles Relay participants for their commitment to stamping out cancer, a disease that will be diagnosed in an estimated 1,479,350 people in 2009 alone, according to the ACS.

“None of us are immune to this particular disease,” Picanco told the crowd. “We all know family and friends who have it and who have had it.”

In acknowledgment of the ACS’ mission, the effort of the event’s participants and the dedication of dozens of local volunteers that made the Paso Robles Relay for Life event possible, Picanco offered organizers a proclamation issued by the Paso Robles City Council, which declared Relay for Life to be a “meaningful, worthwhile event.”

First District Supervisor Frank Mecham was also on hand with an offer of appreciation from the county of San Luis Obispo.

“There are two things that I told my kids all through their life, that every morning you need to wake up with two things: hope and purpose; without them, there is nothing else,” he told team members who gathered for Opening Ceremonies. “You provide that hope and you provide the purpose by which we seek the means to address this terrible disease.”

Mecham himself lost both of his parents to cancer; his mother succumbed to the disease just over a year-and-a-half ago. It was in the same spirit of remembrance that other participants were inspired to dedicate themselves to the cause, as daughters walked in memory of their mothers, sisters in honor of their lost brothers and parents for children whose lives were cut short by cancer. And while there are tears shed for those who have passed on, every step taken by participants was strengthened by a hope for a future without the ravages of cancer.

“I lost my mother 21 years ago to a dreadful disease there was no hope for,” said Paso Robles Relay For Life volunteer chairperson Julie Aikenhead. “I have a friend today who has that same disease and for five years he has had hope. That is why we Relay.”

The enduring strength of cancer survivors is also lauded during the event. Each Relay for Life event across the country starts off with a lap by cancer survivors, some of them still immersed in their fight against the disease. At one time, Caroline Mercado of Templeton was given two weeks to live during her second battle against lung cancer, on Saturday she marched at the head of the group of survivors during the first lap in her role as Relay for Life ambassador. She is now a five-year survivor of the disease. Organizer Liberty Lowe praised the bravery and strength of all those, like Mercado, who have fought cancer.

“After watching my mom battle the ups and downs of cancer for almost five years, I have seen that it takes an extraordinary person to battle this evil called cancer,” she said. “With that, each and every survivor is remarkable.”

San Miguel resident Charlotte Holloway has now walked the survivors lap for two years in a row. She has been free of cancer for 18 months.

“It is very emotional, because I think I am totally in-check and then you look around at different people . . .” she trailed off, throwing up her hands in the air to communicate a depth of emotions not expressible in words.

It was Holloway’s struggle with cancer that prompted members of the SLO County Trailblazers, an all-women’s horse riding club, to get involved in Relay for Life.

“She was the inspiration for us having a team last year and then we found out there are more people [in our club who are survivors],” said team captain Alyssa Rigby.

They won a prize for the best decorated campsite in 2008 and were back this year to live up to their reputation. The women of the team transformed their campsite into a façade of an old western saloon, complete with swinging doors. From their home base, team members passed out educational information on cancer and sold items to raise more money for cancer research. Each of the 44 teams involved in Relay undertook a similar “Fight Back” activity.

At the official ACS “Fight Back” booth, volunteer Donna Jones, who lost both of her parents to cancer, was encouraging all participants to pledge to do something this year to fight back against cancer.

“We can eat right, we can exercise, we can not smoke and get whatever tests we need,” Jones listed as some of the ways to fight back. “I think prevention is really the answer.”

In many cases, taking preventative measures against cancer are small changes.

“It’s little baby steps that we can start with little kids,” Jones said.

Perhaps the most significant way that participants of Paso Robles Relay for Life fought back against cancer was by signing up for CPS-3, a groundbreaking, long-term cancer prevention study by the ACS to better understand the lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer and to ultimately eliminate cancer as a major health problem for this and future generations. To date, 42,272 people have been enrolled in the historic study, according to the ACS.

Thanks to the Paso Robles Relay