Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Anthony
LaFauce

Digital is More than Social

Friday, October 7th, 2011

ExpertsHere’s the setting: I’m at an impromptu networking event with some of the regulars and we’re all talking shop. Most of us are Digital PR folks, some program managers, some PR professionals, some video guys. In walks a new guy, whose sunglasses I’m sure cost more than my car, who immediately introduces himself and starts talking about what he does.

He’s a Senior Digital Whatever at Whatever Firm, a smaller shop around town I wasn’t too familiar with. All of us begin talking digital media–different tools, things we have seen work before and things that we know will fail. New Guy keeps coming back to social media, which is obviously an important part of digital media. But he fails to add any value to our conversation when we get to things like video editing, writing PHP and using mobile.

The group was fine with New Guy until, maybe after one too many Cosmos, he declared that all of those “old forms of digital” are worthless and the only thing that matters is social media. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,

 
John
Seng

A Never-Smoker With Lung Cancer, And The Point Is…?

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

The next time you hear that a friend of a friend was just diagnosed with lung cancer, you’re bound to wonder privately or out loud: Was he a smoker or not?

It’s only natural. We’re terrified of cancer, and especially, cancers such as lung cancer which are diagnosed usually in late stage, and oftentimes too late to really do much about it. So we all must hear what we need to hear that, yes, this person was or still is a smoker. Phew! We can again comfortably assign blame to some poor soul who should have known better or couldn’t muster the willpower to quit in time. And we think, I don’t smoke, so I’m innocent.

But increasingly we hear from multiple quarters that non-smokers and never-smokers also get lung cancer. In fact, approximately 10 percent of all lung cancer is diagnosed in persons who never smoked. That inconvenient reality surprises a lot of people. In other words, someone who didn’t have it coming to them just got really bad news, despite his or her good behavior, unlike those weak and irresponsible smokers. Some lung cancer advocates report this aberrance, in an attempt to add accurate perspective on the disease. Even more important, researchers are now investigating the differences between tumor types in never-smokers vs. smokers, and why women never-smokers bear a greater burden of disease.

But here’s a radical notion for you, one that I recently suggested to a group of lung cancer advocates gathered in Denver by the National Lung Cancer Partnership: Lung cancer is 100 percent a disease of innocents. I repeat, innocents.

I put forth the proposition that the lifelong female smoker diagnosed with lung cancer is no more “to blame” for her disease than another woman diagnosed with breast cancer. Here’s why. Tobacco use most often begins in our teen years. Raise your hand if you never did anything stupid as a 14-year old. The Army and Navy once distributed cigarettes free to hundreds of thousands of men to help them cope with battle stress. Tobacco companies handed out free samples on college campuses. I once found a copy of an ad for Lucky Strikes that depicts a doctor extolling the virtues of smoking. The best part is, the ad ran in a 1940s edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association. I framed the ad for my office.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

 
Megan
Lustig

Stem Cells Break Through in 2010

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Last week, The Chart on CNN.com took a look at the most important health stories of 2010. From first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign to Food Safety, The Chart featured the latest, but not necessarily the greatest, health highs and lows of the year. Dr. John McDonald, director of Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (a Spectrum client), authored a guest post on what many have believed to be “an impossible feat”. We can change the world with human embryonic stem cells describes why the first human embryonic stem cell trial in the world is an incredible scientific milestone, and represents true progress for patients with spinal cord injuries. While stem cells have been surrounded by controversy, Dr. McDonald’s post underscores the fact that we could be witnessing a turning point not only in science, but in the human lives that this therapy could change forever. If that’s not a health story of the year, I don’t know what is.

(more…)

 
Megan
Lustig

Inspiration for Rutgers’ Eric LeGrand: Because Impossible is only a Word, Not a Reality

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

nothingis1As the wife of a current collegiate football coach who played in college, I know that there are few words to express the emotions surrounding Rutgers’ defensive tackle Eric LeGrand’s horrific injury this weekend. My heart goes out to Eric’s family and the Rutgers community – I sat through so many games when if my husband (boyfriend at the time) even slightly hesitated after a hit, I panicked, and yet the worst he suffered was a broken leg. In Kieran Darcy’s ESPN article about the incident, he quotes Rutgers’ head coach Greg Schiano:

“Eric, his family and the Rutgers football family believe he will recover,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “We ask our fans and the entire Rutgers community to believe and pray for Eric as he begins the recovery process.”

For many football fans, this may bring back memories of the injuries sustained by Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro, or Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett. Adam and Kevin, however, are back on their feet.

People may have varying opinions on the attributes of a successful athlete, but it is hard to deny that discipline, dedication, and a tremendous work ethic are at the core of what it takes to succeed. So when athletes face the life-altering challenge of paralysis, they depend on these attributes when faced with a completely new, unexpected training regimen. Because of Eric’s accident, I would like to offer the story of Matt Courson as a source of inspiration for Eric, the Rutgers community, and anyone else affected by paralysis. According to Matt, impossible is only a word, not a reality.

Matt Courson’s story is one of an inspirational and motivated All-State selection, 8AAA Pitcher of the Year, and collegiate pitcher who has faced the same life-altering challenge as Eric – paralysis. Yet Matt’s story is about more than his dedication and remarkable recovery. His outlook on life burns so bright that everyone he meets is taken with him, and he says that when he speaks and people tell him that they were helped by his story, “it is better than any strike-out, bigger than any baseball game you can play.” And what is phenomenal, is that when Matt graduates from college this Spring, he will get out of his wheelchair, and walk across the stage.

(more…)

 
Spectrum

Therapy Dogs Bring Joy to Children with Special Needs

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

GILDA RADNER ONCE SAID, “I THINK DOGS ARE THE MOST AMAZING CREATURES; THEY GIVE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. FOR ME, THEY ARE THE ROLE MODEL FOR BEING ALIVE.” THIS STATEMENT RINGS TRUE IN THE CASE OF BALTIMORE RESIDENT STEPHANIE COOPER-GREENBERG, WHO KNEW THAT HER FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS WOULD MATURE TO BE MORE THAN TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD PETS.

Two years ago Stephanie decided that her two Dalmatians were not going to lie around on the sofa all day. Therapy Dogs Bring Joy to Children with Special NeedsWhile most dogs provide unconditional love to their owners, Stephanie wanted her dogs to be different — she realized that the love her dogs provide could make a difference in the lives of so many others, especially children with special needs. (more…)

 
Marcia
Newbert

Michelle Obama: Taking on Obesity

Monday, February 1st, 2010

In his State of the Union Address Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama praised First Lady Michelle Obama for “creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make kids healthier.” Less than 24 hours later, Mrs. Obama joined U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin to announce the release of The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation.

The paper, which is Dr. Benjamin’s first release to the nation since being sworn in as Surgeon General earlier this month, includes recommendations for helping Americans to adopt healthier lives through better nutrition and regular physical activity. The paper also encourages communities to be actively involved in creating healthier living environments and combating obesity. (more…)

Tags: ,