Archive for the ‘Women’s Health’ Category

Ricki
McCarroll

Ladies…You Know Lung Cancer Kills Right?

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

From a girl who came from the West Coast where the ban of smoking cigarettes in work places was enacted in January 1995 and banned in restaurants three years later, it was a shock to move to the D.C. area and find you could still smoke indoors in some establishments directly outside The District.

My doe-eyed, granola crunching, outdoorsy, non-smoking California self was definitely taken aback at the amount of smokers around me. Even some two and a half years later, it still shocks me on my morning commute to find myself walking behind someone to the Red Line (D)Re(a)d Line who has a cigarette in their hand at 7:30 in the morning.

Naturally, with a health communicator’s strategic mind, I began to tally the amount of men and women I witnessed lighting up during my morning jaunts to work between the hours of 7:30 and 9:00 a.m.

My findings? Interestingly enough, the majority of the people I witnessed were women around the ages of 30-55 strutting in pencil skirts and pumps with a lit cigarette balancing in their hand. To be frank, I was shocked when I tallied the numbers. Really, ladies? After all the facts we know about tobacco?

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Lauren
Fulk

Eat, Drink and Live Longer!

Friday, September 9th, 2011
I may be one year older today and on the verge of decline (and a early mid-life crisis), but thanks to a recently resurfaced study, I am approaching my birthday with a little more pep in my step.

The Harvard School of Public Health study followed nearly 14,000 mostly white women beginning in 1976 and found that those who averaged roughly one to two  alcoholic drinks a day in their late 50s were up to 28% more likely to survive to age 70 in good health compared to nondrinkers. The researchers defined “successful surviving” as living to at least 70 and being free of cancer, heart conditions and other chronic diseases and suffering no significant mental or physical impairment.

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Mary Ellen
Hackett

My Personal and Professional Worlds Collide this Mother’s Day

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Twelve years ago this month, I spent my very first Mother’s Day as a mom basking in the presence of my then five-week old twin boys. It was a day I thought I’d never celebrate myself; my husband and I went through seven and a half years of tests and surgeries and procedures before we finally conceived our sons through assisted reproduction techniques (ART).

Infertility is a painful, isolating experience that those who haven’t gone through themselves don’t quite understand. It is one of the most difficult challenges a couple can face, yet many don’t seek support from family or friends. During my many years of infertility, I didn’t discuss it with many friends or even with my own mother. Mother’s Day was always one of the most difficult days for me as I said to myself, “Maybe next year.” RESOLVE became my refuge.

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Frannie
Marmorstein

Lupus Advocates Take On the Hill

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the Lupus Research Institute’s Tell Congress Event on Captiol Hill. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder with an unknown cause that affects the skin, joints, kidneys and other organs and involves the immune system attacking healthy cells and tissue because it cannot tell the difference between normal and unhealthy substances.

I spent the afternoon lobbying on the Hill with a dozen Lupus advocates, meeting with senators and listening as advocates voiced their concerns about Lupus awareness and increasing funding for lupus research. Advocates strived to make an impact by sharing with their senators their personal connections with the disease. Patients shared their difficulties living with chronic fatigue and joint pain, family members honored those they had lost to Lupus and caregivers, including children, discussed the hardship of caring for a parent with Lupus. Everyone had a story to share.

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Jessica
Gordon

Checking In: Deals, Prizes, and Sexual Health?

Friday, September 17th, 2010

“I could seriously stalk you.”  This is a comment I often hear from my friends due to the fact that I really enjoy checking in on FourSquare.  Not to mention, I LOVE getting deals when I check in (my favorite deal I received so far was 10 percent off my frozen yogurt at Berry Chill in Chicago).  As social media continues to be a large presence in our lives- from 145 million people on Twitter to 500 million people on Facebook – and with a rising trend of location based check-ins, could social media replace print advertising?  An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal outlines three things for businesses to do to develop relationships with their consumers via location based social media outlets like FourSquare and Facebook. jg-91710

I am sad to say that I was late in the game joining FourSquare, so I am not a mayor of any location yet; however, I do have my sights set on a coffee shop I frequent near my apartment.  Would I go there more often if they offered a check-in reward?  Absolutely.  Even ten percent off a purchase is enough to give incentive.  As I continue to go to this coffee shop, those ten percent off check-ins will begin to add up.  This is one of the tips offered in the WSJ article by Riva Richmond.   Richmond writes, “Even if you do nothing, people may discover you through location-based services.”  Additionally, Richmond spoke to a business owner in California that claims his social media customers are more frequent than anyone bringing in his coupons offered in print advertising.  Do more people pay attention to digital offers that what’s on paper these days?

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Jon
Mandel

OB/GYN 2.0

Monday, July 26th, 2010

I recently read a USA Today entitled “Some doctors join Facebook, Twitter; others wary,” which has sparked another debate about health care going digital. Dr. Jeff Livingston, a certified obstetrician and gynecologist, is using social media to promote his practice, MacArthur OB/GYN, and create a public platform for a subject matter that quite often is stigmatized as too confidential and personal to discuss. As he notes in the article, he isn’t publishing personal health information online, but instead shares helpful articles and advice that he believes would benefit his followers and fans. macarthur-ob-gyn-facebook

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