Dr. Carl O. Helvie

Dr. Carl O. Helvie was a relatively young man when he was diagnosed with lung cancer and told he had six months to live.

Instead, he made a decision to fight back with something other than traditional medicine. And today, this healthy 80-year-old man takes no prescribed medications and is one of the longest living lung cancer survivors.

Helvie’s latest book, You Can Beat Lung Cancer: Using Alternative/Integrative Interventions (Ayni Books), gives all of us hope for a healthier future. “Harsh chemicals, devastating surgeries and painful procedures for conventional cancer treatment are not your only option,” Helvie explains.

He offers practical, easy-to-understand information on the types, causes and diagnosis of lung cancer, how we as a society view nontraditional treatments, and evaluates  different approaches to holistic and alternative treatments.
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By Amy N. Puntureri R.Ph

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month and Giant Eagle is partnering with the American Liver Foundation to offer a series of FREE Hepatitis C screenings at several Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle Pharmacies.  Please see this article for details on the screenings.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes damage to the liver. It is a contagious disease that can present as a mild illness that lasts for several weeks, or as a serious, lifelong illness that can cause scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer or death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 15,000 people die every year from complications of Hepatitis C liver disease. There is currently no vaccine available for the Hepatitis C virus, furthering the importance of screenings and early detection.

Hepatitis C is usually spread through exposure to blood from an infected individual. The most common means of exposure are by sharing needles during IV drug use, accidental needlesticks in the healthcare field, children born to an infected mother, and receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant prior to 1992, when the widespread blood-supply screenings began.

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May is Hepatitis Awareness Month and Giant Eagle Specialty Pharmacy is partnering with the American Liver Foundation to offer a series of FREE Hepatitis C screenings at four Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle Pharmacies on the following Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: April 27 and May 4, 11 and 18.

The four participating Giant Eagle Pharmacy locations include:

Monroeville Giant Eagle
4010 Monroeville Blvd.
Monroeville, PA 15146

Robinson Market District
100 Settlers Ridge Center Dr.
Pittsburgh, PA 15205

South Hills Market District
7000 Oxford Dr.
Bethel Park, PA 15102

Twp. of Pine of Market District
155 Towne Centre Dr.
Wexford, PA 15090

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With warmer weather on its way, Chelsea McCullough, Clinical Nutrition Manager at Longwood at Oakmont recently provided residents with tips on hydration and healthy living as a part of the community’s celebration of National Nutrition Month.

To kick off the month-long educational activities, McCullough presented a seminar discussing the benefits of staying hydrated especially during the Spring/Summer months, which include:

• Controlling body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure
• Maintaining lubrication of joints
• Removing waste from the body
• Maintaining a healthy metabolism
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Student Continues School of Nursing Mission

Nursing graduate student Maya Shrestha’s thesis is just one example of how the Cedarville University School of Nursing integrates faith with advanced nursing practice. After much deliberation, she felt that God wanted her to look at the impact of pro-life education on abortion attitudes in Nepal. Shrestha, who is orginally from Nepal but now commutes to Cedarville from Columbus, will graduate in August 2013.

After learning that abortion had become legalized in Nepal in 2002, Shrestha was alarmed to learn that 500,000 Nepali women used authorized abortion institutions from January 2004 to June 2011. She contacted various pro-life organizations to see if they had a branch in Nepal and discovered that there is no international pro-life work being done in Nepal.

These factors led Shrestha to believe that she had to do something. “I saw the need and urgency for some pro-life work in Nepal,” she said. “I asked a few people to pray for me regarding choosing this as my research topic and doing interventional study, which meant going in the field and teaching about the pro-life message and abortion.” Shrestha said she was initially very afraid to teach in Nepal because the legalization process was recent and because of the political nature of the topic.

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By Dr. Kim Dennis, CEO and Medical Director at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center

Anorexia nervosa is a complex and extremely serious disorder. Fortunately, if discovered and treated early, the prognosis is favorable. Its victims, usually female, can be restored to positive mental, emotional and physical health, and go on to live happy, productive lives.

Unfortunately, the reverse also holds true. Those who struggle with anorexia for years, even decades, may experience profoundly negative physical and relational consequences. Although anorexia is a psychological disease, it eats away at a woman like cancer. A cancer cell may begin its life in the breast, brain or bone; but given enough time, it will metastasize throughout the body with a singular goal of destroying all healthy tissue it encounters.
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By Jennifer Christman, RD, LDN, and Clinical Nutrition Manager for Medifast Inc

Beginning a weight-loss program can be overwhelming: Where do I start? Who can I talk to? What do I eat? Should I exercise? How much weight is safe to lose at one time?  Do these questions sound familiar to you?

Here are a few tips to help you get started on and proceed through your journey:

•         Start out your day with a high protein breakfast. Including protein in the morning will help diminish those feelings of hunger. Not only is there a physiologic effect of a higher protein breakfast, but there is also a perception of fullness that goes along with eating protein. Try some Greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, or a protein bar like a Medifast Crunch Bar.

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Here’s another company we came across recently. The Academy Of Podiatry offers many solutions and treatment options for foot and ankle repair. They can help reduce your pain, strengthen arches, as well as diagnose new problems for you.

Podiatry and Foot Surgery Services Include:

• Bunions
• Hammer toes
• Corns and calluses
• Warts
• Ingrown nails
• Arthritis
• Tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Heel spurs
• Neuroma

Watch their video below.

By Michele Howe

Four and a half years ago we received the news that my father-in-law was dying of esophageal cancer.

We heard the news at our grandfather’s funeral.

So, while grieving the loss of one well-loved man, we were simultaneously projecting ahead to the loss of another well-loved man.

It was one of those moments when feelings get all mixed up with facts and everything sort of blurs together.

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Your Health Matters

By Dr. Judith Black, medical director for Senior Markets at Highmark Inc.

Most adults know the importance of visiting their doctor when they are sick or have a chronic medical condition. They take their medications and follow their doctor’s advice so they can improve their health. However, some people may not be aware of the importance of scheduling a visit with their doctor to learn how to stay as well as possible.

Now that spring has arrived, it’s the perfect time to schedule your annual wellness visit.  While most doctor visits are about treatment, the annual wellness visit is about prevention. It’s not a physical exam. It’s a one-on-one discussion with your doctor to review your health from all angles — physical and emotional. At the visit, you and your doctor will create a personalized prevention plan based on your current health and risk factors. And best of all, it’s covered in full for anyone with Medicare.

At your annual wellness visit, you should expect your doctor to have a discussion with you about your physical and emotional health during the past year; immunizations and preventive screenings, all medications you are taking, including prescription and over-the-counter items; and your lifestyle and wellness goals.

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Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States.

By Michele Howe

Last month I gave blood for the first time in a long time.

It had been such a long stretch between giving that I couldn’t remember if I was O positive or O negative. Ironically, I wondered if the people who know me best would know the difference either.

When I received my shiny red donor card emblazoned with O positive right under my name, I sort of laughed, because I know better. More often than not, I am not O-so-positive. Rather, I am O-so-negative.

I could blame it on the type of work I do, because reviewers have to see manuscripts with a critical eye in order to review them accurately.

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Michael Levine, MD

For Patricia Brooks, the tingling of electrical current running through her leg was preferable to the sting of physical therapy following her total knee replacement.

Ms. Brooks, participated in a clinical trial offered at Forbes Regional Hospital to determine whether electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is as effective as standard physical therapy in helping patients recover from joint replacement surgery.

The stimulator and control groups achieved the same outcomes, but patients who used the stimulators were more satisfied with their experience, according to Michael Levine, MD, the orthopaedic surgeon who served as principal investigator for the study, the results of which were published in the March issue of the Orthopedics medical journal.

“Most patient complaints after knee surgery are about the pain, but patients absolutely hate doing the therapy,” Dr. Levine said. “With this protocol, we’ve eliminated the formal therapy sessions. Patients have to bend and straighten their knee, but there’s no strength training with weights. The stimulator basically does everything for you.”

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From professional athletes to recreational leagues and young children enjoying their first season of t-ball, sports offer a fun way to stay active and healthy. But to keep athletes’ eyes on the ball, protective eyewear is essential to protect eyes from serious injuries and vision loss. During Sports Eye Safety Month this April, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ophthalmology reminds the public to protect their eyes when enjoying athletic activities.

Each year, ophthalmologists – medical doctors who specialize in medical and surgical eye care – attend to more than 40,000 sports-related eye injuries. The eye is very delicate, and a misjudged catch or a flying elbow can cause serious injuries ranging fromblack eyes to corneal abrasions and retinal detachment. Some eye injuries are very serious and may require emergency surgery or result in permanent vision loss. Unfortunately, approximately one-third of eye-injury victims are children. The good news is that 90 percent of eye injuries can be prevented by wearing protective eyewear.

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