The first thing Peter Haugen noticed was that the dents in his mom's car were multiplying. Then the Osterville, Mass., software engineer learned that his mother, 85, had confused the brake and the gas pedal and ended up, unhurt, atop a stone wall. He pleaded with her to stop driving. He spoke to her doctor. He even persuaded her to see a geropsychologist.
Nothing worked. Like many older drivers, she clung to her license to preserve her mobility as well as her sense of independence and identity. But on July, 16, 2003, Haugen decided he had to do more. On that day, an 87-year-old driver made national headlines when he plowed into a Santa Monica, Calif., farmer's market, killing 10 people. "I told my sister," he recalls, "'We gotta get going on this. There but for the grace of God go we.'"
Enlisting the aid of their mother's doctor, her minister and the local police, Haugen and his sister persuaded their mom to get a driving assessment at the DriveWise program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She failed. Mom was off the road, and--who knows?--perhaps another fatal accident was averted.
Haugen's call was one of a flood received by DriveWise director Lissa Kapust and other driving-safety centers around the country following the Santa Monica horror. For years, experts on highway safety and aging had been crying, "The boomers are coming! The boomers are coming!" But until Santa Monica, government and foundations had been sluggish in responding to the scary statistics. In seven years, the oldest boomers will turn 65; by 2030, 1 out of 4 drivers will be 65 or older. Not all older drivers pose safety hazards, but people 75 and older have more fatal crashes than any other group except teenagers. And drivers who are cognitively impaired--about 25% of the 65-and-older group--are 7.5 times as likely as nonimpaired drivers to be at fault in a crash, exceeding the rate for even drunk drivers.
After the Santa Monica accident, legislators, state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) and others began putting a premium on older-driver safety. The push is occurring on several fronts: research to identify which drivers need testing, development of more accurate assessment tools, a greater focus on driver remediation and the creation of specialized licensing for the elderly. In addition, states and social-services agencies are starting or bolstering programs to support older people who have stopped driving, offering counseling and alternate transportation options. Backing up all these efforts, officials are launching public education campaigns to encourage testing of older drivers and counter their often passionate resistance to giving up driving.
New Hampshire and Illinois are the only states that require age-based road tests (for those 75 and older). Most states are wrestling with how to identify at-risk drivers scientifically without the difficulty and expense of testing everyone past a certain age. Maryland has been at the leading edge of research to determine the age at which large-scale screening of drivers makes sense. Preliminary results, says Dr. Robert Raleigh, chief of the Maryland Medical Advisory Board, indicate that 75 is the age at which screening at license renewal becomes most effective.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1090887,00.html#ixzz13Ola61EH
Right At Home
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Health Tip: Preventing Falls Among the Elderly
Health Tip: Preventing Falls Among the Elderly
(HealthDay News) -- Of all fall-related deaths, more than 60 percent involve people who are 75 years old or older. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury among the elderly.As people age, factors that contribute to falls include problems with gait and balance, neurological and musculoskeletal disabilities, medication use, dementia and visual impairment. Environmental hazards such as slippery surfaces, uneven floors, poor lighting, loose rugs and unstable furniture may play a role.
No matter what factors contribute to falls, here's how you can help prevent them:
- Exercise regularly.
- Perform a home safety check. Remove things that might be tripped over; store items that are used often in cabinets that can be reached easily without a step stool; install grab bars in the tub or shower; use non-slip mats on bathtubs and shower floors; and install handrails and lights on all stairs and outside.
- Have your health-care provider review all of your medicines, including those sold over the counter.
- Wear sturdy shoes with thin, non-slip soles.
-- Nancyann Rella
Monday, October 11, 2010
Young People and Breast Cancer
Breast cancer rates rise as people -- especially women -- get older.
But about 10,000 women under age 40 get diagnosed with breast cancer each year according to YoungSurvival.org.
Some survivors and the families of those who have been through a diagnosis early in life find that doctors sometimes doubt what their patients are seeing. Sometimes good comes from the early doubt, such as a young California woman who tries to keep a positive attitude as she goes through treatment and a Virginia man who became an awareness activist after he lost his sister.
Cathy White found out that she had breast cancer early this year before her 23rd birthday.
Though some groups advocate that women of any age examine their breasts regularly for changes, White says she never had. But before getting in the shower one day in February, she noticed a lump on the right side of her breast, near her arm pit.
"I don't know why I did it," she says. "I just did it."
Her mother felt the lump, too, and decided she should go to a doctor.
White, who shares the ups and downs of her treatment on Twitter as @sxedawl and on her blog was at first told it was probably related to her period, since she was so young.
Still, the doctor did a needle biopsy and said that it looked benign.
"She left me with nothing but a bruise," White says.
A month later, though, she went to a breast care center for an ultrasound, which found a second lump. Three days later, she was told she had cancer.
"My world just kind of stopped," she says. Though she knew the doctor was talking to her, she couldn't really understand the words, and could only ask if she was going to die.
Doctors told her to come back the next day when she was more under control.
"At first, I didn't believe her. I was waiting for her to say, 'We were wrong.' That call never came," White says.
When she started to hear about all the tests, scans and appointments she needed, "That solidified that 'this is real.'"
Then she was able to get a grip and realize she had to be strong. After agonizing about whether to get a double mastectomy -- as one doctor suggested -- White had a lumpectomy and started a course of six chemotherapy treatments over six months. "Chemo really makes you feel like a cancer patient," she says, because it can leave her weak and tired and makes her feel like she's not in control of her body.
"It's hard (but) I've always been really positive and try not to let the little things get me down," she says, adding that she tries to stay upbeat so others around her can, as well.
She has days where she wants to break down, but "it's just not worth it."
But cancer did allow White to think a bit more about what she wants to do with her life.
Before she got sick, she was working 40 hours a week in for a company that sells auto parts and had taken some college-level accounting courses.
But the illness has led her to think more about going to school with a particular goal in mind.
"I don't want my life to be, 'Oh, I worked in an office.'"
She says she would now like to change majors to something that would help her learn how to help others, possibly by opening a breast cancer clinic in the Philippines.
Shawn Gardner, a 41-year-old teacher from Washington, D.C., was also pushed to do something for others by breast cancer. He became a vocal fighter after his sister died when she was 26 years old.
His sister, Heather Gardner Starcher, had complained many times about pain under her arm. But doctors could not find a cause.
One day as she rolled over in bed, "the tumor popped out of her breast," Gardner says. Still, the doctor she had been seeing told her that women her age could not have breast cancer and sent her home.
She quickly got a second opinion, and the next day was diagnosed with breast cancer. Doctors said that from the size of the tumor, she could have had it for 10 years.
Still, Heather did not like that her doctor dismissed her concerns. Gardner says she wrote a letter to the doctor saying that she hoped she would never send another young woman home without checking things out thoroughly.
The doctor tried to reach Heather, but "Heather was a little stubborn" and did not want to have any more contact, Gardner says.
Watching his sister battle, Gardner formed a team in her honor for the National Race for the Cure. Initially, the goal was just to support her, not raise money.
However, the effort grew year by year, even after Heather died and their parents decided not to participate. In 2003, Team Heather raised $5,500. Now, the team raises more than $50,000 a year.
Gardner has also become a local spokesman for Susan G. Komen for the cure. The group got interested in the story, and Gardner has taped some public service announcements and testified in front of Congress.
His advocacy efforts highlight young women, but he hopes to raise broader awareness.
"I want people to just be aware of your body, of the women in your life," he says.
But about 10,000 women under age 40 get diagnosed with breast cancer each year according to YoungSurvival.org.
Some survivors and the families of those who have been through a diagnosis early in life find that doctors sometimes doubt what their patients are seeing. Sometimes good comes from the early doubt, such as a young California woman who tries to keep a positive attitude as she goes through treatment and a Virginia man who became an awareness activist after he lost his sister.
Cathy White found out that she had breast cancer early this year before her 23rd birthday.
Though some groups advocate that women of any age examine their breasts regularly for changes, White says she never had. But before getting in the shower one day in February, she noticed a lump on the right side of her breast, near her arm pit.
"I don't know why I did it," she says. "I just did it."
Her mother felt the lump, too, and decided she should go to a doctor.
White, who shares the ups and downs of her treatment on Twitter as @sxedawl and on her blog was at first told it was probably related to her period, since she was so young.
Still, the doctor did a needle biopsy and said that it looked benign.
"She left me with nothing but a bruise," White says.
A month later, though, she went to a breast care center for an ultrasound, which found a second lump. Three days later, she was told she had cancer.
"My world just kind of stopped," she says. Though she knew the doctor was talking to her, she couldn't really understand the words, and could only ask if she was going to die.
Doctors told her to come back the next day when she was more under control.
"At first, I didn't believe her. I was waiting for her to say, 'We were wrong.' That call never came," White says.
When she started to hear about all the tests, scans and appointments she needed, "That solidified that 'this is real.'"
Then she was able to get a grip and realize she had to be strong. After agonizing about whether to get a double mastectomy -- as one doctor suggested -- White had a lumpectomy and started a course of six chemotherapy treatments over six months. "Chemo really makes you feel like a cancer patient," she says, because it can leave her weak and tired and makes her feel like she's not in control of her body.
"It's hard (but) I've always been really positive and try not to let the little things get me down," she says, adding that she tries to stay upbeat so others around her can, as well.
She has days where she wants to break down, but "it's just not worth it."
But cancer did allow White to think a bit more about what she wants to do with her life.
Before she got sick, she was working 40 hours a week in for a company that sells auto parts and had taken some college-level accounting courses.
But the illness has led her to think more about going to school with a particular goal in mind.
"I don't want my life to be, 'Oh, I worked in an office.'"
She says she would now like to change majors to something that would help her learn how to help others, possibly by opening a breast cancer clinic in the Philippines.
Finding Missing In Cancer
Shawn Gardner, a 41-year-old teacher from Washington, D.C., was also pushed to do something for others by breast cancer. He became a vocal fighter after his sister died when she was 26 years old.
His sister, Heather Gardner Starcher, had complained many times about pain under her arm. But doctors could not find a cause.
One day as she rolled over in bed, "the tumor popped out of her breast," Gardner says. Still, the doctor she had been seeing told her that women her age could not have breast cancer and sent her home.
She quickly got a second opinion, and the next day was diagnosed with breast cancer. Doctors said that from the size of the tumor, she could have had it for 10 years.
Still, Heather did not like that her doctor dismissed her concerns. Gardner says she wrote a letter to the doctor saying that she hoped she would never send another young woman home without checking things out thoroughly.
The doctor tried to reach Heather, but "Heather was a little stubborn" and did not want to have any more contact, Gardner says.
Watching his sister battle, Gardner formed a team in her honor for the National Race for the Cure. Initially, the goal was just to support her, not raise money.
However, the effort grew year by year, even after Heather died and their parents decided not to participate. In 2003, Team Heather raised $5,500. Now, the team raises more than $50,000 a year.
Gardner has also become a local spokesman for Susan G. Komen for the cure. The group got interested in the story, and Gardner has taped some public service announcements and testified in front of Congress.
His advocacy efforts highlight young women, but he hopes to raise broader awareness.
"I want people to just be aware of your body, of the women in your life," he says.
Copyright 2010, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Questions and Answers about 2010 Flu Shots
Vaccine Selection for the 2010–2011 Influenza Season
How are the viruses selected to make flu vaccine?
The influenza (flu) viruses selected for inclusion in the seasonal flu vaccines are updated each year based information about which influenza virus strains are identified, how they are spreading, and how well current vaccine strains protect against newly identified strains. Currently, 130 national influenza centers in 101 countries conduct year-round surveillance for influenza and study influenza disease trends. These laboratories then send influenza viruses to the four World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC); London, United Kingdom (National Institute for Medical Research); Melbourne, Australia (Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory); Tokyo, Japan (National Institute for Infectious Diseases) for additional analyses. The seasonal flu vaccine is a trivalent vaccine (a three component vaccine) with each component selected to protect against one of the three main groups of influenza viruses circulating in humans. (Last year’s 2009 H1N1 vaccine was made in response to the pandemic first recognized in April 2009. Unlike seasonal flu vaccines, the pandemic vaccine protected against only one flu virus strain, the 2009 H1N1 virus.)The three vaccine viruses are chosen to maximize the likelihood that the main circulating viruses during the upcoming flu season will be well covered by the vaccine. WHO recommends specific vaccine viruses for vaccine production, but then each individual country makes their own decision for licensing of vaccines in their country. In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines what viruses will be used in U.S.–licensed vaccines.
What flu viruses are included in the Northern Hemisphere seasonal vaccine for 2010-2011?
WHO recommended that the Northern Hemisphere's 2010–2011 seasonal influenza vaccine contain the following three vaccine viruses:- an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)–like virus;
- an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)–like virus;
- and a B/Brisbane/60/2008–like virus.
This recommended composition of the seasonal vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, is the same composition that was recommended for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2010 influenza vaccines.
What flu viruses are included in the Southern Hemisphere seasonal vaccine for 2011?
On September 29, 2010, in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO recommended that the Southern Hemisphere’s 2011 seasonal influenza vaccine contain the following three vaccine viruses:- an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus;
- an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus;*
- a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.
These are the same virus strains that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) selected for inclusion in the Northern Hemisphere vaccine being used in the United States during the 2010-2011 season.
The WHO recommendation and summary report
are available on the WHO website. In addition, a frequently asked questions document 
on the vaccine strain selection process is also available on the WHO website. Who is included in the group that makes the vaccine virus selections at WHO?
The WHO vaccine virus decision meetings include WHO representatives from the WHO Collaborating Centers, Essential Regulatory Laboratories, and others from the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN). After WHO makes its recommendations, the US FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meets to concur with or modify WHO's recommendation for the United States.When and where did the WHO group meet to determine the vaccine composition for the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere?
On January 14 and February 4, 2010, the WHO selection process for which viruses to include in the seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere began with teleconferences discussing surveillance data. The final WHO Vaccine Composition Meeting was held February 14–19, 2010 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.When and where was it decided what the vaccine composition would be for the 2010-2011 seasonal vaccine for the United States?
After WHO made its recommendations for the Northern Hemisphere, the US FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met in Bethesda, Maryland on February 22, 2010 and concurred with WHO's recommendation. So the U.S. seasonal vaccine for the 2010–2011 season, includes an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.
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