L
4Health & FitnessTuesday, April 12,
Examimiatioini is .key
By KAREN DUNN
Staff Writer
Because one of every 1 1 women in
the United States will develop breast
cancer in her lifetime, N.C. Gov. Jim
Martin declared this week Breast
Cancer Detection Awareness Week.
Breast cancer is the second most
common cause of cancer deaths of
American women. Although it is rare
in women under 30, Marlene Clegg,
assistant director of public affairs for
the N.C. Division of the American
Cancer Society (ACS), said all
women should perform routine self
examinations and have yearly phys
icals. "If you catch it early, it's 90
percent treatable," she said.
The ACS suggests monthly self
examination for all women over 20
and baseline mammograms for
women ages 35-39, even if they find
no abnormalities.
American Heart Association
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1988
"There were no lumps and no
symptoms," said Kay Yow, the N.C.
State University women's basketball
coach. She underwent a modified
radical mastectomy, the removal of
an entire breast and some tissue, in
August 1987 after cancer was found
in a mammography. Because her
cancer was detected early, chemother
apy and radiation treatments were
not necessary.
A mammogram, a low radiation
X-ray that creates an image of the
breast, can detect any tissue irregu
larities that may be early signs of
cancer. It is especially effective in
finding abnormalities in women who
show no symptoms, such as Yow.
"Early detection is the key," said
Yow. She was in a high-risk group
because her aunt had cancer, and
there was a history of colon cancer
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to detectiiinig breast caocer
on her father's side of the family.
After Yow discovered she had
cancer, her mother was also diag
nosed as having lymphoma in her
breast and had surgery in December.
The ACS emphasizes that the
amount of radiation produced by a
mammography is within an accepta
bly safe range.
Women over 35 who have a family
history of cancer (especially in
mothers and sisters) or have never
given birth are in the high-risk group
for breast cancer, Clegg said.
CP
rogirams
expand as demand for
By KAREN HATTON
Staff Writer
As drug abuse awareness grows,
the demand for treatment programs
has increased, and there are now a
variety of public and private pro
grams available.
"In the 1986 fiscal year, the total
drug admissions was 390,241," said
Bill Butyniski, executive director of
the National Association of State
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors.
Admissions were highest for prob
lems with heroin, marijuana and
cocaine.
Cocaine addiction showed a sharp
increase of 20 percent to 50 percent
per year, he said.
Most addicts use a combination of
drugs, said Karl Bestamen of Alcohol
and Drug Problems of North
America.
"The most common drug problems
treated are a combination of heroin
with marijuana or cocaine, and
alcohol with marijuana or cocaine,"
M '
A high-fat diet and obesity have
also been linked to breast cancer,
although decreasing the fat intake has
not been proven to decrease the risk,
Clegg said. Breast cancer is also more
common among North American and
North European women than in
women of Asian and African origin.
The ACS also suggests mammo
graphy every one to two years in
asymptomatic women between 40
and 49 and yearly for all women over
50. Warning signs for cancer include
changes in bowel and bladder habits,
to treat drug addicts
Bestamen said.
Among local college students,
alcohol, marijuana and cocaine are
the most commonly treated drug
problems, according to Cheri Ernest,
an Orange County substance coun
selor, and Wendee Wechsberg, a
Wake County adult treatment
counselor.
There are public and private
programs offering outpatient or
residential treatment. Private pro
grams are available through the
Charter Northridge Hospital,
CHAPS and ARC in Butner.
"College students are more likely
to be sent to private outpatient
treatment programs," said .Ernest.
Although the Orange County
Mental Health Center does accept
students, most go into local private
programs, she said.
Susan Amey, community relations
specialist for Drug Action of Wake
County, said, "The adult treatment
program is in three stages. The first
stage is orientation. They learn about
the program.
"The second stage is counseling.
We offer group, individual, family
and sometimes even marriage coun
seling. The length of the period of
counseling depends on the patient
and the counselor.
"The third stage is relapse preven
tion. We help the patient develop
healthy lifestyle habits and provide
a place to go when there is the
temptation to relapse."
Other programs offered by Drug
Action include an information center
and a prevention unit that hold
seminars and lectures on the preven
tion of drug abuse for various groups,
she said.
Most cities and towns have local
support groups such as Narcanon, a
variation of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Amey said.
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Gynecology
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Beth Pearson of the Women's
Clinic at Student Health Service said
women who come in are taught how
to examine their breasts, and SHS
provides information on detection
and self-examination. The ACS also
provides pamphlets on self
examination and on all aspects of
mammography.
care grows
"Orange County has social and
medical detoxification centers for
men and freedom houses (halfway
houses) for both men and women,"
Ernest said.
However, public programs are
filled and there are often waiting lists.
"Public programs in almost every
major city are filled to the full
capacity for the treatment of patients.
The people are being told to come
back in seven weeks or three months,"
Bestamen said.
The increase in private programs
resulted from a lack of extra money
for public programs, he said.
"In the 1986 fiscal year, the federal
government put approximately $300
million into abuse prevention pro
grams," Butyniski said.
The federal government puts $846
million into state programs through
block grants given to the states, he
said, but the federal government puts
a lot less into abuse programs.
Drug Action's budget is mostly
made up of government funding,
supplemented by United Way sup
port and other contributions, Amey
said.
The possibility of an increase in
federal aid to drug abuse programs
is uncertain.
"About a year and a half ago, drugs
were a real popular issue because of
Reagan's anti-drug campaign," said
Jim Jordan, press secretary for Rep.
David Price, D-N.C. "Last year,
Reagan cut way back on program
funds, and Congress put a lot back
in."
The monies from the federal
government were given to the states
on the basis of a set allotment formula
and the municipalities involved, he
said.
"It's a competitive process with no
real congressional influence on where
the funding goes," Jordan said.
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TRIANGLE WOMEN'S
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