14A
STYLE/The Charlotte Post
Thursday August 7, 1997
HEALTHY BODY/ HEALTHY MIND
Prostate
tracer a
killer
By Larry Jones
gfECIAL TO THE POST
;The leading cause of cancer in
lien in the U.S. is prostate can
cer. This disease is more
aggressive and seems to occur
more frequently in African
Americans. Statistics indicate
that the disease has an inci
dence range for blacks of 1.5 to
2 times that of whites.
Risk factors for prostate can
cer seem to be high fat diet, low
fiber diet, age greater than 50
years and being of African
American heritage. Vasectomy
also seems to increase the risk
of prostate cancer. There is sus
picion that vitamin A from
plants reduces prostate cancer
as opposed to vitamin A from
animals.
The American Cancer Society
recommends a digital rectal
examination by age 40 and a
prostate specific antigen level
in men age 50 and older. An
increased prostate specific
antigen does not, however,
mean that one has prostate
cancer. For this reason, other
methods of disease detection
are very important: digital rec
tal exam, symptoms of unex
plained weight loss, bloody
urine, urinary tract infection in
men and swelling of the legs or
genitals can all be clues to
prostate cancer. The most reli
able clue for diagnosis of
prostate cancer is the digital
rectal examination. A prostate
biopsy confirms the diagnosis
but a transurethral ultrasound
is the most important test for
the cancer prior to biopsy.
Treatment of prostate cancer
can include one or more of sev
eral alternatives:
Prostatectomy (removal of
the prostate) and radiation
therapy
Drug therapy which may
include hormonal therapy rec
ommendations for males is to
first make sure that a digital
rectal examination is included
as a part of their physical
examination by age 40. Men
must make sure that a prostat
ic specific antigen level is
drawn if the results from the
exam are abnormal. If the dig
ital rectal exam is normal,
obtain a prostatic antigen by
age 50.
Dr. Larry Jones is medical
director at C.W. 'Williams
Health Center in Charlotte.
Groups vow
to increase
number of
black doctors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU - Leaders from
three national medical associa
tions meeting Satin-day
announced a goal to get more
minorities into the field of medi
cine.
Officials from the American
Medical Association, National
Medical Association and Hispanic
Medical Association issued, a
joint statement promising to work
together to bring more minorities
into medicine, and then keep
them there.
The organizations say there
clearly is a need for more ethnic
minorities in the medical profes
sion, and that educational institu
tions must offer more financial
and moral support.
“It marks the beginning of a
new era in the partnership of
medical organizations whose
shared goal is to preserve and
protect the integrity of the med
ical field,” the statement said.
The groups also will work
together to provide better care for
the poor and people in under
served communities.
Other topics being discussed at
the weeklong convention that
began Saturday include violence
in the workplace, ethnic and gen
der differences in hypertension.
Regular checkups essential
Vicki L.
Seltzer,
M.D.
For m£my women with no — or
inadequate — health insurance,
budgeting for checkups or other
types of preventive health care
may seem impossible. Yet neglect
ing such care also can be infinite
ly more expensive, both financial
ly and long-term well-being. At its
extreme, neglect of basic health
care can lead to early death fiem
conditions that might have been
successfully treated if diagnosed
earlier.
If lack of health insurance caus
es you to forgo or delay regular
health care visits with your physi
cian, you should seek low-cost or
free ways to obtain tests — such as
Pap smears, routine blood work
or blood pressure tests - that can
be early-warning signs of disease.
Listed below are possible
resources for uninsured women to
obtain basic preventive health
care. Local medical organizations,
social services, health depart
ments, or hospitals may have
information about other
resources in your community.
Eligibility for Medicaid or other
government-sponsored health
cover age: Medicaid is the feder
al/state program that provides
health insur ance for uninsured
Americans whose incomes fall
below certain levels. Some states
also have other pro grams for
uninsured residents, lb check if
you qualify for any govern ment-
sponsored insurance options,
contact your county or state
health department or social ser
vice agency.
Local or county health depart
ments: In many jurisdictions,
publicly supported health
departments offer a wide range
of preventive tests at a reduced
cost.
• Low-cost climes: Many com
munities have clinics that pro
vide basic health services at costs
based on the patient’s income.
Sometimes teaching hospitals
(where medical students and resi
dents are trained) offer special
clinics. Communify health fairs.
Hospitals, civic groups and busi
nesses often sponsor health fa*s
that offer some form of basic
health care at reduced or no cost.
• Look for health fair announce
ments on bulletin boards or in
newspapers.
• Keep your physician
informed: Maintain a relationship
with a physician who can analyze
your test results and keep track of
any devel oping health problems.
If you receive care between vis-
.C
its to your physician (for instance,.
having a mammogram in a'I-
mobile van that comes to your -
community), make sure the' '
results are sent to your physician.' '■
Congress has passed some-"
reforms that make it possible for
more Americans to have health I'E
coverage, and other bills are being
con sidered by Congress and by
numer ous states. »;
But uninsured women cannot 'is
wait until thay have health cover>^«^
age before taking care of the’t*5*
basic health needs. The cost of
wait ing is too high.
Dr. Vicki Seltzer is president of
American College of Obstetricians
and GynecoU^ists.
Lung clot treatment promising
By Melissa Williams
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS - Clot-busters,
drugs widely used to stop heart
attacks, can also save the lives
of people with blood clots in
their lungs, a study found.
Use of this treatment for peo
ple with lung clots, also known
as pulmonary embolisms, is
controversial for patients with
out severe symptoms because
of the bleeding problems it can
cause.
But in one of the largest stud
ies to date,German resea
rchers found that patients in
that very group who were
treated with clot-busters lived
longer and were less likely to
get new clots in their lungs.
“I’d call this a landmark
paper,” said Dr. Samuel Z.
Goldhaber of Harvard Medical
School, who wrote an editorial
accompanying the study
Tuesday in the American Heart
Association journal. Circul
ation.
“It shows that clot-busting
therapy can be extended to a
much wider group of patients.”
Heart attacks happen when
clots become lodged in blood
vessels and starve the heart of
blood and oxygen. Clot-busters,
also known as thrombolytic
agents, are normally used to
treat heart attacks because
they dissolve clots.
The s}Tnptoms of blood clots
that can travel to the lungs are
shortness of breath, chest pain
or passing out. Many doctors
often prescribe blood thinners
- not clot-busters - for these
patients.
The German study, led by Dr.
Stavros Konstantinides of the
Universitaetsklinik Freiburg,
involved 719 patients who
arrived at hospitals in stable
condition in 1993 and 1994.
One group of 169 patients
received clot-busters and other
drugs; a second group of 550
patients received other drugs,
but no clot-busters.
Only 4.7 percent of the
patients who received the clot-
busters died after 30 days,
compared with 11.1 percent of
those who did not receive
them.
Clot-buster patients also had
a lower rate of recurrent blood
clots in the lung, 7.7 percent,
compared with 18.7 percent for
Elderly Care
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(704)398-8988 • Pager 518-5392'
C.W. Williams
HEALTH CENTER
Growing with the community since 1981.
OFFICES
3333 Wilkinson Boulevard
* (Eastway/Plaza) 508 Eastway Drive
* (Grier Hts.) 3100 Leroy Street
* CWW new satellite offices
Providing Primary & Preventive Medical Care
for the Entire Family
FOR APPOINTMENT OR INFORMATION CALL:
393-7720
MEDICARE • MEDICAID • SLIDING FEE
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3
those who did not receive them.
Even though the survival rate
improved overall with clot-
busters, patients receiving
them also had a higher rate of
major bleeding incidents - 22
percent vs. about 8 percent in
the group not receiving them.
Two patients in each group had
bleeding in the brain, which led
to one death in each group.
'The researchers noted that
their study was limited because
patients’ doctors selected which
treatment they received, rather
than treatment being assigned
randomly. As it turned out, the
group not receiving clot-busters
was older, twice as likely to
have congestive heart failure
and more than three times as
likely to have chronic lung dis
ease.
Dr. Robert Johnson, professor
of medicine at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical
Center at Dallas, said this is an
important drawback.
Around
Charlotte
Coniriuedirom page16A
grants, organizations must
attend one of the workshops.
For more information, caU 336-
2349.
• Workshop, designing your
own health program,
Presbyterian Cancer Center.
For registration, time and loca
tion, caU 384-5398. Cost $30.
Wednesday
• Meeting, Charlotte Chapter
of the American Business
Association, 6:30 p.m.. Holiday
inn, 3501 W. Independence
Blvd. For reservations, caU
568-0923.
• Blood Give-in, 10 a.m.-9
p.m. Charlotte CoUseum, 100
Paul Buck Blvd. WiU feature
radio personalities from WBT-
AM and 'The Link. Donors wiU
receive a scoop of Ben &
Jerry’s Ice Cream, coupon for
a pint of fiee ice cream, as weU
as a pass for a Charlotte
Knight’s basebaU game.
The deadline
for Around
Charlotte is
noon
Monday.
BIG LEAGUE SPORTS ARE HERE
WHICH WILL COME FIRST?
SUPERBOWL?
WE’RE
ON OUR
WAY
CHARLOTTE
HASN’T HAD
EITHER ONE
N.B.A. CHAMPIONSHIP?
YOU CAN
COUNT
A ■
ON US
BUX WE’VE
ALREADY HAD
A WORLD
CHAMPION
BOXER,
KELVIN SEABROOKS,
and
HIS CHIROPRACTOR
KELVIN SEABROOKS T| "D A Q
COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIRECTOR T T A A kJ
OF A&W CLINIC, HELPS KEEPKELVTN’S BACK IN SHAPE
IF YOUR BACK OR NECK IS INJURED
35^3-3333
DR. DENNIS WATTS. D.C.
WITH 2 OFFICES ON: BEATTIES FORD & WILKINSON
OUR STAFF WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A WORLD CHAMPION
. '■>