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TOje Cliarlotte $ost
LIFE
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2006
IN RELIGION
Historic church
gets needed
funding.
Chemo
^ 1 V JOHNS
rignts CHARlOlTf:,
stomach
cancer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK-Stomach
cancer patients live longer if
they get chemotherapy before
and after surgery, British
researchers report.
Chemo cut the risk of death
by a quarter compared to
sultry alone, according to
the study published in
Thursday’s New England
Journal of Medicine. It also
shrank tumore and improved
survival without a return of
cancer.
The results provide a new
option for the treatment of
operable stomach cancer. Dr.
John S. Macdonald, of St.
\hicent’s Comprehensive
Cancer Center in New York,
wrote in an accompanying
editorial in the journal.
Smgery is the standard
treatment for stomach can
cer, with all or part of the
stomach removed. There’s a
good chance of a cure if it is
caught early, but stomach
cancer usually isn’t detected
until it is more advanced.
Chemotherapy after surgery
to kill any lingering cancer
cells hasn’t proved very bene
ficial.
In the United States, about
22,300 new cases will be diag
nosed this year and about
11,400 people will die of the
In a study of 503 patients
conducted primarily in
Britain, doctors tried giving
chemotherapy both before
and after surgery to those
with operable stomach cancer
or cancer of the esophagus.
After five years, 36 percent
of those who got chemo were
still alive compared to 23 per
cent of those who only had
surgery
The research, which also
included subjects in the
Netherlands, Germany,
Brazil, Singapore and New
Zealand, was led by Dr. David
Cunningham of Royal
Marsden Hospital in Sutton
and London. It was support
ed by Britain’s Medical
Research Council with the
cost of one chemotherapy
drug paid for by its manufac
turer.
The researchers said side
effects finm the chemo were
similar to those reported by
other stomach cancer
patients. They noted that the
chemo combination used—
epirubicin, cdsplatin and fluo-
rouradl—was developed in
the 1980s and that newer
chemo drugs are now avail
able.
The newer drugs will have
to be tested in a similar study
to see if they are better than
the older combination,
Macdonald said in his editor
ial.
On the Net:
New England Journal:
hitp:/lwwwjiejm.org
M c'. SMSTH LiMSVtRSiT'i|
, NORTH CAROLINA 28:
fitness
PHOTOAVADE NASH
Candace Lee isn’t you typical fitness instructor and that’s part of her charm. She works out with her son, Scott,
at an event where she hopes to motivate others to be heaithy.
By Cheris F. Hodges
cheris.hoc(ges@(hechartoffepostcom
Black women are gener
ally more overweight than
their pea:^ finm other eth
nic groups, accordir^ to
the Center For Disease
Control and Prevention.
That’s one statistic
Candace Lee didn’t want
to be part of D^pite a
family history of diabetes,
obesity and heart disease,
Lee began to fight her
genes and get healthy
“My dad died of heart
disease, he had diabetes
and complications of kid
ney failure,” she said. “I
knew I was getting close to
the age when people start
ed getting sick and I want
ed to lose the weight and
get my heart heaithy”
Lee was in her 30s at
that time and she had a
realistic goal as to what
size she wanted to be. At
the time Lee was wearing
a size 24 dress.
“I started going to fitness
classes and I was in the
back of the room,” she
said, surrounded by skin
ny cheerleader-type
women. “I felt uncomfort
able.”
But once she started
working out, Lee slowly
made her way to the fixmt
row and as time went on,
she was encouraging oth
ers to hang in there.
Along the way Lee had
dropped two dress sizes.
At-tile, urging of her
instructor, Tonya Kerr,
Lee decided she’d become
an aerobics instructor.
Lee wasn’t the Jane
Fonda type and that, she
said, pushed oth^ women
to work harder because
they were all in a weight
battle together.
“I know where we are,”
Lee said, “Being in and out
of churches, I see where
we are and it’s not pretty I
doxi’t care what size you
are... I want to save some
body else fiom being a sta
tistic.”
Now 44 and 65 poimds
heavier after having a
baby Lee is again working
on getting down to size 14,
she wants to involve the
entire dty Lee ^ teachir^
her own stjde of cardio
exercise, called Kaerobox,
Please see HEALTHY/2B
AIDS program for poor miming low on funds
' THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South
Carolina AIDS program that provides
prescription drugs to thousands of poor
patients is running out of money and
created a waiting list of people who
need help.
About 14,000 people in the Palmetto
State are living with HIV or AIDS, a
disease that disproportionately affects
blacks, the poor and rural residents.
The federally funded AIDS Drug
Assistance Program supplies medicine
to HIV andAIDS patients who have lit
tle income or insurance, by either sup-
plyir^ the drugs directly or assisting
with insurance copays and premiums
TOthout such help, poor patients face
retail drug costs of more than $24,000
a year.
The antiviral drugs are “hi^ily effec
tive at keeping people with HIV
healthy and preventing them finm get
ting sick and requiring more costly
care,” said Lynda Kettinger, director of
the STD/HTV division in the state
Department of Health and
Environmental Control, which over
sees the program. “Keeping people out
of the hospital is what we want,
because it’s cheaper.”
The number of South Carolinians in
the program has increased over the
last several years, but the funding has
not, she said.
The program’s $14.25 million annual
budget is meant to serve 1,350 patients
a month, but coordinators are helping
roughly 1,500 people monthly
Since mid-June, a waiting list of peo
ple who need medicine—a first in four
j^ars—has grown to 55 applicants,
Kettir^er said. There is no waiting list
for insurance assistance, she added.
She predicts the program needs anoth
er $3 million to serve clients and new
applicants between now and March,
when the funding year ends.
The department is considering cost-
cutting measures such as reducing the
number of medicines supplied to new
patients.
State employees are helping people
3 AIDS/2B
Hurricane season is here, know what to do
PHOTO/THE STOCK MARKET
© ® o
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Before the hurricane
1. Create a disaster supply
kit and store it - along with
automotive essentials - in
the car you’ll use to evacu
ate. Be sure to include:
• Spare tire
• Carjack
• Booster cables
• Basic toolkit
• Shovel for dicing out if
your car gets stuck
• Emergency flares
• Rain gear / umbrella
• Extra clothes
• Blanket
• Bottled water
• Non-perishable food
• Bug spray
• First-aid kit
• Flashlight and extra bat
teries AM/FM weather band
radio (battery-operated)
• Cell phone and charger
• Camera (to take pictures
of damage)
• Plastic garbage bags
• Tarp (to protect damped
property)
• Cash (ATMs don’t work
without power)
2. Keep copies of your auto
registration, title and insur
ance papers in your car, and
store the ordinals in a safe,
dry place.
3. FiU your car’s gas tank
so you’re able to drive a lor^
distance without needing to
stop.
At the first warning sign
4. Evacuate as soon as pos
sible. Ifleavingby car:
Go to your destination
immediately Don’t drive
around to look at damage.
Avoid driving through
standing water. If water is
deeper than 10 inches, leave
your vehicle and head for
hi^ ground.
Be aware of your sur-
roundinga Roads, bridges
and water banks may be
weak and could ccllapse.
Steer clear of low-hanging
wires and anything touching
PHOTO/UCAR.EDU
It’s important to know what to do ahead of time incase you
find yourself caught in a storm.
them.
Treat intersections with
out-working traffic li^ts as
four-way stops.
5. Safeguard the vehicles
you’re not using:
Store your Car in a garage
or carport to avoid falling
trees and flying debris.
If you have to leave your
car outside, move it to high
ground and out of the path
of possible falling trees or
structures.
Move grills, patio furni
ture, trash cans, potted
plants, toys, bikes and other
loose objects into yoxu house
or garage. Tie down any-
9 see HURRICANE/2B
Infant
mortality:
Why does
it happen?
The infant mortahty rate
refers to the number of new
borns that die before reaching
their first birthday
This statistic is an indicator
of the general health of a com
munity In the United States,
the overall infant mortality
rate is 6.9 (indicating approxi
mately 7 infant deaths for
every 1000 babies bom ahve).
When separated by race, the
rate is 5.7 for whites and 13.7
for Afiican Americans. An
infant bom to an Afiican
American mother is more than
twice as likely to die during the
first year of life compared to a
white infant.
What are the most common
causes of infant mortality?
The overwheknir^ majority
of the babies that die in this
community are bom prema
ture. These babies, sometimes
bom three or ev^ four months
before their due date,' often
strug^e to survive. Other lead
ing causes of infant death are
birth defects, low birth weight.
Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome, and complications
of the pregnancy
SIDS is the leading cause of
death to baHes between one
mcmth old and caie year old.'
The rate of SIDS among
African Americans is twice
that of Whites. Reducing the,
rate of death fiom SIDS would
contribute greatly to reducir^
the overall infant mortality
Babies who are laid to sleep on
their back rather than their
stomach are at a greatly
decreased risk of death finm
SIDS.
How do we prevent our
babies fi'om dying?
Pregnant women can take
many steps to try to make sure
they have a healthy baby
These include;
• Quit smoking and ask oth-
not to smoke around you at
home or in the car
• Quit drinking and usit^
street drugs
• Start seeing a health care
provider for pre-natal care as
soon as you know you are preg
nant. Your doctor can monitor
your pregnancy, offer tests for
life-threatening complications,
and teach you about how to
have the healthiest baby possi
ble.
• Eat well - being very over
weight or very underweight
can add problems to your preg
nancy
• Take a daily mutiivitamin
that includes the B vitamin
Folic Add. This can help pre
vent birth defects if you take it
very early in pregnancy or even
before you become pregnant.
• Try to leave a violent home
situation. Safety is alwaj^
important, and is espedally so
during pregnancy
• Learn the signs of preterm
labor. Many women who go
intoTabor months too early lit
erally do not know they ai*e in
labor. Know the signs and call
the doctor or go to the emer
gency room as soon as you
think you might be in preterm
labor.
Once the baby is bom:
• Always put babies on their
back to sleep. This helps pre
vent SIDS (Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome), the leading
cause of death to babies
between one month old and
one year old. Do not leave
Please see INFANT/3B