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Show B4 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, August 26, 2008 HEALTH Information for a Healthy Life OccMed helps businesses keep employees healthy James L. Davis A new medical service being offered to businesses in the Emery and Carbon County area aims to help improve the health, safety and wellness of their employees. Castleview OccMed is the newest service being offered by Castleview Hospital, both from the hospital in Price and from Emery Medical Center in Castle Dale. PAC Lowell Morris is the manager of the new department and will balance his schedule between the Price and Castle Dale locations as demands for OccMed services grow. And Morris expects that they will grow as word spreads of the department. “I’ve heard from several companies that said it’s about time somebody down here started doing this,” Morris said. The purpose of OccMed is to partner with local businesses to provide the medical needs of the company, from pre-employment physicals, drug screens, hearing tests and respirator fit tests, to helping employees who have been injured on the job. Morris said OccMed will also be there to provide wellness programs to companies, which is one of the areas he is excited about. “It’s a lot more fun to help a person learn about maintaining their health than to be there after something has already happened,” Morris said. The new department has already been out to several local businesses to provide health training for employees and Morris said he recently finished a “back school” for Westridge Coal Mine, teaching employees how to prevent back injuries. Being able to be involved with companies and go out and help conduct safety training for employees at their place of work will be one of the benefits that might interest employers. With the number of companies in the two county area devoted to what can be hazardous work, such as power plants, coal mines, oil fields and construction companies, the need for a centralized occupational health program has been a long time coming and one Morris said companies have been excited about. While the hospital and the clinic have always provided services such as physicals and drugs screens for employers, with OccMed, employers have one source to provide all of the medical needs for employers. “It’s definitely an area that’s been needed down here. It will give employers and employees one contact,” Morris said. Joining Morris in OccMed is Kaylene Behling, a occupational nurse who worked in the lab at Emery Medical before moving to OccMed. Morris said Behling will be a great asset to the department because she already knows all of the requirements for physicals, including commercial drivers license physicals and the procedures for drug screens. Dr. Otto Dickman will be the supervising physician of the department. Morris said that he will continue to see patients at Emery Medical Center. As demand for OccMed services grow Castleview will look into hiring additional staff to provide care for patients and OccMed clients. For more information on call 381-2305. Early detection helps battle in preventing prostrate cancer Dr. David Lipschitz Prostate cancer affects millions of American men, with one in six being diagnosed with the disease during his life. But, thanks to early detection and sophisticated therapy, only one in 35 will die from it. Awareness of prostate cancer has risen dramatically in the last decade, and more than ever before, average American men are taking steps to detect the disease. Unfortunately, for the medical community, determining the appropriate screening and treatment process for prostate cancer has become highly contentious. In recent weeks, a new published report shows that for older men, aggressive treatment may not be warranted. What’s more, the cancer may not need treatment at all. At a recent genitourinary cancer conference, Dr. Grace Lu-Yao of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey reported that for older adults, therapy does not necessarily lead to longer life expectancy. Researchers followed 9,000 older men (average age, 77) who were diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, but elected not to receive treatment. A decade later, less than 10 percent had died from the disease. And the average life expectancy of those who did receive treatment was more than 10 years. The bottom line: Treatment or not, the end result was very similar. Based upon this observation, the researchers now recommend older men to not rush to treatment if prostate cancer is diagnosed. Despite all this information, many men continue to screen for prostate cancer well into their 80s, having an annual digital rectal examination to evaluate the prostate and measuring the “prostate-specific antigen,” or PSA level, in the blood. If a nodule is felt on the prostate or the PSA is elevated, an urologist biopsies the prostate to identify possible cancer. If cancer is diagnosed, it is treated with surgery, radiotherapy, or both. Many are treated with medications to eradicate circulating testosterone to slow the rate of growth of the cancer. Unfortunately, treatment is not without complications and can greatly impair quality of life, especially for older men. Urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction are quite common. Irradiation can lead to chronic inflammation of the bladder and the bowel, and the anti-testosterone therapy causes loss of muscle, fatigue and deconditioning. Additionally, it can interfere with memory. When Former athlete inspires youth against tobacco How could a former athlete’s face inspire thousands of kids not to dip into a can of snuff? At age 13, Gruen Von Behrens became addicted to smokeless tobacco; at 17 he was diagnosed with cancer. One week later, surgeons removed most of the lower half of his face. The TRUTH continues to “Fight the Ugly” effects of tobacco by bringing Von Behrens to Utah high schools August 25 through 29. Von Behrens, a former high school baseball star, tells his painful story in an effort to dissuade youth from using tobacco. “With a batting average of .400, my goal was to play for the Chicago Cubs,” says Von Behrens. “Instead, thanks to smokeless tobacco, I’ve spent much of my life in hospitals and endured more than 40 surgeries and countless other treatments. Spit tobacco ruined my life and I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.” While in Utah, Von Behrens is challenging youth to enter Real Noise, an annual contest that invites junior, middle and high school students and their friends to create and conduct an anti-tobacco activity in their communities. Entries are due by Nov. 21 More information is available at www.fighttheugly.com. Contests like Real Noise, where youth tell others about the dangers of tobacco, have helped bring Utah’s youth smoking rate down to 7.4 percent—the lowest in the nation. Von Behrens will be speaking at these locations: At Emery High School on Aug. 27 at 1 p.m., at Canyon View Junior High School at 10:45 a.m. and at Carbon High School at 8:30 a.m. In Utah, 4.9 percent of high school students use smokeless tobacco, which contains 28 carcinogens. It can lead to gum and heart disease and increase your risk for cancer of the esophagus, pharynx, larynx, stomach and pancreas. Users get four times more addictive nicotine from smokeless tobacco than from smoking cigarettes. Gruen Von Behrens is part of the National Spit Tobacco Education Program, working to let youth know that smokeless does not mean harmless. For more information visit www.fighttheugly.com or call David Neville at 801-538-6917 or 801-386-1316. therapy neither prolongs nor improves the quality of life, it is time to discuss other options. Knowing when and how to be screened and treated for prostate cancer can be quite confusing. The traditional screening tools of PSA testing and digital rectal exams are controversial. Unfortunately, the PSA test is riddled with problems of false positives. For 12 with elevated PSAs, biopsies identify only three with prostate cancer. And even when prostate cancer is diagnosed, aggressive therapy may not be warranted. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the definitive screening group for preventing disease, states that “the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening for prostate cancer using PSA testing or digital rectal examination.” With the many mixed messages on screening and treatment, it is important to be an empowered consumer of health care at every age. For all of my male patients, these are my recommendations: Between the ages of 50 and 70, a PSA and digital rectal examination should be done annually. If you have a strong family history of cancer, or your ethnicity is black, you may need to be screened from age 40 and on. If the PSA is only modestly elevated, the test should be repeated three and six months later. If no real change is noted, then further aggressive care is not warranted. If the PSA rises rapidly, further testing must be done. WELL NEWS You can’t outrun death, but you can put some distance between you Scott Lafee You can’t outrun death, but apparently you can put some distance between it and you. A just-published 21-year study of older runners found that they lived longer, healthier lives than nonjogging peers. Researchers at Stanford University tracked 538 members of a U.S. running club and 423 nonrunners, starting in 1984. They found that runners 50 and older had less heart disease and avoided physical disability an average of 16 years longer than their sedentary counterparts. “We’ve all come to know that exercise is good for you, and the bottom line is it’s even better than we thought,” study author James Fries (a 69-year-old runner, himself) told Bloomberg.com. “If you have to pick a key thing that makes people healthier as they age, it’s aerobic exercise.” The study reports that runners were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Just over 5 percent of the runners died from stroke or heart disease during the study compared with 10.2 percent of the nonrunning group. Similar results were The American Association of Orthodontists recommends an orthodontic screening at age 7. By this age, several permanent teeth in most children have erupted, allowing us to effectively evaluate your orthodontic condition. nti Full Orthodo TreatmeOnnlty New Patients Get Me That. Stat! According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, 66 percent of blood transfusions are potentially unnecessary. Heart-surgery patients who receive transfusions are 23 percent more likely to experience postoperative complications than those who undergo “bloodless” surgery. Number Cruncher A Twinkie (42 grams) contains 150 calories, 40 from fat. That’s 7 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000calorie daily diet. It also contains 20 milligrams of cholesterol (7 percent), 220 mg of sodium (9 percent), 27 grams of total carbohydrates (9 percent), 19 g of sugar and 1 g of protein.(Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.) Will my teeth straighten out as A they grow? No, they will not. The space available for the front teeth does not increase as you grow. In most people, after the permanent molars erupt, the space available for the front teeth decreases with age. (Questions and answers provided by Castle Valley Orthodontics.) Excel Dental Care Boyd’s Paul M. Broadwater, D.D.S., M.S. •Dr. Broadwater is an orthodontic specialist. •Dr. Broadwater is board-certified! •We get you in and out of braces during the estimated treatment time! •We keep you informed of your treatment progress. •Dr. Broadwater always places the braces himself. •We always put braces on the second molars. •We do not recycle braces…EVER! •We accept most major insurances! posted for cancer-related deaths. Researchers say that once all of the study participants have died, the longevity difference between the two groups will work out to about four more years of life for runners. QUESTIONS FOR THE ORTHODONTIST At what age should I schedule an Q appointment for an orthodontic screening? $300 off cs Early Treatment • Adult Treatment Braces: Invisalign - Metal Ceramic - Gold Retention • Jaw Surgery (435) 637.9590 391 North 400 East Price, Utah www.holladayorthodontics.com After the age of 75, I do not recommend PSA measurements, but the prostate should be examined by a digital rectal examination. Only if a large nodule is felt should further work-up be considered. And if you are determined to have a PSA, see an urologist only if the value is very high or rises rapidly. In the near future, newer and more sensitive tests should become available that will not only identify prostate cancer, but also recognize those that are aggressive and warrant treatment. Until that time, be wary of treatment if the benefits are not definite. (Dr. David Lipschitz is the author of the book “Breaking the Rules of Aging.” Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.) Family “Excellence In Dentistry” Pharmacy For All Your Pharmaceutical Needs 381-5464 25 West Main Castle Dale, Utah Community Nursing Services Home Health & Hospice Family & Cosmetic Dentistry Implant Surgical Center •Free In-Home Evaluation Where Beautiful Smiles Are Created Care Covered By Medicare •No Charge Consultants •Latest Cosmetic Techniques •Metal-Free Ceramic Crowns •Implants Resource Options For Non-Medicare (435) 613-8887 (435) 381-2044 381-2447 Shawn K. Leonard, DMD, PC 15 E. 600 N. (Upstairs) Castle Dale, UT 84513 |
