Free Mammograms Available Through Minnesota Department Of Health

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will offer free mammograms through a televised phone bank on CBS affiliate KEYC-TV and Fox affiliate NEYC-TV in Mankato on Wednesday, April 8. The mammograms are offered through the Sage Screening Program, a state and federally funded program that provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings to uninsured and underinsured women age 40 and older. Newly enrolled women in the program will also receive $20 for being screened.


Messages stressing the importance of detecting breast cancer early and encouraging women to take advantage of the screening program will also run throughout the event. MDH toll-free number, 1-888-6HEALTH (1-888-643-2584), will be answered from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 6 and 7, and from 8 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. on April 8. Voice messages can be left anytime outside of these hours.


Through this event, MDH hopes to make more women in the Mankato area aware of this free program. "We think there are many women in this part of the state who are not receiving these life-saving screening tests because they have no health insurance or their insurance has deductibles or co-payments they cannot meet. Sage can help," said Jonathan Slater, chief of Cancer Control at MDH.


Sage has a network of more than 400 local health care providers statewide, and has served nearly 114,000 women since 1991. Approximately 1,400 women have been diagnosed and treated for breast and cervical cancer through the Sage program.


This year, it is estimated that 3,500 Minnesotan women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 650 Minnesota women will die from the disease. Annual mammography has been reported to reduce breast cancer deaths in women age 40 and older by detecting the disease in its earliest stages when it is most easily treated.


Women seeking eligibility information about the free mammography program-or women who want to make an appointment for a free mammogram-should call Sage at 1-888-6-HEALTH. For women who live in neighboring states or those whose incomes exceed Sage's guidelines, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 to learn of other free and low-cost programs.



For more information, visit mnsage.

Source
Minnesota Department of Health

New Hereditary Breast Cancer Gene Discovered

A new hereditary breast cancer gene has been discovered by scientists at the Lundberg Laboratory for Cancer Research and the Plastic Surgery Clinic at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden. The researchers found that women with a certain hereditary deformity syndrome run a nearly twenty times higher risk of contracting breast cancer than expected.



Several research teams around the world have long been searching for new hereditary breast cancer genes, but thus far few have been found.



"Our findings are extremely important, providing new knowledge of hereditary cancer genes and how they can cause breast cancer. The discovery also makes it possible to uncover breast cancer in women who have a predisposition for Saethre-Chotzen malformation syndrome," says G?¶ran Stenman.



By detailed mapping of families with Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, the G?¶teborg scientists have now found that women with this syndrome have an elevated risk of contracting breast cancer. Saethre-Chotzen is a syndrome that primarily involves malformations of the skull, face, hands, and feet. The syndrome is caused by mutations in a gene called TWIST1.



"Our findings show that women with this syndrome run a nearly twenty times greater risk of contracting breast cancer than expected. Moreover, many of the women were young when they were affected by breast cancer," says G?¶ran Stenman.



The findings of the study show that women with this syndrome should be receive early mammograms in order to discover breast cancer at an early stage.



"We have already started to use this new knowledge in our work with patients and now recommend regular mammograms for young women with this syndrome. Several early cases of breast cancer have already been uncovered with mammography," says Pelle Sahlin, chief physician at the Plastic Surgery Clinic.



The scientists are now going to perform various experiments to chart the mechanism of how TWIST1 increases the risk of breast cancer. Studies are also under way to find out what proportion of cases of hereditary breast cancer are caused by mutations in the TWIST1 gene.






The study was carried out with funding from the Swedish Cancer Society.



Journal: Genes Chromosomes Cancer Title of article: Women with Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome are at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer Authors: Pelle Sahlin, Per Windh, Claes Lauritzen, Monica Emanuelsson, Henrik Gr?¶nberg, G?¶ran Stenman



Contact: Elin Lindstr?¶m Claessen


Swedish Research Council

Over 500,000 Women Die Annually From Preventable Pregnancy-Related Causes, WHO

Approximately 530,000 women worldwide die annually from preventable pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes, according to a... World Health Organization report released on Thursday for World Health Day, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. The report, titled "World Health Report 2005: Make Every Mother and Child Count," condemns the maternal deaths and criticizes the fact that seven million infants die annually worldwide within four weeks after birth, mainly from preventable causes. According to the report, a lack of medical care in developing countries contributes to the deaths of women of childbearing age and children. Fewer than two-thirds of women in developing countries -- and less than one-third of women in the world's poorest countries -- give birth with the aid of qualified assistance, the report says (AFP/Yahoo! News, 4/6). Worldwide, one woman every minute dies in pregnancy or childbirth, and 20 children under age five die each minute, for a total of 11 million deaths annually, according to the report. The primary causes of death for children under age five include pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS and neonatal ailments, according to the report (BBC News, 4/7). As part of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, countries have pledged to reduce maternal mortality by 75% and child mortality by 67% by 2015, Xinhuanet reports. However, the WHO report shows that current trends mean some areas will not achieve the goals for 150 years, senior WHO official Denis Aitken said, adding, "We must not let that happen" (Xinhuanet, 4/7).

Report Details
The report also found the following:

Of the 211 million annual pregnancies in the world, about 46 million end in abortion, with 40% of these occurring in unsafe conditions and resulting in about 68,000 deaths;

Pregnancy and childbirth are the main causes of death, disease and disability among women of childbearing age in developing countries. About one in 16 pregnant women and new mothers die in Africa, compared with one in 2,800 in developed nations (Manning, USA Today, 4/6);

About 43% of new mothers and infants receive medical care;

Approximately 2.2 million HIV-positive women give birth each year;

19 of the 20 countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios are located in sub-Saharan Africa; and

More than 50% of all child deaths occur in six countries: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan (Nebehay, Reuters, 4/6).

Conditions
Progress in improving maternal and infant mortality has "stalled or even reversed" in many areas, especially in countries with severe poverty, widespread HIV/AIDS epidemics, war and natural disasters, according to Ian Smith, an adviser to the WHO director general, USA Today reports. "There are no health workers, no infrastructures, and mothers and children are simply excluded from care," he said (USA Today, 4/6). A lack of access to perinatal health care is a "key feature of inequality" in many areas, and the health of women and children "is at the core of the struggle against poverty and inequality, as a matter of human rights," the report says, according to a WHO release. Many of the most resource-poor settings have a "massive deprivation" in which an "overwhelming majority" of the population is excluded from basic health services needed for survival, according to the release. In addition, women often suffer discrimination, abuse, neglect and poor treatment in health care settings in some areas, the report says, adding, "The care that women are offered may be untimely, ineffective, unresponsive or discriminatory."

Recommendations
In order to reduce and prevent child and maternal deaths, the report recommends providing a "continuum of care" approach from pregnancy through childbirth and into childhood, according to the release. However, this would require a "massive investment" in health care systems, including a need for more midwives, nurses and physicians, according to the release (WHO release, 4/7). In the 75 countries with the highest mortality rates, fulfilling this need would require an additional 300,000 midwives and 100,000 health care workers, according to Smith (USA Today, 4/6). Many child deaths are preventable through "simple, affordable and effective" interventions, including breastfeeding, the administration of antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, immunizations and vitamin A; and the provision of insecticide-treated nets and skilled care during childbirth (WHO release, 4/7). According to Marie-Paule Kieny, director of WHO's Initiative for Vaccine Research, the number of infant deaths could be "substantially" reduced if newborns were washed, warmed and fed within an hour of being born, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 4/6).

Costs, Next Steps
WHO said that the 75 most-affected countries need a $9 billion investment annually for the next 10 years in order to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (BBC News, 4/7). Currently, total health spending in the 75 countries is about $97 billion annually (Reuters, 4/6). Of the more than $90 billion additional spending required over the next decade, about $39 billion would be directed toward maternal and newborn care and $52 billion would go toward child health care (USA Today, 4/6). The report says that increasing the number of health professionals needed to provide widespread access to services is the "first and most pressing task," according to the release. "Making up for the huge shortages and imbalances in the distribution of health workers in many countries will remain a major challenge for years to come," the report says. Currently, WHO is evaluating the need for a "massive scale-up" of health professionals in all areas of care over the next 10 years, according to the release. WHO also will develop policy actions and encourage governments to propose the recommended interventions for maternal and child care, which WHO will continue to monitor and evaluate (WHO release, 4/7). "We know what to do. We know how much it will cost," Smith said, adding, "Now it just requires building a political consensus around doing it quickly" (USA Today, 4/6).















"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

More Women Select Universal Health Coverage As Their Most Desired Health Advance

According to the National Women's
Health Resource Center's (NWHRC) second annual Women Talk national survey,
universal health coverage was selected as the health advance women desire
most. The survey of more than 1,100 women asked which "medical technology
or advancement(s) would you most like to see become a reality" and 15% of
women opted for universal health coverage rather than a cure for
neurological diseases (14%) or breast cancer (13%), a vaccine for HIV/AIDS
(12%) or a cure for diabetes (8%).



"Women are deeply concerned about health coverage for themselves and
their families," said Audrey Sheppard, president and CEO of the NWHRC. "As
the family health manager, women want the best possible medical care for
their loved ones and are telling us in this survey that above all, they
believe that making quality health care accessible to everyone is a major
necessity."



Women were provided the following list of health advances. Complete
results follow:



Universal health coverage:

15%



Cure for neurological diseases:

14%




Cure for breast cancer:


13%



Vaccine for HIV/AIDS:

12%



Cure for diabetes:

8%



Use of stem cells in medical research:

7%



Weight loss pill:

6%



Routine imaging tests for heart disease and cancer:

6%



Cure for depression and anxiety:

4%



Effective, non-addictive pain killer for chronic pain (that has no side effects):

3%



Cure for human papilloma virus (HPV):

2%



Cure for spinal cord injuries:

2%



(Only answers with greater than a 1% response rate are included above.)



Getting better with age



Although the majority of women (63%) in the survey were clinically
overweight or obese, women rate themselves to be in very good or excellent
mental and physical health. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being
"excellent" and 1 being "very poor," 72% of women rated their mental health
to be an 8 or above and half (52%) rated their physical health an 8 or
above.



However, aging does not seem to be a barrier to good health. Older
women, those 60 and over, rate both their physical and mental health higher
than other age groups. Women aged 40 - 59 had, on average, the lowest rated
physical health (6.7 - 7.1), and half (53%) said that their health had
declined over the past five years. Women 18 - 29 cited the lowest score, on
average, for mental health (7.4).
















"It seems that for women, the biggest physical and mental health drain
hits between the ages of 40 and 60 according to our survey results," stated
Ms. Sheppard. "Given that the first wave of Boomer women are starting to
turn 60, this is great news. One might conclude that older women have
greater access to health coverage and they have less care giving
responsibilities than women in their 40s and 50s, not to mention typically
more time available."




Overall, the survey shows that making personal time continues to be a
challenge for most women, especially across ethnicities. Just 48% of women
say they spend the right amount of time on themselves. Further, when women
do make time for themselves, they are choosing to engage in entertainment
activities (64%), such as shopping or dining out, rather than options that
would enhance their mind and body such as exercise (29%) or relaxing (19%).



Looking across ethnicities, only 32% of African-American women and 42%
of Hispanic women in the survey agree that they spend the right amount of
time on themselves verses the half (53%) of Caucasian women who agree.



For more information on the Women Talk survey, visit healthywomen.



About the Survey



The online survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the
National Women's Health Resource Center between August 4 and 20, 2006,
among women, aged 18 and older. Figures for age by sex, education,
household income, region, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online were
weighted to align them with population proportions. A total of 1,147 online
interviews were completed, which included responses from Caucasian (784),
African-American (146), Latina (116) and Asian (72) women. With a pure
probability sample of 1,147 one could say with a ninety-five percent
probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-3
percentage points. Sampling error for data based on subsamples would be
higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error
into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and
therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.



About NWHRC



The not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) is
the leading independent health information source for women. NWHRC develops
and distributes up-to-date and objective women's health information based
on the latest advances in medical research and practice. NWHRC believes all
women should have access to the most trusted and reliable health
information in order to make the best decisions to maintain and improve
their health and the health of their families.


National Women's Health Resource Center

healthywomen