Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Pulse

Healthline

By Staff, wire reports
Published February 8, 2005

TAMPA BAY AREA yoga instructors will conduct a stress reduction-yoga workshop from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort & Conference Center Jacaranda Hall, 5500 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach. The event, which includes a silent auction and raffle, is a fundraiser for tsunami victims. Several stress reduction techniques will be presented, including breathing, meditation and stretching. This event is for everyone and no prior yoga or meditation experience is necessary. Donations will go directly to UNICEF; the suggested donation is $40. For more information, call Beth Cole at (727) 367-6554 or email: bethcole1@verizon.net Registration starts at 8 a.m. the day of the event.

BLACK PEOPLE WITH esophageal cancer are half as likely as white people to be seen by a surgeon and to receive life-prolonging surgery, a new study shows. The study, which examined racial disparities in access to surgical evaluation, receipt of surgery, and survival among older patients with esophageal cancer, found that only 25 percent of black patients received potentially curative surgery, compared with 46 percent of white patients. The study appears in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology . Twenty percent of black patients received radiotherapy as their only treatment and 26 percent received no therapy at all, compared with 13 percent and 15 percent of white patients, respectively. Esophageal cancer is three times more common among men than women, and three times more prevalent among black people than white. The overall five-year relative survival rate is 14 percent.

AGE HAS AS MUCH effect on the likelihood of former and current smokers' developing lung cancer as the number of cigarettes consumed. With annual CT screening, a smoker has a 76 to 78 percent rate of being cured of lung cancer; without annual CT screening the cure rate is 5 to 10 percent. Quitting smoking does not appreciably lower the risk for developing lung cancer until 20 years after kicking the habit. These are key, and somewhat surprising, findings presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. Researchers showed that a social smoker, 50 or older, has a risk for developing lung cancer similar to that of a smoker under 50 who smoked three packs a day for 20 years. Smokers should consult their doctors to determine at what age CT screening should begin.

LET'S TALK ABOUT S-E-X: A Guide for Kids 9 to 12 and Their Parents Book Peddlers; $9.99 offers straightforward discussions about feelings, puberty, and sexual intercourse and its risks. Developed by Planned Parenthood-Mar Monte and written by Sam Gitchel and Lorri Foster, the book includes insightful exercises, a fun crossword puzzle and illustrations. The first section is meant to be read together by parent and child. It comes with a parent's guide and a list of books and Web sites for further information. To purchase, call toll-free 1-800-255-3379 or visit www.bookpeddlers.com/sex.html Available in bookstores by March.

[Last modified February 7, 2005, 16:17:03]