Few women get breast reconstruction after mastectomy
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Despite the known cosmetic and psychological advantages, few women undergo breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.
Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center say that fewer than one in four women with invasive cancer opt for the immediate reconstruction of their breast, while more than one in three with early stage cancer opted for and received the procedure.
For the study, the researchers looked at data representing 15 percent of U.S. hospitals. They found 108,992 women with invasive breast cancer who underwent a mastectomy, and 14,710 women with early stage cancer who did.
From 2000 to 2010, 23.4 percent of those women with invasive cancers got immediate reconstructive surgery, and 36.4 percent of those with early stage cancers did.
Women younger than 50, with commercial health insurance, were most likely to get the surgery.
Along with older women, blacks and rural residents were less likely to get reconstructive surgery.
The biggest predictor of whether women got immediate reconstruction was insurance.
Doctors noted that the findings are surprising. While they acknowledge that many women opt not to go through more surgery, they say some women may not be aware of the option or the insurance coverage for it.
The findings were presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
View full post on Health Treatment Stories
Rangers win, Rangers in: Rip Devils to make playoffs; ‘Canes fall to Bolts
NY, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – The New York Rangers scored four straight goals, including three in the second period, to top the New Jersey Devils 5-2 Saturday to notch the final playoff spot in the East.
N.Y., with 93 points, edged out the Carolina Hurricanes (91) who fell 6-2 Saturday night to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Nick Palmieri and Ilya Kovalchuk scored for the Devils in the opening period, but Chris Drury made a nifty move to knock a shot past Martin Brodeur for the Rangers.
It was the banged-up Drury’s first goal in 25 games.
Henrik Lundqvist (24 saves) shut down the Devils the rest of the way, while Wojtek Wolski, Ryan McDonagh and Brandon Prust netted second period goals for the Rangers.
Vin Prospal added another insurance goal in the third period for N.Y., which played frustratingly flat in a pivotal loss vs. the Thrashers but was solid throughout Saturday’s tilt.
The Rangers lost control of their playoff destiny when they lost to the Thrashers earlier this week, and the Hurricanes ripped the same Atlanta club.
Carolina fell behind Tampa 4-0 Saturday night, however, and could not catch up in a frustrating loss at the RBC Center.
It marked the second straight season the Rangers playoff hopes hinged on the outcome of the final day of the campaign.
The Flyers squeaked in ahead of N.Y. last season with a shootout win over the Rangers.
View full post on All Stories
With New York smoking ban signed, 90 days left to light up in parks
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday signed into law an expansion of the smoking ban, giving smokers ninety days to light up in the city’s parks and beaches.
The legislation was passed early this month in a 36-12 city council vote despite appeals from advocates for civil liberties. It amends a 1988 law that has slowly grown along with increasing health concerns about second-hand smoke and awareness about the effects of cigarette litter on the environment.
Smoking in bars and restaurants was prohibited in the city in 2002. Beginning May 23, restriction will include parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks, pools, pedestrian plazas centers and all other property and facilities under the Parks Department.
Residents can still smoke along sidewalks, pedestrian routes beside vehicular traffic, parking lots and during stage performances.
About 950,000 adultsand and 18,000 teens smoke in the city.
City council memer Robert Jackson, a non-smoker who supported the smoking ban in restaurants, had voted against the bill, warning against “government intrusion” in the private lives of New Yorkers and a “movement towards a totalitarian state.”
But the mayor said on Tuesday officials need to protect children from second-hand smoke, and New York’s parks from a “difficult and expensive” litter problem that is also a hazard to pets and the environment.
Cigarette-related litter accounts for 75 percent of trash on beaches and a third of all litter in parks.
“Smoking in parks and beaches not only harms people trying to enjoy these recreational facilities, it also causes a litter problem that harms the beauty of our parks,” Bloomberg said.
View full post on Health Stories
NFL Players Union rankled by owners’ stance on 18-game proposed schedule
NY, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – The NFL wants to add two games to the current 16-game format for the regular season, though it could end up with no games at all.
NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae believes players should be bracing for a lockout and other members of the union’s executive committee believe there may be no avoiding a lockout, especially if the owners don’t budge on their insistence for extra games.
“I believe our players understand the reality of it,” Mawae told TitanInsider. “It’s not like it’s a last-minute thing of , ‘Oh my gosh, this is really gonna happen.’ If they are thinking that way, then shame on them.We’ve spent two years now telling everyone this was a possibility.
The players’ union has advised players to save their money in case of a lockout. Mawae acknowledges that there may have to concessions made, but that has to be the mindset of both sides.
“If they want something like a rookie salary structure in place, then they have to give a little bit,” Mawae said. “If they don’t give a little bit, then it’s probably going to force a lockout. If owners want to draw line in the sand, then they’re probably gonna lock the doors. Players are prepared for that, all while hoping to get a deal done and save the season for next year.”
The players union held a conference call Tuesday and Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita pointed to the extra games the owners want as a major sticking point.
“To me, right now, as things stand, 18 games, the way it’s being proposed, is completely unacceptable. … I see more and more players get injured every season,” Fujita said. “There are so many things now—with player health and safety, and the future of us and our families—that aren’t even being considered. And for us, it’s disappointing. It feels like a slap in the face.”
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth also participated in the conference call and said the health and safety issues the players are facing are far more important that a couple extra games.
“”We put our bodies on the line and produce a lot of revenue and we get five years of post-retirement health insurance,” said Foxworth. “And then they want to tack on two more games which is just going to multiply the injuries and the ailments that we’re going to see after we go into our 40s, 50s, 60s ,70s, if we’re lucky.”
“We’re not willing to budge on health and safety, and we’d like to gain some more ground in ways we can protect former players and current players.”
View full post on All Stories
Test detects TB in minutes rather than months
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The World Health Organization is endorsing the use of a new test for tuberculosis that can diagnose the disease in 100 minutes. The current test takes three months to get results.
The accurate and easy-to-use rapid TB test was developed by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), a non-profit organization based in Switzerland. The test also can detect drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and TB complicated by HIV infection.
“Its speed and improved sensitivity will help us pick up far more cases and begin treatment earlier,” said Joseph Sitienei, head of Kenya’s National TB and Leprosy Control Programme, according to IRIN news service.
FIND has set a lower price of $17 for the TB test cartridge in countries most affected by the disease. That’s a 75 percent reduction in the regular price
View full post on Health Stories
Rights Groups Says Southern U.S. “Fails” In Reducing AIDS Cases
New York, NY, United States (NewsBahn) – An international rights organization is accusing state governments in the southern United States of a “public health failure” that has seen the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the region rise the most in the nation because of policies that are ineffective and discriminate against people with the virus.
Human Rights Watch, in a report issued Friday, said “progress in the fight against AIDS in the southern United States is undermined by state laws and policies that impose ineffective approaches and fuel stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.”
The report says HIV is increasing in 17 southern states at the fastest rate in the nation. It documents practices in the region that HRW says have undercut progress on combating HIV, including:
- Refusal of southern states to provide comprehensive sex education in the schools
- State laws that impede access to sterile syringes
- Criminal penalties for exposing others to HIV.
The report termed as “alarming” the rise of HIV/AIDS in the South, saying that “roughly half” of Americans who die of AIDS live in the South. Those states also have the highest rates of new HIV infections in the country, HRW said. Hardest hit are minorities, particularly African-Americans, whom the report said “bear a disproportionate burden of infection.”
The report found that in 2008 in Mississippi, for example, African-Americans were 37 percent of the population but 76 percent of new cases of HIV. In South Carolina, African-Americans were 28 percent of the population but 72 percent of people living with AIDS.
“The South is the epicenter of HIV infection in the United States, but southern states resist proven methods of HIV prevention and refuse to provide adequate funding for HIV care and services,” said Megan McLemore, senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This is a public health failure, but also a violation of fundamental human rights for those at risk and infected with HIV.”
The 23-page report, “Southern Exposure: HIV and Human Rights in the Southern United States,” was released in advance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1
The 17 states cited in the report lead the nation in the percentage of people living in poverty, according to the organization. They also lead in the lack of access to health care and the numbers of people without health insurance, factors that increase the risk of HIV infection or AIDS deaths. HRW said southern states also report the nation’s highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, sexually transmitted diseases that can significantly increase an individual’s risk of becoming infected with HIV.
“While the federal government has recognized the importance of comprehensive sex education, many southern states continue to promote unproven and ineffective abstinence-based approaches,” HRW said. The result “is the denial of potentially life-saving information to adolescents at risk of HIV infection. Abstinence-based programs often include, and even require, negative messages about homosexuality, which can stigmatize gay youth and drive individuals in need of HIV information away from essential treatment and services.”
Some laws in southern states also prohibit needle exchange programs in which used syringes are exchanged for clean ones. Drug users sharing needles is considered a significant method of transmitting the AIDS virus.
Other states in the region punish those who knowingly pass the virus to others, HRW noted, discouraging people from being tested for AIDS.
Human Rights Watch also charged that both the federal and state governments do not adequately fund HIV/AIDS programs in the South. HRW said federal funding “has consistently shortchanged the South due to outdated formulas based on cumulative AIDS cases rather than on new HIV infections.”
In addition, restrictive Medicaid eligibility rules in southern states leave many with HIV unable to afford health care. In Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, HRW said, 40-65 percent of people diagnosed with HIV are not in regular treatment, compared with the national average of 30 percent.
View full post on Health Stories
Democrats To Vote On Middle Class Tax Cuts
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Post-midterm bipartisanship was in short supply in Congress late Thursday as Democrats announced they would vote for extending tax cuts only for the middle class. Republicans, who want tax cuts for the wealthy also extended, postponed a meeting with President Barack Obama due to “scheduling conflicts.”
“The House will vote on an extension of middle class tax cuts before they expire,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who will serve as minority whip when Republicans take control of the House next year, said in a statement.
“We cannot afford to add $700 billion to the deficit to benefit the wealthiest Americans with almost no economic benefit as Republicans want to do,” Hoyer added.
Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill this week to work on annual appropriations bills. The agenda during the “lame-duck” session also includes tax cuts implemented in 2001 and 2003 that are due to expire in January.
Democrats want to permanently extend tax breaks for middle class families earning less than $250,000 a year. Republicans, however, want to extend tax cuts for all, including high-income earners.
The GOP proposal would cost the government $3.7 trillion over 10 years, while the Democratic plan would cost $3 trillion.
The president had issued overtures after Democrats suffered losses in the mid-term this month. “I’m going to meet with both the Republican and Democratic leaders… and we’re going to sit down and discuss how we move forward,” he had said.
That bipartisan summit, scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to Nov. 30, after Congress goes on Thanksgiving recess.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who takes over as speaker next year, requested the White House early this week to cancel the meeting because of “scheduling conflicts in organizing their caucuses.” Obama met with Democratic leaders instead on Thursday.
Pundits have called the move by Republicans a “snub” and a sign of “disrespect” owing to their gains this elections. But the White House has dismissed the notion.
“To judge the meeting as a failure without having had the meeting is a weird bar to set,” Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
It remains unclear how Democrats plan to pass the extension for middle class tax cuts only, since they now have a smaller majority in the Senate. There has been some talk of compromising by temporarily extending tax breaks for the wealthy, but Republicans have argued that such a measure would raise taxes on small businesses.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the fourth highest-ranking lawmaker in his chamber, is pushing a compromise that would extend tax cuts for families earning $1 million instead of $250,000.
Democrats and Republicans this week failed to reach any agreement on other key legislation, such as the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was signed by Obama and his Russian counterpart in April but still requires ratification by the U.S. Congress.
On Thursday, the two parties also locked horns on unemployment insurance that are due to expire on Nov. 30. Republicans blocked a measure extending jobless benefits until February, arguing it would increase the deficit by $12 billion and “delay individuals’ intensity to search for work.”
View full post on All Stories
Can Medication Stabilize Or Reverse Vascular Disease? Apparently That It Can
Can medication stabilize or reverse vascular disease? And how much should medication reduce cholesterol levels? With lipid lowering how low should you go? Russell H. Samson, MD, FACS, RVT, Clinical Associate Professor Department of Clinical Sciences (Vascular Surgery) at Florida State University Medical School, Sarasota, Florida, addressed these difficult questions today at the 37th annual VEITHsymposium™ held at the Hilton New York (New York, NY). Dr. Samson said the question regarding whether medication can stabilize or reverse vascular disease, is difficult to answer…
View full post on Health Stories
TV, Sponsorship Deals Boost MLB Revenues For 2009-10 Season
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Despite the average per-game attendance drop during the 2009-10 season compared to the previous campaign, Major League Baseball reportedly expects to post record-breaking $7 billion in gross revenues for this season.
The projected hike in revenues for the season can be attributed to several factors which include the annual escalators in local television deals and the return of ads from the automotive and financial sectors.
“This is the golden era for the sport and given the (weak) economy this may be the most remarkable year we ever had,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig told Sport Business.com.
“Every economic option in our business is up this year. We’re at numbers nobody ever thought possible,” Selig added.
According to Turner Sports President David Levy, significant increase in sponsorship revenue coming from automotive, financial sectors and insurance companies hiked the growth in advertising for baseball.
MLB registered $6.6 billion in revenues in 2009, an increase from the $6.5 posted in 2008.
Meanwhile, total attendance slipped to about 0.6 percent during the 2010 regular season compared to 2009.
View full post on All Stories
New York’s Lincoln Center Has Bedbugs In Dressing Rooms Of Koch Theater
New York City, NY, United States (AHN) – New York’s tony Lincoln Center has bedbugs. More specifically, bedbug-sniffing dogs found the beasties in costumes and carpeting in dressing rooms in the David H. Koch Theater.
Lincoln Center is just the latest place in New York City to suffer an outbreak of bedbugs. Calls to report bedbugs are pouring into the city’s 311 help line. So far this year bedbugs have been found in apartments, hotels, retail stores, movie theaters, offices and public schools.
Bedbugs were almost eradicated by DDT after World War II, but the pesticide had so many toxic side effects that it was finally banned. However, the recent surge in bedbugs around the country is probably because of international travel, according to Mayo Clinic.
Bedbugs hitch rides on travelers and in their luggage. With so many people visiting New York City it is no wonder that the city has had so many outbreaks.
Mayo Clinic says to see a doctor if you develop an allergic reaction to a bedbug bite.
Here is more information from the New York City Housing Authority website:
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They are usually active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs have flat, rusty-red-colored oval bodies. About the size of an apple seed, they are big enough to be easily seen, but often hide in cracks in furniture, floors, or walls. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become brighter red. They can live for several weeks or months without food or water.
What does a bed bug bite feel and look like?
Most bed bug bites are initially painless, but later turn into large, itchy skin welts. These welts do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites.
Are bed bugs dangerous?
Although bed bugs are a nuisance, they are not known to spread disease.
View full post on Health Stories
Affordable Health Insurance- Dutch appeals court denies Apple’s plea to ban sale of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
- Online shoe, clothing store Zappos hacked; passwords for 24 million users reset
- Kansas, Oklahoma insurers won’t get a break on rebate rule
- FAA to issue rules on pilot fatigue more than a year after deadline
- Japanese household spending dips as retail sales, unemployment edge up
- Texas Lawsuit Identifies Problems In Medicare Hospice Provisions
- Daylight Savings Time 2011: things to remember
- Premiums, Deductibles And Cost Sharing In Employer Health Plans Keep Rising
- BlackBerry outage over, RIM exec apologizes
- Insurance broker wants a slice of pizza parlor industry
- Cheap Airline tickets
- GM back on top as world’s biggest automaker
- VW sells record 5.1 million cars in 2011
- Honda widens recall for airbag problem
- GM CEO: Earnings good, but not good enough
- Chinese companies buying automaker Saab
- UAW ratifies deal with Ford
- Ford, United Auto Workers reach tentative contract
- GM enters electric car joint venture with Chinese automaker
- Honda recalls million cars worldwide
- GM, LG team up to create future electric vehicles
- Budget Car insurance
- First class stamp rises to 45 cents
- Visions for a healthier West Bank economy
- No. 1 worry among Americans is the economy
- German exports fall more than expected
- Illinois lawmakers to take up tax plan to keep CME, Sears in state
- Cottage industries offer hope in former war zone
- Fear of financial losses drive soaring price of gold
- Iron ore prices could slide to $140 per tonne
- Economists: U.S. has no way to avoid double dip recession
- Obama vows to do away with millionaire tax cuts, reduce deficit
- Personal Loans
- Never send money to relatives using Paypal
- Prevent Banks from Holding Checks
- Sending Money Abroad – Western Union Alternatives
- Rent to Own Furnishings – A Rip-Off?
- Are Canadian Housing Prices at the Top?
- Low Interest Credit Card Checks
- U.S. lawmakers aim to lure foreigners to buy American homes
- BoE pushes banks to cut bonuses, dividends to improve balance sheets
- No monetary penalty for Fannie, Freddie in proposed settlement
- U.S. to sue big banks over risky mortgages
- Mortgages
- How Much House Can I Afford? Affordability analysis test
- U.S. housing prices show some gains
- Existing home sales fall 3.8% in May to lowest rate in six months
- S&P downgrades China’s property market rating
- Habitats | Clinton Hill, Brooklyn: Adopted by a Brownstone
- How Biweekly Mortgages Protect your Biggest Investement
- Food prices push China’s inflation to 34-month high in May
- Foreclosures Grow in Mortgage Market’s Top Tiers
- Hamilton Heights: Awaiting a Bounce
- The Mysteriously Shifty Interest Rate And Housing Industry
- Business Loans
- Price Chopper Supermarkets recall shredded taco cheese
- Novartis recalls four popular OTC drugs
- Best Buy cancels some online orders before Christmas
- Two major publishers announce bad news for newspaper industry
- Judge blocks Citigroup’s $285 million SEC settlement over mortgages
- Warren Buffett makes about face on investing in tech firms, acquires 5.5% stake in IBM
- U.S. Supreme Court upholds no limit on patient lawsuits against medical device makers
- Telenor refuses to pay $400M in fines to Bangladesh authority
- Post Office ads go after email
- Defendant seeks contempt order against Righthaven for non-payment of attorney’s fees
