Why Are We Up In Arms Over New Mammogram Rules?

Everyone is up in arms regarding the government’s new guidelines regarding mammograms for women. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is recommending that women should have their first mammogram done at the age of 50, and then repeat it once every two years.

The American Cancer Society says that women should get their first mammogram when they are 40 and then continue yearly until the age of 75.

Apparently there are many women up-in-arms over these new guidelines. The question is why? Why are we so alarmed about a new idea on this matter? Every month research and science are coming up with new levels or statistics or “facts” about one medical condition or another.

A recent European study has now deemed that men should only have prostate exams once every four years along with a PSA test. The American Cancer Society recommends men get yearly testing once they are over 50 years old.

There is no reason women have to be alarmed by the new standard being offered for mammograms. If they want a yearly test they can get one. If they have cancer concerns before they reach 50, the test is still available. Yes, women have been saved by mammograms. They have also been scared by false positive readings or misreadings. Some women have also undergone cancer treatment because they have been diagnosed as having breast cancer when they do not.

In my own family my great-aunt had her yearly mammogram, which was negative. A month later she felt a lump in her breast. It was diagnosed as cancerous. She had treatment and it was caught in time, but no thanks to the mammogram.

Every woman has a different idea about what is right for them. If you believe in mammograms you will continue to have them because you deem it necessary. If you don’t believe in them, you may listen to the new guidelines  and evaluate if you think this is a good measure of action for you.

Either way, we have to decide what is best for us individually, new guidelines or not.

My Kitten-Saved (feral cat journal #54)

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here are some pictures of my little guy who once lived outside under the bushes and then my carport.

How I wish I could have saved all the kittens that day.

This is for all of you who have rescued, saved, adopted, loved and cared for some creature other than yourself.

 Our world is a better place with you in it.

AFTER

All photos on this page are property of  and copyright 2009 EnvisionHope

Cat Comes Down With H1N1 Virus

Wow. Just read that the first domestic cat has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus. It appears that the cat got the virus from a family member who had come down with the strain. Since the cat is basically an indoor pet with little to no contact with other animals, it does seem plausible that the cat got the bug from his human cohorts.

So, it looks like no one is safe from the H1N1 virus. The talk focused on pigs so much everyone thought that pigs were the death of everyone else because they project the virus onward.

Looks like the pig has just been spared the title of most affected animal. I’m sure now we will hear all kinds of stories about other animals getting this flu. But when you think about it, we are all mammals. We have similar requirements and needs, and we humans are really nothing but an animal with an attitude.

Keep your pets safe and if you get sick, isolate yourself from your little companions. I’m not sure how this will be possible considering pets rely on us for their care, but having said that, hopefully we won’t have an animal epidemic too. I don’t think the media will be able to stand themselves if we do.

New Kitten (fereral cat journal #53)

Well, the rescued kitten is growing big. He has been neutered and vaccinated and is always on the move.

There is nothing he doesn’t find. Or see. Or hear. It amazes me what he comes up with to do like chewing through headset cords and drapery pulls. He has learned how to jump up on high places. I will admit I don’t care for this part too much. Friends keep telling me I’ll get used to it. They must be right because now when L jumps up on the kitchen table (which I hate), I don’t scream as loudly. Sometimes I even just ignore it and let him jump down on his own.

He and the dog still wrestle, but not as often. The dog doesn’t like his claws, and has become braver in telling him to stop rough-housing. But thankfully they still join in a game or two a day, and chase each other around the room like stallions on the plains.

L’s coat is darkening some. What was pure white now has shades of brown and his face markings are more pronounced. I can hardly wait to see how he will turn out. We are at his 6 month birthday all ready.

Man how times flies……

 

See “Fresh From the Womb” for pictures. L is the little white one.

Soup Spoon

Come into the kitchen

see my favorite trick                                                    

eating from the soup bowl

high upon the niche.

I wave to you with tail thumps

I’m happy as a toddler reaching for the sun

and though you scowl and pout at me

my chicken noodle kisses will fix whatever’s wrong.

**

 

                              photo courtesy of: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Letterman Mans Up

David Letterman is a brave man. By facing his blackmailer he has stated that he will not be bullied by someone with an ax to grind when his own life is falling apart.

David took a chance by airing his affairs in public. He looked us straight in the eye and told us what he had done and why he was talking about it. There is a lot to be admired for that stance. So often everyone is running from the truth. They hide and cast blame in someone’s direction in order to divert the attention away from their mistakes.

Dave tackled his blackmailer and us with a dose of owning his misgivings. You may not like Letterman, but you have to admit it was a gutsy thing to do, and not many of us today have that many guts.

Legs of My Soul

I feel empty today

disconnected from the world

Lost in second thoughts

Lost in memories of those gone to me forever

and for things I will never have.

A monarch plays in the neighbor’s coxcombs

fluttering

sucking,

seeking nectar for the flight of its life

I envy its purpose

its journey

for I see no future today

only the struggles

and missed opportunities,

the tears and

the legs of my soul

which are asleep and tender.

                                                           **

 

                                                    copyright 2009 EnvisionHope

Should Children Receive the Swine Flu Vaccine?

As the H1N1 virus continues to invade our every thought, schools are trying to figure out what to do about it should the deadly illness encroach upon their terrain. It’s a hard call. Do you close a school because one or two students come into contact with the virus? Do you stay open and hope that the virus is relatively mild? Or do you treat this thing like any other year when flu comes and goes?

Some schools are taking surveys trying to figure out who may want their children vaccinated and who do not. My experience has seen a questionnaire asking if parents want their child to have the shot or the nasal spray vaccine. The questionnaire continues and asks if you want your child to have your pediatrician deliver the vaccine or do you want it given in a mass distribution scenario. Then it asks if you even want your child to be given the vaccine at all.

With all the push to get this vaccine, the nation is swirling with thinking they have to get it or else they are doomed. One doctor I spoke with doesn’t think the threat it that severe. Sure some people and children have died. But this happens every year when the flu hits. There are folks who don’t make it.

A recent study shown on Good Morning America claims that pregnant women can have worse complications than the average person. Why? Because as their pregnancy grows, it puts more pressure on the lungs, thus inhibiting fuller breaths to be taken. If you are congested and can’t expel the mucous properly, this will give you obvious problems. What the study didn’t show was does this happen every year with other viruses if you are pregnant?

We are in hysteria over the H1N1. The question we have to ask ourselves is this virus really, truly, any worse than other flus we’ve encountered? And should children really be the first ones in line to receive the vaccine? Should they be our targeted audience when the vaccine is so new and so unstudied?

Only you can decide.

Swayze’s Character Will Never Die

When Patrick Swayze died I felt an unmistakable pain. I have seen Dirty Dancing over a dozen times, and frankly he was so visually outstanding in that film, that I will always remember him that way. His death, although not unexpected, still shattered the hope I had that maybe he could somehow beat the odds against cancer even further than he all ready had.

Patrick’s courage and fierce determination were strong testaments to his character. A character most of us didn’t realize until his final interview with Barbara Walters. During that interview you met the man who was insightful, thoughtful and brave. He told us his beliefs straight-out and with all the honesty he had in the face of grave adversity. When he told us that all of us are dying, it struck a chord, even if you didn’t want it to.

As an actor, you saw his diversity in the roles he chose.  Dancing and brawling was the name of his game. The man who could send shivers up your spine with romance was also the man who delivered the tough and the rough.

Off screen who didn’t want to be his wife, Lisa Niemi? They married in 1975 after having met in 1970. For 35 years they braved the world together in a bond that most of us only dream about. To have such a long marriage is another testament to the man we wish we knew more about, now that it is too late.

Growing up with celebrity that passes much too early makes you stop and recollect your own life and what you’ve accomplished. My list seems miserably short compared to what Patrick  accomplished both professionally and privately. His project to reforest his property showed great foresight, another thing most of us only dream about.

I will miss Patrick and his wisdom. How I wish he hadn’t had to leave us so soon.

 

Patrick’s Fan Club:

http://www.patrickswayze.net

Fresh From the Womb–FC Journal #52

 

 

Huddling close

little hearts and souls

fresh from the womb

fresh from the night,                                                 

Fighting the life of wild suburbia

mother nursing

small meows

and tiny tumbles.

Leading the way in morning’s light

small furry soldiers with infant growls

come out from hiding

into life.

 

 

Poem and photograph copyright 2009 envisionhope