Life-saving cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can destroy the reproductive potential of both men and women; an added struggle for the 130,000 people in the US diagnosed with cancer each year. The good news is that advances in fertility technologies now give patients the ability to preserve their fertility prior to treatment, an option many oncologists fail to inform their patients.

Despite efforts by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to develop fertility preservation guidelines for oncologists, only 60% were aware of the guidelines while less than 25% said they followed them regularly, distributed educational materials or referred patients for fertility preservation discussions.

With the month of October dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness – the leading cause of cancer among American women – Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI) is committed to educating women about fertility preservation options now available. The new Fast-track Fertility Preservation Program at FCI enables women to fast freeze their eggs or embryos prior to cancer treatment, to be fertilized or used at a later date, and allowing them the possibility of having genetic children in the future. Patients in this program will be offered a discounted rate for treatment and medications.

Dr. Angeline Beltsos, medical director and reproductive endocrinologist with Fertility Centers of Illinois, explains that it is crucial for women be made aware of these options immediately, to allow enough time to pursue the treatment. “With any diagnosis, patients must be presented all of the information, which in this case, includes the important option of being able to have biological children in the future.” she adds.

To further assist patients, FCI has joined forces with Fertile Hope’s Sharing Hope Program for Women. Fertile Hope is national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping support cancer patients faced with infertility and The Sharing Hope Program increases access to egg and embryo freezing for newly diagnosed cancer patients, by working with companies and clinics to arrange discounted services and donated medication for eligible participants. For more information visit www.fertilehope.org

Furthermore, FCI has also joined forces with the 2009 Susan G. Komen Chicago Race for the Cure, taking place on Saturday, September 26th in Grant Park. Experts from FCI will be on hand supporting Komen’s mission to end breast cancer forever and also answer questions about advances in fertility preservation technologies.

“Options are essential when a shocking diagnosis like breast cancer has been delivered to you, and FCI gives patients another option. We are excited to have them support our cause here in Chicago and look forward to FCI at our race this year,” states Michael Ziener, executive director of Susan G. Komen Chicago.

While health officials have long suspected the link between obesity and soda consumption, research released today provides the first scientific evidence of the potent role soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages play in fueling California’s expanding girth.

In their landmark study: Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California, researchers from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) discovered a strong correlation between soda consumption and weight. Based upon data from more than 40,000 interviews conducted by the California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS), researchers found that adults who drink a soda or more per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight than those who do not drink sodas, regardless of income or ethnicity.

“The science is clear and conclusive: soda is fueling California’s $41 billion a year obesity epidemic,” says CCPHA Executive Director Dr. Harold Goldstein, an author of the research brief. “We drink soda like water. But unlike water, soda serves up a whopping 17 teaspoons of sugar in every 20-ounce serving.”

Research shows that over the last 30 years Americans consumed 278 more calories per day even as physical activity levels remained relatively unchanged. One of the biggest changes in diet during that period was the enormous increase in soda consumption, accounting for as much as 43 percent of all new calories. According to Goldstein, that research, combined with this new data on soda consumption, offers conclusive proof of the link between soda and obesity.

And while adult soda consumption is troubling, consumption trends among children paint an even more alarming picture for the future health of California. The study found that 41 percent of young children (2-11 years of age) are drinking at least one soda or sugar-sweetened beverage every day. Adolescents (12-17) represent the biggest consumers, with 62 percent (over 2 million youths) drinking one or more sodas every day – the equivalent of consuming 39 pounds of sugar each year in soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

“Soda is cheap, sweet and irresistibly marketed to teens,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Susan H. Babey, a research scientist with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “Not enough teens know about the health and dietary risks of drinking huge quantities of what is essentially liquid sugar while television and advertising tell them it is ‘cool’ to do so.”

There were major differences in adult consumption rates by county, the study discovered. Residents of the lowest soda consuming counties of Marin, San Francisco, Yolo and San Mateo drink far less soda than their counterparts in the heaviest drinking counties of Kings, Madera, Kern and Imperial. Nevertheless, the soda/obesity linkage still holds true – those who consume large amounts of soda, regardless of where they live, suffer disproportionally from obesity and overweight.

“If we are serious about tackling the obesity crisis, cutting back soda consumption has to be the top priority,” Goldstein asserts. “Parents, communities, businesses and government all have a role to play in helping to reduce consumption. We cannot afford to raise another ‘Pepsi Generation.’”

Funding for the study was provided by The California Endowment, a private statewide health foundation that is a national leader in the childhood obesity prevention movement.

“This research clearly shows the very serious health risks of drinking soda and other sweetened beverages. I hope policymakers will read this report closely and think about what they can do to combat the obesity epidemic that is clearly tied to consuming too many sodas,” says Dr. Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Young Americans and Health Insurance Reform: Giving Young Americans the Security and Stability They Need. The report highlights the vulnerability young adults face in the current health care system and the urgent need for health insurance reform. The complete report is available at www.healthreform.gov.

“More and more young adults wake up the day after their nineteenth birthday or on graduation day and find themselves uninsured,” said Secretary Sebelius. “I’ve seen this problem first-hand. When my son graduated, he faced the challenge of finding health insurance. Unfortunately, too many of his peers are forced to go without the care they need. Health insurance reform will help insure young Americans have access to the affordable health care they need and deserve.”

While seventeen percent of adults (those aged 30-64) are uninsured, thirty percent of young adults do not have health insurance. When young adults lose access to their parents’ health insurance, they find it increasingly difficult to afford the high cost of health insurance.

Young adults are often less likely to work for employers who offer health insurance benefits. Nearly half of young people work part-time, and part-time workers are less likely to be offered coverage. Young people are also more likely to work for smaller firms, which tend to offer less coverage. Among young adults working in firms of fewer than 50 employees and who had coverage in 2006, one in four lost that insurance in the following two years – more than twice the rate of older adults.

The report also shows that 33 states allowed insurance companies to charge unrestricted premiums based on age, health status and even gender. In some states, a 22-year-old woman can be charged twice as much for her premium than a 22-year-old man.

The health care status quo is significantly impacting young Americans. In a recent survey, two-thirds who had gaps in healthcare admitted to forsaking health care because of costs including skipping recommended tests and treatment and neglecting to fill a prescription. Even with cost-saving measures, more than one-third of all young adults with coverage report having problems paying medical bills.

Health insurance reform would ensure young adults have access to quality, affordable health coverage, deter mounting health problems and ensure young people are not left with crushing medical debt after an accident or illness. Capping out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays and deductibles while limiting arbitrary premium increases would provide affordable health care options for young adults as well.

Formerly conjoined twins Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim of Egypt returned to Dallas this week for follow up diagnostic testing and to help celebrate the launch of a new Reconstructive Surgery Institute at Texas Hospital for Advanced Medicine. The twin boys, who were born joined at the top of their heads, were separated during a groundbreaking 34-hour surgery in October 2003. Kenneth E. Salyer, M.D., who directed their care, is a founder of the new Institute.

“These boys are a symbol of the possibilities for help, hope and healing to all who suffer with craniofacial abnormalities,” said Dr. Salyer. “Our goal is to build an Institute where every child can be brought out of the darkness of deformity and into the light of a normal life.”

Ira Korman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Texas Hospital for Advanced Medicine, is developing the Institute with Dr. Salyer. He explains, “The Reconstructive Surgery Institute will be truly a world-class facility. We have assembled an unparalleled team of experts lead by Dr. Salyer. These are among the top physicians in the world in craniofacial surgery, and because of our VisionShare Partners, they will have the latest technology available to them.”

Many patients go without their prescribed medicine due to the slow or ineffective service of mail order pharmacies, according to a survey of just over 400 patients conducted by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). The findings both raise troubling questions about the impact mail-order programs have on patients and contradict two purported benefits of mail order: increased convenience and lower costs.

The survey found 48% of respondents who were mail-order customers had to go without their medications because of late delivery. Those patients who were required by their health plan to use mail order reported much higher rates of late delivery (63%) than those who had a choice of pharmacy (28%).

Patients also reported routinely paying for prescription drugs twice: once for the mail order and a second time at community pharmacies for an emergency fill when the first purchase did not arrive in time. Nearly every patient (85%) left waiting for their medicine by mail reported having this experience. In addition, patients expressed frustration with being forced to purchase a 90-day supply via mail order only to have the doctor write a new or different prescription two weeks later – leaving the patient with two months worth of unusable medicine.

“These survey results should make employers and other health plan sponsors think twice before imposing a mandatory mail order requirement on their patients,” said Bruce T. Roberts, RPh, NCPA executive vice president and CEO. “Mail order programs claim to provide patients greater convenience and lower cost. In fact, patients say they have to wait too long for their drugs and some are paying twice for them.

“Further, mail order is touted as a way to ensure patients stick with their medication therapy. But if deliveries arrive too late or are compromised, patient adherence is severely undermined, not encouraged,” Roberts added. “Clearly, Congress should protect the patient’s ability to choose where to fill prescriptions in any publicly financed health plan.”

As a result of their experiences, 81% of respondents told NCPA they strongly or somewhat oppose a mandatory mail order requirement being imposed on health plan participants.

Mail order pharmacies are owned by the giant pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), like CVS Caremark, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., and Express Scripts, Inc., hired by health plans to administer drug benefits and negotiate prices. With the authority to set prices for themselves and their retail pharmacy competitors, PBMs routinely stack the deck in favor of their mail order providers and against community pharmacies. It’s common for PBMs to charge a plan sponsor a much higher amount than it would a community pharmacy for dispensing the same prescription – pocketing the difference and passing those higher costs on to health plan sponsors and, ultimately, patients without disclosing them.

To ensure these problems aren’t exacerbated by the Congressional health care reform legislative efforts, NCPA is urging that any “public option” health insurance plan be administered by a more transparent and accountable model, such as the pharmacy benefit administrator (PBA) under Medicaid.

To conduct the poll, NCPA officials sent an eight-question survey to pharmacies to display on store counters for patients to complete on a voluntary basis. The survey included an option for respondents to submit brief comments about their experiences. Below are a few examples indicating the survey struck a chord with patients:

Patient #1: “I feel I should have a choice as to where to pick up my meds. Also my meds change quite frequently and mail order doesn’t take that into account.”

Patient #2: “Multiple times during the year we have not gotten our medications on time. We should not worry when we are going to get our life saving medications.”

Patient #3: “The medications that would be mailed must be kept cool. I’m not home often and it would be a major inconvenience to return home just to get medications from outside into the fridge.”

Patient #4: “Medicine always seems to be changed from what my doctor wrote.”

Patient #5: “My brother gets his meds through the mail and they just leave them outside―Do not knock or ring the doorbell―and two times they said they delivered them―We did not get them.”

Patient #6: “I recently received another patient’s prescriptions, which I do not take. Still haven’t been picked up, but the co-pay was charged to me.”

Patient #7: “My insulin has come with chunks of frozen ice floating in the vial – plus in a plastic bag with no support – it is a wonder they did not break. I had to pay for medicine out of pocket … These are just a few of the things they have done. Mail order should not be mandatory, we should have a choice.”

Patient #8: “I have had these medicines delivered and they went to the wrong address and then were opened. Not only would I not take it then due to being opened, my neighbor saw what meds I was taking!”

Parents of school-aged children in every public and nonpublic school throughout Missouri will be able to receive instant updates about the H1N1 (Swine) flu as a result of a new, free service provided by the Missouri School Boards’ Association in collaboration with SchoolReach, a St. Louis-based school-to-parent notification and communications company. The service is available now to schools that do not already have an alert notification in place for parents.

“We’re delighted to partner with SchoolReach to offer this service, which will enable every school district and private school in the state to contact parents about H1N1 issues immediately,” says MSBA Executive Director Dr. Carter Ward. “Effective and timely communication will be vital for schools and communities as they cope with a possible flu outbreak in the coming weeks. This service is an important tool in that effort.”

Ward added that he knows of no other state in the nation that has developed a similar service to help schools communicate quickly with parents regarding the H1N1 flu.

The service has been developed by SchoolReach, MSBA’s partner in the area of parental notification services for schools. SchoolReach is the education marketing and service division of GroupCast. Headquartered in St. Louis, GroupCast provides hosted (or web-based) phone, email and text message broadcast solutions.

Missouri’s Office of Homeland Security was consulted by MSBA prior to announcing the new, free service. The Office voiced strong support for the capability of school officials to effectively communicate with all parents on issues relating to H1N1. Missouri’s Office of Homeland Security has partnered with MSBA and SchoolReach to allow the Department of Public Safety to contact school officials in an emergency using the same technology at no cost. State officials have used this system to alert schools to changing pandemic flu guidelines for school closings.

The following is a statement by the American Health Care Association (AHCA):

As Congress reconvened this week in the wake of polls finding the public strongly against slashing Medicare-funded nursing home care to pay for health care reform, local opposition to proposed $32 billion ten year Medicare cuts is garnering a rising level of local press coverage.

The 9/10 Bangor (ME) Daily News reports, “Maine nursing homes stand to lose as much as $252 million in Medicare funding over the next 10 years, a combination of recently implemented reimbursement changes and new ones proposed in the national health reform legislation taking shape in Congress… A Senate health reform bill has not yet been released. But HR 3200, the legislation still under revision in the U.S. House of Representatives, includes $32 billion in funding reductions to nursing facilities nationwide over the next 10 years. In addition, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently implemented a funding freeze for some nursing home services that will further reduce payments by $12 million over the next 10 years.

“The combination could be devastating to nursing homes, advocates say. “The bottom line is that Maine seniors’ Medicare-funded nursing homes will be substantially undermined by the pending health reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Rick Erb, president and CEO of the Maine Health Care Association, which represents Maine nursing facilities.

The 9/10 Warwick (RI) Beacon, in a story entitled, “Nursing Homes Say They’ll be Squeezed by Health Reform,” reports: “These proposed Medicare funding reductions will threaten caregiver jobs,” said Kathleen Heren, Rhode Island’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman. “Unfortunately, any job losses would mean fewer staff able to deliver quality care to seniors in our nursing homes. I hope Congress will reconsider these drastic cuts to an important segment of our long term care system.” Should the House Bill pass as it is currently drafted, each nursing home across the country would lose $31 per Medicare patient per day. The average nursing home in Rhode Island has about 10 patients covered by Medicare. That means each nursing home would lose about $110,000 in government funding per year.”

Joan Foradori-Cook, an Administrator of the Good Samaritan Society in Jasonville, IN, writes in the 9/8 Indianapolis (IN) Star: “I am concerned by some health-care reform proposals that would cut Medicare funding for seniors’ skilled nursing and rehabilitative care. As the administrator at the Good Samaritan Society-Shakamak Retirement Community, I see first hand how Medicare beneficiaries recover from debilitating illnesses, regain the ability to walk or talk, and become healthy enough to return to their homes and communities through the care this funding provides.

“The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 proposes to slash Medicare funding nationally for skilled nursing facilities by $32 billion over the next 10 years. These cuts cannot be absorbed by facilities such as mine; they are not in the best interest of quality senior care; and they will impact jobs and wages for caregivers like myself. It is imperative that the Indiana congressional delegation fully considers the long-term care needs of our state’s elderly and infirmed citizens.”

The Bismarck (ND) Tribune, in a 9/7 op-ed (Nursing Homes Can’t Afford Cuts) from Shelley Peterson, president of the North Dakota Long Term Care Association, states, “The number one issue for families whose loved ones are in a nursing facility is adequate staffing. The quality of care residents receive relates directly to adequate staffing levels and a trained quality workforce. As 70 percent of nursing home costs are tied to labor, additional Medicare cuts would certainly affect staffing levels and could result in the loss of more than 50,000 jobs nationwide that are essential to maintaining continued quality of care.

“These proposed cuts to nursing home care are highly disproportionate compared to other areas of health care. For example, in the current House bill, providers of skilled nursing care are set to shoulder costs totaling 9.47 percent of total Medicare revenues over the next 10 years, with other healthcare providers far less. These cuts are being imposed even though skilled nursing facilities operate with one of the smallest overall margin among health care providers, at 1.9 percent in North Dakota. Thus cuts at the federal level of this magnitude have a major impact at the community level in terms of patients and jobs. Congress must revise proposals that contain further cuts for nursing home care.”

According to the most recent Hospital Value Index results, a study that analyzed data from more than 4,500 hospitals across the United States, hospitals in the largest U.S. cities generally offer a low value of patient care compared to elsewhere in the country.

“Our findings conclude that these urban areas offer less affordable and less efficient care, which affected the overall performance of the market,” said Hal Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of Data Advantage, the company that developed and maintains the Hospital Value Index.

“Ironically, we found that the hospitals with which the White House and its advisers are most intimately familiar deliver low healthcare value against every benchmark – city, state, CMS Region, and the U.S.”

For example, the Chicago market ranked 88th out of the 100 largest markets, just one spot behind McAllen, Texas and one spot ahead of Honolulu. Other than Fort Myers and Las Vegas, the lowest-ranking large markets were all in California. The top five states in delivering value were North Dakota, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Maine. The bottom five states were New Mexico, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.

“Like every other good and service, price is an essential part of healthcare value,” said Andrews. “For California, prices are relatively high, even after adjusting for national wage variances. The uninsured, underinsured and health savings account members are disproportionately harmed by the high prices, without receiving superior quality, outcomes or patient experience in exchange.”

“The rules have changed — whether because of the economy, health reform or Value-Based purchasing, and quality alone is not a sustainable strategy for the U.S. hospital industry,” said John Morrow, one of the authors of the study. “These organizations will need to be accountable to their communities for their performance on value and be transparent about doing so. The Hospital Value Index is a means toward that end.”

The latest study from the Hospital Value Index used the most current and comprehensive set of publicly available data, including Hospital Compare data released by CMS in July 2009, to analyze more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals to discover where patients can find the best value of care in their community. The Hospital Value Index researchers analyzed a variety of public data on hospital quality, price, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. The Hospital Value Index is updated frequently to reflect the dynamic impact of change occurring in the hospital industry.

Over the last five years, Jim Hennigan has had four different hearts beating in his chest… the heart he was born with, two donor hearts and a Total Artificial Heart.  During 2008, 10% of people who were implanted with the Total Artificial Heart received the device because they were suffering from rejection of their donor heart transplant.

Hennigan received his newest donor heart on May 8, 2009, after living for more than 300 days with the SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart.

“The Total Artificial Heart did a phenomenal job of keeping me healthy and active for more than 10 months,” said Hennigan. “My body got so used to the efficiency of the Total Artificial Heart that when I got the donor heart, it had a hard time keeping up.”

With the Total Artificial Heart, Hennigan was able to walk for up to an hour on the treadmill, ride the exercise bike and push his 450-lb driver around the hospital. The size and weight of the driver, which powered his Total Artificial Heart, kept him confined to the hospital while he waited for his matching donor heart.

“The Total Artificial Heart is fantastic,” said Hennigan. “The downside was staying in the hospital the whole time. If I’d had a portable driver like the one approved for use in Europe, I would’ve been able to do things like watch my son’s basketball games, attend my daughter’s cheerleading competitions and get up in the morning to make them lunch for school.”

Hennigan received his first heart transplant in 2004, but over time, his body suffered from chronic rejection of his new heart. In 2008, doctors told Hennigan he would need another heart transplant.

When Hennigan arrived at the hospital on July 1, 2008, his kidneys and liver had shut down. He was placed on a feeding tube because his bowels were obstructed. To save Hennigan’s life, his doctors implanted the Total Artificial Heart to recover his vital organs and bridge him to a second donor heart transplant.

You wouldn’t send your children to school with a lunchbox full of candy bars, but you might be packing almost as much sugar when you send them off with some popular lunchtime classics. Considering most children brush their teeth in the morning and before bed, the sugar they put in their mouths at lunchtime could stay there for a while, and that worries some dentists.

“When you start adding up the sugars found in some common lunchbox items, you might be shocked,” said George Koumaras, DDS, dental director for Delta Dental of Virginia. “Simple changes can lower the sugar count, which is better for children’s oral health and, ultimately, better for their bodies.”

Take the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Add a box of raisins, a small container of applesauce and a single-serve carton of chocolate milk. While it sounds healthy, the sugar total is a whopping 98 grams. An average candy bar contains about 25 grams of sugar.

Without drastic changes, give this same lunch a sugar makeover:

• Choose natural peanut butter (no added sugar) and low or no sugar added jelly.
• Replace white bread with whole wheat, and regular applesauce with natural applesauce.
• Swap raisins for mini carrots–raisins’ stickiness can hold sugars against teeth for prolonged periods.
• Trade chocolate milk for white milk.

The new total? A more tooth-tolerable 31 grams of sugar.

Alternatives to lunchbox standards:

• A tube of yogurt boosts calcium with only 10 grams of sugar.
• String cheese offers calcium and zero grams of sugar.
• Fruit roll-up snacks have 7 grams of sugar versus fruit snacks in a pouch with 14 grams.
• Three vanilla wafer cookies have 4 grams of sugar versus three chocolate, crème-filled cookies with 13 grams.