Health & Wellness - October 2012 Archives

BISMARCK, N.D. — October 8, 2012.  Mayo Clinic and St. Alexius Medical Center today announced that the Bismarck-based organization is the newest member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. St. Alexius is the first medical center in western North Dakota to have passed Mayo's rigorous review process and been selected as a member of the year-old network. The Mayo Clinic Care Network extends Mayo Clinic's knowledge and expertise to physicians and providers interested in working together in the best interest of their patients. St. Alexius' physicians will now be able to connect with Mayo Clinic specialists on questions of patient care using an electronic consulting technique called eConsults. St. Alexius physicians also will have access to Mayo-vetted medical information through the AskMayoExpert database. These tools, in addition to health care consulting, will help St. Alexius provide the best care for its patients as well as improve its systems and the health of the community. "Mayo Clinic and St. Alexius are committed to improve the delivery of health care through high-quality, data-driven, evidence-based medical care and treatment," says David Hayes, M.D., medical director, Mayo Clinic Care Network. "Collaborating with other medical providers to provide the best possible care for patients has always been part of Mayo's culture, and through the Mayo Clinic Care Network we can work in new ways with community care organizations to enhance the lives of patients." "Today, our membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network will serve to further enhance the level of clinical expertise that our physicians and their patients have access to," says Gary P. Miller, president and CEO, St. Alexius Medical Center. "We are proud to be recognized for our long heritage of healing and quality and to be accepted as a member of the growing Mayo Clinic Care Network." "This is a great day for our providers, but more importantly for health care consumers in our region," says Shiraz Hyder, M.D., vice president of medical affairs, St. Alexius Medical Center. "Now our providers will be able to tap into the expert resources available at Mayo Clinic, which means even the more complex patients have the opportunity to be treated here at home in consultation with Mayo's experts." Founded in 1885, St. Alexius Medical Center serves the residents of central and western North Dakota, northern South Dakota and eastern Montana. The main campus in Bismarck consists of a 306-bed, full-service, acute care medical center that offers a full line of inpatient and outpatient medical services. In North Dakota, St. Alexius owns and operates hospitals and clinics in Garrison and Turtle Lake, a primary care clinic in Mandan, and specialty and primary care clinics in Minot. In addition, St. Alexius manages the hospital and clinics owned by Mobridge Regional Hospital in Mobridge, S.D.

Chemical Peels and Dermabrasion Can Be Safe, Effective Wrinkle Treatments October 5, 2012 Dear Mayo Clinic: Are wrinkle treatments like dermabrasion and chemical ...

The medical journal JAMA recently devoted an entire issue to the topic of obesity — from research on risk factors for childhood obesity to outcomes of ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — October 4, 2012.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in the United States and ranks second as a cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. About 1 in 8 women and 1 in 1,000 men will develop breast cancer. Although treatment advances have improved survival rates, a cure for breast cancer remains elusive. Assessing risk, understanding the disease, navigating treatment options, managing the side effects of treatment and coping with a cancer diagnosis are just some of the issues patients may face. The following Mayo Clinic Cancer Center experts are available to discuss those and other topics: Lynn Hartmann, M.D.: Researching breast cancer risk. Dr. Hartmann is working to develop a new way to identify breast cancer risk based on the makeup of breast tissue. She is co-editor of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book. James Ingle, M.D.: Breast cancer is not one disease. In a recent study in the journal Nature, researchers identified four genetically distinct forms of breast cancer and within those subtypes; they found characteristics of other types of cancers. The hope is that current treatments for other forms of cancer may also work for these breast cancer subtypes. Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.: Helping patients navigate treatment options. Dr. Pruthi developed an interactive multimedia breast cancer decision tool to help patients learn about treatment options. Charles Loprinzi, M.D.: Managing the side effects of cancer therapy. Dr. Loprinzi has conducted research on ways to lessen the impact of treatment side effects such as peripheral neuropathy, nausea, vomiting and hot flashes. He is also co-editor of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book. Amit Sood, M.D.: Coping with a cancer diagnosis. Ongoing stress among cancer patients and survivors negatively affects health, happiness, relationships and quality of life. Dr. Sood specializes in mind-body approaches to decrease stress and enhance resilience, well-being and coping skills.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Breast Cancer Awareness: Mayo Clinic Experts Available for Interviews  Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in the United States. About 1 in 8 women, and 1 in 1,000 men, will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Assessing risk, understanding the disease, navigating treatment options and managing the side effects of treatment, and coping with a cancer diagnosis are just some of the issues people may face. A reporter pkg."The Risk of Breast Cancer' is available in the downloads above with script and b-roll. Medical Edge pkgs. can be edited into vo/sots and incorporated into your local reporting. To interview any of the following Mayo Clinic Cancer Center experts:  Lynn Hartmann, M.D.   James Ingle, M.D.  Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.  Charles Loprinzi, M.D.  Amit Sood, M.D. Please contact: Joe Dangor 507-284-5005  newsbureau@mayo.edu   

ROCHESTER, Minn. — October 3, 2012.  The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book, available online and in retail outlets nationwide starting in October, helps women and their families better understand the disease, make informed decisions regarding treatments, and cope with the emotional and physical effects of breast cancer. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: A video interview with Dr. Hartmann is available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. "We wrote The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book to take the mystery out of breast cancer and give women guidance and tools for what to do if they are diagnosed," says Charles Loprinzi, M.D., a breast cancer expert at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and the book's medical co-editor. "The good news is that deaths from breast cancer are declining, due in large part to ongoing research and advances in diagnosis and treatment. We are seeing the cancer as a longer-term, manageable condition, such as heart disease or diabetes." This straightforward yet approachable resource from Mayo Clinic, one of the most respected names in medicine, will empower all who are, or might be, affected by breast cancer. "Thanks to new research discoveries about how breast cancer develops and how to block it, we have a much better chance of treating it and, one day, preventing it," explains Lynn Hartmann, M.D., medical co-editor of The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book and another breast cancer expert at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. "It's also important to understand your risk of getting the disease. Then you can decide what steps to take, if any, to reduce your risk." The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book offers solid tools for coping with the uncertainties and decisions that must be made after a breast cancer diagnosis. Janet Vittone, M.D., is an internist and specialist at Mayo Clinic and a breast cancer survivor. She says, "Even though I was lucky enough to have world-renowned colleagues just down the hall, I wish I had a book like this for myself, and to give to my family, after my mother, two sisters and I all received a breast cancer diagnosis within the same year." The book guides women and their families through every available option in supportive, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand language. Along with the cutting-edge medical information, The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book addresses questions such as: How do stress, obesity, and alcohol intake impact the likelihood of getting breast cancer? Are ovarian or uterine cancers related to breast cancer?<'li> Am I at high risk for breast cancer? Does my having breast cancer mean my daughter will get it too? How do I sort through treatment options? What options are available? Each chapter in The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book was reviewed by multiple experts at Mayo Clinic. The book, which also has a Glossary of Terms and Additional Resources sections, is divided into three parts: Part 1: Cancer Basics — What to do when cancer strikes, and understanding cancer. Part 2: Breast Cancer — A complete overview, including making sense of risk statistics, preventing breast cancer, the latest on screening, different types of breast cancer, treating invasive breast cancer, breast reconstruction, what if the cancer comes back, and ovarian and uterine cancer. Part 3: Life After a Cancer Diagnosis — Feelings and emotions, treatment side effects, complementary therapies, survivorship, and advice for partners.

The AnxietyCoach is a new Apple app to help people conquer fears and worries by guiding them through a series of confidence-building exercises. It also ...

Fall is a great time to run a marathon ... temperatures are cooler and the foliage is a bonus. But even if you've been preparing ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — October 3, 2012.  Melanoma is on the rise nationally, and transplant recipients and lymphoma patients are far likelier than the average person ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — October 3, 2012.  Mayo Clinic is releasing an app this week for Apple iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch called Anxiety Coach, a self-help tool that assists people in reducing a variety of fears and worries ranging from extreme shyness to obsessions and compulsions. Unlike other self-help apps, Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach helps people conquer their fears by guiding them through a series of confidence-building exercises while simultaneously tracking anxiety levels in real time and gauging their progress. Journalists: For multimedia resources including audio, video and b-roll of the app, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network. The app is designed for people with any level of anxiety. It can help someone overcome a common fear such as public speaking, or guide someone who has more severe symptoms in tracking and fighting anxiety between sessions with their health care provider. The strategies used in Anxiety Coach are based on cognitive behavioral therapy, the most effective psychotherapy for fears and worries. In cognitive behavioral therapy, people increase their confidence by gradually confronting situations that they have avoided out of fear. Research has demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective for anxiety than other approaches that rely on teaching people to relax. Anxiety Coach was developed by two clinical psychologists who are recognized as experts in the treatment of anxiety disorders — Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D., director of the Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Program at Mayo Clinic, and Jonathan Abramowitz, Ph.D., an adult anxiety disorders specialist at the University of North Carolina. "The app is based on a long history of clinical research of what is helpful in conquering anxiety," Dr. Whiteside says. "It really challenges people to face their fears, as opposed to other apps that focus on relaxation strategy but don't get to the core of what is helpful in the long term." Features of the Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach: Short self-test to measure the severity of fears and worries Ability to design a personal plan to target individual fears and worries Library of more than 500 activities that people have found to help master a variety of fears and worries including social anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, specific fears, separation anxiety, panic attacks, trauma-related anxiety, and general worries Track anxiety while challenging fears and worries in real-life situations Record and view progress Tools to learn about when anxiety becomes a problem and how to seek treatment

Melanoma is on the rise, and a Mayo Clinic review has found that transplant recipients and lymphoma patients are more likely to get that form of skin cancer ...

Smartphones can be used to evaluate stroke patients in remote locations. A Mayo Clinic study is the first to test the effectiveness of smartphone applications in a ...