10 charity races that'll get you sweating for a cause

A sign for the Susan G. Komen Foundation's 2012 Race for the Cure is displayed in Washington. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

With spring right around the corner (hallelujah!), this is the perfect time to sign up—and start training—for a charity run or walk. It may provide just the right dose of fitspiration you need, especially when you know you’ll be sweating it out for a great cause. Below, your guide to fundraising events that will be held across the country in the months ahead.
For breast cancer
The Susan G. Komen Organization is best known for its challenging Susan G. Komen 3-Day, a 60-mile walk that has drawn more than 500,00 participants and crew since 2003, and raised more than $8 million for research and treatment programs. But it’s just one of the many events the nonprofit hosts, including the 5K Komen Race for the Cure.
RELATED: 15 Worst Things You Could Say to Someone Battling Breast Cancer
For leukemia and lymphoma
The Light the Night Walk, held in the evening in more than 200 communities in North America, is put on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, to raise both awareness and funds. In this unique event, survivors carry white lanterns; supporters carry red lanterns; and people walking in memory of loved ones lost carry gold lanterns.
For pancreatic cancer
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has an inspiring goal: To double the survival rate of this terrible disease, one of the deadliest types of cancer, by the year 2020. The Purple Stride event, which includes both a 5K and a family-friendly walk, is one key way the organization is raising funds for research.
For multiple sclerosis
Walk MS is a series of events that attracts about 330,000 people every year in cities and towns nationwide. The charity has been raising money since 1988 to fund research and to provide support for those living with the disease. To participate, you can either register as an individual, or start or join a team (of, say, your friends or coworkers).
RELATED: Could You Have MS? 15 Surprising Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms
For brain tumors
Rides, walks, 5Ks, 10Ks—the National Brain Tumor Society hosts a variety of events around the country. The groups missing: To raise money to support the nearly 700,000 Americans living with brain tumors.
For families affected by disabilities
Over the last 13 years, Walk With Me events (including 5K races) have raised nearly $41 million for Easter Seals, which provides services for people with disabilities and special needs, and their families.
For Make-A-Wish America
The funds raised through Walks for Wishes help make dreams come true for kids fighting life-threatening diseases. Thanks to donations, a wish is granted on average, every 37 minutes, in the U.S. and its territories, according to the foundation.
RELATED: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
For arthritis
The annual 5K Walk To Cure Arthritis supports research for the nation’s number one cause of disability. More than 70 events are scheduled through the end of August.
For heart disease
The Heart Walk is one of the American Heart Association’s most popular events. The groups mission: To save more lives from heart disease (the number one killer in the U.S.) and stroke (the fifth leading cause of death in this country). This year, 1 million walkers are expected to participate in more than 300 cities.  source":foxnews

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More young breast cancer patients having genetic tests

(Dreamstime)

In recent years, more than 95 percent of U.S. women diagnosed with cancer at age 40 or younger got tested for mutations that raise their risk of future cancers, according to a new study.
The rate of genetic testing has steadily risen from about 70 percent in 2007, and that's a positive trend, researchers say, because the test results can influence women's decisions about treatment.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends that all women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 50 or younger get tested to see if they have BRCA gene mutations, which are known to raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, as well as the risk for recurrent cancers or later cancer in the opposite breast.
"The rates of testing in this population are probably higher than what you see in other populations, but it's still nice to see the improvement and more women having the opportunity to get tested," said senior author Dr. Ann H. Partridge of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
"We were surprised at how high the rates were over the time period," Partridge told Reuters Health by phone.

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The researchers analyzed data gathered between 2006 and 2014 in an ongoing study of young women with breast cancer. Partridge's team looked at almost 900 women age 40 and younger at 11 health centers across the country to see how many had been tested for BRCA mutations and whether test results had influenced their treatment.
Overall, 87 percent of the women said they had been screened for BRCA mutations within one year of their diagnosis. From 2007 onward, the proportion of women reporting testing increased each year, eventually including 96.6 percent of women diagnosed in 2012 and 95.3 percent of women diagnosed in 2013.
Among a total of 780 women tested during the study period, 59 did have what's known as a BRCA1 mutation and 35 reported having a BRCA2 mutation, while another 35 women said they had an indeterminate result or variant. The rest had no mutation.
Past research has found that women between ages 30 and 34 diagnosed with breast cancer and found to have the BRCA1 mutation have about a 1 in 3 chance of developing a new cancer in the next 10 years, the study team writes in JAMA Oncology. For women ages 35 to 39, the 10-year odds are about 1 in 4.
In the current analysis, almost 30 percent of women who were tested said knowledge of their genetic risk influenced their treatment decisions in some way.
About half of those who were tested and did not have mutations opted for a bilateral mastectomy to remove both breasts, compared to 86 percent of those who were mutation carriers. Mutation carriers were also more likely to have their ovaries removed.
Of the 117 women who were not tested for BRCA mutations within a year of diagnosis, almost a third said they had not discussed possible genetic mutations or screening with their doctor or a genetic counselor and 37 percent were thinking about future testing.
"We know we can reduce morbidity and mortality if we have the knowledge," and there are few to no downsides of BRCA testing for younger women with breast cancer, said Dr. Jeffrey N. Weitzel of City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, California, who coauthored an editorial alongside the new results.
BRCA testing was first commercially available in 1996, and in just 20 years its use has spread widely, Weitzel told Reuters Health.
"The recommendations are to test every woman with breast cancer under 40 for sure," Partridge said, but a small minority of women in this study said they were never told about testing or were told it was not necessary for them. "That's clearly the fault of the system and the provider leading that charge," she added.
More work can still be done to reduce barriers to testing, which may be higher for women who are uninsured, Partridge said.
"It wasn't until two years ago that Medicaid even covered this testing, the public health system hadn't really caught up," Weitzel said.
The study didn't include details on the nature of the genetic counseling offered to the patients, an important aspect of how they absorb and use the results of screening, he said.
"The more women who are tested, the critical thing is having the resources to support them with counseling," Partridge said.  source:foxnews

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Woman diagnosed with breast cancer at 25 urges others to get checked

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  Liz Cooper was just 25 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (GoFundMe.)

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When Liz Cooper was 25, she felt a lump in her right breast, but didn’t think much of it. She was young, had just lost 70 pounds and was being counseled by a nutritionist and trainer. Breast cancer also didn’t run rampant in her family -- her grandmother had been diagnosed with it, but not until well into her 80s.
“There were no real symptoms, there was just the lump under my armpit in the breast area,” Cooper, now 26, told FoxNews.com.
Cooper works in the billing department at Stamford Hospital near her home in Connecticut, and told a nurse about the lump.
“She asked if I was on my period because during menstruation it’s common to feel lumps or fluid in your breast,” she said. “Two weeks later it was still there, so I made an appointment with my doctor, got a prescription for an ultrasound, had it done and they knew right away at the ultrasound,” she said. A subsequent biopsy confirmed the lump was cancerous.
Cooper was diagnosed with stage 1B invasive micropapillary breast carcinoma and micrometastasis in the lymph nodes. She tested positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells; HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than others. Because her cancer tested positive for estrogen and progesterone, Cooper had her lymph nodes removed to avoid further spread.
“I can’t take birth control because it’ll feed it,” she said.
Cooper’s diagnosis shocked her doctors, and she underwent genetic testing to see if she might be susceptible to any other mutations. She tested negative for mutations to the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes, and aside from her grandmother does not have a family history of the cancer.
Ultimately, she decided to undergo a bilateral mastectomy— removing both the breast with cancer and the healthy breast — despite results testing negative for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutation. Had she chosen a lumpectomy, she would have had to endure biopsies and imaging every six months to monitor any development in her affected breast. In addition to the stress of the surgeries, Cooper also had to decide whether to freeze her eggs before beginning chemotherapy.
“I went through two cycles of egg freezing – oocyte cryopreservation— and my insurance only covered $5,000 of it,” Cooper said. “I also had to get over the fear of giving myself shots for it.”
During this time, Cooper had five surgical drains attached to body and was unable to drive while she recovered from the double mastectomy. Her parents, boyfriend and best friend managed her medications around the clock and drove her to and from appointments. When all was said and done, she was ready to start chemotherapy in August 2015.
“I was terrified of being sick and losing my hair,” she said. “When you don’t have hair, [people] know that you’re sick.”
Cooper decided to donate 14 inches of her hair to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths partnership with the American Cancer Society before she lost it to chemotherapy. Her treatment required a cocktail of four different drugs and six cycles of chemotherapy every 21 days. Once she completed it, Cooper began a targeted therapy that will last through August. At that time, she’ll be placed on a hormone blocker for five years, and continue to go for follow-up scans for the rest of her life.
“The feelings from chemotherapy were like having the flu, pneumonia and severe exhaustion all together,” she said. “It feels like you drink carbonated metallic gasoline – it does not make you feel very well.” 
The drugs also affected her memory, and Cooper said she sometimes feels like she’s in a constant fog. She doesn’t have much time or energy to socialize, as she is in physical therapy three to four times per week to treat painful lymphedema, which is a result of the surgery to remove her lymph nodes.
“I feel like I live at the doctor’s office so my schedule is very hectic with appointments, and it’s just not your average 25-year-old’s schedule,” she said, adding that it's difficult to know she could be attending graduate school or traveling at this time.
“Instead I had to be careful going out in public because if my white blood count was low I could risk getting an infection,” she said. “I couldn’t relate to people’s conversations anymore – I had totally different problems and issues and nobody truly understands how many treatments are involved with having cancer.”
To stay inspired on her darkest days, Cooper turned to the wisdom of two co-workers who are breast cancer survivors, as well as her friends and family urging her to be strong. Her friends started a GoFundMe for her medical care, with the response helping to boost her morale even more. In addition, she found an online support group exclusively accessible to breast cancer patients. On April 2, her alma mater, Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, is holding a lacrosse game benefitting breast cancer research in her honor.

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The experience has taught he the importance of paying attention to your health, even when you’re young.
“It’s really important to go to your yearly gynecological visits and physicals with your primary care physician,” Cooper said. “If you’re ever worried or concerned about something that you think is unusual with your body – always go get it checked out just to be sure.”

Incidence and Mortality of Breast Cancer in the United States | HealthGrove

Cooper will be back in surgery in two weeks to undergo another step in her breast reconstruction surgery, permanent implants. After the bilateral mastectomy, she had tissue expanders implanted behind the pectoral muscle. Over several procedures, her surgeon injected saline into the expanders to make room for permanent implants. The final step will be nipple reconstruction.  source:foxnews

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Doctors take note as NY demands paperless prescriptions

Dr. Michael T. Goldstein, New York County Medical Society President, use a standard prescription pad which is being made obsolete by a new electronic prescription law, Thursday, March 17, 2016, in New York. E-prescribing has surged nationwide in recent years. Every state now allows it, but only New York has a broad requirement that carries penalties. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

NEW YORK –  The scribbled, cryptic doctor's prescription is headed toward eradication in New York, where the nation's toughest paperless-prescribing requirement takes effect this month.
Instead of handing patients slips of paper, physicians soon must electronically send orders directly to pharmacies for everything from antibiotics to cholesterol pills to painkillers, with some exceptions. Otherwise, prescribers face the possibility of fines, license loss or even jail.
The requirement is meant to fight painkiller abuse, reduce errors and expand a practice that doctors and patients often find convenient. But physicians say digital scripts can present roadblocks for some patients and doctors shouldn't have to fear punishment over a prescription format.
"When it works, it's seamless," says New York County Medical Society President Dr. Michael T. Goldstein, an ophthalmologist who issues many prescriptions electronically himself. "But there are circumstances where it doesn't work, and patients suffer."
E-prescribing has surged nationwide in recent years amid a push to digitize medical records. About 60 percent of scripts are now sent electronically, said Paul Uhrig, chief administrative officer of Surescripts, the leading network for transmitting e-prescriptions.
Every state now allows e-prescribing, but only New York has a broad requirement that carries penalties. Minnesota requires the use of electronic prescribing but doesn't specify how much or set penalties.
Digital prescribing thwarts prescription-slip forgery and theft and saves time for patients who otherwise have to drop off scripts. The secured systems also let doctors look up a patient's other medications and insurance particulars before ordering a drug.
The convenience appeals to patients like Christine Smith, a 44-year-old mother of two from Plainview, on New York's Long Island.
"I like them sending it, so I don't have to carry it. It's one less responsibility for me to worry about," she said.
Studies have found that electronic prescribing reduces medication errors, partly because pharmacists don't have to decipher prescribers' handwriting. Messy writing causes some of the medication errors that kill at least one person per day and injure 1.3 million nationwide each year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"It is a good thing to make electronic prescribing ever more available," but not to require it all the time, says American Medical Association President Dr. Steven Stack.
Patients, for instance, could accidentally have prescriptions sent to the wrong pharmacy or to one that has closed or out of stock by the time they arrive. Instead of taking a piece of paper to another pharmacy, patients have to get the doctor to re-issue the prescription or the pharmacy to transfer it.
It's also harder for patients to shop around for medication deals when a script is in a pharmacy's system instead of in hand, says Dr. Joseph R. Maldonado, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Carmel Danna is one of those shoppers, having found her out-of-pocket costs can vary widely between pharmacies.
Besides, "I prefer to have (a script) written because I can check it and make sure they did it right," says Danna, 85, a retired secretary from Plainview.
To be sure, despite e-prescribing's potential to improve accuracy, it's not foolproof.
Some studies have suggested digital prescribing carries risks of its own, such as mistyping or choosing the wrong item from a drop-down menu. Minnesota health professionals reviewing their state's e-prescribing progress noted some problems in changing and canceling prescriptions electronically, including a case in which a patient doubled up on cholesterol drugs and died of the complications, according to a presentation at the state's e-Health Summit last year.
Officials and vendors say that they continue working to improve the systems. Meanwhile, about 8 percent of New York's 124,000 doctors, dentists, nurse-practitioners and other prescribers have gotten extensions on the March 27 deadline.
Paper or phone prescriptions are allowed during emergencies, and health officials this week added new exceptions, such as nursing home staffers phoning in prescriptions after-hours. The state Senate passed a proposal to exempt doctors who write very few prescriptions.
While the technology may be new, some users say the way to resolve any uncertainties isn't.
"We do just what we normally would have done: You pick up the phone," said Maria Marzella Mantione, a community pharmacist who teaches at St. John's University and is on New York state's Board of Pharmacy. "And you do your best to help the patient."  source:foxnews

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Nut, seed and flower oils: Which cooking oil to use when

From deep-fried foods to healthy salads, cooking oils play a part in the flavor profile and healthiness of many meals. With such a huge range of nut, seed, and flower oils on the market to choose from, all boasting their own array of nutritional and superfood benefits, it can be hard to know where to start.
Consider the smoke point when selecting an oil to cook with. The temperature at which a type of oil begins to smoke and burn will play a huge factor in the dishes you should use it in. Will you be cooking your food hot and fast? If that’s the case you might want to avoid the delicious and flavorful extra virgin olive oil, which begins to smoke at 320 degrees F, and instead opt for an oil with a higher smoke point, like avocado oil, which smokes at a searing 520 degrees F.
Then there’s your waistline and general health to consider. It’s no secret all oils contain fats, but consulting our list will teach the levels of mono-saturated, mono-unsaturated, and poly-unsaturated fats in 15 popular nut, seed, and flower oils, allowing you to choose the oil that’s right for you.  source:foxnews

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Gene GT198 helpful in detecting breast cancer early

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Washington D.C: A new study has revealed that gene GT198 can cause breast cancer on mutation. This gene that is known for its ability to repair DNA has a strong potential and can diagnose breast cancer early.
The studies performed at Augusta University were done on an international sampling from 254 cases of breast cancer in pre- and postmenopausal women, said corresponding author Dr. Lan Ko.
Mutations of the gene are known to be present in both early onset breast and ovarian cancer. Now, scientists have shown that the stem, or progenitor cells, which should ultimately make healthy breast tissue, can also have GT198 mutations that prompt them to instead make a perfect bed for breast cancer.
Ko noted that this gene mutation can be in both the blood and the tumor tissue of patients, and in the tissue, it's in high percentages, adding "We believe that once this gene is mutated, it induces the tumor to grow."
GT198, which is also a coactivator of receptors for steroid hormones such as estrogen, is normally regulated by estrogen, Ko said. But once mutated, GT198 can enable tumor production without estrogen. "Regardless of how much hormone you have, it's out-of-control growth," Ko said of the resulting classic, rapid growth of cancer.
"It's a new target in cancer. It's very exciting," said co-author Dr. Nita Maihle, adding "This tells you that all the different types of stromal cells in breast tissue are affected by the GT198 mutation because they all come from a common progenitor cell."
The net effect is a tumorigenic environment filled with what Ko calls inappropriate offspring. "Here is a cause-consequence relationship," she said.  source:zeenews

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Biking or Walking to Work Helps Keep You Fit

 Walking, cycling or taking public transit to work helps middle-aged adults lose body fat and weight, new research suggests.
"Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of ill health and premature mortality," said study author Ellen Flint. She's a lecturer in population health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in England.
"In England, two-thirds of adults do not meet recommended levels of physical activity. Encouraging public transport and active commuting, especially for those in mid-life when obesity becomes an increasing problem, could be an important part of the global policy response to population-level obesity prevention," Flint concluded.
The study, published March 16 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, included information from more than 150,000 people between the ages of 40 and 69 in the United Kingdom. Two-thirds of them drove to work each day, researchers said.
The study found that bicycle commuting offered the greatest benefits compared to using a car.
For example, a 53-year-old man who cycled to work weighed 11 pounds less, the study showed. Cycling to work also resulted in a 1.7 drop in body mass index (BMI -- an estimate of body fat based on weight and height) compared to someone who drove to work.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that a BMI score under 25 is considered normal weight. Twenty-five and above is overweight. Thirty and over is obese.
A 52-year-old woman who cycled to work weighed nearly 10 pounds less than a woman who drove to work. The woman cyclist would also have a 1.65 lower BMI score than a driver, the study showed.
Men and women who walked to work instead of driving dropped their BMI by as much as 0.98, the study found. The farther people cycled or walked to work, the greater their reductions in BMI, the study revealed.
Even taking public transportation made a difference, the study authors found. Men who used public transit had a 0.7 lower BMI than those who drove, as did those who combined public transit with walking or cycling to get to work (lower BMI of 1 for men and 0.7 lower BMI for women).
The connection between style of commuting and BMI was independent of other factors such as income, education, urban or rural home, drinking and smoking, and overall physical activity, health and disability.
"Many people live too far from their workplace for walking or cycling to be feasible, but even the incidental physical activity involved in public transport can have an important effect," Flint said in a journal news release.
Lars Bo Andersen, from Sogndal and Fjordane University College in Norway, wrote an editorial accompanying the study. In it, he said the findings are important, "because commuting to work is an everyday activity that lots of working people need to do.
"Many people are not attracted to recreational sports or other leisure-time physical activities, which are proven to benefit health, and active transport might therefore be an important and easy choice to increase physical activity and the proportion of people achieving recommended levels of physical activity," Andersen noted.
source: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology

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