What about cost? We all hear that it’s expensive to eat well. But, if you feed your body the fuel it needs and spend a little more along the way to stay lean and healthy, isn’t this cheaper than eating cheap processed food that ruins your health and costs you money for doctors’ bills, missed work /school, less energy and less enjoyment of life? We can’t just look at the store receipt to measure the cost of how we eat. And, the good news is, there are ways to eat very simply and nutritiously without spending a lot of money.

Technique:
Raise one arm at a time over your head and a little back.
Using opposite hand, take first two fingers and begin with the perimeter which believe it or not is under the arm pit. This area is called the Tail of Spence and is the most common area for breast cancer’s in women.
Move in a circle doing the entire perimeter before moving closer and closer to the nipple.
After examining both breasts manually, do the rest of the exam in front of a mirror after dried off.
Lean forward and note any dimples or puckering of breasts.
Also, while leaning forward note that both breasts look and move the same way.
Squeeze one nipple at a time taking note of any discharge.
Note any discolorations that are not equal on both breasts.

When to call the doctor:
Call if you note any CHANGE in the lumps in your breast or breasts after examining and getting to know yourself.
Basically, if you are naturally nodular (lumpy) than there is less concern at first if you are on an exam. You will get to know where they are each month.
Also, if the lump hurts when you push on it then it is less likely to be cancer as cancer only hurts in the Final stages and by then you would have the unintentional loss of weight, nausea, vomiting etc.
ANY discharge warrants a call to the doctor.
If your mother, sisters, aunts, or grandmother’s have had breast cancer than this is a reason to call the doctor as you need earlier mammograms and perhaps more often.
Call the doctor if one breast looks different than the other (size is a natural deviance) such as color, dimpling, or movement is different from one breast to the other or a lump that feels DIFFERENT to you than a previous exam.

The particular rays of the sun that we are mainly concerned with are UVA and UVB. These rays contain ultraviolet rays. When choosing a sunscreen, the brand is not the issue but the SPF is.

Whether you choose 15 or 85%, you need to be certain that you choose a sunscreen that has protection against UVA/UVB.

Also, after reading studies on sunscreen, even the ones that list 85% protection really do not protect any better than a 15% sunscreen does.

Some sunscreens boast waterproof or water resistance. Be careful! If you swim in a chlorinated pool or in a salt filled ocean, don’t you think that any sunscreen will be less effective? Sure. The sunscreen bottles usually will explain that you need to reapply after profuse sweating or swimming. Read the bottle and follow the directions exactly. Wearing hats (no not straw hats, they have holes remember), and sunglasses can protect you from overexposure to sun that may affect the skin on your head and rays that may affect your eyesight.

Whether you are Caucasian or African American, you can still receive too much sun and potentially burn. All people regardless of race need to use some protection against overexposure to sun.

There are typically three kinds of skin cancers associated with sun exposure. Basal cell, Squamous cell and Melanoma. You should check over your entire body and be familiar with moles, skin tags, warts etc. so you can detect any changes in shapes, colors, or raised areas on your skin. Watch particularly any uneven skin markings or changes in colors and report to your doctor immediately. When caught early (basal cell or surface cancer), skin cancer can be removed and no further issues may develop as a result. Squamous cell is a little deeper than basal and may need stricter watching from a dermatologist. Melanoma which may appear very dark or black can be a killer and warrants removal and potentially chemotherapy/radiation.

Golfers, watch any skin changes on your ears as this is the most common place for skin cancers for you. Truck drivers, keep an eye on your left arm when you hang it out the window when traveling. Any one who works out in the weather, have some one examine the back of your neck for any changes. Women, check the backs of your legs as this seems to be an area we forget about.

Finally, treat your skin as you treat your babies’ skin. Protect with long light weight clothing during any lengthy sun exposure and do not forget, wear your sunscreen ALL YEAR ROUND!

In addition to younger looking skin, you will be healthier.

Older people tend to take more medications than the younger population and some of which may contribute to dehydration such as ‘fluid pills’ that make them urinate more often. This can contribute to dehydration especially during the summer months.

Symptoms of dehydration can include fevers, changes in heart rate and/or blood pressure, confusion, irritability, eyes that appear sunken in, and/or nausea as well as other individual symptoms.

Additionally, we can determine if a person is dehydrated if when pulling up on the skin of the hands it does not immediately return to its place. Also another tell tale sign is if the person is not excreting as much urine as usual.

If any of the above symptoms are affecting any person, you should call a physician for instructions.

Please remember to take in extra fluids during the summer. Typically eight 8oz. glasses of fluid are enough but more should be consumed during this season and especially in the elderly or if a person is outside for prolonged periods of time. Included in fluid is coffee. Fluid does not have to mean all water. Pudding, yogurt, ice cream, and popsicles are other ‘fluids’ that count.

If a person has CHF (congestive heart failure) and/or is on ‘fluid pills’, please seek the advice from their physician prior to offering many extra fluids to avoid excess liquid in the lungs and/or heart.

Symptoms of excess fluid in the lungs/heart may appear as swelling in the extremities and in particular the legs. Elevating the legs may assist with decreasing the fluid noted in them. Be certain that the person is breathing without any difficulties. If breathing increases or sounds ‘noisy or congested’, call 911.

Again, if any changes in condition or symptoms, alert the physician.

It began ok, the invitation over mid week. Nagging by Saturday morning when no one was certain of what they were doing after church. Us caving in and promising to be there on Sunday at one o’clock as usual.

Then it happened. We rang the bell and a straggly woman in a house dress answered. Why, this could not be my mother who put make up on to get the mail at the end of the driveway every day. She began yelling at my husband and my sister stating that we disturbed her nap.

She would not let us in and shooed us away. Then she turned around and attempted to walk away when she fell! My mother does not fall and there was no aroma of food from the kitchen.

I pushed open the door and ran in to help this imposter. My husband called 911 and we had her brought to the emergency room. After several long hours and a negative x-ray for broken bones, we all were sent home with this yelling, cursing stranger who not long ago was teaching bible studies and reading psalms to our children.

Over the next exhausting few days and taking turns in shifts, our entire family watched as she went from bad to worse. She stopped eating and hollering at one point and began napping and attempting to get up without one of us to help her even though we begged her not to do this.

We looked into psychiatrists in the area and then after praying to God about it, decided she needed professional nursing care as we all had responsibilities that prevented us from staying with her to watch her.

We had a family meeting and decided to put mom into a nursing home. Within twenty-four hours she was admitted and my sister and I cried all the way home in the car when mom told us how she hated us and that her daughters would come after us when they returned from their trip.

After two more falls that night that I was called about from the nurses caring for her, I received a call from the nursing supervisor at eight o’clock the following morning and was told that mom had a urinary tract infection.

Oh great, another problem I thought. Well, she also told me that elderly people and especially women were at risk for urinary infections as our urethra’s (where the urine comes out of) are short and sometimes women wipe themselves back to front causing stool to get into the opening of the urethra and begin an infection.

“Ok so she just needs antibiotics right”? I was over tired from the calls in the middle of the night regarding the falls and I was short with her. I silently prayed for forgiveness. She continued in her calming voice to explain to me that the infection could be responsible for not only the falls (trying to get to the bathroom often due to urgency from the infection or even imbalance from the infection process) but also her change in mental status which I was able to figure out meant mom may not be crazy after all. She continued to tell me that urinary infections are the number one reason an elderly woman may have behavior changes, abdominal pain, urinary pain/stinging, having to go to the bathroom but only urinating small amounts, tiredness, low back pain if the infection goes to the kidney, loss of appetite possibly from nausea or just the infection process itself, and potentially several hospitalizations as repeated infections have the ability to diminish the typical urinary infection symptoms mentioned and the infection becomes septic (in the blood stream).

I felt some relief as mom had all those symptoms but I was still skeptical. That day mom was started on an antibiotic and the staff continuously made her drink water.

Two days later my sister and I went to visit and mom greeted us at the front entrance of the nursing home with her bags packed. Her hair was set. Her makeup was applied. Her dress was spotless and her stockings were newly washed. My sister and I looked at each other in disbelief. The nurse ran into the lobby with a desperate look on her face. Relief shot through her as she saw my sister and me.

After mother convincing us in her stern tone that she was fine, wanted to go home immediately, and how it was so embarrassing to be in an old age home, we signed her out and brought her home.

It has been almost a year and mom has had a couple more urinary infections that get treated immediately when she starts ranting incoherently. Other than that life is back to normal and we are all enjoying our Sunday dinners.

Mom is not crazy…… Just older.
God is good!

Fear Itself

by Christa Hogan

You don’t have to hop on a roller coaster if you want to experience fear these days. All you have to do is turn on the TV or radio. We’re afraid of terrorists. We’re afraid of losing our 401Ks. We’re afraid of layoffs. We’re afraid of health issues. What’s the result of all of this fear? Ironically, war, greed and high blood pressure. Like a drug dealer, the world creates a system of fear and then offers a remedy—security systems, new savings plans, gym memberships and prescription medications.

Only the fear of the Lord can break our addiction to the version of fear the world offers. When we fear the Lord we make decisions differently. We spend our time and resources differently. We have the antidote.

Comfort Food

by Maria Simone

I remember vividly my grandmother bringing me a bag of chips and dip every time she would baby sit for us. I was about 8 or 9, and my parents owned an ice cream store that kept them very busy, so my grandmother would watch us kids while they were at work. I would eat all or most of the bag of chips and dip, and remembered that it helped me feel calm and relaxed. It was at this point that I began to use food to comfort myself.

I give God ALL the glory for the 30 pounds that I’ve lost and kept off for the last two months. And He is teaching me daily a very important lesson when I feel negative emotions coming to stop, let myself feel them, and ask the Lord what is behind them. He alone is my Healer, not only physically, but emotionally as well. I am clinging to Jesus in this process and trusting Him to lead me to victory.

Don’t Spit in God’s Face

by Maria Simone

I was purchasing some new clothes at the mall today, and was talking with the sales clerk about healthy eating and exercise. She proceeded to tell me how she walks on a regular basis and listens to her body’s cues for eating. She said she realizes that God has blessed her with her body, and she “doesn’t want to spit in God’s face” by failing to take care of it. Her statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never thought about my poor choices as “spitting in God’s face”, but when I squander a blessing He has given me, or fail to accept one of His gifts, that is essentially what I am doing.

Do I have a long way to go in this area? Absolutely. But as we surrender to the Lord in each area of our lives, He is faithful to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus. So together, my friends, let’s ask the Lord to open our hearts to receive every blessing He has for us, to be thankful in all circumstances, and to be good stewards of all that He has entrusted to us, for the glory of His name!

Weigh-in

by Susan Lucas

Recently,as of July 19, a New York city law requires chain restaurants to list calories on their menus or risk fines. The restaurant industry is busy filing lawsuits to stop this action. What do you think?