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Everyone seems to know someone with Parkinson’s disease, whether it be a family member, friend, neighbor, or a colleague. Cases of Parkinson’s disease have more than doubled over the last 25 years and show no signs of abating. It affects an estimated 1 million people living in the United States and is the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Parkinson’s disease is a type of movement disorder that can affect the ability to perform common, daily activities. It is a...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in September. This month’s meetings will include discussion focused on strategies for long distance caregiving. Please join to share your experiences as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver. Sept. 3, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 10, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 17, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Sept. 24, Open house at Kenai Peninsul...
‘Ins and Outs of Medicare’ presentation Feeling confused about your Medicare options and worried about what you’ll do when open enrollment starts up on October 15? Join us for our free monthly educational presentation by Nila Morgan, Medicare Counselor, to learn the ins and outs of your Medicare options. The presentation will be September 25 from 3 to 4 p.m. here at Hospice of Anchorage, 2612 E. Northern Lights Blvd. Call us at 561-5322 to RSVP and save your spot. Volunteer with Hospice of Anchorage Hospice of Anchorage is in search of some...
Enlarging your circle of friends Being more socially active in your 50s and 60s appears to predict a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a new British study. Researchers used data from the Whitehall II study, tracking 10,228 participants who had been asked on six occasions between 1985 and 2013 about their frequency of social contact with friends and relatives. The same participants also completed cognitive testing, which started in 1997, and researchers referred to...
Gadolinium is a silvery-white heavy metal that is injected into the body through a vein and it is a contrast dye. Sometimes it is referred to as contrast media. They help a radiologist see inside you. Gadolinium is like a flashlight in your body. MRIs that require gadolinium can be ordered for many reasons including migraines, coronary artery disease, stroke evaluation, brain tumors, infections and cysts/tumors. Thousands of shots of gadolinium dye are administered to people each day. Side effects may or may not occur. If they do, they are...
Genetic testing has certainly become a phenomenon in the last few years. This amazing new type of medical test, also known as DNA testing, has diverse applications. It can determine bloodlines of familial relationships, can rule out or confirm certain genetic conditions, or determine the likelihood of passing on genetic disorders. There are some conditions or diseases caused by mutated genes that genetic testing can confirm, such as Down Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, or Huntington’s Disease. DNA t...
The Alaska Training Cooperative presents “Basic Concepts of Care Coordination,” a training designed for new care coordinators not yet certified. This training is required prior to taking Care Coordination Core Units offered by Senior and Disability Services. “Basic Concepts of Care Coordination” is a fast, five-hour course designed to be interactive and provide attendees the opportunity to participate in discussions. Topics include Ethics, How to Serve Someone with a Disability, Skills of Interaction, Advocacy and Person Centered Plannin...
Recently I interviewed Dr. Ahmad Sajadi, at University of California, Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, a nationally recognized Alzheimer’s research center. Running out of time, here’s the question he never answered: Why be diagnosed with dementia early if there’s no cure? At 88, my friend Marilyn’s doctor suggested a cognitive assessment diagnosing the possible onset of dementia. Marilyn told him, “I don’t do that test.” As my aging father’s caregiver, I learned to agree with Marilyn. In 2001, I took my dad t...
Smart glasses may help replace need for progressive lenses Just as motion-detection technology is changing how cars are designed, the same is occurring with eyeglasses. Using eye-tracking technology, engineers now have created a prototype for ‘autofocals’ designed to restore proper vision in people who ordinarily would need progressive lenses. Presbyopia plagues many adults starting about age 45, as the lenses in our eyes lose the elasticity needed to focus on nearby objects. For some peo...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in August. This month’s meetings will include discussion on anticipatory grief and ambiguous loss issues in caregiving. Please join to share your experiences as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver. Aug. 6, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 13, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 20, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 27, Open house at Kenai P...
Dear Savvy Senior: Can men get osteoporosis or is it primarily a problem for women? When I fell and broke my wrist last winter the doctor that treated me told me I might have osteoporosis, but I never got it checked. What can you tell me? — Bony Bill Dear Bill: Many people think osteoporosis is a woman’s disease, but men can get it too, especially in their later years. Here’s what you should know. Osteoporosis in men Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the bones to become weak and brittle and more susceptible to fractures. Though women are f...
Perhaps your 65th birthday is approaching, signaling that you are approaching your Initial Enrollment Period to sign up for Medicare. Meanwhile, you may be getting postcards and other mail informing you that you need to sign up for Supplemental Medicare or Medigap. You may also be getting phone calls with the same message – that you should purchase a plan right away! What is that all about? There are some people who may not want or need a Medigap plan. For instance, if you will have Medicare a...
For years, folks have been afraid of eggs, and how they are “bad” for cholesterol and LDL. Long gone are the days where people drank them raw like Sylvester Stallone did in “Rocky” and, no, I don’t recommend you do that. Rocky did it to build muscle mass, but just so you know, the practice of eating raw eggs is about 120 years old. Today, some bodybuilders use liquid egg whites to avoid salmonella contamination. Today’s focus is on eggs and whether or not they raise risk of heart disease or stroke. The rationale is that eggs are high in cho...
Researchers in England are reporting that they have grown heart patches in the lab that are safe to move into trials in people with hearts damaged by a heart attack. These patches could one day cure debilitating heart failure, which is a major killer in the United States. At Imperial College London, scientists have developed a way to grow thumb-size patches of heart tissue (3cm x 2cm) that contain up to 50 million human stem cells. The stem cells are programmed to turn into working heart muscle...
Support meetings allow you to share your experiences as a caregiver, or support someone who is a caregiver. If you are helping a family member or friend by being a caregiver, learn what kind of help is available. There is no charge for these services and everyone is invited to attend. The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program is taking a break for July; its caregiver support meetings in Kenai, Soldotna and Sterling will return in August. Homer Family Caregiver meetings take place on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month...
Why has the cost of health care risen so dramatically in the United States during the last few decades? Could be mergers, buyout, and concentration of ownership in the industry world-wide – a new version of the old robber barons. Could be lax federal regulation of the cost of health care due to industry-influenced politics. Might include collusion and price-fixing among corporate players. Perhaps it involves the health care dynamics of an aging population. Maybe it is located in the very nature of capitalism itself – a consequence of the dri...
Macho American men are not getting enough zinc in their diet, and far too many procrastinate until their prostate is the size of a bowling ball before they visit their family physician for the dreaded one-digit “test.” Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting one in six men. One new case of prostate cancer occurs every 2.25 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 19 minutes. It is the second most common cause of cancer-related death among American men, and more than half of all men over 50 years of age...
June is the month seniors can start using Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons. Each recipient gets six coupons, worth $5 each, which can be used through Oct. 31. Coupons are issued to low-income seniors and can be exchanged for fresh Alaska-grown fruits, vegetables, fresh-cut herbs and honey at farmers’ markets and authorized farms and roadside stands. The program distributes the coupons to senior centers and other agencies, which pass them on to seniors age 60 or older who meet the program’s income guidelines. Call your local...
Balance billing is when a provider bills you for the difference between the amount he charges for a product or service and the insurance company’s negotiated amount. For example, if the provider’s charge is $100 and the allowed amount or the amount the insurance will cover is $70, the provider may bill you for the remaining $30. This amount can include deductibles, co-insurance and copayments. There are certain Medicare beneficiaries who providers are not allowed to balance bill. This is als...
My Grandma Tillie, born in 1893, was on to something. Her son, my dad, made fun of his mom. He laughed at her admonitions to eat fiber-filled whole grains, saying, "Tillie was always telling us to eat brown bread for our bowels." My dad was a scientist, but in the science of fiber consumption, Grandma was the authority. Harvard.com's Nancy Ferrari agrees with Grandma Tillie. She quotes Dr. Harvard Med School's Frank Hu, who says fiber diets help to prevent type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular...
If you’ve missed attending a local community or worksite health fair or are seeking an additional blood test, we want you to be aware that our staff provides high quality office draws (on an appointment basis) on select Tuesdays each month. These are not walk-in services. To schedule an appointment, please call our local offices – Anchorage at (907) 278-0234 or Fairbanks at (907) 374-6853. The summer season schedule varies for both offices. All test availability, pricing and payment methods remain the same as at a health fair except we cha...
Have you heard of adult day services and if you have, what does it bring to mind? Hopefully not a group of seniors sitting in recliners, napping. Adult day services (sometimes also referred to as “day care”) provide quality care and companionship for older adults who need assistance or supervision during the day. Often it is used by family caregivers as respite services, providing a place they can bring their loved one and not have to worry. Forget-Me-Not Adult Day Center is located in Kenai and is operated by Frontier Community Services. Forge...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in June. This month’s topic is “When is it time for a long term care facility?” Understandably, many family members want to care for their loved one at home for as long as possible. However, what does “for as long as possible” really mean? What factors indicate the time may be right to consider placing someone into an assisted living or nursing home? Please join to share your experiences as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver...
A new study is suggesting that more than half of Americans report problems with affordability, stress or delaying care because of medical costs. The study, which was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, estimates more than 100 million people in the U.S. experience medical financial hardship. High out-of-pocket spending for medical care is an increasingly critical issue. It can lead to a depletion of assets and medical debt, as well as distress and worry about household...
A lot is asked of our men and women in the military, whether active duty or those who have achieved veteran status. Per their service, they are required to constantly relocate, every three to four years depending on military branch. They must deploy to faraway places for training and service abroad, spending weeks and months without those closest to them. Every day, they are asked to perform mentally and physically, with strength and stamina. They are, in principle, dissuaded from showing weakness. They are soldiers. They are warriors. They...
