|
Published: July 09, 2008 08:30 pm
HEALTH MATTERS: Time to Fight Back
By Jan Chait
Special to the Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Need something to do Sunday night? Go to Regional Hospital’s parking lot about 8 p.m. and check out the Fight Back Express bus. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the goal of the nationwide tour has a mission of making cancer a top national priority.
The message? “If one person can battle cancer, a nation can rise up and defeat it.”
“The main idea is that Fight Back Express is a mobile, political action site that represents the voice of mainstream Americans and their concerns about the fight against cancer,” says Dawn Clinkenbeard of the American Cancer Society’s Wabash Valley Area. “the bus is taking those stories and concerns straight to Washington, D.C., on election day.”
In fact, says ACS CAN, it’s the “largest grassroots mobilization campaign ever waged on the issue of cancer.”
While there, you can do some serious things such as sign a petition calling for access to quality health care for everybody and complete an electronic Picture A Cure form that includes your photo and cancer story to be sent to elected officials. And don’t forget to sign the bus.
There’ll also be a demonstration of Zumba, a children’s book sale, jousting, duck pond and lots more, Clinkenbeard says. “There will also be the opportunity to purchase and display luminaria bags honoring or in memory of loved ones who have faced cancer, she adds. Oh, and refreshments will be served in Regional’s Cancer Treatment Center.
If you want more information, you can call the American Cancer Society’s office in Terre Haute at (812) 232-2679. If you’re going to the Vigo County Fair, stop by the ACS booth where you can not only get information about the bus, you can also purchase luminaria for the bus stop.
The Web site at www.acscan.org/bus is devoted to the bus and its tour and includes photos of the stops and tracks the bus and its 25,000-mile journey through the 48 contiguous states.
• • •
Barcode medication administration systems, such as those used at some area hospitals including Regional and Union, can help reduce errors, but they’re not foolproof.
While they’re supposed to match up the right drug and dose with the right person, it doesn’t always happen that way. Researchers writing in the July/August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association say they identified 15 types of techniques to work around barcode problems and 31 causes of system flaws.
Thank goodness mistakes don’t happen very often, but once can be too many times. You can reduce your chances by simply paying attention.
Know what drugs you’re supposed to have, what they look like, and what time you take them.
Do the pills and capsules in that little paper cup look like you remember? Don’t be afraid to question what’s being given to you. On a personal note, I once avoided being given a drug I am allergic to by simply asking what was in the IV bag and reminding the nurse of my allergy. (It was not in an area hospital.)
Is it time for your medicine and it isn’t there yet? Use that call button.
Do you usually get one pink pill and two blue ones and they brought you two pinks and one blue? Don’t automatically drink them down. Again, ask if you have the correct dosages of the correct drugs.
You’re beginning to get the idea! Good! But what if you’re so incapacitated that you can’t advocate for yourself? It might be a good idea to let a family member or friend know what you’re supposed to be taking so that person can advocate for you.
Remember: We’re all human, and humans make mistakes. But we can do all we can to reduce the number made-especially when our health, or even our lives, depend on it.
• • •
Want to eat healthier, but don’t have time to do a lot of research? Check out checkmark.heart.org for a grocery list of heart-healthy foods.
Actually, it’s more than just a list. It’s a list that allows you to select items to be added to a grocery list you can save, retrieve, send to your Web-enabled phone or your PDA, print out and take to the grocery store with you.
You can search by brand or by food and the list is divided into categories, such as frozen foods, soups, fruits and vegetables, etc. If you’re shopping for items that aren’t on the list, don’t worry: There’s a place to add them to your grocery list.
They’re all certified heart-healthy foods, but don’t forget to read the nutrition labels anyway. Otherwise, you won’t know if it’s a food that’s good for your needs.
Check it out
What: ACS CAN Fight Back Express Bus Stop — Local community members will have the opportunity to sign the bus, share cancer stories with legislators and honor or memorialize loved ones with a luminaria ceremony.
Who: Cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and their families.
Where: Terre Haute Regional Hospital parking Lot
When: 8 p.m. Sunday
• More about the Fight Back Express is available at www.acscan.org.
• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
|
|
|
Photos
|
|
|
Print this story
E-mail this story
Discuss this story
