January 09, 2012- In This Issue Home | Teaming Up Against Cancer | Tackling Teen Health Choices | Not Too Late to Get Flu Shot | Polarized filter for cancer | Shifting from Sickness | Fortifying Your Day | Suicide and Mental Health | PHBRIEFS | PHRECIPE | PHEVENTS | PHNEWS Teaming Up Against Cervical Cancer Close to 100 percent of women diagnosed at the pre-cancer stage of cervical cancer survive-a remarkable number that should encourage all women to be routinely screened for this preventable disease. Unfortunately, an estimated 134 women in Georgia will still die this year from cervical cancer. This January, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and the American Cancer Society are teaming up in support of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. According to the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry in 2011, cervical cancer became the 12th most common cancer diagnosed in Georgia women. It is estimated that 410 women were newly diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2011. All women are at risk for cervical cancer. In Georgia, cervical cancer risk increases greatly around age 30 and peaks in the 40-49 age group. After age 50, the risk appears to decrease, although not as sharply for African-American women who maintain a higher incidence than white women later in life. Moreover, women living in rural Georgia are at a greater risk of developing cervical cancer than women living in urban areas. North Central Health District Tackles Teen Health Choices through the Performing Arts "The performance was phenomenal," said Valerie Hicks, Youth Development Coordinator for the North Central Health District. Three hundred spectators filled the Douglass Theatre in Macon as students presented Teens: What to Know and What to Do, under the directorship of the Georgia College and State University (GCSU) Theatre Department, GCSU Nursing Department, and the Teen Scene Youth Center in North Central Georgia. The focus of the short performances dealt with sex, bullying, body image and teen pregnancy. The 25 participating Macon teens joined students of Karen Berman's Improvisation for Social Change class at GCSU, which collaborated with Sallie Coke's Pediatric Nursing course to develop scenarios dealing with social issues and used the performing arts to teach young teens about the social pressures of teen pregnancy and drugs. The teens were asked to make decisions to problem-solve and determine how the plays should end and how to avoid similar problems in real life. Hicks, Berman and Coke are hoping teens will remember these life lessons should they ever face similar situations. "The Douglas Theater was packed with parents, community members and supporters," said Coke. "Georgia College can be very proud of their students. The teens, nursing students and theater students did an amazing job and really worked well together. The community and teens were given a chance at the end of the plays to ask health-related questions that were answered by the nursing students, Ms. Hicks and myself." Teen Scene Youth Center performs a dramatic scenario at the historic Douglass Theatre in Macon It's Not Too Late to Get Flu Shot Last week, 57 percent of respondents to a PHWEEK poll reported receiving their flu shot. This flu season, the Department of Public Health (DPH) is encouraging Georgians to once again get their flu shot on time. Many of our local public health departments are offering special events and hours to accommodate community members. Each year, flu season presents an opportunity for all public and private providers to remind Georgians of the importance of getting a flu shot. For the second year in a row, the pharmacy Walgreens is offering $10 million nationwide in free flu shots to people who can't afford them or whose health insurance won't cover the shot. Vouchers for 300,000 free shots will be distributed through local public health departments. The vouchers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Polarized filter may help find cervical cancer Licensed Practical Nurse Melanie Boestfleisch, right, administers a flu shot Thursday to Veronica Vargas of Gainesville at the Health Department. Photo by Sara Guevara/gainesvilletimes.com The same filtered light that enables sunglasses to reduce glare may improve a physician's ability to detect early signs of cervical cancer, reducing unnecessary biopsies and surgery. Polarized light is more focused than traditional radial light, which scatters in all directions, said Dr. Daron Ferris, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Center at Georgia Health Sciences University. When a woman gets an abnormal Pap smear, it's often followed by a colposcopic exam where radial light and magnification are used to view the cervix, then biopsies are performed on suspicious areas. Dr. Daron G. Ferris at Georgia Health Sciences University is leading a National Cancer Institute-funded study to determine whether a polarized filter can help reduce unnecessary cervical biopsies and surgeries. Shifting from Sickness and Disease to Wellness and Prevention Currently, chronic diseases account for at least 7 of every 10 deaths in the United States and for more than 75 percent of medical care expenditures. On Dec 6, 2011, Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, Division of Health Promotion (DHP) launched the Health Promotion Advisory Coalition (HPAC) initiative to begin the process of mitigating the impact of chronic diseases in Fulton County, which was attended by 80 members of the community. The DHP currently coordinates four coalition initiatives: Smoke Free Coalition (SFC), Diabetes Action Community Coalition (DCAC), Healthy Heart Coalition (HHC) and Safe Kids Coalition. HPAC was established to provide guidance, opportunities for the crosscoalition communication on prevention, health promotion and public health. Nazeera Dawood, Health Promotion Program Manager, HPAC brought together elected officials from all fourteen municipalities in Fulton guides a roundtable discussion for the goals and vision of County, representatives from Atlanta and Fulton County Public School systems, the HPAC. Metro Atlanta Chambers of Commerce, community-based organizations, academic institutions, hospitals, faith-based organizations, major metro Atlanta corporations, Insurance agencies, Georgia Department of Public Health and CDC to provide a forum for the complex planning and coordination of prevention efforts across the county. Fortifying Your Day to Prevent Disease It's the New Year and many of you have resolved to eat better, increase your servings of vegetables and cut the sweets. Think that you are now getting all the vitamins and minerals you need from your cleaned up diet? Think again. Certain vitamins are hard to get from food alone. Just because you eat a healthy diet does not mean you should skip a morning multivitamin. Many vitamins, including folic acid, are provided in daily multivitamins and are important for your health. January 8 - 14 is Folic Acid Awareness Week, and the Department of Public Health (DPH) is encouraging all Georgians to make sure their diet is rich in folic acid and supplement it with a daily multivitamin in order to stay in good health. Even diets rich in folic acid should be Many people know that folic acid is important for pregnant women or those who may supplemented with a daily multivitamin to ensure become pregnant as a protector against birth defects. What many people may not you are getting the recommended 400mcg a day. know is that folic acid many also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and colon, cervical and breast disease. It is important for everyone to get enough folic acid. Suicide and Mental Health: Removing the Shame and Stigma Every 17 minutes another life is lost to suicide. An estimated 30,000 Americans will take their lives this year-that's 86 people a day-and another 150,000 will attempt suicide. Every year there are more suicides than homicides in Georgia, according to the CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System. In 2009, there were 1,107 suicides and 615 homicides in Georgia. The Georgia Suicide Prevention Action Strategy works to promote awareness that suicide is a public health problem that is preventable. DPH urges you to think about what you can do over the next 17 minutes to help change the life of someone who is contemplating suicide or to remove the stigma around mental health. The first way to help remove the stigma is to talk about suicide and mental health and to get those persons to treatment and help. PHRECIPE Minestrone soup Servings: 8 Click Here for Full Recipe Home | Teaming Up Against Cancer | Tackling Teen Health Choices | Not Too Late to Get Flu Shot | Polarized filter for cancer | Shifting from Sickness | Fortifying Your Day | Suicide and Mental Health | PHBRIEFS | PHRECIPE | PHEVENTS | PHNEWS