livingwell april 2012

LIV

ING

WELL

Kidney Sundays:Why more churches are promoting kidney health

Table TalkHealthy meal preparation isn’t all that hard

Fabulous at 50

The iDoctor will see you nowHow the iPad is changing the future of medicine

2 LivingWELL • April 2012

DISCOVER YOUR healthy intuition

2012 HEALTHY INTUITIONSA DAY FOR WOMEN AT HENRY FORD

WEST BLOOMFIELD HOSPITAL

APRIL 21, 20128 A.M.-3 P.M.

6777 W. Maple RoadWest Bloomfield, MI 48322 Sign up today; seats are limited. The cost is $10 for one ticket and $5 for each

additional guest ticket. Visit henryford.com/healthyintuitions to register, view the schedule and see a list of displays.

Join us for an event designed for women like you. Throughout the day, we will offer one-hour

expert presentations on topics such as prevention, life balance, sleep, joint health, diet, nutrition

and cosmetic options. These sessions will have practical tips you can use in your everyday life.

In between presentations, take a stroll down Main Street at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

There will be a farmers market, health services exhibits and shopping at The LiveWell Shoppe.

LivingWELL • April 2012 3

For some critics, technology contributes to the almost “lost art” of person-to-person social skills. More people text, Tweet, and video conference, as a way to stay con-nected to the world around them.

True, cell phones and tablets are increasingly available to the masses, but there’s more to these devices than playing the latest version of “Angry Birds,” or sharing your photo stream on Facebook. The doctors of Henry Ford Hospital see it as a useful tool for enhancing the bedside manner.

Now, three years after having conducted the first live-tweet surgery, Henry Ford doctors are using iPads in new and innovative ways, expanding the possibilities of the device and its usage. Soon, the biggest obstacle might just be the user’s imagination.

Dr. Craig Rogers, director of Renal Surgery and director of Urologic Oncology, Henry Ford, has readily embraced these seismic shifts in medicine. Rogers, a cancer surgeon who works in robotic surgery, has seen technology liter-ally transform his approach to surgery.

“I can do the surgery with greater precision,” Rogers said. “You get patients seeking the state-of-the-art, or the best

technologies for good outcomes, and now we’re utilizing newer technologies to improve communication with the patients.”

Over 20 patients were loaned an iPad to stay in contact with Rogers. Having taken a poll, the majority of patients commented that it “enhanced their stay.” Dubbed “teler-ounding,” this “person-to-person” contact between doctor and patient has actually made the post-surgery stage more informative for both the doctor and the patient. Since he obviously can’t clone himself, telerounding is the next best thing.

“I’m physically at multiple hospitals. Potentially these pa-tients wouldn’t even see me the day after surgery,” Rogers said. “What I used to have to do is rely on a call from my team, my care team, residents and fellows, and I’d have to call the nurses station and they would hand the phone to the patient.”

These days, he can actually be at multiple sites at once, and can see his patient’s facial expressions, which is usu-ally a good indicator as to whether the patient is happy, or in pain. “It’s just a better way to communicate on both sides. The patients are liking it,” he said.

Alan Wiechert of Clawson, Mich., used the iPad from his bed at Henry Ford Hospital to communicate the day after

Continued on Page 12

The iDoctor will see you now

By Rick Hunter

his surgery with Dr. Rogers at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

“It’s non-obtrusive and private, and I think it’s a benefit especially in today’s busy world when we have to be in multiple places,” Wiechert said. “In today’s world, we’re so busy and it’s a good feeling to communicate face-to-face instead of being on the phone.”

While he hasn’t conducted a study on recidivism (repeat visits to the doctor for the same condition), iPad usage could potentially discharge patients earlier from the hospi-tal, Rogers said. It does occasionally happen that a patient is discharged without fully understanding the post care in-structors, and that’s where tablet communication can help.

“If something goes wrong, or they get nauseous, there’s a potential that they’ll go to the emergency room,” Rogers said. “If you’re communicating better, then you may reduce readmission rates to the hospital.”

Though the iPad’s FaceTime application is the go-to app for communicating with patients, Android users shouldn’t feel left out. There’s always Skype, a video and phone con-ferencing app that people use to stay in touch around the world. This free app is available on Android phones and tablets, as well as on the iPad.

“Skype can be used on anything,” Rogers said. “As long as you’ve got wireless Internet, you can do it through Facetime or Skype.”

He takes it a step further: “It doesn’t really require tablet-to-tablet communication, you can just use your cellphone. What I’m trying to do is convince this administration to buy some iPads that would be parked at each nurses station.”

Rogers also suggested that just as televisions are provided

How the iPad is changing the future of medicine

Top left: Adam Wiechert communicates with Dr. Craig Rogers via the iPad. Above: Dr. Craig Rogers teleconferencing from his computer.


• Approximately 20 million Americans have kidney disease. The number of people diagnosed with kidney disease has doubled each decade for the last two decades. African Americans make up 12 percent of the population, but account for 30 percent of people with kidney failure.

• African American males ages 22 - 44 are 20 times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian males in the same age group.

• The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure, and account for 70 percent of kidney failure in Blacks.

• Early kidney disease has no symptoms, and can become kidney failure with little or no warning if left undetected. If detected early, kidney disease can be effectively treated.

UpliftWhy More Churches Are Promoting Kidney Heal h

By Marcus Williams

Kidney Sundays: For the more than 80,000 Americans currently on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant, the need for immediate action is real. For the Rev. Dr. Robert Mason, the need is urgent.

“It started in my late 50s when I learned that I had high blood pressure,” said the Rev. Dr. Mason, senior pastor at Greater Middle Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., of his health journey. “Years later, I was diagnosed with kidney disease after going to the hospital for congestive heart failure. I realized that my kidney health issues were a result of not managing my high blood pressure.”

High blood pressure and diabetes are the two leading risk factors for kidney disease, which can lead to kidney failure. Kidney failure affects African Americans at a much higher rate than other populations, and African Americans currently represent 35 per-cent of the 80,000 people on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Rev. Mason was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2000, and he has been on dialysis for five years. In recent months, he has faced health challenges with dialysis.

“In my case, I had certain indications that something was wrong, but found out later on that it was a matter of taking my health seriously and that I needed to take better care of myself,” Rev. Mason said. “The fact that I’m in need of a transplant has al-lowed me to become part of the solution in reaching others.”

The National Kidney Disease Education Program, a program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), encourages people who have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of kidney failure to get checked for kidney kidney disease. Rev. Mason knows just how important this is.

More than 20 million adults in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease, with more than 400,000 people currently depending on dialysis to treat kidney failure, according to the U.S. Renal Data System. Kidney failure disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities.

“To address these disparities, we believe that part of the solution is to ensure people get evaluated for transplantation as soon as they’ve been diagnosed with kidney fail-ure,” said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “It’s also important that more African Americans and Hispanics register as organ donors and talk with loved ones about doing the same.”

Rev. Mason takes the time to educate his congregation about organ donation, par-ticularly as it relates to kidney health. He uses his own story as an example. Through Kidney Sundays, NKDEP’s national faith-based outreach initiative, Rev. Mason is part-nering with the National Coalition of Pastors’ Spouses, the American Diabetes As-sociation, and Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority to educate his congregation about kidney disease and the importance of testing.

On March 25, more than 50 African-American faith organizations in 15 markets na-

Continued on Page 8

Blacks & Kidney Disease: The Outlook Today...


By Marcus Williams

New Study:

Cervical Cancer Lingers In Black Women

April 2012WELLLI

VIN

G EditorAndrew Losen

Design DirectorGail Green

ContributorsPatricia Ellis Rick HunterDenene MillnerMarcus Williams

Jackie BergPublisher313.963.6694 Direct Line313.962.4467 FAX

[email protected]

Jackie BergPublisher

Black women take notice: A new National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities study

shows that black women are more likely to die from cervical cancer than white women because it appears black women have more dif-ficulty clearing the HPV virus---the one that causes the cancer---than white women.

This finding, if confirmed by future research, would change medi-cal thinking on the cause of cervical cancer in black women. Previ-ously, the medical community believed that the cancer resulted in black women because black women did not have the needed access

to screening and the needed follow-up health care.

More study is needed but if these new findings are confirmed, the need for black women to have the HPV vaccine---usually recommended for girls beginning at the

age of 11--- becomes even more important. Indeed, the new study which involved college women also indicates that

there might be biological explanations for the racial disparity.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina in Columbia studied 326 white and 113 black stu-dents. All were given Pap tests — lab exams of cells

scraped from the cervix — and HPV tests every six months during their years in college.

At each checkup, blacks were 1.5 times more likely to test positive for infection with one of the HPV strains

that increase the risk for cancer, according to the study leader Kim Creek.

The study also reported that two years after initial infections were found, 56 percent of black women were still infected but only 24 percent of whites remained infected.

While researchers have recognized ge-netic differences between the races, it’s possible that they soon may discover that a gene from certain ancestries such as African might play a role in the

ability to clear an HPV infection.

Editor’s Note: For more information about this study visit: www.blackdoctor.org.

Blackdoctor.org is an editorial partner of the Michigan Chronicle.)


o, with all the stories about the ammonia-treated pink slime hiding in fast food, our kids’ school lunches and even the ground beef and lunch meat we buy from the grocery store, let’s just say the Millner/Chiles household has become increasingly dedicated to knowing what’s in our food, eating more clean food and tracking down great, healthy recipes like the ones we’ve been highlighting as part of the Vicks Nature’s Kitchen with chef Curtis Stone.

This is important to us because, ewwa!, who wants to eat crushed, dog food-grade “meat” bathed in chemicals? And plus, we want our growing girls, who come from a curvy family with strains of diabetes running all through it, to avoid becoming statistics in the obesity epidemic plaguing our country in general and black children in particular.

Of course, sitting down to healthy meals every night isn’t an easy proposition; both Nick and I are busy freelance writers and authors and we’ve got our girls in a gang of after school activities spanning from music lessons, soccer and chorus to math and language enrichment and science and reading club—a dizzying array of events that can slay even our most well-intentioned healthy sit-down dinners. It’s so much easier to pull into a fast food restaurant, plunk down some cash and let the kids do the happy dance while they devour their goodies on the ride between the soccer field and our house.

What we’ve found, though, is that eating clean on the road has proved elusive and expensive. And more recently, when we found ourselves at soccer games and other extracurricular activities in predominantly black neighborhoods, it wasn’t lost on us that while grocery stores and restaurants with healthy menus were in seriously short supply, almost every corner was filled with popular fast food chain restaurants and more fried fish joints than we could count. Don’t get it twisted: we love us some fried fish, french fries and hot sauce. But really, our stomachs—and waistlines—were begging for more healthy options.

So with the help of some great recipes—and how-to videos!—from Chef Curtis’s series on the Nature’s Kitchen YouTube channel, our family is rededicating ourselves to clean-er, healthier eating. We started our mission last week with Curtis’s Healthy Homemade Pizza. Confession: to save time, we totally cheated a little. Instead of making the home made dough, we used store-bought, whole wheat flatbread, and instead of shrimp, I shredded a couple of pieces of roast chicken I bought from the grocery store.

If you want to get a few more veggies into your kids’ dinner without making a big to-do about it, check out Curtis’s Southwest Chili Tacos, rich with all kinds of yummy veggie goodness.

Healthy meal preparation isn’t all that hard

By Denene MillnerTable Talk

S “We want our growing girls, who come from a curvy

family with strains of diabetes running all through it, to

avoid becoming statistics in the obesity epidemic plaguing

our country in general and black children in particular.”- Denene Millner

Continued on page 7

THE BLOG LOG


Southwestern Chili TacosFeatured on: www.vicks.com/products/nature-fusion/recipes

Serves 8

9 dried red California or New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed

4 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons canola oil

Dash of Salt

2 pounds 85% lean ground beef

2 - 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 - 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon (about) cayenne pepper*

2 white onions, finely diced

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 cups canned, crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 - 1/2 cups canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

16 corn tortillas, warmed

Accompaniments: grated white cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, chopped fresh cilantro, guacamole, light sour cream, lime wedges

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

• Add dried chilies to 4 cups of water in a large saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Remove the soft-ened chilies from the water and place in a blender; discard the water.

• Add the beef broth to chilies in blender; blend until smooth. Season the sauce to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside.

TO MAKE THE CHILI:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy pot over high heat. Add ground beef and cook until the meat is browned (about 8 minutes). Stir in the cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

• Add onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery and sauté until the vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes).

• Stir the tomatoes and vinegar into the beef mixture. Then stir in the chili sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.

• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens slightly (about 1 hour).

• Stir beans into chili. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens and flavors blend (about 5 minutes). Season the chili to taste with salt.

TO SERVE:

• Spoon chili into warm tortillas. Top with cheese, green on-ions, cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream, and serve with lime wedges.

* Cayenne pepper is very spicy. Use it at your discretion.

Healthy meal preparation isn’t all that hard

Of course, we’ve totally incorporated Curtis’s One Pot Wonder recipe for corn and potato chowder, which my kids love—not just because Chef Curtis’s video features MyBrownBaby (woot!), but because it really is easy to make (it goes from my grocery bags to the table in all of 30 minutes or so) and total yum.

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with making healthy after-school snacks for my girls so that when they come in, they’re not grabbing junk food. The trick has been to replace the chips and cookies with super tasty options they love. I’ve been really glomming into home made pico de gallo with tortilla chips, but I’m about to go all the way in on Curtis’s Healthy Snacks video, which includes recipes for home made salsa, Tzatziki dip and pita and tortilla chips.

For more of Chef Curtis Stone’s great healthy recipes, check out the Vicks Nature’s Kitchen videos and recipes. You’ll be happy. Your family will be happy. And you’ll keep the pink slime meat at bay—one great

meal at a time. Happy eating!

Editor’s Note: Denene Millner is a LivingWELL Magazine edito-rial contributor and founder of My Brown Baby, an irreverent, funny website filled with posts that make you think and occa-sionally say “Amen” because it reminds you of what’s going on behind your closed door with your family. And, yes, Denene is partnering with Vick’s Nature Fusion to write about ways to keep her family healthy, happy and eating right and getting paid for it. Despite the relationship, Denene still remains her own woman who steadfastly remains committed to expressing her own opin-ions about products (she can’t be bought y’all). Visit Denene at: www.mybrownbaby.com

- Denene Millner

Continued from page 6

THE BLOG LOG THE BLOG LOG


Despite 30 recent studies that concluded that African-Americans under 50 fare well on kidney dialysis, findings from a recent study conducted at Johns Hopkins University say otherwise.

According to the Associated Press, the team reviewed data from over 1.3 million pa-tients with end-stage kidney disease and found a surprising trend: African-Americans aged 18 to 30 were twice as likely to die as their white counterparts, while African-Americans aged 31 to 40 had a 1.5 times higher chance.

“As a medical community, we have been advising young Black patients of treatment options for kidney failure based on the notion that they do better on dialysis than their white counterparts,” said the study’s lead author, Dorry Segev. “This new study shows that, actually, young blacks have a substantially higher risk of dying on dialysis, and we should instead be counseling them based on this surprising new evidence.”

But why are we more likely to die if everyone is receiving the same treatment?

It may boil down to money and fre-quency of treatment. Segev said that because many African-American patients do not have health insur-ance, they do not receive dialysis

as regularly as their white counterparts. Less treatment means the patient doesn’t respond as well to treat-ment. Also, less money means they cannot afford for the lifesaving kidney transplants that they need. Yet, the study’s authors admit that more work needs to be done to find a conclusive reason.

Renal failure and other kidney issues significantly impact African-Americans. More than 500,000 Ameri-cans have end-stage renal disease, and a third are Black.

Editor’s Note: Marcus Williams is a regular contributor to blackdoctor.org, a leading source for culturally relevant

healthcare information. Blackdoctor.org is an editorial part-ner of LivingWELL Magazine.

Study: Younger Blacks With End-Of-Stage Kidney Disease More Likely To Die

nationwide will educate parishioners about the key risk factors associated with kidney disease and the importance of testing. As someone who is in need of an organ transplant, Rev. Mason also is educating his congregation about organ donation.

“It’s so important to educate our community about the sense of urgency we need to have about our health,” Rev. Mason said. “Years ago, we wouldn’t think to have a conversation about organ donation. Now, we see more people have a need for it and realize that the church needs to respond in an active way.”

To learn more about Kidney Sundays and order free materials to help make the connection between diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease, visit http://nkdep.nih.gov/kidneysundays/index.htm. For more information about diabetes and obesity, visit http://niddk.nih.gov.

Editor’s Note: Marcus Williams is a regular contributor to blackdoctor.org, a leading source for culturally relevant healthcare information. Blackdoctor.org is an editorial partner of LivingWELL Magazine.

Churches Promoting Kidney Health continued from page 4

See Kidney Failure Q & A page 13


Breast Cancer Survivor Has Reason to CelebrateBy Patricia A. Ellis

abuous at 50Turning 50 years old is a monumental and too often dreaded milestone for many women, but not for Detroiter Vanessa Slayton who welcomed the occasion as an opportunity to celebrate her life-changing battle with cancer.

Two years ago in June, during a service at Ten-nessee Missionary Baptist Church, her cousin announced that she was battling breast cancer. Vanessa was in shock. She had already lost an-other cousin to this disease several years earlier.

That Sunday after church, Vanessa decided to do a breast self-exam. It had been a few years since her last mammogram.

“Time just seems to get away from you,” said Vanessa. “You focus on taking care of everyone else but yourself.”

Vanessa, then age 48, found a lump under her right arm. Immediately, she began to worry.

Vanessa knew she

needed to seek medical attention but she was between jobs and had no medical insurance. She remembered hearing about the BCCCP in Wayne County – the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program – a federally funded program that works with several health organizations to provide cancer screening to women who are uninsured. She called the BCCCP and got an appointment for her mammogram.

“I was in the doctor’s office getting my results – stage 3 breast cancer – when Gloria Slade, a case manager from the BCCCP, called,” said Vanessa. “Gloria wanted to see me as soon as possible. When I explained I couldn’t get to her office for a few hours, Gloria calmly said she would wait.

BREAKING THE NEWS

“First, I needed to go home and break the news to

FContinued on Page 15

Vanessa Slayton


I feel the same way about swisuits as I do about Victoria’s Secret: After size 14, it’s not a secret anymore.

Time to Buy a New Swimsuit. Oh, what joy.

My current swimsuit is not long for this world. Time to give it a decent burial. I bought it about three years ago at TJ Maxx. It was one of those too-rare occasions when I went to TJM to look for something specific, and actually found it – right up front, in the seasonal “swim” section to the right of the entrance.

I swore I heard angels singing.

You know I love a bargain, which is why I’m a regular at TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Ross Dress for Less. I mostly hit those stores for kitchen, bed and bath items, but occasionally I saunter over to the clothing racks. It’s still early enough in the season to find something functional to swim in.

That’s all I want: functional. A solid color, preferably. Not black, but neither fuchsia nor electric turquoise. Just a basic suit, preferably without a built-in bra. I told you I have a different build than most overweight women. Stuffing a swimsuit top with tissue is not an option.

I don’t usually bother with suits that boast “slimming” power. I feel the same way about swimsuits as I do about

Victoria’s Secret: After size 14, it’s not a secret anymore. Besides, I’m not trying to impress anyone. These days, I’m

in the water for exercise, only. It’s fun, it’s easy, and a great stealth workout.

But I do have an ego, so the suit must look nice. A month ago, I saw a large, blonde, African-American woman sitting on a bench in

the locker room, chatting amiably with others. She had on a brown swimsuit that so closely

matched her skin tone I did a double-take.

Remember Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax? I don’t care if it’s the last suit on the rack. Not. Wearing. Brown.

Women of all sizes claim to fear swimsuit season, and absolutely dread shopping for a suit. I haven’t seen the comic strip Cathy in a couple of years, but cartoonist Cathy Guisewite could get a month’s worth of mileage out of bikini shopping.

Imagine what it’s like for women twice normal size.

So really, I can’t make a big deal out of it. Either a suit fits, or it doesn’t. Right now, it doesn’t matter to me whether a certain swimsuit over- or under-emphasizes a specific body part.

But I have to say, I do look forward to the day when it does.

Editor’s Note: Leslie J. Ansley is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur and blogger. Visit her website to learn more about her 100 pound weight loss at: http:// www.LessLeslie.com/hello

By Leslie J. Ansley

Originally published in June 2010.


Oh, what joy.

www.professionalmedicalcenter.org

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20901 West Seven Mile Rd.Detroit 48219313-532-2000

18060 ConantDetroit 48234313-891-0044

2051 West Grand Blvd, Fifth floorDetroit 48208313-894-4244

15200 GratiotDetroit 48205313-526-2376

*2010 CDC health survey

• Diabetes testing • nutrition plans

• personalizeD care plans

• Home care referrals

• in-House lab service

Professional Medical Center

350,000 African American women in Michigan are overweight and at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.*

Have you been tested?


iDoctor continued from page 3

Styling Practices Can Lead to Serious Hair and Scalp Diseases for African Americans

to every hospital room, the same can be done with iPads. An-other possibility is attaching a webcam to the TVs. That could eliminate the tablet idea entirely, he noted.

And like all technological advances, there are some downsides to using an iPad in the hospital. Henry Ford’s IT department found several instances that could be potentially harmful for patients. One such issue was HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliance.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Servic-es, HIPAA provides federal protections for personal health in-formation held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes. The Security Rule specifies a series of ad-ministrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity, and avail-ability of electronic protected health information.

Patient doctor confidentiality is still a priority. As a result, all of the iPads are password protected.

And then there’s the threat of infection.

“If iPads are getting tossed all around the office from patient to patient, that could be a source of infection,” Rogers said. “There are procedures in place now where the iPad has to be thoroughly cleaned between each patient. But if you take the iPad out of the picture and just do it through a wall-mounted TV with a camera, then that’s no longer an issue.”

Those person-to-person social skills are not lost on Rogers. As great as technology can be, he admitted it should never re-place the traditional interaction between doctor and patient.

“It just enhances the times when the doctor isn’t there; a way to communicate in between,” Rogers said. “I still see my patients and talk to them personally. I don’t think we’re replacing the doctor with a computer, we’re just supplementing that interac-tion for better communication.”

hairSCAREStyling practices can lead to serious hair and scalp diseases for some African Americans, says Henry Ford Hospital dermatologist Diane Jackson-Rich-ards, M.D.

“Hair is an extremely important aspect of an Afri-can American woman’s appearance,” says

Dr. Jackson-Richards, director of Henry Ford’s Multicultural Dermatology Clinic. “Yet, many women who have a hair or scalp disease do not feel their physician takes them seriously. Physi-cians should become more familiar with the cultur-ally accepted treatments for these diseases.”

Dr. Jackson-Richards says proper hair care can help prevent the onset of such diseases like sebor-rheic dermatitis and alopecia, and that dermatolo-gists need to become more sensitive to the hair and scalp plights of African Americans.

Dr. Jackson-Richards will discussed these issues during a presentation of “Hair Disease and the African-American Patient” at the annual Ameri-can Academy of Dermatology conference in San Diego.

Little research has been done about the prevalence and causes of hair and scalp diseases in African Americans. Dr. Jackson-Richards says under-standing the unique physiologic characteristics of African textured hair – for example, it grows slower and has a lower hair density than other ethnic groups – will assist dermatologists in prescribing treatment options.

African American women are known to shampoo

their hair less frequently than other ethnic groups, and an estimated 80 percent of them use chemi-cal relaxers. Frequent use of blow dryers and hot combs, combined with popular hair styles like hair weaves, braids and dreadlocks, add physical stress to the hair and contribute to scalp diseases like alopecia, or hair loss.

“Hair loss is the fifth most common condition cited by patients when they visit their dermatolo-gist,” Dr. Jackson-Richards says.

Dr. Jackson-Richards suggests these grooming tips for patients to reduce their risk of developing a hair or scalp disease:

• Wash hair weekly with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner.

• Allow two weeks between relaxing and color-ing.

• Limit use of blow dryers and hot combs and other heated hair styling products to once a week.

• Wash braids or dreadlocks every two weeks.

• Avoid wearing braids too tightly; don’t wear longer than three months.

• To detangle hair, use a wide tooth comb while conditioner is still in the hair.

• Use natural hair oils with jojoba, olive, shea or coconut oils.

Diane Jackson-Richards, M.D.


Q. What’s a good diet plan for someone with Type 2 diabetes and bad kidneys?

Diabetics with kidney (renal) failure essentially have to follow two diets at the same time.

Diabetics

Diabetics are encouraged to eat a balanced diet, consisting of at least three meals a day with snacks as needed.

More importantly and more specifically, carbohydrate intake should be consistent throughout the entire day. General guidelines suggest that women should have between 30 to 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 grams of carbo-hydrates for each snack. Men, on the other hand, typically get 45-60 grams of carbs per meal and 15 grams of carbs at snacks. Remember, this is a very general calculation to help guide you. It is recommended that you discuss your diet plan with a registered dietitian who can offer valuable help with proper meal planning based on your specific health needs.

Carbohydrates aren’t the only thing to watch. Diabetics should also carefully monitor fat and sodium intake to help with overall heart health.

Kidney patients

People dealing with kidney failure have other things they should monitor. It’s very important to watch potassium, phos-phorus, sodium and calcium.

Sodium should be limited to no more than 2,000 mg per day in most cases. Patients who also have high blood pres-sure should limit their sodium to 1,500 mg per day. Calcium should be limited to about four ounces of milk per day and minimal cheese.

If you aren’t on dialysis yet, you should limit protein to 0.02 ounces of protein for every 2.2 pounds of your weight. Again, it is always best to have a registered dietitian calculate your particular diet needs. The list below shows potassium and phosphorous-rich foods a renal (kidney) failure patient should limit or avoid altogether. It is very important for renal disease/failure patients to limit and strictly monitor potassium and phosphorus when on dialysis.

Kidney Failure

Q&AFruits Vegetables Other foods

Apricot, raw (2 medium)

dried (5 halves) Acorn squash

Bran/bran products

Avocado (¼ whole) Acorn squash

Artichoke Chocolate (1.5-2 ounces)

Banana (½ whole) Bamboo shoots Granola

Cantaloupe Baked beans Milk, all types (1 cup)

Dates (5 whole) Butternut squash Molasses (1 Tablespoon)

Dried fruits Refried beans Nutritional supplements:

Use only under the direction of your doctor or dietitian.

Figs, dried Beets, fresh then boiled

Grapefruit Juice Black beans

Honeydew Broccoli, cooked Nuts and seeds (1 ounce)

Kiwi (1 medium) Brussels sprouts Peanut butter (2 tbs.)

Mango (1 medium) Chinese cabbage Salt substitutes/light salt

Nectarine(1 medium) Carrots, raw Salt-free broth

Orange (1 medium) Dried beans and peas Snuff/chewing tobacco

Orange juice Greens, except kale Yogurt

Papaya (½ whole) Hubbard squash

Pomegranate (1 whole) Kohlrabi

Pomegranate juice Lentils

Prunes Legumes

Prune juice Mushrooms, canned

Raisins Parsnips

Potatoes, white and sweet

Pumpkin

Rutabagas

Spinach, cooked

Tomatoes/tomato products

Vegetable juices

High-potassium foods (greater than 200 mg per serving)

Continued on page 14

From page 8

Continue the conversation at: AHealthierMichigan.org

LivingWELL Magazine sat down with T. Jann Caison-Sorey, MD, senior medical director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of

Michigan to get answers to your questions about kidney disease


Q. I’m taking my mother to see her doctor about her kidney disease. Please tell me what questions should I be asking?

Patients or their caregivers should always be proac-tive advocates and partners in their own care. Ask questions, lots of questions – and make sure you understand what is being explained to you.

In general, the questions you should ask depend heavily on what caused your mother’s kidney dis-ease, since there are a number of reasons why an individual can have this life-altering condition.

If her doctor prescribes medications, make sure your mother understands how and when to take them, as well as any possible side effects. She should also make sure to let her doctor know if she is allergic to any medication or has ever had negative reactions to a specific medicine in the past.

Q. My friend’s doctor has advised her that taking blood pressure medicine will help protect her from the harmful effects of diabe-tes on her organs. Is there conclusive research that supports this?

There is conclusive, evidence-based research that shows there is an association between kidney disease and hypertension. High blood pressure (hypertension) is primarily a silent condition, and people often have no idea they have the condition.

Hypertension can result in the narrowing of blood vessels, which changes the pressure of the blood flow against the walls of the vessels. As this pressure slowly increases over time, it forces the heart to work much harder at moving the blood around the body. Eventu-ally the body’s blood pressure begins to rise.

Being overweight can also play a significant role in the process. The more a person’s actual weight exceeds ideal body weight (what a person should weigh based on age, body type and height) the worse the blood pres-sure situation can become.

Hypertension affects every blood vessel in the body. The kidneys and eyes are at particular risk for harmful effects because the vessels are much smaller and more abundant. Over time, changes in blood pressure begin to interfere with the kidneys’ ability to drain off unwant-ed fluid waste. These wastes start to build up and add fluid pressure to the blood vessels in the body, making the problem worse and initiating kidney disease.

Q. Is it true that consuming alcohol is bad for our kidneys?

Alcohol does have a negative impact on kidney func-tion. Men and women with kidney disease should defi-nitely avoid consuming too much alcohol. The general rule is that men should have no more than two drinks – two servings of beer or two 5-oz. servings of wine or 1.5-oz. servings of hard liquor – per day. Women should have no more than a single serving a day since women appear to be more sensitive to the effects of alcohol than men.

Q. Do hypertension medications and having diabetes further affect the kidneys?

Making sure you take your medications for high blood pressure and diabetes is important and can help

preserve kidney function. These types of medications can work to lessen the harmful progression of kidney disease. Diabetics benefit from regulating their blood sugar (glucose) levels and bringing them down within a more acceptable range. Doing this helps to regulate excess fluid in the body.

There are a number of diabetes and hypertension medica-tions available that your doctor can prescribe. There are also a variety of ways that these two types of medications actually work in order to treat the diabetes / hypertension along with their respective associated problems. It is best to work closely with your doctor to ensure you are taking the right diabetes and /or hypertension medication(s).

It is also very important to keep track of your blood glucose (sugar) levels throughout the day as directed by your doctor. It is equally important to have access to a blood pressure cuff so you can regularly check your blood pressure. Make sure your readings are in the acceptable ranges per your doctor’s recommendation. You need to know what these ranges are and com-municate with your doctor if your blood pressure is not within the acceptable ranges.

Q. What are the signs and symptoms of the beginning stages of kidney failure?

The chart below is a great representation of the stages of kidney (renal) failure:

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages

The stages of chronic kidney disease are mainly based on

measured or estimated GFR (glomerular filtration rate), which

is calculated through a urine test or a blood test. GFR mea-

sures how well your kidneys are filtering creatinine, a waste

product produced by your muscles. A GFR of 90 or above is

considered normal.

There are five stages of chronic kidney disease, but kidney

function is normal in Stage 1 and minimally reduced in Stage

2.The KDOQI stages of kidney disease are:

Beverages Ale Beer

Chocolate drinks Cocoa

Drinks made with milk

Dark colas

canned iced teas

Dairy Products Cottage cheese

Cheese Ice cream

Custard Pudding

Milk Yogurt

Cream soups

Protein Crayfish

Carp Chicken liver

Beef liver Organ meats

Fish roe Sardines

Oysters

Vegetables

Dried Beans and Peas: Black beans

Baked beans Garbanzo beans

Chick peas Lentils

Kidney beans Northern beans

Lima beans Split peas

Pork ’ n beans

Soy Beans

Other foods Brewer’s yeast

Bran cereals Nuts

Caramels Wheat germ

Seeds

Whole grain products

High phosphorus foods to limit or avoid

Kidney Failure Q & A continued from page 13

Stage GFR* Description Treatment stage

1 90+ Normal kidney function, but urine findings or structural abnormalities or genetic trait point to kidney disease

Observation, control of blood pressure. More on management of Stages 1 and 2 CKD.

2 60-89 Mildly reduced kidney function and other find-ings (as for Stage 1) point to kidney disease

Observation, control of blood pressure and risk factors. More on management of Stages 1 and 2 CKD.

3A

3B 45-59

30-44 Moderately reduced kidney function Observation, control of blood pressure and risk factors. More on management of Stage 3 CKD.

4 15-29 Severely reduced kidney function Planning for end stage renal failure. More on management of Stages 4 and 5 CKD.

5 <15 or on dialysis Very severe, or end stage kidney failure (some-times call established renal failure)

Treatment choices. More on management of Stages 4 and 5 CKD.

United States Renal Data System. USRDS 2007 Bethesda , MD: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2007


Fabulous at 50 continued from page 9

my family that I had breast cancer.”

Vanessa called her aunt from the car asking for her guidance as she struggled with the thought of sharing this devastating news with her 74-year-old mother, Mattie Douglas. When Vanessa arrived home, her aunt was there, as was her older son David, a couple of nieces and other family members.

“It was very emotional. At that moment, I realized that my family was fighting my diagno-sis too. They were scared. I needed to reassure them that I planned on being around for a long time.”

When Vanessa finally made it to the BCCCP office it was after working hours.

“Gloria was waiting patiently. She was so warm and caring. She explained everything and reassured me that I would get the necessary services to treat my breast cancer.

A CIRCLE OF SUPPORT

“She pointed to a Komen Detroit Race for the Cure poster hanging on the wall and said, ‘See all these people – they participate in the Race every year to raise funds to help you and hundreds of others fight breast cancer.’ Gloria assured me I wasn’t alone.”

Vanessa received her mammography and other services through BCCCP, a Komen-sup-ported program, and worked with staff who helped arrange for Medicaid coverage. Van-essa’s oncologist is Michael S. Simon, M.D., leader of the Breast Multidisciplinary Team at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.

“I’ve been to other physicians and health institutions and they’ve been good, but Karma-nos was different – their total focus is cancer care,” Vanessa explained. “From the moment I walked in the door, everyone was warm and compassionate. I wasn’t just another number; I was a person, I was part of their family.”

LATE NIGHT CALLS WERE ANSWERED

Vanessa continued, “Early on in my journey, in the middle of the night, I was concerned over some medication that had been prescribed for me. I took a chance and called Dr. Simon. That was at 2:30 a.m. By 3 a.m. he returned my call. It was the middle of the night and he called me back. I apologized for disturbing him and he proceeded to tell me that as my oncologist, his top priority was to serve me and to make sure I was at ease, what-ever the time of day. I knew I had selected the right medical team to treat my cancer.”

THE WINNERS BELL

Vanessa had 12 rounds of chemotherapy to shrink her tumor, which she described was the size of a golf ball. The cancer had also spread to her lymph nodes. Due to her family history, Vanessa opted for a double mastectomy followed by radiation therapy, which she completed in December 2011, just before the Christmas holiday.

Vanessa’s niece Alexis came to every treatment with her. The day of Vanessa’s last radia-tion treatment, Danielle, her inquisitive seven-year-old daughter, also came.

Karmanos has a bell mounted to the wall of the radiation oncology area. Patients are invited to ring the bell once they’ve complete their last radiation treatment, as a symbol of celebration.

“Danielle was asking questions and the nurses and technicians at Karmanos were great at explaining how this treatment helped her mommy in a way she could understand,” said

Vanessa. “I decided to have Danielle ring the bell for me. She rang that bell so hard and so long; it was her way of telling the world her mommy was done with treatment. Then Danielle turned to me and said, ‘Does this mean I get to have my old mommy back?’”

Vanessa’s daughter has her old mommy back but, in a sense, she has a new mommy, too. As Vanessa’s pastor, the Rev. Milburn L. Pearson from the Tennessee Missionary Baptist Church expressed, “If you thought Vanessa knew Jesus before, you should see her now!”

Vanessa realizes how blessed she is. She doesn’t take anything for granted. She has re-newed faith and knows she has the courage and strength to face whatever comes.

Currently, Vanessa goes back to Karmanos every three months to get checked. She is also undergoing genetic counseling to see if she carries a change in a gene that could be passed on to her children, so they can be proactive about their health options.

Last February, Vanessa was invited to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Leadership Conference in Texas. She shared her story with hundreds of representatives from Komen affiliates across the country.

Vanessa is very grateful that the BCCCP exists. She also thanks the thousands of partici-pants who register and donate to the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure so that others, like her, who find themselves without insurance, can get the help they need. Seventy five percent of the net proceeds from Komen Races fund local breast health programs, while the remaining 25 percent funds groundbreaking breast cancer research awarded through Susan G. Komen for the Cure Award and Research Grant Program.

Vanessa’s advice to others:

• Get your yearly mammogram. Schedule it right after your birthday so you can keep celebrating your birthdays for years to come.

• Know your family history and don’t be afraid to talk about health issues. Although breast cancer is more prevalent in Caucasians, more African Americans die from the disease. Being proactive about your health could save your life, as well as the lives of your children and grandchildren.

• Participate in the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure so that others in need will have the best opportunity to survive breast cancer.

• If you’re between the ages of 40 and 64 with no insurance and you need of a mammo-gram, call the BCCCP at 888-242-2702. .

To register for the May 26 Komen Detroit Race for the Cure at Comerica Park, locally spon-sored by Karmanos Cancer Institute, call 1-800-KARMANOS (1-800-527-6266) or go to

http://www.karmanos.org/detroitraceforthecure/registration.asp.

Editor’s Note: Patricia Ellis is the director of media relations for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, local presenting sponsor for the Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure, and serves on the volunteer Komen Detroit Planning Committee.

“It was very emotional. At that moment, I realized that my family was fighting my diagnosis too.”


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