Newspaper Page Text
Knowledge At
Your Fingertips
iky ti|x>n a lime, keeping up with the
latest health news meant spending time on
tedious |vn and -pu|vt rexeareh.
Not anymore. Thanks to a partnership
between Houston Healthcare Complex and
IJWM.A/ TV. health information now is only a
mouse eliek avvax.
\s pail ol its community education mission. Houston
Healthcare Complex oilers free health tips on the local CHS affiliate's web site at
www I WVMAZ.com. Once there, click on "Health lips' for current information,
updated once each week
for an interactive bonus, visitors to the site may e mail 13WM \/ with their
questions, comments and topic suggestions. The television station's web site also
prov ides a link to the I louston I lealtheare ( omplex home pace, located
at www.hhe.ort;. Health questions are forwarded to Houston Healthcare ( omplex.
which will respond to the inquiries, said Mary Jane kinnas. the health
organization's marketing director. I he internet partnership is only one of several new
ways Houston Healthcare Complex is providing health information resources to the
community, kinnas said
< )(her projects include:
• Medical Minute, broadcast on fox 24. lealures two minute segments with a
Houston Healthcare Complex physician or health care professional discussing a
current health topic. Medical Minute airs during the station s newscasts at 7 tun..
5:30 pan. and 10 pan
• New partnerships with Tin town ('n<i. a new weekly newspapei in Perry, and
Peach State Cable Med l ips, a weekly column appearing in the city newspaper,
focuses on a health topic ol interest to the community, and corresponds vv tilt three
minute health segments shown on the cable station's public access channel The
shot! television segments, also called Med lips, an Monday. Wednexdav. I riilav.
Saturday and Sunday at 11 a m., 3 p in. and 7p in on Channel 10.
• Participation in "Houston Today." a new 30 minute show front Cox Cable
Middle (icorgia Inc focusing on Houston County. I he show, which begins airing in
August, will examine area businesses, tourism, education, government. Robins An
f orce Base and health care
"fducating the community is an important part ol our mission, and we are
pleased to partner w ith otu physicians and local media organizations to help spread
the word about health care, preventive medicine and wellness." kinnas said
s a former college professor. I)r.
Sandra Brenner. PhD , RI). routinely taught her
students about the potential problems of mixing certain
foods and medicines.
Now a registered clinical dietitian at Houston Healthcare (Omplex, she shares that
know ledge w ith patients on a daily basis and soon she'll present this v ital information to
the community at large, as well
"It's standard training in dietetic education, as in any allied health field And there
are quite a number ol lood and medicine interactions, said Dr. Brenner, who will
lead a free community lecture on the topic Thursday. August IV. at 7 p.m. at the
Health Connections Center in Houston Mall
Basically, food and drug interactions are of two types: Various tor ids
can interact with particular medicines that change the drug's
effectiveness or absorption rale m the hotly
Conversely, certain medicines may interfere with different
types ol foods, altering the body's utilization of nutrients
and/or absorption in the body, she said.
Her presentation on food and medicine interactions will cover
common prescription and over-the-counter medications from
aspirin to Coumadin, a frequently prescribed blood
thinner.
"Most ol the scicntilk diiig/iiuirienl interactions I HnjMSj
don't get into in the presentation." she sank "I'll
encourage them to cat right because that's what I do.
I'll explain why some drugs are taken on an empty
stomach and with food, for example, if patients take a lot
of aspirin on an empty stomach there can lx- some gastritis."
Tips...
Food and Medicine
May lot Mix...
W J
.^5
Prostate Cancer...
inaguie a disease so devastating that it can attack undetected - until it's nearlv
too late I hat san apt description ot prostate cancer, known as a "silent killer" of men because
its earliest stages produce no svmptoms
Regulai screening can detect the presence ol prostate cancel at its earliest, most treatable
stages \nd during Seplemhei designated Prostate ( anccr \wareness Month Houston
Healthcare ( omplex is ottering low cost, cancer detecting blood tests that can save men's lives
I lie blood lest, called the Prostate Spec l lic \nligeii (PSAi. is available at special fees Ironi
September 20 24 at I louston Medical ( enter and Pen v I lospital \ doctor s order is required loi
the blood test to be given, said I .Mint- Cochran. KN a nurse educatoi with I duC are. a service
ol Houston Healthcare ('omplex.
"I arly detection is what the PSA test is lot It's an carlv warning svstem. said Dr. John
\i-cchio. a urologist on the medical stall at Houston Medical ( enter "I levaled levels on the lest
do not mean that a patient has cancer I lie PS \ can be elevated with inflammation ol the
prostate, and other tilings can change Ihe value a bit But an elevated level can be an indication
ot prostate activ itv "
Prostate cancel is more easily treatable in the early stages before n spreads to other areas ol
the body Dr Vecchto said ireatment options include radical prostatectomy and radiation.
"(>ii younger people, those under age 70 in good health, a radical prostatectomy is
considered." lie said. "Pot men who have undergone coronarv arterv hvpass sitrgerv or have
other health problems, we consider radiation treatment “
In recent years, a "breaking therapy" that calls for implanting "radioactive seeds' directlv into
the prostate has become a common treatment option file procedure, pcrlormed by a radiation
oncologist and a urologist, is available at Houston Medical Center.
"It's a way to deliver radiation to a more confined area." Dr. Vecchto sank "There are lewci
stile effects affecting the rectum and bladder because all the radiation is delivered directlv '
I he prostate is a walnut-sized gland that surrounds the urethra, the tube that comes out of the
bladder. Dr. \ecchio said. In a man's reproductive vears. the prostate produces fluid nccessarv
for viable, healthy sperm. " \fter that, the prostate kind ol becomes a liability." the doctor said
Risk I actors lor dev eloping prostate cancel include hav mg a tamilv historv ol the disease
\ccordmg to recent research, a low tat diet mav also plav an important role in slowing the
disease's progression. Cochran said
Mthough early prostate cancer produces no symptoms, latei stages may cause blood in the
urine, dilliculty urinating, bone pain, weight loss and anemia, she said
I lie \nicric.in ( ancci Societv recommends that men ages 40 and over undergo PS \ blood
testing and a digital rectal exam every vcai. I>i Vecchto said.
for more information about prostate cancer and the low cost prostate cancel screenings, call
I lealth Source at l >2 ' l >” I
kite lecture also will cover newer drugs such as Pepcid, a heart burn lighting
medication that can change pH levels in the stomach, thereby creating potential
nutrient problems.
Mthough there are few drugs that routinely call for dietary changes while a
patient undergoes hospital treatment, there are some that require stringent controls,
for example, patients taking Coumadin should avoid green leafy products because
they contain Vitamin k. a necessary blood clotting factor.
"Coumadin is an anti Vitamin k drug, so i! patients eat too much \ itainin k. the
directly reduce the effectiveness of the drug." I)r. Brenner said. "Hasicallv. vv liat we
do is regulate how much Vitamin k is eaten and stabilize the intake. "
Certain antibiotics can create nutritional problems, but those usuallv are short
term difficulties, she said. Therefore, her presentation will locus on long-term drug
therapies and their potential nutritional effects.
"Most problems don't occur, but are possibilities." she said.
Patients can protect themselves by carefully studying the printed information that
pharmacists provide with prescriptions. Warnings are posted on the bottle
|
lor drugs that can cause severe reactions, and
patients should discuss those with their
pharmacist of physician at the time n is
prescribed, she said.
“Pharmacists have wonderful
new computer programs that give
T valuable information." Dr. Brenner said.
"The problem is people don't read them
the way they should. That really is the
Ix'st information, and the fastest way to
become informed."