All About the Thyroid

Written by on

The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, can have a dramatic impact on a huge variety of bodily functions, and if you are a woman of 35 years of age, your odds of a thyroid disorder are high.

The thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands.  It is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage (Adam’s apple).  The thyroid gland controls how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins, and controls how sensitive the body is to other hormones.  It participates in these processes by producing thyroid hormones, the principal ones being T3 and T4.  These hormones regulate the growth and rate of function of many other systems in the body.  T3 and T4 are synthesized from iodine and tyrosine. 

Hormonal output from the thyroid is regulated by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) produced by the anterior pituitary.

Things can start to go wrong when your thyroid is under or over active.  What causes your thyroid to go haywire?  It could be genetics, an autoimmune attack, pregnancy, stress, nutritional deficiencies, or toxins in the environment.  No one is really sure.  Because of thyroid hormones far reach in the body – from brain to bowels – diagnosing a disorder can be challenging. 

Here are some things to help you tell if your thyroid could be on the blink.

You’re exhausted.  Feeling tired and having no energy are issues associated with lots of conditions, but they’re strongly linked with hypothyroidism, the disorder that’s the result of too little thyroid hormone.

You’re feeling down.  If you feel unusually depressed or sad, that can be a symptom of hypothyroidism.  Read more »

Cancer Prevention Study-3

Written by on

Cancer Prevention Study-3

Research today for a cancer-free tomorrow.

What is the Cancer Prevention Study-3?
The American Cancer Society is inviting men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer to join a historic research study – Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). The purpose of CPS-3 is to better understand the lifestyle, behavioral, and other factors that may prevent and/or cause cancer and to ultimately eliminate this disease as a major health problem for this and future generations. By joining CPS-3, you can help them understand how to prevent cancer, which will save more lives and give people more of their most precious resource: time. More time with families and friends, more memories, more celebrations…and more birthdays.

Enrollment is a simple process. At your enrollment appointment (www.cancer.org/cps3 for a full list of enrolling locations), you will be asked to sign an informed consent, complete a survey packet, and provide a waist circumference measurement and a small blood sample. The blood sample will be taken by a certified, trained phlebotomist and your appointment will last approximately 30 minutes. You will be asked to complete mailed questionnaires every few years to update lifestyle, environmental, and medical information.

CPS-3 is funded and managed by the American Cancer Society Department of Epidemiology & Surveillance Research (Analytic Epidemiology program). The Analytic Epidemiology program conducts, analyzes, and publishes original research on the causes and prevention of cancer utilizing these large follow-up studies.

Participants will be followed for at least 20 years. This means once you are enrolled they will be contacting you periodically with mailed surveys for you to answer. While you may be in the study for many years, they expect the amount of time it will take you to answer a survey to be minimal (about 45 minutes for the follow-up surveys).

There will be an ongoing peer review of CPS-3 by cancer researchers from many prominent university and research institutions. Review and oversight by the Emory University IRB (Institutional Review Board) continues throughout the study. When a study has completed active enrollment, the IRB continues to provide oversight while investigators analyze questionnaire and biological data.

If you are diagnosed with cancer while you are still participating in CPS-3, they will ask you for written permission to seek more information about your diagnosis and treatment from your doctor and from your medical record. At that time, you can agree to give them permission or not. Since risk factors for cancer may differ by various pathologic characteristics (like tumor location, tissue type, etc.) the best source for accurate information on specific tumor features is the medical record.

It is important to them that you learn results from CPS-3 as soon as possible. They will send you annual newsletters with highlights of the study results. CPS-3 results will also be published in scientific journals, and they will post these on the American Cancer Society website (www.cancer.org), and provide links to the articles.

About Cleansing Water, Inc.

Cleansing Water, Inc. is a Warrenton, Virginia home health care agency offering professional geriatric care and serving seniors, individuals recovering from surgery, individuals with long-term disabilities, and other clients throughout Fauquier, Culpeper, Gainesville, Haymarket, Middleburg, Prince William, Rappahannock and other Piedmont Virginia communities. We provide in-home companions, certified nursing assistants, and geriatric care managers to assist with the tasks of daily living, monitor health and medications, and ensure clients are well cared for, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

For more information about Cleansing Water’s short-term and long-term home health care services, Call (540) 341-0212 or our toll-free number, (866) 294-4665, to schedule a consultation and discuss your geriatric care and home health care options. You can also visit CleansingWater.com for more information

 

Caregiver Guilt

Written by on

Caregiver Guilt

Being a caregiver in the home for a family member can be accompanied by varying degrees of guilt.  It is virtually impossible to care for a loved one and not face the reality that we will inevitably lose them.  Confronting the loss of a loved one can be accompanied by guilt, that we could have done more, should have known better, and could we have done something differently. This type of thinking tends to increase the guilt. 

The Holidays can be difficult.

The holidays can be difficult as we dwell more at this time of the year on our loss.  Holidays are a time for family, and when a loved one has died, it can make surviving almost impossible.  For many, the first reaction is to not celebrate the holiday in an effort to avoid the pain of loss.  But it would be better to look at this time of the year to celebrate the life of your loved one and have it be a time to recall comfort and joy in family traditions.  Creating new family traditions can also help you to move forward in the grieving process.  Read more »

Nursing Home Placement

Written by on

Nursing Home Placement

Make sure your loved one has the best experience possible.

Before deciding on a place for your loved one, be sure to tour as many as possible and speak with the staff at each facility.  Know the difference in Assisted Living, Nursing Home, Rehab, and Respite. 

Look to see if most residents are in their rooms or if they are out participating in an activity or just socializing.  Also make sure that an empty room doesn’t mean that the resident is just parked in front of a TV.  Smells and sounds are also important.  Bowel movements happen, but it should not be a dominate smell in the entire facility.  Friendly sounds are also a positive thing.  If the residents are talking, you hear birds chirping, or there is calming music in the background, all things you would enjoy hearing.  Constant annoying sounds can affect a person’s mood and eventually their demeanor. Read more »

Would You Recognize the Signs of Alzheimer’s?

Written by on

Do you think you are too young for Alzheimer’s? You might be surprised to know that symptoms of the disease can strike as early as in your 40s or 50s.

If you are thinking that you are too young to have Alzheimer’s, you may well be, but there is still a chance that you could be one of the 5.4 million Americans living with the disease.

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia where brain cells degenerate and die, causing problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. An estimated 3.4 million women are living with the disease. Most people get it after age 65; but up to 5% (roughly 200,000 Americans) start suffering early. As early as their 40s and 50s. The symptoms sneak up slowly, but eventually start to interfere with your quality of life. Read more »

When Adult Children Become Caregivers Geriatric Care Managers Can Help

Written by on

According to statistics from the National Institute on Aging, there were 37 million people age 65 or older in 2006, that’s 12 percent of the population.  By 2030, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, that number is predicted to rise dramatically.  Projections forecast that approximately 71.5 million people – about 20 percent of the population – will be 65 or older. Alzheimer’s disease currently affects more than 5 million Americans, and strokes, which also afflict millions of people each year, are the number-one cause of adult disability.
Read more »