Archive | October 2024

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is a national campaign dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence. Every October, organizations and individuals unite across the country for a national effort to uplift the needs, voices, and experiences of survivors. Congress declared the month of October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 1989.”

Domestic Violence Awareness Project (https://www.dvawareness.org/HealHoldCenter)

 

Domestic Violence Month Awareness.

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We live in a scary world and for reasons society inflicted on itself; regarding the thought process or how our mind works.  Domestic Violence is violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner.

People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters; which is people just in society. Most can control their actions to the extent that relatively few of these interactions end in a radical action like being racist to violence.

What help build a individuals feelings to turn out in a negative result (like bullying someone to protesting to worse rioting to violence or killing) is factors.

Factors being:

  • Feel powerless
  • Suffer from insecurity
  • Need to control others
  • Enjoy the rewards they get from bullying
  • YOUR CHILDHOOD UPBRINGING. Your childhood builds the foundation of how you turn out as an adult. If you have good upbringing where there are good morals, values, ethics with limitations or rules and regulations in what you can and cannot do with mommy and daddy overlooking from a distance in watching the child’s actions/interests/who they play with/what they’re doing on the computer or watching on T.V or even listening to music will help give direction for their child to be effective in society. Including, as the child shows good choices than more independence in getting older with still guidance and direction as needed. Remember your a young adult at 17 and a full fledged adult at 21 years of age to make all decisions in your life.
  1. BEING AN ADULT.   This includes accepting the turn outs of how a situation finally results; before the final result if you did everything you could legally try to reach your hope of a turn out and did reach it great, it makes you a stronger person. Now let’s say you didn’t than acceptance is necessary of what the result turned out as which also makes you a stronger person with being an asset in the community. Than your next step whether it be alone or in society overall move on without being an insult to the community where it effects the society in a negative way (like killing 2 innocent police officers just for wearing the color blue in uniform, prejudice=a radical action).   Being able to allow acceptance in your life which doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to helps you move on in life making you less out to be radical in your behavior. Take the riots (which they call protesting a radical approach from Missouri to New York) and see what their results turned out to be. Stopping people from getting to a destination point who had nothing to do with what the protestors were protesting about, to damage of property of innocent people’s business to the worse DEATH. Like this radical move did anything productive for humans in society. It obviously didn’t.

First let’s look at what turns anger into action?

The answer to this is mostly cognitive control or to use a less technical term, self-control.   University of Michigan professor of social psychology, Richard Nisbett, the world’s greatest authority on intelligence, plainly said that he’d rather have his son being high in self-control than intelligence, one year ago. Self-control is the key to a well-functioning life, because our brain makes us easily [susceptible] to all sorts of influences. Watching a movie showing violent acts predisposes us to act violently. Even just listening to violent rhetoric makes us prone or more inclined to be violent. Ironically, the same mirror neurons that make us empathic make us also very vulnerable to all sorts of influences. This is why control mechanisms are so important. If you think about it, there must be control mechanisms for mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are cells that fire when you grab a cup of coffee (to give you an example) as well as when you see someone else grabbing a cup of coffee. So, how come you don’t imitate all the time? The idea is that there are systems in the brain that help us by imitating only “internally”—they dampen the activity of mirror neurons when we simply watch, so that we can still have the sort of “inner imitation” that allows us to empathize with others, without any overt imitation. The key issue is the balance of power between these control mechanisms that we call top-down—because they are all like executives that control from the top down to the employees—and bottom-up mechanisms, in the opposite direction, like mirror neurons. This is whereby perception—watching somebody making an action—influences decisions—making the same action ourselves.

Neuroscience uncovered why people behave so violently looking into the Virginia Tech Massacre in 2007 with many other like incidents also which were still a small percentage of people. What happens in these individuals is that their cognitive control mechanisms are deranged. Mind you, these individuals are not out-of-control, enraged people. They just use their cognitive control mechanisms in the service of a disturbed goal. There are probably a multitude of factors at play here. The subject is exposed to influences that lead him or her to violent acts—including, unfortunately, not only the violent political rhetoric but also the media coverage of similar acts, as we are doing here. A variety of issues, especially mental health problems that lead to social isolation, lead the subject to a mental state that alters his or her ability to exercise cognitive control in a healthy manner. Again also childhood plays a big role.   The cognitive control capacities of the subject get somewhat redirected—we don’t quite understand how—toward goals and activities that are violent in a very specific way. Not the violent outburst of somebody who has “lost it” in a bar, punching people right and left. The violence is channeled in a very specific plan, with a very specific target—generally fed by the media (like take the protesting that has gone on from Missouri to New York for a month or more with media showing every news flash each day)through some sort of rhetoric, political or otherwise—with very specific tools, in the Giffords case, a 9-millimeter Glock.

Now lets look at what are the signs of a person who is disturbed enough to take some form of action to killing.   The signs are quite visible, although difficult to interpret without a context—and unfortunately they unfold very quickly , and people can rarely witness them before the action is taken (which happened with Brinsley in New York killing officers in Brooklyn on duty just doing their job), . The action itself is a sign, a desperate form of communication from a disturbed individual (Brinsley did put on the internet a warning the day it was going to be done, Sat 12/20/14. Unfortunately, nobody was chatting with the guy when he left his final messages on Internet before getting into action. But I bet that if somebody was communicating with him before the act and saw those signs and read those messages on social network he was using, that person could have done something, could have engaged him in a sort of conversation that might have redirected his deranged plans. Indeed, by connecting with the subject, that person might have redirected some of the activity of mirror neurons toward a truly empathic behavior, rather than in the service of the deranged imitative violence leading to action.

Now we have Ukraine vs Israel War with now Former President Trump having attempted assassinations not once but THREE times because people did not agree to want him as President of the U.S.  What is this world coming to.

My readers I could go on with more examples of people killing but I am sure you listen to the news or read it somehow but I tell you this information not to persecute a person, not even a race or politician but to LEARN HOW THE BRAIN WORKS.   Most importantly to PARENTS bring your children up AS A CHILD not as an adult until they reach adulthood with giving good direction and guidance as their primary mentor. You the parents make our next generation who are now children and even for future parents learn so they will have a more productive working society. For now the society in America works as a   nonproductive unit of people to all races, creeds, genders, sex preferences, & nationalities of all kinds. Especially in being compared to the 1980’s; yes they had their problems but not like today’s with people treating each other with more respect even if things didn’t go their way. Our nation didn’t go off the deep end  where  it was allowing us to have freedom of everything without limitations or better rules/regulations legally in place not followed which we are paying a good price for today for allowing this behaviour and will take a very long time to fix. Remember when someone or now a group of people get hurt you can forgive but healing is like a wound it takes time to heal. Example: Look at Hitler, people who haven’t forgiven him, those that did have not forgotten it and they shouldn’t since he caused such a disaster to the human race. Protesting can be effective where its peaceful, quiet, and not bothering other people in the area who aren’t involved. Look at Missouri and New York City this past 15  years, MUCH DAMAGE due to not thinking first but acting out first.

Take A Stand is a call to action meant to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and throughout the year.  By taking a stand we intend to remind the nation that there are still countless people–victims and survivors, their children and families, their friends and family, their communities–impacted by domestic violence.  We, all of us, should not stop until society has zero tolerance for domestic violence and until all victims and survivors can be heard.

Take A Stand is a call to action meant to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and throughout the year.  By taking a stand we intend to remind the nation that there are still countless people–victims and survivors, their children and families, their friends and family, their communities–impacted by domestic violence.  We, all of us, should not stop until society has zero tolerance for domestic violence and until all victims and survivors can be heard.

Taking a stand against domestic violence means speaking up when we see or hear behaviors that contribute to a culture where violence lives. This could mean trying to stop violence before it starts by promoting healthy relationships and attitudes, supporting survivors of violence when they come forward, or intervening if you see someone acting violently toward another person. Before you intervene in a situation, think about your personal safety, the safety of others, your relationship with the people involved, and what your options are for intervening.

Strategies on how to take a stand:

1) Refocus the Conversation

This is the least direct approach to intervening as a bystander, by refocusing the conversation away from the offensive comment or person.  The goal is to not give an audience to the comment or person by changing the situation.  This approach can work especially well if you are uncomfortable confronting the offender directly for any reason, like someone in a position of power.  You could ask for the time, ask for directions, make a joke, tell a story, or even spill your drink.  If the comment is toward a specific person, you could take a more direct approach and verbally support the target without addressing the offender.

2) Engage Others in Intervention

In this approach, the goal is to use the situation to promote a new positive perspective for all the bystanders. You can do this by asking the group a question that challenges the idea you think is problematic without directly refuting it.  For example, if a friend or family member makes a victim blaming comment about someone returning to a relationship where there is domestic violence, you could say, “I know it’s easy to ask why victims go back when we hear about domestic violence, but maybe a better question would be why someone would think it’s okay to harm or control someone they love.”

3) A Direct Confrontation

In this case, the bystander approaches the person who made the offending comment and explains why what they said is a problem, or how the comment made the bystander feel. You could choose to confront the situation right away or wait for a moment of privacy with this person. It could also be good to seek the support of another friend, especially if you worry that your approach will not be taken seriously.

Your goal is to make whoever you’re approaching consider, even briefly, why their behavior is problematic with the hope of influencing future behavior.

QUOTE FOR FRIDAY:

“During hip replacement, a surgeon removes the damaged sections of the hip joint and replaces them with parts usually constructed of metal, ceramic and very hard plastic. This artificial joint (prosthesis) helps reduce pain and improve function.

Also called total hip arthroplasty, hip replacement surgery might be an option if hip pain interferes with daily activities and nonsurgical treatments haven’t helped or are no longer effective. Arthritis damage is the most common reason to need hip replacement.”

MAYO CLINIC (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hip-replacement/about/pac-20385042)

Types of Hip surgeries & know the components involved.

 

To understand hip replacement, you need to understand the structure of the hip joint, a ball-and-socket joint. The ball, at the top of the femur (thighbone) is called the femoral head. The socket, called the acetabulum, is a part of the pelvis. The ball rotates in the socket, allowing the leg to move forward, backward, and sideways.

Regarding the surgery its repairing the hip to do fixation like it use to without pain.  Fixation is simply the action of making something firm or stable.  Hopkins Medicine states in a hip surgical procedure ORIF (open reduction internal fixation),  for example, is a surgery used to treat a broken thigh bone. … In a “broken hip,” it is actually part of your femur that breaks, and not part of the hipbone itself. … Most people do very well after ORIF for their femur fracture. … you sleep through the operation, so that you won’t feel any pain or discomfort …

In a healthy hip, soft tissue called cartilage covers the ball and the socket to help them glide together smoothly. If this cartilage wears down or gets damaged, the bones scrape together and become rough. This causes pain and can make it difficult to walk.  Think of a car, our brake pads allow our car not to walk but drive, the pads (like cartilage) when thinning down to the point hitting metal (not bone) will scrape on the rotors and don’t repair like the cartilage gone hitting bone to bone the damage to the car will scrape on the rotors till they break and new rotors with brake pads needed.  Where in patient hitting bone to bone, pain results, limitation of the movement takes place at that area (example Hip) and become immobile.  Repair it with surgery and mobilization reoccurs so you can move around like you use to and do regular of activities you previously did.

TYPES OF HIP SURGERY:

The most common type of hip replacement surgery is called a total hip replacement (THR). In this surgery, worn-out or damaged sections of the hip are replaced with artificial implants. The socket is replaced with durable plastic or polyethylene cup with or without a metal titanium shell. The femoral head is removed and replaced with a ball made from ceramic or a metal alloy. The new ball is attached to a metal stem that is inserted into the top of the femur.

Information hip replacements is more easily available than ever before. But direct-to-consumer advertising, online articles and other reports in the media may make it more difficult for people considering these surgeries to understand their options. Becoming familiar with the key considerations that go into selection of the implant that is used to replace the injured or damaged joint can make the process easier.

Total hip replacement surgery – in which the damaged joint is replaced with an implant – is associated with a high degree of successful and predictable outcomes.

Orthopedic surgeons may approach the surgery in one of three different ways:

  • the direct anterior approach in which the incision is made on the front of the hip; this approach may be less disruptive to the muscles and soft tissues surrounding the hip joint, however, surgeons who employ this approach usually use a custom operating table and fluoroscopy (a type of X-ray) to guide placement of the implant during surgery; fluoroscopy is not routinely used with the other two surgical approaches
  • the anterolateral approach in which the incision is made on the side of the hip, toward the front of the body
  • the posterolateral approach in which the incision is made on the side of the hip toward the back of the body

The majority of people who undergo hip replacement receive a traditional hip arthroplasty in which the surgeon uses a stemmed device and prosthetic head to replace the upper part of the femur (the head and neck of the bone) and a hemispherical shaped cup to replace the acetabulum. [Figure A, below]

However, some patients may be candidates for hip resurfacing in which the head and neck of the femur are not removed. In this procedure, the surgeon resurfaces or sculpts the femoral head to accept a metal cap with a short stem. Hip resurfacing is usually most successful in male patients under the age of 55, who are larger in stature There is little data to support functional benefit of one type of hip replacement over the other, although if revision surgery is needed, this may be easier after hip resurfacing.

Illustrations and X-ray imaging of a tradtional hip replaement implant at left and a hip resurfacing implant at right.
Figure A: Illustrations and X-ray images of a traditional hip replacement versus a hip resurfacing implant (Hip resurfacing images courtesy of Smith and Nephew)

It should be noted that while the procedure has vastly improved the ability to treat certain hip disorders with minimal surgical trauma, it is not always an appropriate replacement for other larger operations. If the hip has severe degeneration, total hip replacement may be the only procedure that will provide long-term pain relief. Conversely, in younger patients with skeletal deformities ( i.e. dysplasia, impingement) hip arthroscopy will usually provide relief. But the relief may be short-lived because the underlying pathologic condition has not been corrected.

Total Hip Replacement – Total hip replacement is extremely effective at relieving pain and restoring function as well as range of motion. But, it is an artificial joint and should be performed only if other “joint saving” procedures are not appropriate.

Other forms of orthopedic surgery for the hip are:

Osteotomy – Osteotomy (cutting the bone) is a technique were the anatomy of the femur or socket is altered to relieve pain and prolong survival of the joint by reducing the abnormal loads on the cartilage.

Fusion – Fusion (arthrodesis) makes the hip permanently stiff by obliterated the joint via bone bridging across the joint. This procedure was performed much more frequently in the past and is still appropriate in certain conditions, such as severe arthritis of one hip in a young person.

Arthrotomy – Arthrotomy (opening the joint) is a procedure where the joint is opened to clean out bone spurs, loose bodies, tumors, or to repair fractures.

Know your components involved in the hip surgery:

Dr Padgett is a M.D. from 1987 a resident in orthopedic surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) to chief of the Hip Service, and in 2008 to the present chief of the Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Service at HSS.  Learn much more about him in tomorrow’s topic with an excellent hospital to go to if you need this in N.Y.C.   If not you can also find out where to go for help in finding excellent hospitals in hip surgery out on NY to California.

Knowing your components is very helpful.  Hip implants come in two primary types: the traditional single-piece implants and modular models, in which the stem and head of the implant portion that is placed in the femur can be matched independently. Although the single piece implants provide a good fit for many patients, “modular devices were developed to improve the fit of the implant to the patient’s specific anatomy,” explains Dr. Padgett.   However, he adds, some modular implants have recently been found to be associated with problems related to the linkage between the various parts.

Some degree of corrosion and fretting has been seen with these metal on metal components, a process that can result in the creation of metallic debris that is destructive to the soft tissue surrounding the joint. As a result, some of these implants have been recalled.

Implants may be made of a variety of materials including metal (usually titanium), ceramic or polyethylene (a type of hard plastic). Ongoing research and enabling technology will determine new directions in materials used in hip replacement surgery. At present, bearing surfaces – where the femoral component of the implant meets the acetabulum – may combine in three different ways:

  • Metal or ceramic on polyethylene, in which the metal or ceramic head meets a medical-grade polyethylene socket or acetabulum in the pelvis. This combination is now generally regarded to be the “gold standard” for hip replacement. The polyethylene components currently in use are significantly more wear-resistant and resistant to degradation than earlier generations of these plastics.
  • Metal-on-metal, in which a large metal ball at the top of the femur articulates with a metal socket or acetabulum in the pelvis. This combination was originally developed to offer the benefits of increased stability – related to the size of the head – and the ability to create a very thin, but durable metal shell. Owing to the creation of metal fragments or metallic debris that is destructive to the soft tissue surrounding the joint, use of some of these total hip replacement implants has been discontinued in the United States. Metal-on-metal bearing surfaces continue to be used for hip resurfacing.
  • Ceramic on ceramic, in which both components are made of the same material; this combination has been shown to have good durability, but there is a risk of the ceramic breaking and ceramic on ceramic hips can produce an audible squeak.

Placement of the hip implant components involves an additional consideration: how the implants are bonded to the bones. This can be accomplished either through the use of acrylic cement or with uncemented fixation, in which the surface of the implant is composed of a porous, honeycomb-like surface that allows for the in-growth of new bone tissue to help hold the component in place.

“On the cup portion of the implant, uncemented fixation is clearly superior,” Dr. Padgett a orthopedic M.D. and from 2008  says. “However, cemented fixation may be preferable in older patients or others with compromised bone quality.” With regard to fixation of the stem, Dr. Padgett notes, available data shows no advantage of one type of fixation over the other, and the decision to use one over the other is left to the surgeon’s discretion.

With a history of excellent surgical technique and outcomes, the focus of new development in this area is on the use of enabling technology to improve preparation and component positioning in hip and knee replacement surgery. These tools include navigation devices that provide three-dimensional spatial orientation and robotics which can also provide tactile feedback during surgery. “The role of these emerging technologies is still evolving,” Dr. Padgett notes.

Much of the important early work in the development of successful hip implants took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including that of British surgeon John Charnley, MD and introduced at HSS by Philip D. Wilson, Jr. MD.

 

 

 

 

QUOTE FOR THURSDAY:

“October was first designated as National Down Syndrome Awareness Month in the 1980s and has been recognized every October since. It is a time to celebrate people with Down syndrome and make others aware of their abilities and accomplishments.

People with Down syndrome are just like everyone else. They have similar dreams and goals, and they want to have successful careers and families. They can drive, go to work, go to college, go on dates, get married, and contribute to society.”

Special Oympics (ttps://www.specialolympics.org/stories/news/national-down-syndrome-awareness-month#:~:text=October was first designated as,are just like everyone else.)

Month Awareness for Down Syndrome

Each person with Down syndrome has different talents and the ability to thrive.

What is Down Syndrome?

October was first designated as Down Syndrome Awareness Month in the 1980s and has been recognized every October since. It is a time to celebrate people with Down syndrome and make others aware of their abilities and accomplishments.

Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Chromosomes are small “packages” of genes in the body. They determine how a baby’s body forms during pregnancy and how the baby’s body functions as it grows in the womb and after birth. Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes, chromosome 21. A medical term for having an extra copy of a chromosome is ‘trisomy.’ Down syndrome is also referred to as Trisomy 21. This extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby.

Even though people with Down syndrome might act and look similar, each person has different abilities. People with Down syndrome usually have an IQ (a measure of intelligence) in the mildly-to-moderately low range and are slower to speak than other children.

Some common physical features of Down syndrome include:

  • A flattened face, especially the bridge of the nose
  • Almond-shaped eyes that slant up
  • A short neck
  • Small ears
  • A tongue that tends to stick out of the mouth
  • Tiny white spots on the iris (colored part) of the eye
  • Small hands and feet
  • A single line across the palm of the hand (palmar crease)
  • Small pinky fingers that sometimes curve toward the thumb
  • Poor muscle tone or loose joints
  • Shorter in height as children and adults

How Many Babies are Born with Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome remains the most common chromosomal condition diagnosed in the United States. Each year, about 6,000 babies born in the United States have Down syndrome. This means that Down syndrome occurs in about 1 in every 700 babies.1

Types of Down Syndrome

There are three types of Down syndrome. People often can’t tell the difference between each type without looking at the chromosomes because the physical features and behaviors are similar.

  • Trisomy 21: About 95% of people with Down syndrome have Trisomy 21.2 With this type of Down syndrome, each cell in the body has 3 separate copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual 2 copies.
  • Translocation Down syndrome: This type accounts for a small percentage of people with Down syndrome (about 3%).2 This occurs when an extra part or a whole extra chromosome 21 is present, but it is attached or “trans-located” to a different chromosome rather than being a separate chromosome 21.
  • Mosaic Down syndrome: This type affects about 2% of the people with Down syndrome.2 Mosaic means mixture or combination. For children with mosaic Down syndrome, some of their cells have 3 copies of chromosome 21, but other cells have the typical two copies of chromosome 21. Children with mosaic Down syndrome may have the same features as other children with Down syndrome. However, they may have fewer features of the condition due to the presence of some (or many) cells with a typical number of chromosomes.

Causes and Risk Factors

  • The extra chromosome 21 leads to the physical features and developmental challenges that can occur among people with Down syndrome. Researchers know that Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome, but no one knows for sure why Down syndrome occurs or how many different factors play a role.
  • One factor that increases the risk for having a baby with Down syndrome is the mother’s age. Women who are 35 years or older when they become pregnant are more likely to have a pregnancy affected by Down syndrome than women who become pregnant at a younger age.3-5However, the majority of babies with Down syndrome are born to mothers less than 35 years old, because there are many more births among younger women.6,7

Diagnosis

There are two basic types of tests available to detect Down syndrome during pregnancy: screening tests and diagnostic tests. A screening test can tell a woman and her healthcare provider whether her pregnancy has a lower or higher chance of having Down syndrome. Screening tests do not provide an absolute diagnosis, but they are safer for the mother and the developing baby. Diagnostic tests can typically detect whether or not a baby will have Down syndrome, but they can be more risky for the mother and developing baby. Neither screening nor diagnostic tests can predict the full impact of Down syndrome on a baby; no one can predict this.

Screening Tests

Screening tests often include a combination of a blood test, which measures the amount of various substances in the mother’s blood (e.g., MS-AFP, Triple Screen, Quad-screen), and an ultrasound, which creates a picture of the baby. During an ultrasound, one of the things the technician looks at is the fluid behind the baby’s neck. Extra fluid in this region could indicate a genetic problem. These screening tests can help determine the baby’s risk of Down syndrome. Rarely, screening tests can give an abnormal result even when there is nothing wrong with the baby. Sometimes, the test results are normal and yet they miss a problem that does exist.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic tests are usually performed after a positive screening test in order to confirm a Down syndrome diagnosis. Types of diagnostic tests include:

  • Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)—examines material from the placenta
  • Amniocentesis—examines the amniotic fluid (the fluid from the sac surrounding the baby)
  • Percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS)—examines blood from the umbilical cord

These tests look for changes in the chromosomes that would indicate a Down syndrome diagnosis.

Other Health Problems

Many people with Down syndrome have the common facial features and no other major birth defects. However, some people with Down syndrome might have one or more major birth defects or other medical problems. Some of the more common health problems among children with Down syndrome are listed below.8

  • Hearing loss
  • Obstructive sleep apnea, which is a condition where the person’s breathing temporarily stops while asleep
  • Ear infections
  • Eye diseases
  • Heart defects present at birth

Health care providers routinely monitor children with Down syndrome for these conditions.

Treatments

Down syndrome is a lifelong condition. Services early in life will often help babies and children with Down syndrome to improve their physical and intellectual abilities. Most of these services focus on helping children with Down syndrome develop to their full potential. These services include speech, occupational, and physical therapy, and they are typically offered through early intervention programs in each state. Children with Down syndrome may also need extra help or attention in school, although many children are included in regular classes.

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

“October was first declared as National Bullying Prevention Month in 2006. Since then, October has been a time to acknowledge that bullying has devastating effects on children and families such as school avoidance, loss of self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression. Bullying can occur in multiple ways. It can be verbal, physical, through social exclusion, or via digital sources like email, texts, or social media. Unlike mutual teasing or fighting, bullying occurs when one person or a group of people is perceived as being more powerful than another and takes advantage of that power through repeated physical assaults, threats of harm, intimidation, or by purposefully excluding a person from a valued social group. Being bullied can severely affect the person’s self-image, social interactions, and school performance and can lead to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance use, and even suicidal thoughts and behaviors.”

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network  – NCTSN (https://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/national-bullying-prevention-month)

October Month Awareness in Bullying!

Unless you were homeschooled in the wild or have some type of supernatural luck, you’ve probably tangled with a mean girl or bully at some point in your life. Unfortunately, bullies grow up and get jobs, so you might just run into them again in the workplace, on social media or even in your close-knit neighborhood community. Bullying is not just succumbed to childhood but it is also very prevalent in adulthood as well. Unfortunately, adult bullying behavior identically reflects childhood bully behavior: it methodically targets a person with the intention to intimidate, undermine, or degrade. The same tactics get used, too: gossip, sabotage, exclusion, public shaming, and many other conscious behaviors. Many adult victims feel as though they cannot take any action against bullying out of fear they may cause trouble, lose their job or be viewed as weak; however, there are many steps adults can take to discourage bullying and stand up to their perpetrator.

Take the issue seriously and present it in an objective manner

Yes, bullying can be a huge hit to your ego and it can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety however you must report this behavior from an objective standpoint. Whether you are reporting this behavior to school officials, your managers at work or to legal authorities; make sure you have all the facts documented in detail and try not to bring your subjective feelings into the matter. If you feel as though your boss or teacher will not take these complaints seriously then go two or three level higher up the ladder; talk to the school principal or your manager’s boss. Keep it straightforward and low on emotion. Rehearsing your story beforehand with friends, family, or your therapist will help you stay calm and collected. Use words such as “harassment”, or “abuse” as these terms have higher connotations in the legal system and oftentimes the term “bullying” may be displayed to others as juvenile.

Take care of your mental health

Bullying can be damaging to your mental health. Bullying can lead many adults to drink excessively, self-medicate, overeat and disengage from friends and family. Other adults will choose to fight back in a negative manner, which can result in self-destruction. Avoid succumbing to bad behaviors and make sure you are leaning on support from family and friends during this time.

Don’t let your bully know you are affected by their behavior

Bullying is a well-thought out manipulative behavior to cause harm or damage to another individual. Bullies want to hurt you. Victims of bullying should not confront their bully and they should completely disengage from the individual. It is important to not fight the bully but instead fight the actions by reporting them to the proper authorities.

Don’t be a bystander

If you see another adult being bullied, stand up for that adult. Help them document what is occurring, offer positive affirmations and provide any help or advice they may need. By allowing bullying to take place around you, you are indirectly supporting this behavior.

Don’t blame yourself

Sometimes, bullying can be so camouflaged and insidious that we start to blame ourselves. You did not ask for this, you do not deserve this and you may never know why the bully decided to target you.

Be prepared to step away

If you have reported this abuse and nothing is getting done, it may be time to step away from your job or find a new school. Bullying can result in severe psychological effects that can carry over into your personal life and no job is worth that kind of abuse.

QUOTE FOR TUESDAY:

“A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of getting a disease, such as breast cancer. But having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that you are sure to get the disease.

Some risk factors for breast cancer are things you cannot change, such as getting older (Menopause) or inheriting certain gene changes. These make your risk of breast cancer higher.Women who have had more menstrual cycles because they went through menopause later (typically after age 55) have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. The increase in risk may be because they have a longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Women who were treated with radiation therapy to the chest for another cancer (such as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma) when they were younger have a significantly higher risk for breast cancer. This risk depends on their age when they got radiation. The risk is highest for women who had radiation as a teen or young adult, when the breasts were still developing. Radiation treatment in older women (after about age 40 to 45) does not seem to increase breast cancer risk.From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.

From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.”

American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/breast-cancer-risk-factors-you-cannot-change.html)

 

Part IV Breast Cancer Ways to reduce breast cancer that you can PREVENT IT & how ethnic groups impact cancer!.

 

Cancer seems like a thunder bolt that it all of a sudden hits us from nowhere, like what happened to my Dad that was in 1999 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with passing on in about 6 months after diagnosed. Than the hit from nowhere makes the patient and significant others suddenly crippled and not prepared for this diagnosis (facing it with little knowledge or in some cases nothing you can do for the patient since its fatal other than support). No wonder why cancer fears society. To top that alone it is costly, debilitating, depressing, and even fatal, like in my father’s case.

Early detection can vastly improve survival figures, that is not just pertaining to breast cancers but to most diseases period. Delaying to seek advice when changes are recognized is a big mistake.

**Here are some general risk factors for cancer & try to prevent having them in your lives or abusing them (moderation – the key to many things that are not used that way in US). Abuse of anything results in disaster.

1.) Smoking (stop period) including chewing tobacco and dipping snuff. Best to stop these period.

The CDC states in 2020, an estimated 12.5% (30.8 million) of U.S. adults currently smoked cigarettes. Current cigarette smoking was defined as smoking ≥100 cigarettes during a lifetime and now smoking cigarettes either every day or some days.5

Lung cancer mainly occurs in older people. Most people diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older; a very small number of people diagnosed are younger than 45. The average age of people when diagnosed is about 70.

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death , making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.

2.) Diets high in fat or low in fiber. Obesity as well is a risk factor for cancer, odds are high that the diet was high in fat even causing the obesity in the first place.                     

3.) Age is over 50 or too much unresolved stress in your life.

4.) Abuse of alcoholism or inadequate amount of vitamins or minerals in your diet.      Exposure to environmental or occupational cancer causing substances (air, water, radiation, disaster like 9/11, or even food).

5.) Too much radiation from various sources (ex. Sun bathing to close to radiation treatments someone is receiving on a oncology unit, simply Sun overexposure).

6.) Fair complexion (pale) or even family history of cancers in the family (highest risk is within the nuclear family having a mother or father or sibling with cancer).

**Most cancers with heredity in the nuclear family including a bad life style puts that individual at higher probability of inheriting or getting that cancer.**

How ethnic groups play a part in breast cancer or any cancer:

Look at ethnicity; take a completely different country in eating alone. Let us look at Japan and their women. They eat a completely different diet than women in the USA. Japanese women have ¼ the amount of breast cancer than American women; is this mainly genetics? When Japanese women move to the great USA they assume our diets and get the same death rates from breast cancer that American women get when diagnosed with it. My eyes see diet in America (fast food=JUNK). Moderation if not completely banded out of your diet = fast food. Americans who eat junk food on a regular basis are looking at abusing fast food as oppose to a treating themselves to junk food now and than (this is what we call moderation).

Breastcancer.org states:

“Among younger women, Black and non-Hispanic Black women have higher rates of breast cancer compared to white and non-Hispanic white women. Among older women, white and non-Hispanic white women have higher rates of breast cancer compared to Black and non-Hispanic Black women.

White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and Asian women. But Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer that is diagnosed at a young age.

White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and Asian women. But Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer that is diagnosed at a young age. Black women are also more likely to die from breast cancer. Some of these differences in outcomes may be due to less access to mammography and lower quality medical care, as well as various lifestyle patterns (eating habits and weight issues for example) that are more common in some ethnic groups than in others. These factors can be changed and improved.

Still, triple-negative breast cancer, which is more aggressive than other types, is more common in Black women. Triple-negative breast cancer is estrogen-receptor-negative, progesterone-receptor-negative, and HER2-negative. New treatments for triple-negative breast cancer are being studied in clinical trials.”

The CDC states:

What is already known about this topic?  Breast cancer accounts for 30% of all cancers diagnosed in women.

What is added by this report? During 1999–2018, breast cancer incidence among women aged ≥20 years decreased an average of 0.3% per year, decreasing 2.1% per year during 1999–2004 and increasing 0.3% per year during 2004–2018. Incidence increased among start highlightnon-Hispanic Asian or Pacific end highlightIslander women and women aged 20–39 years but decreased among non-Hispanic White women and women aged 50–64 and ≥75 years.

What are the implications for public health practice?  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force currently recommends biennial mammography screening for women aged 50–74 years. Women aged 20–49 years might benefit from discussing potential breast cancer risk and ways to reduce risk with their health care providers.”

So what do we do at this point America or anywhere else?

We the people of America or anywhere can make the change in controlling many factors in our diet and exercise to control diseases period we have want to make the move and if we did disease decrease in time would be outstanding. In the end it would make our economy better with our insurance overall.

Ending line, this means less disease, less expense, and meaning better coverage (less out of our pockets financially). For this to even get started we the people in the USA have to be willing to alter diets and exercise to a healthy pattern not a junk food frequently diet or sedentary lifestyle. Help make America a better country for all citizens of all ages. Our government surely hasn’t helped us in prevention tactics to lower statistics in showing less breast cancer significantly.

We do have many improvements with cancer treatment going from diagnostic tooling advancement with even drugs and drugs combined, a multitude of radiation methods and advanced surgical techniques. However, with all this due to increased cancer research, the government has yet to push the most important ingredient for cancer prevention. For every 3 dollars spent on cancer research, only one dollar goes spent in the area of prevention. When your government representative speaks of further cancer research you may want to find out is it for prevention or treatment. My vote is prevention before getting diagnosed with it. That is like the government waiting for a bomb to land on the USA before taking measures to prevent it. Why wait for the disaster when it can be prevented completely and no mess to deal with. Makes sense? Sure does to me and many.

Moderation with anything legal and not being abusive to your body, for ex. Alcohol or prescribed drugs, with the other modifiable factors you can change discussed yesterday, it simply takes someone with will power to make the change or one who already is doing the right activities with diet in their life had will power in doing this lifestyle. That is what it takes to prevent breast cancer and many other diseases simple means making changes in your life=willpower which includes a healthy diet, some regular exercising, keeping your weight ideal to your body mass index, and having the yearly physicals or addressing new symptoms by going to your doctor to have him or she evaluate what it is with the treatment for it. Obese? and can’t lose the weight on your own get a MD consult to see what surgery or other options you have to decrease weight.  All it take is WILL POWER of that individual to do the right moves in life not to get cancer!

Instead of getting it wouldn’t you rather PREVENT it. Remember our disease killers in the USA.   Our #1 killer is cardiovascular our #2 killer is cancer in America!

Ways to prevent breast cancer:

  

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The BEST way to go is not to ever get the cancer!!! 

FIGHT BREAST CANCER AND EVEN DISEASE OVERALL BY PREVENTION; that is the KEY!!!!