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Staff Report

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. One in nine American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
While prostate cancer affects all races and socioeconomic classes, African American men are at an increased risk of developing the disease. African American men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with – and 2.2 times more likely to die from – prostate cancer.
“Raising awareness and providing education about prostate cancer can save lives,” Ira Baxter, executive director of the Prostate Cancer Coalition of Tennessee, said. “The earlier it can be diagnosed, the better the opportunity for effective treatment, decreased risk of side effects post-treatment, and cancer-free life.”
In 2018, there were nearly 165,000 new cases of prostate cancer nationwide, with 2,750 of those in Tennessee. Prostate cancer claimed nearly 30,000 lives across the country and 600 across the state last year.
“We appreciate Gov. Bill Lee for proclaiming September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month,” Baxter continued. “It is important that we talk about this disease and change the stereotype of this disease. We need to learn all we can, increase funding for prostate cancer research, get involved with community activities to raise awareness about the disease, and do all we can to support men and their families dealing with it.”
Men must talk to their physicians regarding their potential risks to developing prostate cancer as well as when screening and related tests for early detection are needed. African American men should be screened earlier, and all men should know their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) number.
For individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer, shared decision making between the patient, his family, other caregivers, and his physician is important to support the right care, and patients should talk to their doctor to learn more about the disease, treatment options and to find support groups and services in their communities or online, such as the Prostate Cancer Coalition of Tennessee (PCCTN).
The Coalition desires to become the information and support hub for anyone touched by prostate cancer within the State of Tennessee. Ultimately, PCCTN envisions a world free of prostate cancer. To learn more, visit www.pcctn.org.

Press release

Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in wealthy countries and could become the world’s biggest killer within just a few decades if current trends persist, researchers said on Tuesday.
Publishing the findings of two large studies in The Lancet medical journal, scientists said they showed evidence of a new global “epidemiologic transition” between different types of chronic disease.
While cardiovascular disease remains, for now, the leading cause of mortality worldwide among middle-aged adults — accounting for 40 percent of all deaths — that is no longer the case in high-income countries, where cancer now kills twice as many people as heart disease, the findings showed.
“Our report found cancer to be the second most common cause of death globally in 2017, accounting for 26 percent of all deaths. But as [heart disease] rates continue to fall, cancer could likely become the leading cause of death worldwide, within just a few decades,” said Gilles Dagenais, a professor at Quebec’s Laval University in Canada who co-led the work.
Of an estimated 55 million deaths in the world in 2017, the researchers said, around 17.7 million were due to cardiovascular disease — a group of conditions that includes heart failure, angina, heart attack, and stroke.
Around 70 per cent of all cardiovascular cases and deaths are due to modifiable risks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diet, smoking and other lifestyle factors.
In high-income countries, common treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins and blood-pressure medicines have helped bring rates of heart disease down dramatically in the past few decades.
Dagenais’s team said their findings suggest that the higher rates of heart-disease deaths in low-income countries may be mainly due to a lower quality of healthcare.
The research found first hospitalization rates and heart disease medication use were both substantially lower in poorer and middle-income countries than in wealthy ones.

Improve education for impact
The research was part of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiologic (PURE) study, published in The Lancet and presented at the ESC Congress in Paris.
Countries analyzed included Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe.
Despite including as many as 21 countries, the researchers said to exercise caution in generalizing the results to all countries, particularly since they lacked data from west Africa, north Africa, or Australia with few participants from the Middle East.
The effect of risk factors such as poor diet and household air pollution varied by the economic level of the countries, the journal’s editors said. Global health policies should be adapted to different groups of countries based on factors such as the expected benefit and access to health care.
Stephanie Read of Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto and Sarah Wild of the University of Edinburgh, U.K., wrote a journal commentary published with the research.
“[T]heir findings can inform the effective use of limited resources — for example, by indicating the importance of improving education across the world and improving diet and reducing household air pollution in less developed countries. The value of collecting similar data to inform policy in a wider range of countries is clear while improving lifestyle choices, and modifying their social and commercial determinants remain a challenge,” Read, and Wild wrote.
They said the findings suggest that improving education in low-income countries and middle-income countries might be expected to have a larger effect on mortality than reducing the prevalence of diabetes, abdominal obesity, depression, or low physical activity.
Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said heart and circulatory diseases remain the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.
As the population grows and ages, more people can expect to survive heart attacks and strokes, and the number of people living with the debilitating after-effects of the two conditions will continue to rise, Pearson said in an email calling for research into the prevention, treatment, and cures for all heart and circulatory diseases.

By Beth Cox
Sports Writer

Joining thousands of student-athletes across the nation, Johnson County High School has held a long-standing tradition to honor those who have struggled with cancer.
Each year in October, a football night is set aside for “pink out night.”
So, on Friday, October 25, the Paul McEwen Stadium will be covered with pink to honor and remember those who suffered from breast cancer or other forms of cancer.
The football team will be wearing pink socks as a tribute to those who have endured the struggles of the dreadful effects of cancer. The JCHS cheerleaders will be wearing their pink out t-shirts and will be mindful of one of their own, cheer mom Mary Martin who fought and survived breast cancer this past year. The JCHS band will be wearing pink bandanas as a part of their uniforms, and the color guard will have pink-out bows. The color guard received the bows from the National Honor Society who will be selling them at the football game. Fans are also encouraged to dress in pink for the game against
Cloudland.
The “pink out” night is a time of reflection for those who have had friends and family that got the diagnosis of cancer.
It is remembering the shock of receiving the
news, the recounting of doctor’s visits, the struggles with chemotherapy,
watching loved ones fight with everything they have
to not only survive but thrive.
One beloved coach, Craig Cox, knows the heartbreak of cancer quite well.
Cox lost his father to cancer nearly five years ago.
“The hardest part is the helplessness of not being able to make it better for someone you love,” he said. “My dad was a strong man who loved the Lord and loved his family. He was a hard worker and never asked for help from anyone. Cancer robbed him of his pride because he needed help, and it bothered him, but what he didn’t realize is that by helping him, it helped us. I miss him every day, so do my children. He was a wonderful grandfather and role model.”
Cox added, “ I will be on the football field on “pink out” night, remembering my dad.”
In 2019, it is estimated that 1.8 million people will be diagnosed with cancer. Studies show that breast, lung, and bronchus, prostate, and colorectal cancers makeup over 50 percent of new cancers in the United States and causing around 50 percent of deaths in the U.S. alone.
Early detection is the key to decreases the statistics of cancer in the United States.
As quoted by a cancer survivor,” cancer doesn’t care, so you have to.”

Tennessee Department of Health in partnership with CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating cases of severe pulmonary disease among people who use e-cigarettes or vape, there has been nearly 1,300 cases reported to date in 49 states.

Press Release

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Health has received reports of 49 cases of serious lung injury among people who use electronic cigarettes or other vaping devices. This is an immediate public health concern with potentially severe consequences.
At this time, no single product or substance has been linked to all the lung injury cases and the specific chemical or ingredient causing lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use or vaping remains unknown.
While this investigation is ongoing, TDH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend Tennesseans consider refraining from using e-cigarette or vaping products.
Regardless of the ongoing investigation, youth should not use e-cigarette or vaping products, and adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not start. TDH also advises that women who are pregnant should not use e-cigarette or vaping products. Adults who used ecigarettes to quit cigarette smoking are advised not
to return to smoking cigarettes.
TDH in partnership with CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating these cases as part of a nationwide outbreak of severe pulmonary disease among people who use ecigarettes or vape, with nearly 1,300 cases reported to date in 49 states.
TDH is providing information about this investigation and the number of Tennessee patients associated with this outbreak online at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/vaping-illness.html.
Electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices are
not approved by the FDA
for smoking cessation. Smokers attempting to quit should use evidence-based treatments including counseling and FDA-approved medications. If you need help quitting tobacco products including e-cigarettes, contact your health care provider, your local health department or the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or www.tnquitline.org/.
The mission of the
Tennessee Department of Health is to protect,
promote and improve the health and prosperity of
people in Tennessee. Learn more about TDH services and programs at www.tn.gov/health.

Tennessee works with USDA, other southeast states to prevent raccoon rabies

Press Release

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Health is working with the United States Department of Agriculture to help prevent rabies by distributing oral rabies vaccine for wild raccoons along Tennessee’s borders with Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The annual baiting program administered by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services began earlier this month.
“Controlling the spread of raccoon rabies is vital,” said Deputy State Epidemiologist John Dunn, DVM, PhD. “We are pleased to partner with USDA-WS in this important and effective program to reduce rabies in wildlife, which helps prevent transmission to people, pets and livestock.”
This is the 19th year Tennessee has participated in baiting with rabies vaccine to slow and possibly halt the spread of raccoon rabies. There have been two cases of raccoon variant rabies in Tennessee this year. Since raccoon rabies was first detected in Tennessee in 2003, the disease has not spread as rapidly here as has been documented in other areas of the United States.
Vaccine packets coated with fishmeal will be distributed by helicopter Oct. 3 – 13 and by airplane Oct. 9 – 20 throughout an 18-county area in Tennessee. Distribution of vaccine will target areas where raccoons are likely to live and feed. The oral rabies vaccine is distributed by helicopter in Johnson County until October 13.
“Rabies is most commonly found in wild animals in Tennessee, posing a risk to people and domestic animals that may come into contact with wildlife,” said TDH Medical Epidemiologist Mary-Margaret Fill, MD. “In addition to avoiding contact with wildlife, it’s important for pet owners to make sure rabies vaccinations are current for dogs and cats to ensure their health and safety, and to help provide a barrier between rabies in wild animals and humans.”
Rabies, once disease develops, is almost always fatal. However, it is completely preventable if vaccine is provided prior to or soon after exposure.
Although the vaccine products are safe, the USDA Wildlife Services program has issued these precautions:
•If you or your pet finds a vaccine bait package, confine your pet and look for other baits in the area. Wear gloves or use a towel and toss baits into a wooded or fencerow area. These baits should be removed from where your pet could easily eat them. Eating the baits won’t harm your pet, but consuming several baits might upset your pet’s stomach.
•Do not try to remove an oral rabies vaccine packet from your pet’s mouth, as you could be bitten.
•Wear gloves or use a towel when you pick up bait. While there is no harm in touching undamaged baits, they have a strong fishmeal smell. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water if there is any chance the vaccine packet has been ruptured.
•Instruct children to leave baits alone.
•A warning label on each bait advises people not to touch the bait, and contains the rabies information line telephone number.
For more information on rabies prevention or the oral rabies vaccine program, call the USDA Wildlife Services toll-free rabies line at 1-866-487-3297 or the Tennessee Department of Health at 1-615-741-7247. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a website to help educate children about rabies. Visit the site at www.cdc.gov/rabiesandkids/.

By Gregg Kunemund
CEO, UnitedHealthcare Medicare and Retirement in Tennessee

Open enrollment season is here, a time when more than 4 million people in Tennessee and millions of Americans across the country will have the opportunity to select or switch their health insurance plan for 2020.
To help guide you during this important time, here are some tips that may help lead you to better health and cost savings.

Tip 1: Know your open enrollment dates
For the more than 178 million Americans with employer-provided coverage, many employers set aside a two-week period between September and December when employees can select health benefits for the following year.
For the more than 64 million people enrolled in Medicare, Medicare Annual Enrollment runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 each year.
For most people, changes made during this time will take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Tip 2: Understand your options. When it comes to selecting a plan, one size does not fit all. Take the time to understand your options so you can find what will work best for you. A good first step is to make sure you understand health insurance lingo, such as premium, deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum. If you need a refresher, check out UnitedHealth Group’s Just Plain Clear Glossary (in English, Spanish and Portuguese) to learn and understand health care terms. And if you’re eligible for Medicare, make sure you’re familiar with the difference between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage as you weigh your options.

Tip 3: Anticipate next year’s health expenses. When reviewing your options, plan ahead. Maybe you are expecting a significant health event next year, such as a surgery or having a baby. If so, then it’s even more important to compare the “total cost” of your plan, not just your monthly premium. Plan designs
vary, so also compare deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Tip 4: Check to make sure your medications are covered
Even if you don’t expect to change plans, it’s important to make sure your prescription drugs will still be covered next year. Costs can change from year to year, and how much you pay for generics vs. brands may differ among health plans.

Tip 5: Ask about well-being programs. Many health plans now offer financial incentives that reward you for taking healthier actions, such as completing a health survey, walking, going to the gym
or not using nicotine. Also, many Medicare Advantage plans offer gym memberships and wellness programs for members at no additional costs.

Tip 6: Don’t forget about specialty benefits
Additional benefits, such as dental, vision, hearing, disability or critical illness insurance, are often cost-effective coverage options
that can help protect you
and your family from head to toe. For Medicare beneficiaries, some may be surprised that Original Medicare doesn’t cover prescription drugs and most dental, vision and hearing services, but many Medicare Advantage plans do.

Tip 7: Try the convenience of virtual visits. If you
are busy juggling kids’ schedules or work travel, or simply prefer to connect with a doctor from the comfort
of your own home, consider choosing a plan that includes 24/7 virtual visits. It may
be a convenient, lower-cost way to talk to a doctor
about minor health issues,
and all you need is a smartphone, tablet or computer. Often, telehealth is available to members of employer-sponsored, individual and Medicare Advantage plans.

For more helpful articles and videos about open enrollment and health care, visit UHCOpenEnrollment.com.

Dear Rede, I’m very sorry to hear this and hope that what I have to say can help soften this journey for you all.
Catastrophic illness impacts every part of being-human.
Physically is the most obvious. Yet it doesn’t stop with the illness or the treatment of it. It impacts every part of our normal life. What we can do, not do and have to now do changes most every aspect of our daily routine.
Emotions are the next hardest hit areas as we have to learn how to cope with something often unexpected, and typically find ourselves unprepared to deal with the wide range of emotions and how to express them in healthy ways.
Mentally we may be impacted by medicines, being house, hospital bound or under the constant care of others. We aren’t ourselves and we are often left to our own fearful thoughts.
Next is the social implications. We aren’t able to get out and interact the way we normally did. Also, the way are friends and family react to the illness will impact us as some will not be as comfortable with our illness and may stay away leaving us feeling abandoned and lonely.
Spirituality is another area impacted as we may question more deeply. We may or may not find the answers to our questions. With this we may find ourselves either blaming our creator, or the illness may draw you in deeper in to this relationship.
Lastly, financially, we are often hit hard with bills and loss of income. Leaving another burden that is not helpful in the recovery process. Sometimes requiring us to make decisions that have long-term impact.
My suggestion to you and your family, Rede, is to choose one of these areas and start building some strength, or ask for support from outside resources. As that begins to improve focus on another area. I can not promise things will get completely better, but one little improvement at a time will help in the long run.
All the best to you and your family.