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Early this morning, USA Today published an article about the continuing epidemic of AIDS. Did you know that “an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV. In 2007, 2.5 million have become infected, and 2.1 million have died of AIDS, according to a United Nations report released last week.” And, that “the rate of HIV/AIDS diagnoses for black women is 20 times the rate for white women.”
W-O-W. Parents, talk to your teens. Put condoms in a bowl by the car keys. Don’t be naive. Single adults – wear condoms and be choosy about how many partners you have. Married adults – be faithful and if you aren’t WEAR CONDOMS.
Everyone – support World AIDS Day on Saturday, December 1. Fight the fight – it affects us all.
I’m happy to report that my father just got a clean bill of health after battling prostate cancer. It’s made me think – as these situations always do – that you just never know what’s coming. And as I get older – sadly – I’ve got to get smarter about my health. I’ve always been healthy, naturally thin and pretty good about not eating too much junk (although having children in the house definitely makes that harder), but I could be much, much better.
Self Magazine outlines a few tips on what to eat, do (and not do) to prevent cancer
Berries and fruits, fine. But damn if alcohol doesn’t increase just about every type of cancer there is! And of course we are all supposed to exercise more. Too bad lifting a glass of red wine doesn’t count.
I recently read an excerpt from Amy Silverstein’s Sick Girl, a new book about the harsher realities of post-transplant life.
Just when you think you are having a bad day, a book like this comes along and smacks you right back into reality. Ms. Silverstein’s harrowing account of her experiences as a heart transplant patient – at the still-innocent age of 25 – is good reminder to count your blessings. She describes painful after painful procedure and what it feels like to walk around with someone else’s heart in your chest – most notably how the brain works with the never-to-be-connected again nerve endings. She brilliantly – and painfully – outlines her body’s reaction to “the war of chemicals” she must take like clockwork no matter what she’s doing – even the celebration of her wedding must be paused for consumption.
Ms. Silverstein talks about what it’s like to forever walk around with the label of “sick girl” and how her entire life is shaped around this experience. But perhaps most surprising – to those of us who would imagine being a transplant recipient is a good thing – is how she describes a life full of “sick-girl kind of exhaustion.” The kind of exhaustion that makes you want to take your own life:
“There is no point at which, statistically speaking, a heart-transplant patient is on safer ground, because from the moment a donor heart begins to beat in a foreign chest, the immune system begins to destroy it.”
I can’t imagine living life that way. But Amy, keep living it. Stay strong – we’re glad “you’ll try” and that you’re here to share your experiences.
For more, read more reviews, the excerpt from US News & World Report or buy the book.
Wicked smart women (and men) know that age is more than just candles on the birthday cake. Find out your Real Age!
US News & World Report has a special how-to-video for medical screenings at every age. Be smart and take care of yourself.
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