Health Screenings Women Age 50+

                                                                   

I wanted to talk about health screenings because I tend to put things off. Now, at 61, I have changed that...I talked to my doctor, asked her about having a bone density scan and have an appointment for the scan. I had one in my 40's because my mother had osteoparosis. The scan showed that I was in the ostopenia range (Osteopenia is defined as low bone density caused by bone loss. Osteopenia is often a precursor to osteoporosis, a common condition of brittle bones that can result in fracture.)

Below are screening information from Medline Plus
DIABETES SCREENING

If you are over age 44, you should be screened every 3 years.
If you are overweight, ask your provider if you should be screened at a younger age. Asian Americans should be screened if their BMI is greater than 23.
If your blood pressure is above 140/80 mm Hg, or you have other risk factors for diabetes, your provider may test your blood sugar level for diabetes.


If you are between ages 50 to 75, you should be screened for colorectal cancer. There are several screening tests available:

A fecal occult blood (stool-based) test done every year
A fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year
A stool DNA test every 3 years
Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
Double contrast barium enema every 5 years
CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years
Colonoscopy every 10 years
You may need a colonoscopy more often if you have risk factors for colorectal cancer, such as:

Ulcerative colitis
A personal or family history of colorectal cancer
A history of growths called adenomatous polyps
DENTAL EXAM

Go to the dentist once or twice every year for an exam and cleaning. Your dentist will evaluate if you have a need for more frequent visits.
EYE EXAM

Have an eye exam every 2 to 4 years ages 40 to 54 and every 1 to 3 years ages 55 to 64. Your provider may recommend more frequent eye exams if you have vision problems or glaucoma risk.
Have an eye exam at least every year if you have diabetes.
IMMUNIZATIONS

You should get a flu shot every year.
Ask your provider if you should get a vaccine to reduce your risk of pneumonia.
You should have a tetanus-diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tap) vaccine once as part of your tetanus-diphtheria vaccines if you did not receive it previously as an adolescent. You should have a tetanus-diphtheria booster every 10 years.
You may get a shingles or herpes zoster vaccine after age 50.
Your provider may recommend other immunizations if you are at high risk for certain conditions.
PHYSICAL EXAM

Your blood pressure should be checked at least every year.
Your provider may recommend checking your cholesterol every 5 years if you have risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Your height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) should be checked at each exam.
During your exam, your provider may ask you about:

Depression
Diet and exercise
Alcohol and tobacco use
Safety issues, such as using seat belts and smoke detectors
BREAST EXAM

Women may do a monthly breast self-exam. However, experts do not agree about the benefits of breast self-exams in finding breast cancer or saving lives. Talk to your provider about what is best for you.
You should contact your provider immediately if you notice a change in your breasts, whether or not you do self-exams.
Your provider may do a clinical breast exam as part of your preventive exam.
MAMMOGRAM

Women ages 40 to 49 may have a mammogram every 1 to 2 years. However, not all experts agree about the benefits of having a mammogram when women are in their 40s. Talk to your provider about what is best for you.
Women ages 50 to 75 should have a mammogram every 1 to 2 years depending on their risk factors, to check for breast cancer.
Women with a mother or sister who had breast cancer at a younger age should consider yearly mammograms. They should begin earlier than the age at which their youngest family member was diagnosed.
OSTEOPOROSIS SCREENING

All women over age 50 with fractures should have a bone density test (DEXA scan).
If you are under age 65 and have risk factors for osteoporosis, you should be screened.
PELVIC EXAM AND PAP SMEAR

You should have a Pap smear every 3 years. If you have both a Pap smear and human papilloma virus (HPV) test, you may be tested every 5 years. HPV is the virus that causes genital warts and several cancers, including cervical cancer.
Your provider may do pelvic exams more often if you develop problems.
If you have had your uterus and cervix removed (total hysterectomy), and you have not been diagnosed with cervical cancer, you do not need to have Pap smears.
Women who are sexually active and at high risk should be screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Your provider may talk with you about testing for other infections.
Your provider will ask you about alcohol and tobacco, and may ask you about depression.
SKIN EXAM

Your provider may check your skin for signs of skin cancer, especially if you're at high risk. People at high risk include those who have had skin cancer before, have close relatives with skin cancer, or have a weakened immune system.
LUNG CANCER SCREENING

The USPSTF recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 55 to 80 years who:

Have a 30 pack-year smoking history AND
Currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years

Memory Lane, Virtual "Reality"

                                         


This morning a conversation with a friend turned down memory lane. I talked about going to my grandparents' house every Sunday when I was growing up. We would make the 70 mile trip after going to church.

My mom was an only child, her mom (Grandma Burns) was sick even before I was born. My grandfather (Grandpa Burns) was able to take care of her during the week. My parents would go grocery shopping for the week and bring KFC dinner home.

My younger sister and I would dust and vacuum, my older sister would help our mom change the bedding and do laundry. In the summer, my brothers would mow the lawn and do other outside work. When we were done, we sat on the couch, with our hands folded, until it was time to leave.

We would go to my dad's parents' house. My grandma would fix Sunday dinner, my aunts, uncles and cousins were all there. The kids across the street would come over and all of us would play outside.

Grandpa Burns had a heart attack and died when I was in 6th grade, Grandma Burns came to live with us. She had Parkinson's and was very frail, walking through the house, rocking in her rocking chair. She could never be still. I remember her right hand constantly, her mouth a clicking sound over and over. I can still hear her say, "Oh Bob..Oh Bob, why did you leave me?" (my grandfather's name)

Grandma Burns would sit in her rocking chair in the afternoon, waiting for my younger sister to get off the school bus. My sister would sit with her, tell her about her day and sometimes read to her. Grandma would have a spark in her eyes and smile.

My older sister would come home on weekends from college, where she was going to be a nurse. Grandma had long, beautiful hair. My sister would help with the extra care our grandmother needed.

My mom would hang laundry outside, grandma loved going out with her. One day, grandma fell and broke her arm. The hospital kept her for observation. Grandma died the next day from pneumonia.

My mother broke down at the cemetery. She kept sobbing, "I'm all alone." I didn't understand what she meant, how could she say she was alone. Losing my mother years later, I could understand. There is no other feeling like losing your mother.

Now that I am in my 60's, thinking back to those times, it really doesn't feel that long ago. I can put myself back there, seeing it as a child and now, as an older adult.

I don't know how my parents did what they did, and take care of 6 kids. I don't know how my mom was so strong, taking care of everyone, the house, laundry, everything.

Our family was very dysfunctional, yet the house was always clean, laundry done, never went hungry, my dad always worked hard. He worked just as hard at home as he did working for General Electric.

It was a different time, families always have had issues, yet it was assumed that when it came to being there for each other, they were... Every family is dysfunctional...

Social media has had a lot of positives, reuniting families and friends. Helping people to keep in touch. A support system for many people who are alone, lonely, sad, going through loss.

It has also caused a disconnect. "Reality" is now virtual. Texting has taken the place of a phone call or visit.

So much is out there, not tangible. Less visits, less physical contact, emails, texts, have taken the place of a personal letter. Ordering online is convenient, still, that personal touch is missing.

Sending a photo by text is awesome. Sending a message is great. Yet, hearing someone's voice is priceless.

I can't imagine my mom ordering groceries to be delivered once a week to her parents' and a hot meal. As hard as it was for my parents, I'm sure those weekly visits meant the world to my grandparents.

Yes, everyone's busy, life is hectic, that is nothing new.

We need "be there" for people we love.

Nothing can replace reaching out and actually touching someone.

Best-selling album of all time says about baby boomers’ spending power

                                  What the best-selling album of all time says about baby boomers’
                                   spending power     

Sept 2, 2018 10:06 a.m. ET

 
They’re not the ‘Take It Easy’ generation


Michael Jackson fans worldwide are celebrating what would have been his 60th birthday this week, a testament to his enduring reign as the king of pop.

But that title took a hit this month.

Classic rockers The Eagles dethroned Jackson’s 1982 masterwork “Thriller” as the top-selling album of all time when the band’s “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” surpassed 38 million copies sold.

Regardless of what it says about their relative musical talents, the milestone is evidence of the awesome spending power of the generation that’s just a few years older than Jackson’s Generation X fan base: baby boomers.

‘You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’
Representatives for the band and its music label didn’t have an exact demographic profile of Eagles fans available, but the band formed in 1971, and it’s safe to assume that the bulk of the band’s fans are baby boomers, the group born between 1946 to 1964 and now in their mid-50s to early 70s.

Research has shown that musical taste freezes in your early 30s. That’s how old millions of boomers were when the Eagles were churning out chart-toppers like “Hotel California,” which included the immortal lines “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

Most people (69%) who like similar artists of that era — including Eric Clapton, The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, and Paul McCartney — are 45 and older, said Russ Crupnick, managing partner of the research firm MusicWatch. And those fans have had ample opportunity to buy the record-setting Eagles’ greatest hits album again and again.

“The millennials may represent the future of marketing, but the future isn’t here yet,” Hubbell said. Millennials are still five to 15 years away or so away from their peak earning years. Hubbell has seen some long-established companies panic when they realize their core customers are now in their 70s and awkwardly try to pivot to selling to millennials. “That’s a wrong move,” Hubbell said. “They should be going after the people who actually have money.”

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Mary G. Ross, Today's Google Doodle!

                                                                   

                              Today's GOOGLE DOODLE Mary G. Ross 110th Birthday!

GOOGLE  celebrates Mary G. Ross' 110 Birthday!

Google tells us about Mary G. Ross 

Today’s Doodle celebrates the 110th birthday of Mary G. Ross, the first American Indian female engineer, whose major contributions to the aerospace industry include the development of concepts for interplanetary space travel, manned and unmanned earth-orbiting flights, and orbiting satellites.

Great-great granddaughter to Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation, Ross was born on this day in 1917. Her math skills were surpassed only by her passion for aviation and the sciences. After teaching in Oklahoma for 9 years, she attended the University of Northern Colorado to pursue her master’s degree and love for astronomy and rocket science.

During World War II, Ross was hired by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a mathematician. It was there that she was encouraged to earn her professional certification in aeronautical engineering from UCLA in 1949, after which she broke new ground as one of the 40 founding members of the top-secret Skunk Works team. Her work on the team included developing initial design concepts for interplanetary space travel (including flyby missions to Venus and Mars) and satellites including the Agena rocket (depicted in today’s Doodle). "Often at night there were four of us working until 11 p.m.," she later recounted. "I was the pencil pusher, doing a lot of research. My state of the art tools were a slide rule and a Frieden computer. We were taking the theoretical and making it real."

Leading by example, Ross also opened doors for future generations of women and American Indians by participating in efforts to encourage their pursuits in STEM fields, including being a member and Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). In 1992 the SWE established a scholarship in Ross’s name, which aims to support future female engineers and technologists, including Aditi Jain, a current Google Maps engineer. “More than money, it gave me confidence,” says Jain who earned a degree in Math and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University “I don’t think I considered myself an engineer until I received the scholarship.”

Here’s to Mary G. Ross, a pioneer who reached for the stars and whose legacy continues to inspire others to do the same.

Special thanks to both the family of Mary G. Ross and the Society of Women Engineers for their partnerships on this project. Jeff Ross, nephew of Mary G. Ross, shares his thoughts on his aunt’s legacy:

The Ross family is excited that Google has chosen Mary G. Ross for a Doodle on her 110th birthday. A proud Cherokee woman and the great-great granddaughter of Chief John Ross, Mary is an excellent role model for young women and American Indians everywhere. Her accomplishments are a testament to her determination and love for education. Our hope as a family is that her story inspires young people to pursue a technical career and better the world through science.

Check out more info and photos

Got Google Photos?

                                                               

                                                     

So, for the second time, I was talking to someone about GOOGLE PHOTOS and the other person had no idea what I was talking about ... so I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it here. Photos are so important to people, being able to get to photos they assume were long gone, may be there.

The following are tips from articles online to help people navigate and use GOOGLE PHOTOS.

Lifewire 

What Is Google Photos, and Should You Be Using It?
It has a lot of features that set it apart from a built-in Gallery app

by Molly McLaughlin
Updated May 08, 2018

Search, Share, Edit, and Backup

One of the most notable features is search. Google Photos automatically assigns tags to your photos based on location, facial recognition, and image type – such as selfie, screenshot, and video – and then creates folders for each. It even classifies animals and objects. In our experience, this feature started out pretty hit-or-miss (mistaking people for cars and the like), but it's gotten a lot smarter since we have begun using Photos.

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The Verge

How to master Google Photos

Tips and tricks for getting the most from Google’s great service
By Chris Welch@chriswelch  Jun 9, 2017, 10:25am EDT

By now, you’ve almost certainly heard how good Google Photos is. Your friends, family, and coworkers are probably using it and singing the app’s praises. It makes backing up your photo library effortless. It can identify people — even babies — in your images with freakish accuracy. It automatically creates GIFs and movies that the people in your life will cherish. Hooray.

But there’s really no great manual or user guide for Google Photos. Google’s FAQ site is about as close as the company comes to a “getting started” handbook. So I’ve compiled some how-tos and tips here and plan to update this article to keep up with any big changes that Google makes to the app.

MOVING TO GOOGLE PHOTOS

Few tasks feel as daunting as transferring your entire photo library from one service to another. And few things feel worse than accidentally losing images or videos that you can’t replace. So as great as Google Photos might be, switching to it won’t be a small undertaking for everyone.

Apple Photos: If all of your pictures and videos are on your phone or Mac, this should be relatively straightforward. Just install Google Photos app on your iPhone or the desktop app for your Mac. On iOS, Photos will automatically start backing up your photo library. On Mac, you’ll need to point it to the folder where your photos are stored.


There’s just one potential snag to be aware of if you’re using Apple’s iCloud Photo Library. Depending on your settings, some of your images could be in the cloud and visible on your devices — but not actually stored on them. This might be the case if you got tired of warnings about low storage on your phone and decided to buy more space with iCloud. If you’re using iCloud Photo Library, Google Photos might be unable to see or upload your photos and videos. The easiest solution is to make sure every file is actually saved on your smartphone or computer. To do that, just enable the options below:

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I hope you find the information in these articles helpful! I know that just by me letting people know about it made them very happy! They found photos they didn't know they had access to and many photos, they thought were lost a long time ago!

What Happened and Where were you on July 26, 1976?

                                                               

                                                                Marjorie Evans (1976)

(yep, that's me)                                           

What Happened in 1976 Important News and Events

Apple is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Nadia Comaneci scores the first ever perfect score in Gymnastics. NASA Unviels first space shuttle, Fidel Castro President of Cuba, $2.00 bill Issued, Notting Hill Carnival Riots, United States Bicentennial celebrations, First Legionnaires Disease,

How Much things cost in 1976

Average Cost of new house $43,400.00
Average Income per year $16,000.00
Average Monthly Rent $220.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 59 cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling
Average House Price 12,704
Gallon of Petrol 0.76



Plymouth Arrow$3,175.00
Polaroid Camera $28.00
Mens Sports Jacket $37.15
Zenith 25" Color TV $599.00
CB Radio $147.00
Micro Wave Oven $169.00

#1 Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band

**
Out of all of this information, I find How Much things cost in 1976 the most interesting. 
I graduated in 1976. Looking at things like a Micro Wave Oven, I didn't event know they existed! I remember the first time I saw a microwave was at work, in the break room. That was around 1983...I remember going into the break room and opening the door on the microwave..someone had placed a Wendy's burger in it, inside the foil it was wrapped in. Inside of the microwave was full of sparks!

Take a look at the cost of a mens sports jacket, almost $40.00, really?
Minimum wage, in reality was $2.30 an hour!

1976 was a mixed bag for me. I think of that time now and I really am grateful to have grown up in the time period I did...

#ThrowbackThursday

Focus: Youthful Look or Healthy, Mind, and Body Spirit?

                                               

I find myself going through "growing pains." I find myself dealing with the "battle of the bulge." Coping with "love handles" that I hate. I think I've lost weight, only to find it's just "rearranged" itself.

My closet and drawers are divided into, "fits now," "may get back into," "hope to get into again", "Big time" and "fat chance."

It's really a struggle. When I was younger, I never had to worry about my weight. With age, nothing's the same. It doesn't help to be bombarded with media signals that I should want to look 20 years younger, and what I should buy to achieve that look.

I don't want to look 20 years younger. I just want to feel good about myself, be healthy and not be self conscious about what I look like.

Our society focuses on youth ... Me, well, I am focusing on a healthy mind, body and spirit. How about you?

Moving? Should You Buy or Rent?

                                                                   

By Jane Bryant Quinn, AARP Bulletin

To rent or buy again? That is the question retirees face when it comes to real estate and downsizing.
It's zero hour. You've decided to sell your house and move to something smaller or to another town. As a homeowner, you naturally think of buying again — a house or maybe a condo. But should you? Maybe you should rent instead.

Ownership is solidly entrenched among retirees. They weren't even shaken by the real estate collapse. From the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 to the present, the rate of homeownership for people 65 and up has held steady at about 80 percent, the Census Bureau reports. It runs to over 90 percent among married couples in which one person is 65 or older.

For those 55 to 64, however, it's another story. The portion who own the place where they live has dropped to 76 percent, compared with 81 percent in 2006. Some in this age group switched to renting because they couldn't manage a mortgage anymore. Others, however, rent by choice.


That leads to the question of how to dispose of the proceeds when you sell a house. You can use part or all of it to buy another house or condo, with or without a mortgage. That pot of money is now tied up. You could tap it at some point in the future, by taking a home equity loan or reverse mortgage, but that probably isn't your plan.

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Press Release Study: Medicaid work requirements and health savings accounts may impact people’s coverage, access to care

                                         

                                               Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health


                                              Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
For immediate release: June 20, 2018

Boston, MA – Current experimental approaches in Medicaid programs—including requirements to pay premiums, contribute to health savings accounts, or to work—may lead to unintended consequences for patient coverage and access, such as confusing beneficiaries or dissuading some people from enrolling, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study will be published online June 20, 2018 in Health Affairs.

“There’s been a lot of recent research showing that expanding Medicaid leads to improved access to care and better quality of care—which suggests that any expansion will be better for public health than not expanding,” said Benjamin Sommers, associate professor of health policy and economics at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study. “But our findings suggest that some of the benefits of expanding Medicaid may be at least partially compromised by some of the current innovations in use.”

Under the Trump Administration, which has prioritized increased flexibility for state Medicaid programs, some states have been experimenting with new approaches. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved proposals from Kentucky, Arkansas, and Indiana for the first-ever work requirements in Medicaid, and other states, including Kansas, have expressed interest in following suit.

The researchers sought to assess views about new Medicaid approaches in three Midwestern states with different policies: Ohio, which has a traditional Medicaid expansion without premiums and with minimal cost-sharing; Indiana, which expanded Medicaid coverage in 2015 but which requires enrollees to pay premiums and contribute to health savings accounts; and Kansas, which did not expand Medicaid and where only very poor parents and disabled adults are eligible.

The researchers conducted a telephone survey in late 2017 of 2,739 low-income adults in the three states. The survey gathered respondents’ views on health insurance, access to and quality of care, financial well-being, experiences with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health savings accounts, work requirements, and private vs. public insurance coverage.

The study found:
In 2017, health insurance coverage rates were significantly higher in the Medicaid expansion states (Ohio and Indiana) than in the non-expansion state (Kansas).
Cost-related barriers to care were more common in Indiana than in Ohio. Indiana’s health savings accounts were confusing for many enrollees, with nearly 40% saying they had never even heard of the required accounts and only 36% making regular required payments—meaning that two-thirds of beneficiaries were at risk of losing benefits or coverage for non-payment.
In Kansas, 77% of low-income individuals said they supported Medicaid expansion. Although Kansas is considering work requirements for its Medicaid program, most potential enrollees in the state were either already working or had a disability that prevented them from working. Only 11% of potential enrollees said they would be more likely to seek work if required to do so by Medicaid.


“For both work requirements and health savings accounts, the policies may operate as intended for modest numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries who understand or react to the incentives. But there’s a real risk that even greater numbers of low-income adults will be adversely affected because they don’t understand the new policies, can’t afford them, or get tied up in administrative complexity. For these reasons, it’s critical that there be ongoing independent monitoring of these approaches,” Sommers said.

Other Harvard Chan School co-authors of the study included Carrie Fry, Robert Blendon, and Arnold Epstein.

Funding for the study came from the Commonwealth Fund and the REACH Healthcare Foundation.

“New Approaches in Medicaid: Work Requirements, Health Savings Accounts, and Health Care Access,” Benjamin D. Sommers, Carrie E. Fry, Robert J. Blendon, Arnold M. Epstein,Health Affairs, online June 20, 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0331

Visit the Harvard Chan School website 

University Study Public Release - 'Good cholesterol' may not always be good"

                                                       

                                                     PUBLIC RELEASE: 19-JUL-2018
                                               'Good cholesterol' may not always be good
                     UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOLS OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES


PITTSBURGH, July 19, 2018 - Postmenopausal factors may have an impact on the heart-protective qualities of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) - also known as 'good cholesterol' - according to a study led by researchers in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

The findings, published today in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), indicate that this specific type of blood cholesterol may not translate into a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease in older women--bringing into question the current use of HDL cholesterol in a common equation designed to predict heart disease risk, particularly for women.

HDL is a family of particles found in the blood that vary in sizes and cholesterol contents. HDL has traditionally been measured as the total cholesterol carried by the HDL particles, known as HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol, however, does not necessarily reflect the overall concentration, the uneven distribution, or the content and function of HDL particles. Previous research has demonstrated the heart-protective features of HDL. This good cholesterol carries fats away from the heart, reducing the build-up of plaque and lowering the potential for cardiovascular disease.

"The results of our study are particularly interesting to both the public and clinicians because total HDL cholesterol is still used to predict cardiovascular disease risk," said lead author Samar R. El Khoudary, Ph.D., M.P.H., F.A.H.A., associate professor in Pitt Public Health's Department of Epidemiology. "This study confirms our previous work on a different group of women and suggests that clinicians need to take a closer look at the type of HDL in middle-aged and older women, because higher HDL cholesterol may not always be as protective in postmenopausal women as we once thought. High total HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women could mask a significant heart disease risk that we still need to understand."

El Khoudary's team looked at 1,138 women aged 45 through 84 enrolled across the U.S. in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a medical research study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). MESA began in 1999 and is still following participants today.
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