While alcohol is widely used in our society, it can clearly have negative effects on women and can lead to larger medical problems.  With 2-3 drinks per day, a woman increases her risk of developing cirrhosis or high blood pressure.  At four or more drinks per day, there is a 40% increase in the likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Women become intoxicated at nearly twice the rate of men.  Studies have shown that when controlled for body weight, women become intoxicated faster and display a higher level of alcohol than men.  This appears to be caused by differences in the ways in which men and women process or digest alcohol.

Alcohol can also have a negative impact on families.  It is responsible for the most preventable birth defect: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  Alcohol or drugs have also been estimated to be involved in nearly half of all domestic violence cases and as high as 80% of all child abuse cases.

How can you tell if you are having problems with alcohol?  You may want to ask yourself several questions:

Have people commented on your alcohol use?

Do you keep drinking in spite of negative consequences?

Are you missing work or school due to alcohol use?

Do you feel guilty about your drinking?

Do you hide your alcohol use from others?

Is alcohol affecting your relationships with family or friends?

If your are concerned about your drinking, help is available.  Substance abuse counselors can help you and your loved ones develop the skills to create an effective recovery plan.  Support groups can also be helpful in developing a social network that is free of alcohol.

Ann Dolan, LCSW, CSAC is a psychotherapist who specializes in treating substance abuse issues and practices at the Aurora Behavioral Health Center/North Shore in Glendale, Wisconsin.  For more information or to schedule an assessment regarding the use of alcohol, contact Aurora Behavioral Health Services at (414) 773-4312.

                                                                                                                                           Ann Dolan, LCSW, CSAC

Tobacco affects everyone differently.  One baby might be harmed by the mother’s smoking, yet another may not.  Smoking can harm the baby in different ways at different times during the pregnancy.

Smoking can cause a mother to lose her baby, or give birth too early before the baby’s body and organs are ready.  It can also cause birth defects or low birth weight.  Small babies have more health problems and are at risk for dying suddenly due to crib death.  Smoking during pregnancy can cause a baby to get more colds, ear infections, and lung diseases.

The best way to make sure your baby isn’t harmed is to stop smoking.  It is never too late during a pregnancy to stop smoking.  The sooner you stop, the safer your baby will be.  To stop smoking, you must first want to quit.  There are many quitting options, but all quitting takes work.  Some ideas to get you started include deciding when you want to quit, asking for help, making a quit plan, getting support, and rewarding yourself.

It is important to list the reasons why you want to quit.  Create your list and put it where you can see it often.  Your doctor can help you find ways to quit such as nicotine replacement therapy.  Making a plan to quit will help you face the challenge of quitting, and will provide you with options to quit smoking.  Getting support from your family, friends and coworkers will increase your chances of success also.

                                                                                                                                        -Lisa Phillips

                                                                                                                    Milwaukee Health Dept.

Girlfriends Health Guide for Women of Color is excited to announce that as of April 1, 2008, it will be teaming up with the Sister Study, a study done by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).  The Sister Study is aimed at women in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, ages 35 to 74, who have sisters (living or deceased) with breast cancer.

Through this new relationship, Girlfriends and Sister Study hopes to recruit women from every walk of life to join the study and ultimately find a cure for breast cancer.  Girlfriends Health Guide for Women of Color will use its strong web presence as well as their magazine to reach women of different backgrounds, occupations, ages and ethinic groups.

“We appreciate the support from the Girlfriends Health Guide for Women of Color and look forward to working with them to spread the word about this important research,” said Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the Epidemiology Branch at NIEHS and principal investigator of the Sister Study.  “If you’re a woman of color whose sister had breast cancer, your participation in the Sister Study is especially important,” continued Dr. Sandler.  “We want to learn more about how to protect future generations-daughters and granddaughters-from this devastating disease.”  The women that are participants in the study must have never been diagnosed with breast cancer themselves.  To learn more about the Sister Study, visit the website www.sisterstudy.org, or visit www.girlfriendshealthguide.com.  For Spanish, visit www.estudioehermannas.org.

A toll free number is also available 1-877-4SISTER (877-474-7837).

                                                                                          -Robyn Hamilton

On Wednesday, January 30, 2008 the BloodCenter was honored to facilitate the first reunion for patients with sickle cell disease and their blood donors.  Bob Moore, a weather anchor and reporter for Fox 6 News Milwaukee, was the emcee for the event which took place at the YMCA Northside Branch in Milwaukee.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that primarily affects African-Americans.  The red blood cells in patients affected with this disease become stiff and sickle-shaped, which makes blood flow to organs and tissues very difficult.  Strokes are often a complication associated with sickle cell disease.  Patients who suffer from strokes receive frequent blood transfusions to prevent more strokes from happening.

Ten patients and nearly 30 donors participated in the reunion.  Moore gave each patient a brief introduction which included a list of their favorite things or their goals in life.  After the names of the donor or donors were called, the patient who benefited from the donation presented them with a token of appreciation.

Shon Nizer was one of the donors present at the reunion.  Shon said the reunion was a very emotional experience, her patient match was Angela Gill, a young professional who is very active in her church and one of the patients featured on many BloodCenter promotional materials.  Shon recalled meeting Angela, “It was very touching to find out who was receiving my blood.  I’ve seen her picture on some of our ads and I never knew I was helping her.”  Shon is one of four donors that help make a difference in Angela’s life.

One particular story resonated with many of the people that attended the reunion.  Demaray Dozier is a 5-year old who is full of life, enjoys going to school, as well as watching the movies Cars and Ratatouille.  Two weeks prior to the reunion, Demaray suffered from a stroke.  Demaray is able to lead a normal life thanks to his donor, Tylesha Mcray.

People diagnosed with sickle cell disease can begin receiving transfusions as young as six months and continue throughout their entire life.  Although these patients can receive blood from anyone, it has been found that the best matches come from someone with the same ethnic background; this is why the need for African-American donors is so high.

The first sickle cell patient/donor reunion was a project of BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s Community Blood Donation Program.  The goal of the program is to increase the number of African-American donors and positively impact healthcare for patients in the African-American community.

Behind every strong or successful man there’s a woman just as strong supporting and encouraging that man to become the person that he is or will be. For some men, that may be their wives. However, nobody cared and sacrificed more than the woman that many men like to call “momma.” Recently, we had the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with the ambitious, sanctified, and beautiful Mayzelle Hill; the mother of the sensational R&B artist Lorenzo Owens.

She’s poised, sophisticated, and looking just as young and fresh as she wants to be, at the age of 55. Don’t worry; we got permission to say her age! We wanted to know her secret. How does she keep herself in such good shape? Mrs. Hill revealed to GIRLFRIENDS all her tips and tricks to maintain not only her physical health, but spiritual health as well. When asked to give us her workout routine, what we thought would be a complex answer was actually quite simple, “I do the treadmills for about 30 minutes and then the elliptical for about 25 to 30 minutes.” Wow! Only about an hour a day? A little walking here and there; maybe getting in shape isn’t so hard after all!

She started learning the importance of maintaining good health in 2001 after dealing with high cholesterol, “then with getting older, you know that stuff just started coming out.” Mrs. Hill is living proof that with a little dedication, you can get your health back on track by working out four to five days a week and eating the proper foods. She also revealed another powerful tool used to keep her healthy; Noni Juice. She shared her testimony, “Originally, from the age of 18 to year 2000, I was on meds because of asthma. I started working out and drinking the Noni Juice. I started the Noni Juice in January, and in May my doctor took me off of my medication and I haven’t taken any since! I take it religiously.”

Now, we couldn’t let Mrs. Hill leave the interview without talking about her handsome son, Lorenzo Owens. We had to know, what it’s like being the mother of an R&B artist. All she could was laugh and say, “I just enjoy seeing him do what he loves to do. He loves to sing! I just enjoy him doing what he wants to do.”Because of her spirituality, she knows that she wouldn’t have been able to fight cholesterol and defeat asthma without God. A member of  Metropolitan

Church, Mrs. Hill’s faith is what gave her the strength to raise three children, maintain a healthy marriage, and be the beautiful woman she is today. So, what advice does Mrs. Mayzelle Hill have for our girlfriends? “My advice to anyone is to always lean and depend on the Lord.  Bottom line; in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.” 

News about cancer is often times startling, but when it comes to cervical cancer, there is good news. While there’ll be just under 10,000 cases of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed in 2007, the past several decades have seen a steady decline in those diagnoses, specifically in African-American women. Still, the chance of getting cervical cancer is 30 percent higher in African American women and they will be twice as likely to die from the disease.

So, we are cautiously optimistic about our cervical cancer efforts, but how have we been successful,over the years, in lowering its numbers?

Screening.

The best way to screen for cervical cancer is to have regular Pap screenings. This test detects lesions on the cervix that have not yet spread to other areas. The Pap test is not perfect, however, and abnormal cell results can be detected even when there are none. Fortunately, most cervical pre-cancers develop slowly, so nearly all cases can be prevented if a woman is screened regularly. READ MORE

Hey Girlfriends!! When was the last time you had an open discussion with your “Big Mama”, your “Auntie”, your sister, or your best friend about your sexual or reproductive health? As a young girl, I remember sayings such as “It’s not polite to talk underneath a woman’s skirt”, or “Lady problems shouldn’t be discussed”. Do you remember those sayings or any similar messages? If so, we need to erase those negative messages from our memory banks! It is time to BREAK THE SILENCE!

Thousands of women of color are dying from AIDS, cervical cancer, and complications of childbirth. Women of color are having difficulty bearing children due to fibroid tumors, hysterectomies, and other infertility issues. Millions of women of color are contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HPV, gonorrhea, herpes, and many others because we are choosing to play “Russian Roulette” with our sexual health.

So, what are we going to do about it?

1. Visit your gynecologist every year. Ask for a complete examination. If you are not sure what tests to ask for, ask your gynecologist, or family practitioner.
2. If you are sexually active, ALWAYS HAVE PROTECTED SEX!

READ MORE

Ingredients

• 4 medium chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs total) skinned, boned and cut into 1-inch strips
• 1,14-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
• 1 cup low-sodium chili sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper (1 large)
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon
  dried basil

READ MORE

The most common source of fungal infection is your shoes. The intimate contact that your feet have with your shoes is comparable to the contact your body has with your lingerie. You wouldn’t wear these items more than once without washing them. But your shoes are not given the same attention. Most people are raised to clean the outsides of their shoes to show other people how clean they are. Our feet live inside the shoes. It is more important to clean the insides of the shoes than it is to clean the outside. READ MORE

The diagnosis of cancer is a scary thought. Cancer awareness among women has risen dramatically in the last decade, coming a long way to empower women through education and community support. According to national statistics, a large number of women still believe cancer is the leading cause of death among women. What many people don’t know is that nearly twice as many women die of heart disease and stroke than from all other forms of cancer combine.

Heart disease is an umbrella term used to describe a number of conditions, heart attack, stroke, chest pain, all of which affect the heart and blood vessels. For many people, heart disease is more closely

one in three female deaths are due to heart disease

associated with men than with women. It’s estimated that 8 million American women are living with heart disease today and that one in three women die due to heart disease. When compared to Caucasian women, African American and Hispanic American women are more likely to develop heart disease as they typically have a higher prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

There are a number of factors that increase the likelihood of developing heart disease. Things such as increasing age, family history, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes all contribute.

While heart disease is a life long condition, it can be controlled. It’s important to discuss heart disease with your doctor and the specific steps you can take to reduce your risk.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women. There are several factors that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. One of these factors is race. Black women have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke than white women. Compared with whites, African-American women are more likely to die of stroke.

What can you do to prevent heart disease?

• See you doctor for a full exam at least every year.
  Your doctor can identify additional risk factors and
  treat underlying conditions such as high cholesterol,
  high blood pressure and diabetes.
• Stay away from Tobacco smoke. Don’t smoke and
  stay away from people who do.
• Be active. At least 30 minutes of physical activity per
  day will make you feel great, look better & help
  prevent heart disease. (Why not come to the next
  Girlfriends exercise event to get some activities ideas?)
• Keep your weight down. Five fruits and vegetables
  a day. Low fat & high fiber foods. Yum!
• Go easy on alcohol. Although one glass of wine
  a day can be beneficial to heart health, more than
  that can be dangerous to your health.