In America, the land of freedom, are things really free and equal when it comes to health?
According to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, low-income women are four times more likely than higher-income women to report fair or poor health. They’re also almost twice as likely to claim a health condition that limits physical activities like walking, lifting, climbing stairs or carrying. In addition, low-income women in mid-life have greater rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
The research analyzes data from approximately 3.8 million women in California between the ages of 18 …read more

Courtesy of Jayne, I discovered a neat “blogland” event:
Can I Be Pretty in Pink: Garden Tour Event
The tour is being sponsored by Deena!
Participants were asked to post photographs of their garden along with a link back to the site — all visitors to the main site had the option of clicking to fund free mammograms (just like the option I give you on the sidebar on this blog!).
Now, I’m not a gardener, by any means, but I do love my flowers. Most of them are drenched wet with last night’s rain.
But my marigold’s however, are fighters, and have proven to …read more

Approximately 17% of all breast cancers occur in women over 80. But only 1/5 of women in this age group get mammograms. And a new study by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, conducted with 12,358 women over 80, has shown that mammography significantly reduced the risk of being diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in women in this age group.
The ACS doesn’t put a cap on mammography; but I can venture to guess that older women either say, ‘the heck with it,’ or are dealing with other health issues that lessen the importance of mammograms in their …read more

Kylie Minogue’s recent announcement brought the issue of breast cancer misdiagnosis to the forefront.
The time of diagnosis matters when it comes to your breast cancer treatment. It matters greatly to your prognosis. The longer you walk around undetected, the worse things get for you, it’s that simple.
Anyway, to recap the latest headlines for you, Ms. Minogue was give an ‘all clear’ after a mammogram, but felt a lump herself just a few weeks later. Hearing that sure made me want to preach again about the importance of a routine BSE; if indeed you have breast cancer, a BSE can help …read more