January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

About NCCC
What is the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) and when was it founded?

First founded in 1996, The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) is a growing coalition of people battling cervical cancer and HPV related issues.

What is HPV?

HPV (human papillomavirus) is a virus that is common in the United States and around the world and can cause cancer and genital warts. HPV is spread through sexual contact. There are about 100 types of HPV. HPV is the major cause cervical cancer in women and is also associated with several other types of cancer in both men and women.

Some Fast Facts about Cervical Cancer:

Number of people affected by HPV: About 20 million in the United States. 80% of women by age 50 will test positive for HPV.

New cases each year: 6.2 million

Health effects: Usually causes no symptoms, but certain strains can lead to cervical cancer and/or genital warts.

Cervical cancer data in the United States: 9,700 new U.S. cases a year. 3,700 deaths.

Can HPV be treated?

There is no treatment for HPV. But there are treatments for the health problems that HPV can cause, such as genital warts, cervical cell changes, and cancers caused by HPV.

What can you do?
A vaccine, Gardasil (Approved by the FDA on June 8, 2006), which is effective against four HPV strains is available. Two of the HPV types, Type 16 and 18 cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. Combined, all four types of HPV in the Merck Gardasil product account for about 90% of Genital warts. It is delivered in a course of the three shots.

Recommended recipients: Girls 11 and 12 years old, or before onset of sexual activity. The vaccine can be given to girls as young as 9. The vaccine is also advised for 13-to-26-year-olds.

Cost: $360 for a set of three shots over a six month period. Now being covered by vast majority of insurers.

Side effects: No serious ones reported; some pain at injection site.

How can I get the vaccine if I don’t have insurance?

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program helps families of children who may not otherwise have access to vaccines by providing free vaccines to doctors who serve them. The VFC program provides free vaccines to children and adolescents younger than 19 years of age, who are either Medicaid-eligible, American Indian, or Alaska Native or uninsured. There are over 45,000 sites that provide VFC vaccines, including hospital, private, and public clinics. The VFC Program also allows children and adolescents to get VFC vaccines through Federally Qualified Health Centers or Rural Health Centers, if their private health insurance does not cover vaccinations. For more information about the VFC, visit the VFC web site. Some states also provide free or low-cost vaccines at public health department clinics to people without health insurance coverage for vaccines.

Source: National Cervical Cancer Coalition and the CDC.

For More Information:
National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC)

6520 Platt Avenue, #693West Hills, CA 91307

(818) 909-3849

(818) 780-8199 Fax
mailto:rbiety@nccc-online.org

http://www.nccc-online.org/awareness.html

Materials available

Contact: Rachel Biety

Scientists Still Don’t Understand Alzheimer’s or How to Treat It.

Terry McDermott of the the LA Times wrote an extremely cogent article outlining the failures in both characterizing Alzheimer’s disease and discovering a cure.

The Healing Project firmly believes that the NIH, NIMH, the pharmaceutical industry, research centers, foundations and diseased-based not-for-profits must radically rethink the strategies for funding Alzheimer’s research, treatment and drug discovery. The lack of progress in dealing with the disease can be traced to cabal of leaders that dominate these organizations. Their resistance to novel approaches to curing Alzheimer’s has set back the field more than two decades due to their slavish, near religious, devotion to particular scientific theories that many have had vested interests in promoting. It is time this generation is replaced by better leaders and scientists more interested in treating the disease than burnishing their own reputations.

The Healing Project Wishs to Thank Materials for the Arts

The Healing Project wishes to acknowledge the generous support of Materials for the Arts for our after-school education programs, Our Stories and Fruity Tales. It will greatly reduce spending on materials for our classes and therefore permit us to reach more students.

Materials for the Arts should be replicated around the country as unwanted goods are used to promote education while reducing the load on our environment.

Since 1978, Materials for the Arts has provided thousands of New York City's arts and cultural organizations, public schools and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs. Materials are gathered from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributed to the artists and educators that do. In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, helping to sustain our environment and promote reuse and waste reduction. MFTA helps artists realize their visions, provides students with a richer educational experience and furnishes businesses and individuals with a simple and efficient way to enhance the cultural life of their city.

The success of MFTA and its programming would not be possible without the participation of material donors throughout the metropolitan area. If you are interested in donating your unwanted reusable items to MFTA please visit our Donor page or call 718.729.3001 ext. 207.

Materials for the Arts is a unit of The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Happy Holidays from The Healing Project

Everyone at the The Healing Project wishes that everyone in our community have the happiest and healthiest of Holidays.

Donations may be made online by following this link to make a donation.

If you don’t care to make an online donation, please feel free to send a donation by mail to:
The Healing Project Inc. (THP)
5 Laurel RdSouth Salem, NY 10590
www.thehealingproject.org
EIN: 20-4345105
E-mail: - info@thehealingproject.org

THP is 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization; all donations are tax-deductible.

If your employer has a giving program, please be kind enough to apply for a matching donation.

Finally, if your company wishes to donate, please have its giving officer contact Melissa Marr, melissa@thehealingproject.org to discuss sponsorship.

Thank you so much for your generous support

May you also have a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

The Hour Children Class Celebrates the Printing of The Golden Ruby Plums

The Healing Project believes that by understanding, identifying and providing opportunities to support, develop and teach healthy nutritional habits, it will help struggling neighborhoods realize better, sustainable results for disconnected and disadvantaged children and their families.

In March 2007, The Healing Project launched a series of after-school classes for children. Led by teacher, Adele V. Lonas, each of the classes combines geography, language, literature and art while introducing nutritional concepts relevant to the projects at hand. Each of the classes is taught in both English and Spanish.

Early childhood education is the key to shaping behaviors and instilling good habits and by offering extracurricular classes free of charge, The Healing Project hopes to encourage and sustain the healthy lifestyles of the children living in New York City. Eventually, The Healing Project plans to expand this extracurricular program nationally.

The Our Stories program was introduced at Hour Children in July 2007. Hour Children, located in Long Island City, New York, is an organization that works with women who are or were formerly incarcerated in New York prisons. Hour Children provides care and services for children while providing a safe home environment for mothers and their children in each of its five residences.

The Golden Ruby Plums is the result of a summer devoted to exploring folklore, learning about language and the art of storytelling using words and illustrations, and understanding nutrition by identifying the ways in which nutritional concepts are used in stories.

Adele Lonas leading the Our Stories Class

Adele Lonas distributing freshly printed copies of Golden Ruby Plums to the authors and artists.


Tara (on the left) and Natalee, and behind Natalee are (from left to right) Jesenia, Krystal and Casey examining the product of their effort.

Tara and Natalie proudly sharing their hard work.

Marie displaying the illustration she personally created.

Krystal displaying the illustration she personally created.

Photos Courtesy of Betty Pamais

The children were overjoyed to see their works of arts and their words displayed in a book. It is difficult to relate the profound impact this program has on these young authors and artists, but their expressions betray an reinforced sense of personal worth by actively participating in the creation of their own stories.

The printing of the books would not have been possible without the support of Jennifer Fox and Roberta Comrie. We are also indebted to Ann W. Marr, PhD, The Head of the Lower School of Convent of Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT; and Phil Yee co-founder and Technical Director of PanMedix. Ann and Phil were kind enough to volunteer and assist the children in producing their first two books The Golden Ruby Plums and The Special Box.

In a few weeks, we will be posting photos of the second Hour Children Class receiving copies of their book, The Special Box.

THP is gratified to have benefited from the sponsorship and support of such a distinguished group of donors, volunteers and professionals.

Finally, none of the children’s programs would be possible without the dynamic leadership and dedication of program manager, Adele Lonas.

Due to the success of the programs, demand far outstrips our capacity. If you would like to sponsor a class and join our team, contact Melissa Marr at The Healing Project. Also, one can make donations online to The Healing Project through a Network for Good.

Time to Get a Flu Shoot

November 26th through December 2nd was National Influenza Vaccination Week.

If you already haven't gotten your flu shot, please do. Those over 65 and the very young are highly susceptible to the Flu. Supplies are ample so one has no excuse. Please contact your health provider to set up an appointment.

National Influenza Vaccination Week
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, MS E-05Atlanta, GA 30333
(800) 232-4636 English/Spanish(888) 232-3299
cdcinfo@cdc.govwww.cdc.gov/flu