A few months ago our tobacco & chronic disease prevention team was awarded a CDC grant to increase coordination and collaboration on evidence-based interventions addressing the leading causes of chronic diseases in Arizona (heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis). The Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion grant will look for ways we [...]
Issues regarding the vaccine that prevents infection with the human papillomavirus (also called HPV) have been in the news lately- so I thought I’d do a thumbnail sketch on it this week. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Most people with HPV don’t have symptoms or health problems from it- and 90% of the time the [...]
For years, you’ve heard that you should take your health care into your own hands. It may soon be easier because HHS wants you to be able to access your electronic health care records. One key argument to give people access is if they know what is there, they’ll ask better questions or even make notes [...]
After your baby is born, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut but some blood remains in the cord. It turns out that this umbilical cord blood is actually liquid gold. The stem cells in cord blood are very flexible biologically and can be transplanted in people to treat a number of life-threatening diseases. In [...]
The World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer met this week in Lyon, France to analyze health-risk data regarding the electromagnetic fields generated by cell phones. Their initial report was published this week, concluding that the chronic use of cell phones could be “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. The group didn’t do any primary [...]
Today is Don't Fry Day - a day established by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention to remind people of the importance of sunscreen. In Arizona, we need more than a day - it is more of a season and now that school’s just about out (or is), kids have more time on their [...]
Life expectancy improved by more than 30 years in the US during the 20th Century. Advances in diagnosis and treatment of disease have played a role, but the real reason we’re living longer today has a lot more to do with public health interventions than advances in health care. Interventions like vaccines, motor vehicle safety, [...]
Chronic diseases are responsible for 70% of deaths among Arizonans each year and 75% of health spending. These diseases are often preventable and can be managed effectively when detected early. While many factors can contribute to chronic diseases, it is important to understand that you can greatly lower your risk of developing a chronic disease, [...]
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (also known as H.R. 1256) went into effect last summer. The law basically gives the FDA the power to regulate some aspects of the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements, with the goal of discouraging [...]
Our Arizona Cancer Center has developed a highly interactive new website using state-of-the-art GIS technology. This nifty new website lets the public and researchers access cancer data by communities (Community Health Analysis Areas). It allows easy access to age adjusted incidence rates and counts for 13 cancers that have public health implications. The website visualizes [...]
