Thursday, August 30, 2007

Celiac Disease

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, as part of its Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign, has two new 2007 publications available for patients and their families.

The first is "What I Need to Know About Celiac Disease". This easy-to-read, 20-page booklet, discusses the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease and provides some brief nutritional information related to a gluten-free diet. This brochure is available free of charge on the web and can also be downloaded in .pdf format.

The second resource is "Celiac Disease News", a summary of the latest news both in the medical literature and the popular press, related to Celiac disease. This newsletter can be accessed online in .pdf format or patients and their families can subscribe to the newsletter and receive the document by email.

Currently, these resources are available in English only.

Monday, August 20, 2007

ABA's Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning

The American Bar Association's Commission on Law & Aging has a free web resource available to the public called "Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning". The tool kit "contains a variety of self-help worksheets, suggestions, and resources." There are 10 tools in all and they include: How to select your health care agent or proxy; Are some conditions worse than death?; How do you weigh odds of survival; personal priorities and spiritual values important to your medical decisions; after death decisions to think about now; conversation scripts: getting past the resistance; the proxy quiz for family & physician; what to do after signing your health care advance directive; guide for health care proxies; and resources: advance planning for health care. These tools are available in .pdf format in English only.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Recipe Bookmarks Available from "The Cancer Project"

One of the goals of The Cancer Project, based in Washington DC, is to provide "comprehensive information about the role of dietary factors in keeping people healthy." The Cancer Project has announced the availability of an adorable pair of bookmarks, each containing a recipe that helps promote a diet "rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, low in fat, loaded with fiber, and full of cancer-fighting antioxidants" and encourages kids to try new foods. The two recipes featured are "Man’s Best Friend,” Broccoli Poodle: Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe" and “All Aboard the Fiber Express,” Squash School Bus: Spaghetti Squash and Mushrooms Recipe. One set of child-friendly bookmarks may be ordered free of charge from The Cancer Project.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Chemotherapy Fact Sheet Available in 11 Languages

The Inova Fairfax Hospital Life with Cancer program has developed a Chemotherapy tip sheet available in English, Spanish, French, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Chinese, Farsi, Urdu, Arabic, and Somali.

The fact sheet provides 11 suggestions for dealing with the physical and emotional side effects of chemotherapy.