Health Today

As a surgeon-in-training in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1980s, Michael G. Macon, MD, FACS, participated in a research study comparing two potential breast cancer screening methods: mammography and thermography.

“The hope was that thermography would measure heat throughout the breast and that this would be an indication of abnormalities in the breast, allowing breast surveillance without the need for radiation,” said Dr. Macon. “However, it was clear early on that thermography only measured the heat on the skin’s surface, which does not provide information on possible cancers within the breast. That’s why thermography was abandoned as a breast screening method.”

You’re dedicated to your monthly self-exams and you follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations for breast cancer screenings, given your age and family risk factors. But are you aware that it’s also important to know your breast density?

When Debbie Krupnick, Nurse Practitioner, opened the doors to SIRIUS Health & Wellness, LLC in 2014, her vision was to offer primary healthcare alongside fitness and nutritional counseling all at one facility.

“My husband and I chose the name SIRIUS after the brightest star in the sky, with the premise that at SIRIUS Health & Wellness, your health shines above the rest,” says Debbie.

The use of herbal remedies has become tremendously popular. While it may seem like the latest trend, people have been using plant medicine for thousands of years. The earliest herbal texts are more than 2,000 years old. But what accounts for this seemingly modern trend? And even though your friends and family are using herbal remedies, are they right for you and your family?

Since its inception 20 years ago, the desire to create and support initiatives that impact our community has driven the Jewish Community of Greater Prescott.

One such example: In 2012, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott (JCF) provided full scholarships to 48 students in Yavapai College’s nursing and radiologic technology programs over a five-year period. This act created the school’s largest-ever scholarship program: The Community Healthcare Scholarship Fund.

As a young girl, Laura Dreibelbis, Director of the Susan J. Rheem Adult Day Center (SJRC), treasured the relationship and special times spent with her grandmother.  She later chose Nursing as a career, acknowledging that, “It was so natural for me to care for older adults in the way I expected my own grandmother to be cared for.” A Prescott Valley resident since 2005, she strives to make a difference in the lives of those surrounding her and says, “I find that when I know I have made someone feel better, happier and appreciated, I personally feel better, happier and appreciated.”

Think about your favorite teachers from your childhood. Did those teachers engage you and other students in lively discussions? Were hands-on activities or experiments part of their lessons?

Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC) is embracing this active learning approach in a big way during its Celebrate Life Health Expo 2019. This year’s Expo will feature MEGA Bodyä and MEGA Heartä—the world’s only portable, inflatable, walk-through exhibits of the human body and the human heart. The Expo will also include a colossal colon, courtesy of Boston Scientific.

At Home Care Assistance, we have found that seniors describe “quality of life” as the ability to remain independent inside their homes—and that’s exactly what we aim to help people do through our integrated, science-based approach to supporting individual lifestyles and quality longevity.

Prescott has its own women’s competitive boxing team, and it’s building pride and changing lives.

Multiple surgeries on both her lumbar and thoracic spine succeeded at stabilizing Darleen’s back, but they didn’t get rid of her intense pain. She tried opioids and back injection treatments, but the pain persisted until she started treatments from Dr. Thomas Masters at Tomar Pain Centers.

Self-defense is a skill anyone can and should attain, according to Scott Shephard, owner of Fundamental Martial Arts (FMA).

“Everyone is capable of improving their ability to protect themselves,” he said. “Learning self-defense is a great alternative or addition to regular fitness programs.”

Local runners Cindy Rollins and Jessica Leary have been friends since they met through a local running club in January 2011. They ran a 31-mile steady hill climb, the Crown King Scramble 50K, together this past March, finishing in 8 hours and 37 minutes. Both women recently shared what running means to them and what they’ve learned from it.