In the LymeLight

Freeskier Angeli VanLaanen, 26, is working on a documentary film, called "LymeLight," that follows her professional ski career and her battle with Lyme disease. The film is currently in the fundraising stage and has no debut date yet.


    This month -- May is Lyme awareness month -- VanLaanen is working to raise funds for her movie, and get the message about Lyme disease out there. "I want to create a campaign to raise awareness for Lyme disease," VanLaanen says. "The goal is to educate and inspire through sharing my experience."The documentary is not for profit, VanLaanen says. Ultimately, VanLaanen hopes to return to competitive halfpipe skiing.

Source:
 http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/story/
Links: 
Lyme disease : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002296/

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

6 February 2012

    The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is observed each year to raise awareness about this practice. Female genital mutilation of any type has been recognized as a harmful practice and violation of the human rights of girls and women. WHO is committed to the elimination of female genital mutilation within a generation and is focusing on advocacy, research and guidance for health professionals and health systems.

Image via Wikipedia

    Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Female genital mutilation has no known health benefits. On the contrary, it is associated with a series of short and long-term risks to both physical, mental and sexual health and well-being.
    FGM is affecting about 140 million girls and women, and more than 3 million girls are at risk every year. A special focus for WHO this year, is the troubling trend of health-care providers increasingly being the ones performing female genital mutilation, and thereby contributing to legitimize and maintain the practice.

Read More:

• Global strategy to stop health-care providers from performing female genital mutilation
• Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement
• Fact sheet on female genital mutilation
• More information on FGM

Raising Awareness of Skin Cancer / Melanoma

BRIEF OVERVIEW :

Skin cancer -MELANOMA

Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It is the leading cause of death from skin disease.

Melanoma can also involve the colored part of the eye (iris melanoma).
See also:

• Basal cell skin cancer
• Squamous cell skin cancer

Melanoma is caused by changes in cells called melanocytes, which produce a skin pigment called melanin. Melanin is responsible for skin and hair color. It can appear on normal skin, or it may begin as a mole or other area that has changed in appearance. Some moles that are present at birth may develop into melanomas.
The risk of developing melanoma increases with age. However, it is also frequently seen in young people.
You are more likely to develop melanoma if you:

• Have fair skin, blue or green eyes, or red or blond hair
• Live in sunny climates or at high altitudes
• Spent a lot of time in high levels of strong sunlight, because of a job or other activities
• Have had one or more blistering sunburns during childhood
• Use tanning devices

Other risk factors include:

November 2011- Health Observations and Events

Awareness Event	Coverage	Related Organization
Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Month	Australia	Muscular Dystrophy Australia
Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Month	Canada	Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada
Amaryllis Month	Canada	Huntington Society of Canada
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Awareness (CPR) Month	Canada	Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Diabetes Awareness Month	Canada	Canadian Diabetes Association
Hemophilia Awareness Month	Canada	Canadian Hemophilla Society
Osteoporosis Month	Canada	Osteoporosis Canada
National Marrow Awareness Month	United States	National Marrow Donor Program
National Hospice Month	United States	The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Diabetic Eye Disease Month	United States	Prevent Blindness America
National Healthy Skin Month	United States	American Academy of Dermatology
Prematurity Awareness Month	United States	March of Dimes
National Epilepsy Month	United States	Epilepsy Foundation
American Diabetes Month	United States	American Diabetes Association
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month	United States	Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month	United States	Alzheimer's Association
Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month	United States	Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Lung Cancer Awareness Month	Worldwide	Macmillan Cancer Support

November 2011 Health Current Events - Weeks

Event	Date	Nation	Organisation
Scleroderma Awareness Week	3rd Nov - 9th Nov	United Kingdom	Raynauds & Scleroderma Association
Mouth Cancer Awareness Week	11th Nov - 17th Nov	United Kingdom	Mouth Cancer
GERD Awareness Week	18th Nov - 24th Nov	Worldwide	IFFGD
Diabetes Awareness Week	18th Nov - 24th Nov	New Zealand	Diabetes New Zealand

November 2011 Health Events - Days

Event	Date	Nation	Organization
World Diabetes Day	14th Nov	Worldwide	World Diabetes Day
Great American Smokeout Day	20th Nov	United States	American Cancer Society

Breast Cancer iPhone App Enlists Hunky Men to Remind Women About Self-Examination

A breast cancer app for iPhone, as well as Android, in which hunky men remind women to self-examine will be available in October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The Canadian charity Rethink Breast Cancer (RBC) has come up with an app called "Your Man Reminder."
Women can choose from six stereotypical male hunks, including the Boy Next Door, the Sports Jock, and the Business Man. A woman's hunk will pop up on her smartphone on a regular basis and remind her to do a self-exam. He will also offer her words of encouragement, such as "Give your breasts some TLC." TLC is breast awareness code for the words touch, look and check. Women can even choose the pose they want their man to make. The app will also offer scheduling options for doctors' appointments and a "signs and symptoms" tab, among other conveniences.

List of Awareness Ribbons

        Awareness ribbons, due to their ubiquitous nature, have come to symbolize various concerns depending on the colors or the patterns used.
        Yellow ribbons, in the United States, are used to show that a close family member is abroad in military service. In Russia, Belarus and other countries of the former USSR gold and black striped ribbons are used to celebrate the Allies' victory in World War II (9 May).
Of the uses of ribbons to draw awareness to health issues, perhaps the most well-known is the red ribbon for support of those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Other health and social concerns which have adopted coloured ribbons include Alzheimer's disease (purple), Breast Cancer (pink), bipolar disorder (green), and brain disorder or disability (silver).
Political use of ribbons include red ribbons worn to commemorate the October Revolution (7 November) in the former Soviet Union, and orange ribbons in the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
 Other ornaments, including flowers (of specific kinds), bracelets and badges may serve essentially the same purpose of drawing attention to a cause. These include poppies, rosettes and wristbands.

        This is a list of awareness ribbons. The meaning behind the awareness ribbon depends on its color or colors. Many groups have adopted ribbons as symbols of support or awareness, and as a result, many causes often share each color. Some causes may also be represented by more than one color.

Colors and meanings

Ribbon	Color	Meanings
	Pearl, white, or clear ribbon	Lung Cancer awareness. Originally clear, referencing air and being too-often unnoticed, but evolved to primarily pearl or white for practical reasons. Some sources suggest clear or white as a subset of pearl for long-term-non-smoker/never-smoker lung cancer, but there's no evidence of lung cancer organization support for this distinction. Some lung cancer organizations use different colors or symbols.
	White ribbon	Multiple Hereditary Exostoses Gay-Teen Suicide Awareness White Ribbon Campaign (what makes a man a man): Working to end violence against women (see also Woman's Christian Temperance Union) The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood: to ensure that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for all women and newborns in every country around the world (see also Woman's Christian Temperance Union) The White Ribbon is used to raise awareness for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Disease (SCID) and SCID Newborn Screening Invisible Illness

September 2011 Health Observances

Awareness Event	Coverage	Related Organization
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month	Canada	National Ovarian Cancer Association
Arthritis Awareness Month	Canada	Arthritis Society
Muscular Dystrophy Month	Canada	Muscular Dystrophy Canada
Sickle Cell Awareness Month	United Kingdom	Sickle Cell Society
National Sickle Cell Month	United States	Sickle Cell Disease Association of America
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month	United States	National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
National Cholesterol Education Month	United States	NHLBI
Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month	United States	Women's Cancer Network
Reye's Syndrome Awareness Week	United States	National Reye's Syndrome Foundation
Children's Eye Health and Safety Month	United States	Prevent Blindness America
National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month	United States	Recovery Month
Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month	Worldwide	The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

September 2011 Health Current Events - Weeks

Event	Date	Nation	Organisation
National Asthma Week	1st Sep - 7th Sep	Australia	The Asthma Foundation of Victoria
Suicide Prevention Week	2nd Sep - 8th Sep	United States	American Association of Suicidology
Migraine Awareness Week	6th Sep - 12th Sep	United Kingdom	Migraine Action Association
National Stroke Week	15th Sep - 21st Sep	Australia	Stroke Foundation
National Eczema Week	17th Sep - 21st Sep	United Kingdom	The National Eczema Society

September 2011 Health Events - Days

Event	Date	Nation	Organization
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Awareness Day	9th Sep	Worldwide	FAS Day
Suicide Prevention Day	10th Sep	Worldwide	World Health Organization
Worldwide Lymphoma Awareness Day	15th Sep	Worldwide	Lymphoma Coalition
World Alzheimer's Day	21st Sep	Worldwide	Alzheimer's Disease International
Ataxia Awareness Day	25th Sep	Worldwide	Ataxia Awareness
World Heart Day	28th Sep	Worldwide	World Heart Federation

#Ad. : Do You Know First Aid?

To raise awareness around World First Aid Day,  ad agency 'Downtown Partners' placed life size realistic decals of a person at the bottom stairwells in Cineplex Odeon Theatres in Toronto. At first, the decal generates the impression that someone is lying down unconscious and needs help, but as you get closer, you'll realize it's just a picture on the floor with a call to action to visit www.redcross.ca for a first aid training course. Let's hope it doesn't freak someone out and give them a heart attack first.