Monthly Archives: July 2015

Freeze: conceiving after cancer

FREEZE
Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine

The devastation of a cancer diagnosis often leaves patients and their families intensely focused on fighting the cancer. The fear of dying overtakes thoughts of the future, especially the possibility of ever becoming a mother or father. But SIU physicians offer hope to patients as they give them the option to have biological children of their own in the future.
Because cancer treatments can leave patients sterile, SIU OB-GYN Dr. Ricardo Loret de Mola and urologist Dr. Tobias Kohler can arrange for patients to bank their sperm or eggs for the possibility of future biological children.  “It’s our job to focus on the things patients can’t think about, like their fertility, because they have tunnel vision,” Dr. Köhler says.  (Read about the experience of two patients Dr. Köhler helped here.)
Physicians recommend that cancer survivors wait two years after chemotherapy before trying to start a family the old fashioned way. However, for a couple in their late twenties or early thirties, two years can be a long wait, and delaying pregnancy can lead to other fertility concerns associated with aging. In the case of men, even if the sperm count returns to normal, the sperm quality may not, according to Dr. Köhler.
Dr. Köhler and Dr. Loret de Mola are so committed to helping patients preserve their fertility that they see the patient within 24 hours of a request. “We will drop everything to freeze the sperm or embryos for them,” Dr. Köhler says. “There is no cancer so urgent that we can’t take the time to preserve a person’s fertility.”
Though banking sperm or eggs seems like a logical choice, the service is significantly underused across the country. This may partially be due to the perception that successful pregnancy rates using banked sperm or embryos are low. However, with current technology, the success rate is near 70%, according to Dr. Köhler.
“It’s well worth it to have the chance of having your own biological children,” Dr. Köhler says. “Eighty percent of young people who are diagnosed with cancer end up doing well.” Once patients begin to broaden their focus from beating cancer, continuing their family tree becomes important. “The solution is simple: address the concerns with us so that down the road, you can have a happy, healthy family of your own.”
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Think before you drink

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Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
Nothing says summer fun like an outdoor party by the pool or fire pit.  But if you decide to drink alcohol during these steamy days, take precaution. Nearly one-third of motor-vehicle deaths are related to alcohol impairment, according to the CDC.
When it’s hot outside, our bodies become dehydrated more quickly. Drinking alcohol while dehydrated leads to a higher blood alcohol concentration. Studies also show that a higher blood alcohol concentration leads to a greater risk of injury from a traffic accident, and the injuries will be more significant too.
While each person’s tolerance for alcohol is different, Ron Kanwischer, SIU addiction therapist and psychotherapist, says serious medical consequences can occur for those who overindulge. “Alcohol is a drug that has the potential to affect almost every organ in the body,” Kanwischer says. “Long-term heavy alcohol use can cause health conditions such as cancer and liver failure.”
Kanwisher offers these tips to stay safe:

  • Before the event, decide who will be the designated driver.
  • Ask your friends for their keys if you feel that they are too impaired to drive or offer them a ride if you have a designated driver.
  • If you host a party, have plenty of food available, offer non-alcoholic drinks and water.
  • Call a taxi if you’re unsure of your/your driver’s ability to drive safely. If you are hosting, have a cab company’s number readily available.

If you have a drinking problem, see your mental health or primary care provider. To schedule an appointment with one of SIU’s primary care physicians or psychologists, call 545-8000.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

A healthier hot dog healthier?

Don't let your hotdog kick your buns.By Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine
It’s National Hot dog Day!

Hot dogs are as American as apple pie, but let’s be frank, neither is that good for us. So we asked registered dietician Cheryl Burns how to make your hot dog healthier
Q: When shopping for hot dogs, what do you recommend looking for?
A: Look for brands with 14 grams of fat or less, 450 mg of sodium or less and no more than 150 calories per link.
Q: Are alternative dogs, such as veggie dogs or turkey dogs, healthier options, and if so, why?
A: Not necessarily. Turkey dogs have less fat, but the sodium content varies by brand. Some brands make chicken sausages, which meet the calorie and fat limits, but they’re higher in sodium at 650 mg sodium per link. For people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, over 50-years-old (50-years-old is the American Heart Association guideline for following a low sodium diet of 1500 mg/day) or with heart failure, that’s too high. Other people should keep to 2400 mg sodium/day.
Q: What should consumers look for when purchasing buns?
A: Use whole grain buns. Whole grains are much healthier than white flour buns.
Q: Any toppings you recommend using or staying away from?
Use fresh tomato, onion (raw or grilled), green pepper strips (raw or grilled). Limit catsup (salty + sugar), and instead use mustard. Limit pickles and pickle relish and avoid chili and cheese as toppings if you’re watching calories. And avoid adding table salt.
Q: Any final recommendations?
The sodium nitrates and sodium nitrites, which are preservatives, are very hard to avoid in this cured meat. The nitrates / nitrites can chemically change into nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic.  Nitrosamines are created when high heat temperatures are used when cooking sodium nitrate-containing foods. So grilling hot dogs, brats and sausages with a super hot grill is a problem, especially if they blacken. The smoke from dripping fat into the coals also will rise and attach to the surface of the meat, which is not healthy either.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

 

 

 

The newborn infection you may have never heard of

Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
The most common cause of this life-threatening infection in newborns is preventable, but many pregnant women have never heard of it. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of infection in infants, and if left untreated, the infection can lead to long-term disabilities and death.
The GBS organism is carried in the female genital track and is passed on to babies during delivery. Patient-specific group B strep guidance at your fingertips.  Download the app today.Many women infected with GBS do not have symptoms making screening very important. “At approximately 35 to 36 weeks gestation, all women should undergo screening for group B strep,” says Dr. Beau Batton, SIU neonatologist. “Women who are group B strep positive should be given antibiotics around the time of delivery in order to prevent infection in the baby.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a pregnant woman who tests positive for group B strep and gets antibiotics during labor has only a 1 in 4,000 chance of delivering a baby with group B strep disease. If antibiotics are not given at the time of labor, the baby has a 1 in 200 chance of developing GBS. Listen here for more information from the CDC about GBS.
Babies who contract GBS usually show symptoms in the first 24 hours after birth, but it can develop after going home from the hospital. According to Dr. Batton, signs and symptoms of GBS in an infant include
1. difficulty breathing
2. rapid breathing
3. periods when the infant stops breathing (apnea)
4. temperature instability
Dr. Batton recommends that all pregnant women see a physician for routine prenatal care and ask about group B strep screening prior to the birth of their baby.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Ear infections

Ear infections are one of the most common pediatric ailments, with more than 15 million office visits per year in the US. About half of all infants less than a year old will have at least one ear infection by their first birthday, according to SIU School of Medicine’s ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Leonard Rybak.EarExam-sm

“In children, the function of the Eustachian tube is not developed yet, especially in the first year of life,” explains Dr. Rybak. The Eustachian tube, which runs from the back of the nose to the space behind the ear drum, helps to equalize the air behind the ear drum. That’s why, Dr. Rybak says, children and airplanes don’t mix. “Often times, you will see kids crying during the descent of an airplane — they can’t equalize the pressure, and this becomes worse if there’s a viral infection like a cold or upper respiratory infection.”

Determining whether younger children have an ear infection can be a challenge. Dr. Ryback warns parents to be on the lookout for the following symptoms:
● Fever
● Pulling on the ear
● Fussiness and irritability
● Reduced appetite
● Disturbed sleep

In severe cases in which the eardrum ruptures, drainage will be coming out of the ear.

The good news for parents is there are ways to prevent ear infections from occurring.

“One way to prevent ear infections is the influenza vaccine,” explains Dr. Rybak. “Also, there are certain bacterial vaccines against pnemococus, the bug that causes sinus and ear infections.”

earAnother way parents can prevent bothersome ear infections is to be aware of the risk factors. According to Dr. Rybak, “Kids in daycare have a marked increased incidence in infections because they are spreading colds from one to another and they are spreading bacteria around.”

Smoking is also a risk factor. “If the parents smoke in the house, or even if they smoke outdoors, the smoke gets on their clothing and causes an irritation of the nose.”

If your child is especially prone to ear infections, ear tubes, placed in the ear through a small surgical incision, may be an option.

– Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine

Camp COCO works its magic

Written by Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine

This summer, thousands of children and teens have hugged their parents goodbye, turned off their cellphones and surrendered to nature for a week of camping, swimming, canoeing, telling ghost stories and singing folksongs. Among these kids were 146 Camp COCO participants. Unlike the average summer camper, however, COCO campers have a special relationship with childhood cancer.camp coco

On July 5 – 10, kids and teens from rural Illinois descended on Lake Bloomington in Hudson, Ill. to experience a summer camp like no other – Camp COCO, or Children’s Oncology Camp Organization. While not all the campers have cancer, they’ve all been touched by the illness in one way or another. Campers include children and teens who currently or have previously had cancer, as well as their siblings.

“A cancer diagnosis brings with it a terrifying interruption of childhood,” explains Camp COCO director Bet Spence. “Our programming is designed to help our camper overcome the physical, mental and emotional barriers posed by cancer. Campers find friends and staff who understand their experiences, concerns and dreams.”

Though the camp attracts more than 140 children from southern and central Illinois each year, childhood cancer is fairly rare, says Dr. Daniel Niebrugge, a pediatric cancer specialist at SIU School of Medicine.

“Cancer in children is not very common compared to cancer in adults,” Dr. Niebrugge explains. “Of a thousand kids, about one to two of them will develop cancer of some form. If you look at the whole childhood, that is from the time you are born to an adult or age 21, the chances of getting cancer is about 1 in 300, so it is a fairly small number.”

Treatments for childhood cancers like leukemia have also improved, despite many of the medications being the same as they were decades ago.

“There are some new drugs, but most of the drugs that we use now, whether it be for leukemia or for brain tumors, or sarcomas, or bone tumors, they are the same drugs we were using 30 years ago or even 40 years,” says Dr. Niebrugge. “But we are using them with more precision – better combinations, so our results have improved. For childhood leukemia we now have an 85 to 90 percent cure rate.  I am not talking about a five-year remission; I am talking about what appears to be a cure.”

And until there’s a definitive cure for all childhood cancers and blood disorders, there’s Camp COCO.

“Nothing can compensate for the anguish that childhood cancer inflicts,” says Spence. “But Camp COCO is an organization that tries to make a difference. The ability of one child to tell another, ‘Oh, I had that and I’m fine now,’ is a special gift one camper can give to another. That is what makes Camp such a magical place.”

Camp COCO is entirely supported by donations, and parents of campers are never asked to pay. The cost to send one child to camp for a week is approximately $700. To help sponsor a camper in 2016, visit siumed.edu/foundation/campcoco.htm

Copyright© SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Yes, your mother was right about oatmeal for breakfast

oatmealWritten by Sara Lopinski, RDN, LDN, SIU School of Medicine diabetes educator
Looking for a healthy way to start your day? Consider this:
In a recently published study in the Annals of Nutritional Metabolism, researchers studied the effects of oatmeal and corn flakes on satiety, gastric emptying, glucose and appetite-related hormones. Their findings showed that participants who ate oatmeal for breakfast felt fuller, experienced less hunger and ate less lunch than those who ate cornflakes for breakfast. Tests also revealed that their stomachs emptied at slower rate.  Additionally, blood sugar was lowest with the corn flakes, and there was no difference in appetite-related hormones, including leptin.
Oatmeal is a great way to add fiber and protein in your diet. Add a little fruit to sweeten it up and get some additional vitamins.
Here’s one of my favorite oatmeal one-serving recipes:
1/3 cup old fashioned oats (not steel cut)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Small apple, chopped
Ground cinnamon to preference
Combine in a 4-cup microwave safe bowl to prevent boil over.  Place in microwave and cook on full power for 3 minutes.
Nutrient analysis for 1-serving:  320 calories; 13 gm. Fat*, Cholesterol 2 mg., sodium, 55 mg., total carbs 45 gms., dietary fiber 9 gms., protein 11 gm.  No trans fat; 1 gm. saturated with the remaining fat unsaturated.
Geliebter A, Grillot CL, Aviram-Friedman R, Haq S, Yahav E, Hashim SA.
Sara Lopinski, is the program coordinator for diabetes education at SIU School of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology. The Healthy SIU Cookbook, which contains many of Sara’s favorite recipes, is available at the SIU Endocrinology Clinic during business hours or by mail for $18. Send check made out to SIU for $18 to Sara Lopinski, Endocrinology LL, P.O. Box 19654, Springfield, IL  62794-9654. For more information, call 217.545.7985 or view sample recipes here.
Copyright© SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

 

Don’t wait. Set the date for your school physical.

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Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
Have a child entering kindergarten, sixth or ninth grade this year? Be sure you have an appointment set up for a back-to-school physical before school starts. Physicals are required for students entering kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade and students who are new to Springfield Public Schools.
Staying up-to-date on vaccines and having a routine physical helps families protect their children from the most serious illnesses. “When children enter kindergarten, they have to show proof of receiving the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or the Tdap, their final polio, their final measles or rubella vaccine and their final varicella or chicken pox vaccine,” says SIU pediatrician, Dr. Craig Batterman. Starting at sixth grade children must also have proof of this Tdap booster to attend school.
Dr. Batterman urges parents to make sure their children get the required vaccinations at the scheduled times. (View the CDC’s guidelines here.) Parents who have questions about vaccines should talk with their primary care physician, pediatrician or local public health department.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

 

Test your summer safety knowledge

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Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
Summertime means fun time, but doctors caution that summer also harbors hazards for the irresponsible and uninformed. While you’re waiting for company to arrive for your 4th of July celebration, test your summer safety knowledge.
1.  True or False?
The emergency department sees more patients in the summer than during other times of the year.
2. How many motor-vehicle deaths are related to alcohol impairment?
A. Half                      B. One-third                            C. One-fourth                         D. None
3.  A sparkler can heat up to
A. 212°                      B. 500°                      C. 1200°                   D. 4150°
4. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least
A. 165°                     B. 200°                      C. 335°                      D. none of the above
5. The hours when the sun is at its peak are
A. 10 am – 4 pm     B. Noon – 3 pm     C. 1 pm – 6 pm     D. 7 am – 11 am

1. True. According to emergency medicine physician Dr. Ted Clark, ER doctors tend to see more patients in the summer. “We refer to this time of year as ‘trauma season’ in the ER; typically it’s May through August. It’s tempting to keep the kids inside to protect them from all these possible injuries, but I encourage parents to allow their children to be outside and to play,” Dr. Clark says. “In the long run, avoiding the sedentary lifestyle is going to do a lot more for a child’s health than the short-term risk of injury.”

2. B. Nothing says summer fun like a backyard BBQ, but if you decide to drink alcohol at your 4th of July festivity, take precaution. Nearly one-third of motor-vehicle deaths are related to alcohol impairment, according to the CDC.
The highest group of fatalities occurs among those between the ages of 21-25, according to SIU substance abuse counselor and psychotherapist Ron Kanwischer. Additionally, studies show that a higher blood alcohol concentration leads to a greater risk of injury from a traffic accident, and the injuries will be more significant too.
Kanwisher offers these tips to stay safe during the party-going holiday season:

  • Before the event, decide who will be the designated driver.
  • Call a taxi if you’re unsure of your/your driver’s ability to drive safely.
  • Ask your friends for their keys if you feel that they are too impaired to drive, or offer them a ride if you have a designated driver.
  • If you host a party, have plenty of food available, offer non-alcoholic drinks and have a cab company’s number readily available.

3. C. “Even things as seemingly innocent as sparklers can actually cause some intense injuries,” says emergency medicine physician, Dr. Jason Kegg. “The always-safe advice is that fireworks are best used by those who are trained to do so.” Dr. Kegg recommends keeping fireworks, matches and lighters away from children and adults who have been drinking; stay in an open area with water and a phone nearby. Setting off fireworks by an untrained individual could result in loss of sight, loss of fingers or toes, severe burns or damage to property.

4. A. Symptoms of foodborne illness may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. To avoid a terrible BBQ backlash on your health, the CDC offers these tips:

  • Wash hands and surfaces often
  • Separate raw food from cooked
  • Cook food thoroughly
  • Chill foods properly and don’t leave out in the summer heat for too long

5. A. Between 10 am and 4 pm is when we get the most ultraviolet radiation from the sun. “One of the things that we teach children is to avoid being in the direct sunlight when your shadow is shorter than you are,” says SIU dermatologist Lucinda Buescher. Dr. Buescher recommends applying sunscreen of at least SPF 15 approximately 20-30 minutes before heading outdoors. She also says it’s important to reapply every two hours and wear protective clothing when possible.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois