Written by Laura Bottom, SIU School of Medicine, Center for Family Medicine
Warm, summer nights are coming to an end, kids are back in school and the flu vaccine is one poke away. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many medical clinics recommend anyone 6 months and older to get a seasonal flu vaccine, but many misconceptions regarding the vaccine still exist.
Myth 1: The flu vaccine can give you the flu.
Flu vaccines are currently engineered in two ways; one way uses an inactivate virus, resulting in a non-infectious vaccine.  The second way is with no flu virus at all, which is the case for recombinant influenza vaccine. Common side effects include low-grade fever, headache and muscle aches. Side effects at the injection spot include soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling.
Myth 2: It is better to get the flu instead of the flu vaccine.
The flu virus can lead to very serious complications resulting in hospitalization or even death. The flu can be extremely harmful especially in young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with certain chronic health conditions including asthma, heart disease and diabetes. This vaccine helps to protect your body against the flu virus. Getting the flu vaccine is a much safer choice than risking serious illness.
Myth 3: It is not necessary to get a flu vaccine every year.
Over time, the vaccination becomes less effective, leaving you less protected. Annual vaccination is important for the best protection from the flu virus. Therefore, it is recommended to get a flu vaccine every year for those 6 months and older.
Myth 4: I should wait to get vaccinated so immunity lasts throughout the flu season.
The CDC recommends people get vaccinated as soon as it becomes available. After being vaccinated, it can take about two weeks for antibodies that help protect your body against the flu virus to develop. It is best to get vaccinated BEFORE the flu virus is spread throughout your community, but it is never too late to get vaccinated.
Call you doctor’s office today to schedule a flu vaccination. Or call 545-8000 and ask for SIU Center for Family Medicine; our team of doctors will care for your whole family from flu season and beyond.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Steve Sandstrom, SIU School of Medicine
Metastatic prostate cancer is the second deadliest cancer among US men, behind lung cancer.
It’s an unfortunate irony: the small gland that allows a man to create life can sometimes lead to his own demise.
Once a man has passed his reproductive prime, the prostate has the potential to become a different kind of loaded weapon. To the SIU School of Medicine urology team, the goal is to catch prostate problems early, and a new method of diagnosing this disease is now being offered to patients.
MRI vs. ultrasound
MRI’s might be better than the current standard – ultrasound – which can‘t tell whether a lesion on the organ is cancerous as it randomly samples a portion of the prostate. SIU’s urology team is now using an MRI on the prostate. An MRI can provide very clear soft-tissue details of the prostate, revealing lesions that the physicians can accurately target for a biopsy.
St. John’s Hospital is partnering with SIU School of Medicine to provide this specialized imaging in Springfield. Dr. Shaheen Alanee is head of urologic cancer care at SIU. He is using the MRI protocols designed by a team of physician collaborators at Centre Hospitalier Regionale University in Lille, France and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. St. John’s radiologists Dr. Vincent Zata and Dr. Theodore Gleason measure the lesion and grade its likelihood of being cancerous with a much higher degree of certainty than can be done using other techniques. Dr. Alanee then uses the MRI images to target suspicious areas for the biopsy needle.
The benefits
This new, more accurate, less invasive technology gives men with rising PSAs and previous negative biopsies better information to address their concerns.
“There is increasing evidence that using an MRI before a biopsy can accurately identify patients who require immediate biopsies and those who could be deferred,” Dr. Alanee says. “Our findings are already detecting cancer in areas a biopsy did not.”
“The potential of MRI in prostate cancer detection and management seems unlimited,” Dr. Zata says. “As the technology develops, more uses for MRI are being identified. Someday soon we may be able to substitute prostate biopsy with a combination of blood tests and MRI imaging and save our patients the discomfort of an invasive procedure.”
Read more about how SIU School of Medicine is treating men with prostate cancer in aspects.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine
If you were given an opportunity to switch identities with another person for an hour of your life, whom would you choose? You probably wouldn’t choose  a young man with a criminal record, a minimum wage job as a cafeteria worker and a daughter and girlfriend to support. You also probably wouldn’t choose to be someone trying to earn a college degree while caring for three younger siblings because your dad is in prison and your mom left.
But last Friday, that’s exactly who School of Medicine Internal Medicine physicians and staff chose to be.
In a poverty simulation designed to reflect real families’ situations and develop physician and staff’s understanding of the challenges associated with poverty, fifteen minutes represent a week. As internal medicine physicians, faculty members, nurses and support staff arrived, they were given a new identity, along with a name badge, photo ID and a packet of information describing their new lives. Chairs set in circles represented families’ homes. Tables lining the perimeter of the room represented community resources, childcare centers and businesses.
As the simulation began with the chirp of a whistle, participants were unsure where to head first. If
employed, they had three minutes to reach the employment table, where they waited until their work day ended. Single parents were also tasked with getting children to the school or childcare center before heading to work. Workers at the supermarket, bank, utilities office and pawn shop were often rude and unhelpful, as can often be the case in real life.
Unemployed participants formed lines at the community support tables. Though lines were often frustratingly slow and confusing as participants were unsure what each table could provide them, the mood was light and jovial. When the first fifteen minutes of the simulation ended, however, many families realize they’d missed work, had little remaining money and had a limited number of transportation passes left. A slight but noticeable urgency appeared among participants. What began as a tentative walk to the bank or Community Action Program in week one became an all-out sprint in week two.
Luxuries like stereos, jewelry, televisions and cameras were quickly taken to the pawn shop where increasingly desperate patrons were offered far below market value for their prized belongings. One woman sold her grandmother’s wedding ring to make ends meet.  The occasional miscounting of money also occurred as families tally their remaining cash and transportation passes. Though participants are told they must pay all bills, bills labeled “miscellaneous” or “clothing” quickly fell by the wayside. Babies, represented by baby dolls, are all but forgotten.
Many families found comfort in the Community Action Program, but once the resources – which include transportation passes, childcare vouchers and assistance with food, clothing and utilities – were gone, they were really gone. By the end of week three, many families returned to their “homes” to find they’d been evicted after failing to pay their rent or mortgage. Others’ electricity was turned off. Bewildered families searched the perimeter of the room for the nearest homeless shelter. Some families returned to find their children have been put in juvenile detention after they failed to take them to school or childcare.
Many of the participants were left to the good graces of those around them. Others made their own luck; families turned to thieving and purposely misleading merchants to save a bit of money.
As the simulation ends, participants are noticeably uncomfortable. During a period of reflection following the simulation, physicians, nurses and support staff share several takeaways:

• The lack of assistance offered in finding the right resources was troubling. As employees of a health care organization, they feel they need to be aware of community resources so that they can be the assistance their patients are seeking.
• Poverty is an endless cycle. Families stressed the inability to save money to get ahead while living paycheck to paycheck.
• Poverty affects the entire community. The simulation was a reminder to participants that some patients struggle to find transportation. The next time a patient arrives an hour late for an appointment, be patient and realize it may have taken three different busses to travel four miles.
• Some patients may be reluctant to share their circumstances with health care professionals; therefore, it’s up to nurses and doctors to recognize the signs and offer assistance when needed.
• If you don’t know the answer, find someone who does. Springfielders are urged to call 211, a service offered by United Way that will help families receive the assistance they need.

The poverty simulation was an eye-opening 60 minutes, but for more than 15% of Sangamon County residents living at or below the poverty line, the frustration, hunger and desperation are inescapable. Pawning off a loved-one’s wedding ring isn’t as easy as handing a piece of paper with a picture of a wedding ring on it to a pawn shop. Being talked down to by the people who are supposed to help you is an unfortunate but daily occurrence faced by impoverished families. Infants aren’t dolls that can be ignored; they’re loving, crying, hungry, growing children in need of diapers, formula and attention.
While most of us wouldn’t willingly trade lives with those less fortunate, SIU physicians took the challenge and are now armed with greater empathy and a greater respect for patients whose physical and mental wellbeing has been affected by the burden of poverty.
“I’ve had patients tell me that their electricity had been cut off,” one physician said. “I listened, but until today, I didn’t know what services were available. Now I know how tough it is.”
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Terri Wilson, SIU HealthCare

Ann Gemberling and her husband, Jay, never really talked about becoming parents, but Ann always knew she wanted to be a mom. After trying for a year to get pregnant without success, however, the Springfield couple discussed their options with their primary care physician who recommended the SIU Fertility and IVF Center.

Dr. J. Ricardo Loret de Mola, director of the Center and the couple’s fertility specialist, recommended the couple start with in vitro fertilization (IVF). “On our first round of IVF, we produced four embryos,” explains Ann. “We were so excited and planned on implanting two of those embryos.”

Throughout the process, Dr. Loret de Mola stressed the importance of maintaining Ann’s health as well as the health of the embryos. “Dr. Loret de Mola always made me feel like my health in this journey was extremely important,” says Ann. “He was afraid if he implanted two embryos that I would have a more difficult pregnancy due to ovarian hyper-stimulation. Once I heard his concern, we were very comfortable with the decision to implant the very best embryo.”

After just one round of IVF, the couple discovered they were pregnant. “It worked!” Ann exclaims. “We had Maycee, who’s now our beautiful two-year old.”

When Maycee was about a year old, the couple decided to expand their family of three and opted to try IVF again using their frozen embryos. “The team was very honest that frozen transfer may not work,” Ann recalled. “The success rates for frozen transfer versus fresh transfer aren’t as high.”

Much to the couple’s disappointment, the IVF didn’t go as they had hope. “It failed and we were devastated, but we were grateful for the team’s honesty,” Ann explains.

Looking back at their journey, Ann says she initially felt inadequate after being unable to conceive naturally, which is why the mother of three wants to be a source of support for others who feel alone in the process. “Going through IVF, you have to give up control and trust them with your future.”

Ann and Jay felt like they had one more chance to try IVF. “Due to insurance and job changes, we had a short window to try one more time. The SIU staff worked very hard to meet our deadline and get us into clinic. We produced two embryos and both implanted with success!”

Today, the family of five is happy, healthy and busy.

“Going from one to three was crazy!” Ann comments. “It’s amazing how enriched our lives are now that we have these three beautiful children. Being a mom was always something I wanted, but I didn’t realize how much I wanted it until they got here. We love our children and our life.”

The couple feels they owe a lot to the SIU Fertility and IVF Center.

“We are very blessed and lucky to have the SIU Fertility and IVF Center here in Springfield, Illinois,” says Ann. “We didn’t have to travel to St. Louis or Chicago for treatment. The staff was so supportive that they became like a second family to us. It was nice to have them to lean on.”

Interested in learning more about SIU’s fertility services or meeting our specialists? Join us from 3 to 6 pm on Sept. 13 at Erin’s Pavilion as the Center celebrates its fifth birthday. Call 217-545-3101 to RSVP or to learn more about our services.

Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
We’re all looking for ways to save time in our daily schedules. If your child doesn’t participate in the school’s hot lunch program, you might be looking for ways to cut back on the prep time of their cold lunches. SIU School of Medicine registered dietitian Cheryl Burns offers these tips for saving time while keeping lunch healthy.

• Make a list of meals, side dishes and drinks that go well together and are liked by your child and use it as a “go to” when you have less time to plan and prepare.
• Keep a copy of the list in your car for last minute grocery trips.
• Purchase small bags/containers to make lunch-sized portions ahead of time. Enlist your child’s help in this task so that you can work on other responsibilities.
• Have older children help with the packing process by preparing and packing certain items the night before.
• If your child needs milk money, have exact change in a certain spot so that you don’t have to go digging for change.
• Use the list below for some healthy options you might not have considered.

Here are some lunch ideas to help you break from the norm:
1. Turkey & cheese tortilla wrap
2. Ham & cheese bagel sandwich
3. Peanut butter & honey sandwich
4. Cream cheese & cucumber sandwiches
5. Cream cheese & jelly tortilla wrap
6. Egg salad sandwich
7. Tuna salad sandwich
8. Hard boiled eggs
9. Deli meat & cheese kebabs, wheat crackers on the side
10. Chicken skewers and rice balls. Place a small amount of cooked rice on a piece of plastic wrap and press with fingers to shape it.  Remove the wrap before packing.
11. Peanut butter and banana sandwich on graham crackers
12. Mini bagels with cream cheese
13. Fruit salsa with cinnamon chips
14. Fruit & cheese skewers

Don’t forget the sides:
1. Applesauce
2. Fruit
3. Veggies – carrots, celery, broccoli, pepper strips, etc. – add a side of ranch, peanut butter or hummus for dipping
4. Veggie Straws
5. Whole grain crackers
6. Cheese
7. Pretzels
8. Raisins
9. Dry cereal (avoid sugary kinds)
10. Yogurt or Pudding
11. Popcorn
12. Muffins (zucchini, apple, banana, etc.)
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
One in three children in the US is overweight or obese, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Now, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease are on the rise at younger ages. But families can take simple steps to reduce these health conditions. September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, a month aimed at promoting awareness of childhood obesity and strategies for preventing it. Below are some small changes that can help children maintain a healthy weight.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois