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Thanks to Virginia, BlogHer's resident technology editor, I recently learned how to use a "feed reader", also know as RSS. Don't laugh, I know I'm a bit behind the times. I like having so much information in one place, but it can be a little overwhelming as well.
This week I noticed there was a lot of women's health issues in the news. So I thought I would use this post to touch on a few of them.
Since September is "Healthy Aging Month", let's start with the growing problem many of our seniors are facing, in trying to afford their prescription medications. It seems seniors are having to make financial decisions to not buy medications, especially when they have higher co-pays. Here is an excerpt from High Co-Pays Cause Seniors to go Without Meds.
The data highlights a tough decision for older Americans: Spend more or skip some of their medicines, including those for chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
"Consumers are sensitive to price. When they have to pay more, they tend to consume less," senior researcher Boyd Gilman said in a prepared statement.
This isn't a new problem, but it is a problem that is becoming worse with the rise in prescription co-pays. And, it's not just a problem for seniors anymore, many people (especially single mothers) are facing the dilemma of whether to buy groceries for their family, or their medications...A decision none of us should ever have to make, but many of us will have to.
With heart disease a leading cause of death in women, non-compliance with blood pressure medications can have deadly results. Even when people can afford their blood pressure medications, many stop taking them because they feel better and believe they are "cured".
A major problem for controlling blood pressure is that people will often stop their medication once their blood pressure levels are healthy, according to a new report. Blood pressure is not cured and people with hypertension need to constantly track their readings.
Find information about monitoring your blood pressure here.
Then, there is still controversy surrounding the HPV Vaccine. I've written about this a few times before at "Gardasil - The Three Faces of the HPV Vaccine". My voice of opposition has been barely noticeable, especially in comparison to the multi-million dollar advertising "bullhorn" of the Merck pharmaceutical company. So, it was nice to come across this article, written by someone who actually shares my thoughts on the subject.
A little more than a year ago, the nation's first vaccine against some human papillomavirus (HPV) infections was released. This medical progress against cervical cancer got swept up by fear-based marketing that helped to generate premature calls for government mandates.
"You could become one less life affected by cervical cancer" is the mantra in most of Merck's ads for its vaccine, called Gardasil. The ubiquitous marketing campaign may leave viewers thinking that cervical cancer is more prevalent than it really is.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict a 22 percent to 60 percent reduction in cervical cancer attributable to this vaccine. However, for these reductions to be realized, a high proportion of young women will have to be vaccinated. Even then, reductions in invasive cervical cancer won’t be measurable for several decades.
If there’s one thing the discussions make clear, it’s that we need to try harder on Pap tests. Cervical cancer used to be a leading cause of cancer deaths among U.S. women. But since the introduction of the Pap smear in the 1940s, those deaths have dropped about 75 percent, even as the population has grown. -- read full article
Well, that's all I have for today. If you have an opinion about one of these topics, I hope you'll leave me a comment.
Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at Women 4 Hope and Informed Voters
