For me, as a somewhat newcomer to public health, I was inspired by the kind dedication demonstrated by the board of directors and supporters of the Endowment. This nonprofit foundation dedicates financial resources through grants that strengthen New Hampshire communities, particularly to populations under served and vulnerable. We know there are pockets of poverty in every community and many people, state wide, are lacking health care, access to services, good food, shelter, and health literacy-prevention programs. We want to succeed with the Affordable Care Act and we know funding is necessary to upgrade health infrastructure.

New Hampshire budgets are in peril by the sequestration, and issue of expanding Medicare. They are separate issues, yet each poses an uncertainty to those of us in health care. The stress of uncertainty has many wondering how to fill in budget cuts. Specifically, the $85 billion of sequestration cuts will reduce funding for treatment research on disease, such as for the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What affects them affects us as well. Further, the ability of New Hampshire to respond to public health emergencies will be weak. Indeed, the sequestration cuts will undermine many public health protections and initiatives. It is imperative that the Endowment for Health continue sustaining public health through philanthropic grants.

Given the state of the economy, reduced federal and state resources, public health initiatives are in need of public attention. The alternative is that of worsening poverty, more hungry children lacking nutrition, elderly uncared for, unattended in their homes without in-home services, or unattended in Homes stretched to the max by short staffing of nurses and aides.

This is not what New Hampshire residents want to see. If the Endowment could do it alone, how wonderful New Hampshire would be. It takes all of us working together to keep New Hampshire on track. Say yes to Medicare expansion and no to the arbitrary budget cuts that will hamper our growth, as well as our abilities to live, learn, and earn money for development and salaries for professionals, in a healthy, vibrant New Hampshire.

True, health care providers can always improve care that they give and manage to cancer patients. They are human, after all, so there is always room for improvement. But hold on for a second; it’s not necessarily true that providers will benefit from, or should give time to, reading patient blogs.

Oncology includes the oncologist, the treatment nurses specially trained in the administering of cancer drugs, and a surgeon. The surgeon might have a role that seems to end post surgery but I disagree. Surgeons are the greatest, I think, in compartmentalizing their emotions. That’s an important skill for anyone in health care. These health care providers could not, I believe, be more sympathetic to the cancer patient and family by reading blogs.

In my experience, the oncologist and the rest of the care team, have a front row seat with the patient, and in the long time span from initial diagnoses to the end (whatever the end may be) the physician and patient come to know each other. Within the case loads of patients to providers, there isn’t anything more real relating to cancer than those health care provider and cancer patient conversations. These conversations cultivate and define the cancer patient experience.

Are you or someone close to you struggling through cancer treatments? What has your experience been like?

We don’t consciously realize the place a pet holds in our lives until we get to the end of the road with them. Heart breaking is an understatement in the crushing loss of a dog or cat companion of many years.

Let’s face it, pets are an important part of our culture. Dogs and cats, among others, keep us company, give us comfort, offer instant stress reduction, and even training in social skills. Yes, they can assist us humans in becoming more social creatures. Pet therapy is an appropriate consideration in health.  Therapy animal visits are known to bring comfort and ease loneliness and depression.

Pet assisted therapy is a modality of spiritual and physical healing.  That’s a clinical view of pet therapy. Really, a pet makes us feel good. The cold, wet nose of a retriever or a mutt nudging you will reduce anxiety symptoms. We don’t need studies to tell us that.

Yet studies continue to explore to and to confirm cognitive behavioral therapy values of therapy animal visits in our homes, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and community homes. Some therapists seem to think there is a lack of solid evidence of the benefit of pet therapy. I think they are looking for an excuse to play with puppies.

Still, it’s true to note anxiety dissipates when dogs or cats are present, especially for the large population that suffer from generalized anxiety, anxiety disorders, and other symptoms of anxiety, even panic attacks. Indeed, studies have noted the improvement of depression and loneliness in long term care and elderly patients when pets and other elements of nature were incorporated into care. Physiological changes occur when interacting with a pet that are beneficial to the well being of a patient. The tactile experience of petting a dog, for example, stimulates positive brain activity.

Today pets are part of the family. Some even take a seat at the dinner table. Nursing homes are reflections of past pets. Having seen first hand, personal photos, portraits of dogs from days gone by, they are as cherished as a human family member long past. It’s in the small square rooms of nursing home patients that the bonds remain and hope sustains for someday, to be together again.

One tipping point for me with social media was when I became aware that people are simply people, like me and like you. You see, for years, I lived intimidated by authority figures, afraid to break rules, fearful of being yelled at. Thankfully, a number of positives reduced those negatives over time.  My social self awareness grew as did that of my environment, my peers, my lifestyle. My own self went through a social media revolution as a result of graduate school.

Social media networking sites have opened my eyes to real world situations, relationships, including virtual relationships, and how marketing, specifically, social media marketing and social media networking can impact oneself, for better or worse–that is entirely up to you. It’s a global impact, really.

I take comfort in knowing I am not alone. In instances where I stumbled, many others stumbled before me; there is nothing to be ashamed of and everything to gain in laughing at oneself. People are people, just like you and I, no matter what their title, professional, or academic standing. I wish someone had told me that secret twenty years ago.

Social media has grown beyond Facebook and Twitter now. Businesses and healthcare organizations are looking quizzically at social media optimization and social media integration, inbound marketing, content marketing, strategic marketing. Some of it is new thinking, while some is old thinking with a twist. The social question seems to be: How can I make these different platforms work together for my brand, my business? It’s a good question.

How can we make it better? Make good better starting with you Take a deep breath, let it out slow, realize if they can do it, so can you. Take time to formulate original thought. Become aware of your role in getting to a better place. It is your business to represent yourself, or your company, or profession with your thoughts. Exercise your brain, insert original thinking into social media.

Original thought is something sorely lacking in our cut and paste or click on Like, social media society. It’s true, not everyone is a writer or likes to compose. Still, many writers are available to help communicate, formulate, extrapolate, elaborate; you get the picture. Now get your message out there.

I Googled the term and quickly learned of various free tests one could take. It was a bit like checking the oil in my car. I learned that I was down seven quarts.  According to the test, my chakras are closed. At first, I thought the test was set to sell a product, but with the meaning of each chakra explained, I had to admit, it was on the money with how I felt physically and mentally.

This was a new world, and to me, the timing could not have been better. I wholly support the New Year. There are seven chakras, energy centers within us. I am not going to pretend I know a lot about this because I do not—yet. This is the start of a journey. I wholly support new journeys for the New Year.

I do feel like there is truth found in pursuing awareness and enlightenment. I do believe in a higher level of awareness. We all know our minds age slower than the physical body. Prevention is crucial to wellness as we move through the continuum of life. I believe if the mind is not well, the body is not well, and vice versa.

Last week, I struggled with myself. Words would not come to me. My brain felt stuck (not the first time) yet I knew it was full of thoughts, words, feelings, that I wanted to work constructively to communicate. I could not get to a harmony of body and mind.  I had to wonder if my closed chakras were to blame.

Stress is something I do know a great deal about, physically and mentally.  None of it is pretty. Here’s hoping to a new enlightenment for me and if you are struggling for any reason, I hope the same for you.  Focus, breathe, stretch, and let your light shine out in positive rays….something like that.

In other business, I have a new system for comments here. Also, scroll to the very bottom and you can sign up with your email address to receive my thoughts on health practically as fast as I think them. Well, no not that fast. I won’t bombard you. Just keeping in touch for the health of it.

According to the CDC, there are about 1.7 million brain injuries per year. It is also a fact that men are more likely than women to suffer a TBI. That makes sense. Sports enthusiasts have seen or experienced many injuries related to football and hockey, as well as other contact sports. It’s not that women don’t play rough contact sports; they do. However, males get hurt more frequently and more seriously.

Sports aside, bumping your head on a table, or a hard fall, can cause trauma to the brain. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was sidelined by a concussion after fainting. Clinton had a prior illness leading up to her fainting and a TBI. Such an injury can occur to anyone on a given day. Another result can be a brain bleed, also known as a stroke. Caught early by diagnostic testing, these are not always fatal events, nor does a TBI always result in chronic illness from brain damage. Your inner voice may say these are old people issues. Not true, it can happen to you.

Brain hemorrhage, or bleeding of the brain, is a type of stroke that can occur after a traumatic injury, such as we see in professional athletes from time to time. Head trauma is a leading cause of brain bleeding in folks under age 50. These folks might die from the swelling mass of pooled blood pressure on the brain after a trauma, or today; many lives are saved by the realization that a bump on the head, trauma, may be more serious on the inside than it appears on the outside. Seek medical attention, immediately.

Give some thought to this serious subject. Click on the CDC Ask the Expert for a different view. For a personal perspective to you, on the issue of TBI, go to WEGO Health and Inspire.com. These sites are unique to each other as well as a free source for anyone affected by TBI or chronic illness, directly or indirectly. Seriously, let me know what you think.

A while back, the World Health Organization (WHO) put forth an action plan that extends to the end of 2013. The plan is to prevent and control chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancers, and chronic respiratory disorders. Consider society today. Now, imagine the same society with less of these illnesses.

On one hand, there are communicable illnesses. The influenza virus is a communicable illness. This virus makes us ill for a time but we usually recover. On the other hand, there are chronic illnesses that are noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Meaning, not contagious from one to another. Treatable, and sometimes preventable, NCDs rock our quality of life as any illness would. Looking at the population of chronic disease sufferers, in general, is like looking down into a quarry hole. It is deep from the ledge, and deeper than we know beneath the water below.

More work needs to be done in public health; education, prevention, and management of NDCs. These illnesses are treatable holistically and medicinally. Multichannel communication is necessary. Let the planning begin for 2013.

We must acknowledge our weaknesses as risk factors, that lead to chronic health issues. These risks lie in smoking, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and too much alcohol consumption. Nobody is perfect. Each of us has one or more of these factors in our lifestyles. After a while these factors affect health. The four diseases alone: cardiovascular, cancers, respiratory, and diabetes cause about 35 million or 60 percent of all deaths globally.

Are prevention efforts too little too late after a diagnosis? The lungs of a smoker who refrains from smoking for 24 hours or more, has a healthful advantage over other smokers.

Still, for some, it is too late. Diagnosis brings to mind questions: What could I have done differently? Is it genetic or environmental? What caused this and what might have prevented this disease? How will my family cope?

Social media offers the ability to connect with others as well as learn. This is an important component in healing and coping. It’s been said that the way of the world is meeting people through other people; networking. Social communities exist to offer peer support and information. Another rising consumer channel is Pinterest.

Check out Pinterest.com if you have not done so already. Create an account. Use the search feature to search for specifics of health. Social media is here to stay. Social media may be the future of healthcare.

This was more than a decade ago. The fish oil pills cost a fortune through the vet, but nothing was too good for Rosie. Meanwhile, fish oil capsules have, in my own view, leaked into the market place as a needed supplement to humans as well as pets.

Like other nutritional supplements, fish oil capsules are not FDA approved. Consumers have been chugging them like peanuts, along with their other supplements; it’s a morning ritual for some.

Courtesy Safe Harbor Foods.

That’s fine. If a little is good, more must be better, right? Wrong. It seems health conscious fish oil supplement users can overdo a good thing. Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA are long chains of carbon atoms. We do our bodies good when we eat two 8 ounce servings of a fatty fish per week. Fish like salmon and talapia are good examples. Pay attention to store displays; they can help identify the healthiest natural choices.

Adding fish to your diet twice a week will offer the same benefits as a supplement; what better way to get it than naturally? Fish oil has been shown to:

• Lower blood pressure
• Reduce triglycerides
• Slow the development of plaques in the arteries
• Reduce the chance of abnormal heart rhythm
• Reduce the likelihood of heart attack and stroke
• Lessen the chance of sudden cardiac death in people with heart disease (WebMD)

There is a place for fish oil supplements in the market and perhaps, on your home shelf too. Use caution and seek medical advice from your doctor before trying fish oil. There are instances, sometimes in treatment of cancer, for example, that fish oil supplements can do more harm than good. While the benefits mentioned above are great, an individual on medication for a chronic health condition should be monitored by a health professional.

For us midlife folks, the fact is 18.1 percent, or about 40 million adults suffer from and seek treatment for anxiety. There are four anxiety disorders:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Post-Traumatic  Stress Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The extent to which a person suffers from any or all of these conditions is the result of genetics, environment, life style. Lifestyle variables include:

• Diet: how healthy or unhealthy the foods we choose, contributes to mental health at any age.
• Consistent sleep: Try it. It’s wonderful! If it doesn’t work for you naturally, seek medical help.
• Exercise: Keep telling yourself, keeping active physically have calm you and enhance your outlook on life. It’s true!
• Stress: This is a tough issue as no two individual stress thresholds are alike. Try to recognize what you cannot change and adapt your reaction. Give the situation a new frame. Take a deep, slow breath, and let go of the ugly stress demon.

Life is complicated as we mature. We experience anxiety in raising children, marital relationships, death, cancer, or juggling jobs and finances can trigger anxiety. Adapting is the best we can do. Symptoms of the above disorders manifest over time. The onset of anxiety is around the age of 35. Feelings of anxiety can be a progressive illness over time.

Midlife anxiety is treatable. The first step to treatment is to identify the issue. Feel no shame; then seek a therapist. Or rather, seek a therapist to help you feel no shame. Understand that you are not alone. What causes you anxiety is likely to be stressful to others as well. Prepare to spend time learning CBT to change anxiety provoking mindsets and behaviors, or at least cope with anxiety. Overcoming anxiety will not happen in a day. The good news is; you are not alone. Millions suffer and deal every day with mild to severe symptoms of anxiety.

As a licensed nurse assistant with years of experience in long-term care, I have had the honor to provide care and assistance to many seniors. Sometimes I feel traumatized by the things I have seen.

Many feel their children will care for them at the time, in the future, when the roles of parent and child reverse. I wish I could say in my experience, that is always the case, or that families are harmonious in their decision-making. The truth is, families tend to do the best they can with a difficult situation regarding loved ones they cannot care for in their home.

Have you ever considered becoming licensed or certified as a nursing assistant? Some feel they could never do such work themselves. The work is physically hard and emotionally draining. Still, there is a huge need for that certain type of person who can care for the elderly. The state license requires learned skills that make queasy people gag. It is the entry-level position into nursing.

The role of the nursing assistant to the patient, however, is critical to success in long-term living within a facility. The rewards are not lucrative; nursing assistants make little money, yet the memories are priceless. There are memories of special people I will never forget. The other night, I helped a woman aged into her nineties into bed and she started to cry. I wish I could be home beside my husband, she said. Her husband passed long ago. You are lucky, she told me. I tucked her in and wished her sweet dreams. God help us, I hear often. Yes, God, please help us, I pray.

It is unfortunate and sad that not all elderly can leave this world enveloped in the love that brought them into the world. If the family does not have money and the State picks up the tab, be prepared for less than optimal end of life days for your loved one