All Posts in "Month: May 2022"

Improved COVID situation can bring back preventive medicine

Breast cancer screenings are one of the regular preventive measures that patients should return to, according to the Seattle-King County Public Health Department.

With the emergence of COVID-19, routine preventive care, including breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening, decreased dramatically to prioritize urgent care and reduce the spread of the virus in medical facilities. The good news is that 92.6 percent of people in King County ages 5-plus have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and half are fully vaccinated.  The bad news is that patients aren’t returning to regular preventive health and cancer screenings at the pace seen before the pandemic.

Our medical system is getting back on its feet, and while caution is understandable, it’s critical we get back to scheduling preventive health screenings that help save lives. Cancer is not going away and will not wait for a pandemic to pass.

Routine screenings help detect diseases in the earlier stages and give patients a better chance of beating any deadly disease, especially cancer. Continuing to postpone these vital checkups can lead patients to an advanced cancer diagnosis that is harder to treat.

A model created by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) predicts an excess of 10,000 deaths from breast and colorectal cancer over the next 10 years due to missed screenings, delays in diagnosis, and reductions in regular care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of these missed and delayed screenings are disproportionately felt by communities of color and low-income communities already devastated by the pandemic.

In King County, people who are low-income, uninsured, or facing deductibles may be eligible for free breast and cervical cancer screenings through our Breast, Cervical, and Colon Health Program. Questions about eligibility? Call our referral line at 1-800-756-5437.

In addition, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s navigators can help you determine what colon cancer screening approach is right for you and connect you with screening options (including free home tests for those eligible).

This is a great time to schedule a preventive health screening and learn more about cancer prevention. Doctors recommend anyone 45 and older get a colon cancer screening, age 40 and older a breast cancer screening, and 21 or older cervical cancer screening.

Please talk to your doctor to determine which test is suitable for you and #GetScreened. Your life depends on it.

 

Fred Mariscal, who works in chronic Disease and injury prevention for the Seattle-King County Public Health Department, wrote this article in March for the department’s Public Health Insider blog.

srmedia by — May 12, 2022 in Health & Fitness
Advice for organizing that junk drawer

If this looks like your junk drawer, there are ways to make it more organized.

Most people have at least one junk drawer. It tends to be in the kitchen, but it can reside anywhere there is an accessible, or sometimes inaccessible, empty drawer. It’s usually stuffed to the brim and can contain everything from takeout menus, old mail, ketchup packets, and batteries to other odds and ends. Instead of shoving more items into it daily and pretending not to notice that it isn’t closing, its time to finally tackle and organize your junk drawer.

Below are tips from Jane Lee, an organizing expert and founder of Poke-A-Dot Organizer.

Ready, set, go!

  • Getting started can be very overwhelming. Begin with a clean area where you can place all of your junk such as the dining room table or a counter.
  • Pull out everything from the drawer and set it onto the clean area that you chose. Don’t forget to bring along the garbage can! Separate “junk” from “necessities”. Do you really need that 8th grade picture of your son who is now 37?
  • Next, use a damp towel to clean out the drawer. Make sure to get into the corners to remove all those lovely, bug attracting crumbs.

Divide and conquer.

  • Separate your items into categories. All your screwdrivers and tools go into one pile, pens and writing utensils in another, tacks and nails in another, etc.
  • Utilize plastic bins or organizers in your junk drawer to help keep items grouped together. The Poke-A-Dot Organizer allows you to create customizable spaces or slots to hold your items instead of going through the hassle of trying to find the “perfect” one in store!
  • Bonus tip: Make sure to measure your drawer before buying any bins or organizers to ensure that they will fit inside. This will save you from having to make multiple trips to the store!

Take a breather and think.

  • Before you even start to tackle your junk drawer or any cleaning project, make sure you have enough time to get the task done so you aren’t rushing.
  • Take breaks if you need to. Don’t rush through the process just so you can be done. You’ll end up keeping items you don’t really need.
  • Make sure to ask yourself two important questions throughout your junk drawer cleaning: Do I really need this item? Have I used it in the last year?
  • Finally, give yourself credit that you are organizing the drawer that has gathered dust over the years. Whether it takes one hour or a month, good job, you did it!
srmedia by — May 12, 2022 in Lifestyles
Survey: Seattle-Tacoma cost of living is among highest in U.S.

Taking into account the cost of consumer goods, services, and housing, the overall cost of living in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area is 12 percent higher than the national average, making it one of the least affordable regions anywhere in the U.S.

That’s one of the results of a nationwide survey by Porch, an online company that provides referrals for home improvement contractorrs, relocation, and other services for homeowners.

The survey covered 350 metropolitan areas and all 50 states. Full results are at https://porch.com/advice/cities-where-your-dollar-goes-the-furthest

The survey came at a time when inflation has been the biggest economic concern. Price increases have been at historic highs through much of 2021 and into 2022, with energy and vehicle costs increasing more than 40 percent since the beginning of 2021.

A number of factors explain the recent nationwide trends in price increases, Porch reported. Strong fiscal stimulus from the federal government and rapid recovery in many sectors have brought more money into the U.S. economy, while a tight labor market has led to wage increases for many workers. With more money to spend, consumer demand has increased, but ongoing issues with global supply chains have made many physical goods scarce. The result has been price increases in nearly every category, which puts pressure on households’ finances.

One common measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI measures prices paid for a set of typical consumer expenses, including food, energy, transportation, apparel, shelter, and more. The year-over-year percentage change in the CPI topped 5 percent in every month since June 2021 and reached 7.5 percent in January 2022.

Analysis from the Porch survey rates the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area as the the fifth-least affordable nationally. Its overall cost of living (12 percent) is based largely on its extreme cost of housing (52 percent above the national average).

The high cost of housing is one of the factors making life in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue areas so expensive.

The cost of goods is also above the national average (by 11 percent). But the cost of utilities help reign in the overall cost of living by being about 9 percent below the national average.

The other element that figures in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue affordability is its per capita personal income, which at $80,420 is well above the national average of $59,510.

The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which tracks the change in residential home prices around the country, showed year-over-year increases of more than 10 percent for every month in 2021, peaking at 20 percent in August. Aside from a brief span in 2013 and 2014, growth in home prices hadn’t topped 10 percent since the peak of the housing bubble in the early to mid-2000s.

Among states, ones with the highest prices for goods, services, and housing include Hawaii, New Jersey, California, and New York—all more than 10 percent above the national average. On the other end of the scale are Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, and Kentucky, with prices 10-plus percent below the average.

srmedia by — May 12, 2022 in News
Wine lovers can tout the grape with license plates

Wine fans might raise a glass to

Washington’s wineries in places like the Yakima Valley will be promoted with the help of specialized license plates for vehicles.

this: Washington is selling specialty automobile license plates that support the state’s wine industry.

Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Kelly Chambers of Puyallup and passed by the Legislature earlier this year calls for vehicle plates featuring a scenic landscape of Washington wine country.

The plates will cost $40. That money, plus the $30 renewal fee, will go to the state to help promote destination tourism, including wineries.

Chjambers said nearly 4,000 Washingtonians signed a petition in support of creating the specialty plate.

Here are some facts (from Washingtonwine.org) about Washington’s wine industry:

  • Number of licensed wineries: 1,050
  • National rank as wine producer in the United States: second./
  • Wine grape acreage: 60,000-plus acres.
  • Number of wine grape growers: 400.
  • Annual wine production: 17 million cases.
  • Varieties of wine produced: 80-plus.
  • Total annual in-state economic impact: $8 billion.
srmedia by — May 4, 2022 in Food, People