for the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County

presented by the Mendocino Stories & Events

Saturday, March 28th 2015, 7PM at the Hill House Inn

Come out to celebrate the Cancer Resource Centers’ 20th Anniversary for their first event of 2015 with Mendocino Stories & Events.  This exciting evening will bring a great lineup of bluegrass music and is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 at the Hill House Inn. Music starts at 7PM.

Returning to the stage at Hill House as headliners, Sweetwater String Band, brings its string sound that is, well, sweet. Straight from the desert and big mountains of the eastern Sierras, they blend rock ‘n’ roll, improvised jams, and straight up bluegrass into a sound that has become all their own. You can listen to some music on their website and on Youtube by clicking here and here.

Opening the evening at 7:00 pm are Gwyneth Moreland with Morgan Daniel. Both of these local favorites are accomplished singer/songwriters. This brother/sister duo is rich in harmonies, always pleasing their audiences with the depth of their lyrics and soulful vocals.

Following Gwyneth and Morgan, local bluegrass band, Lafe Crick, will step up. They are a seasoned group of musicians doing contemporary and traditional bluegrass. Members of the band are: Ryan Kroll on mandolin, guitar, and lead vocals; Peter Temple on bass; Lee Rider on Dobro and guitar. What a treat for us!

Doors open at 6PM for casual dining with full bar. General admission for the show is $20. Limited table seating is available: tables can be reserved through the Cancer Resource Centers by calling 937-3833 or ordering online by clicking here.

About the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County

Founded in 1995, the Cancer Resource Centers (CRC) is a nationally recognized grassroots organization that holds steadfast to their vision that no one will face cancer alone in Mendocino County. The first freestanding cancer resource center from Marin County to the CA-Oregon border, CRC provides services free of charge from the over 300 Mendocino County residents a year who visit the non-profit organization’s two offices, located in Mendocino and Ukiah. 2015 marks CRC’s 20^th Anniversary and this bluegrass benefit concert is the first of many planned community celebrations to be held throughout the year.

Healthy Habits Lower Your Cancer Risk

 February is Cancer Awareness & Prevention Month. We all are aware of the fact that life style choices impact our overall health and that many types of cancer are directly associated with unhealthy habits.

Tobacco and Cancer

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women and the most preventable form of cancer death in the world.

• Besides lung cancer, tobacco use also increases the risk for cancers of the mouth, lips, nose and sinuses, larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterus, cervix, colon/rectum, ovary (mucinous), and acute myeloid leukemia.

• Cigars contain many of the same carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) found in cigarettes.

• Smokeless tobacco products are a major source of cancer-causing nitrosamines and a known cause of human cancer. They increase the risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat, esophagus (swallowing tube), and pancreas.

• Each year, about 3,400 non-smoking adults die of lung cancer as a result of breathing secondhand smoke. Each year secondhand smoke also causes about 42,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers.

(source: American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2014)

What you can do:

As anyone who has tried to quit smoking will tell you, tobacco cravings can wear you down.  Getting help, rather than taking on the challenge of quitting alone, can support you in reaching your goal.

• Talk with your doctor about establishing a plan for quitting tobacco.

• Smokefree.gov is a website sponsored by the National Cancer Institute that provides online support, telephone hotlines and maps out personal plans to help quit smoking.

• The Mayo Clinic’s website offers several suggestions to help quit smoking, including relaxation techniques and physical exercise.  (source: Mayo Clinic)

Sun Exposure and Skin Cancers

Sunlight helps our bodies produce necessary vitamins that contribute to our overall health.  However, incautious exposure to the sun’s rays can be harmful.

• Skin cancer is the most common of all cancer types. More than 3.5 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.

• About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

What you can do:

• Seek the shade, especially between 10 AM and 4 PM.
• Do not burn.
• Avoid tanning and UV tanning booths.
• Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
• Use a broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day.
• For extended outdoor activity, use a water-resistant, broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.
• Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside.  Reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating.
• Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
• See your physician every year for a professional skin exam.
• Be aware of changes to your skin.  Contact your doctor if you notice new and irregular growths or texture changes.  The Skin Cancer Foundation provides information about what to look for when doing a skin self-exam.

Weight and Cancer

Being overweight or obese accounts for 20% of all cancer deaths among women and 14% among men.  Losing excess pounds reduces the body’s production of female hormones, which are linked to breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer.  Even if you’re not technically overweight, gaining just 10 pounds after the age of 30 increases your risk of developing breast, pancreatic, cervical, and other cancers.  According to ACS, there is still much to learn about the link between weight and cancer risk.

What you can do:

• Calculate your body mass index.  You are overweight if your body mass index is between 25 and 29.9.

• Talk with your doctor about a weight loss plan.  Ask about recommendations for a nutritious diet and a maintainable exercise regimen.  With the help of your doctor, set realistic goals.   Remember, weight loss is most effective and most likely to be permanent when it involves life style changes and occurs steadily over a planned period of time.

• Losing weight with a buddy can increase your weight loss success.  Choose someone who shares your goal and who you can count on to encourage you with your plan.  In choosing a buddy, define what type of encouragement works best for you.  “For some people, it means hearing kind and supportive words; for others, it means having someone come by and literally drag them out of the house and to the gym.  As long as both buddies know what the other needs and expects, then they can be there for each other.”  (source: webmd)

• Eat a healthy diet.  A diet high in whole-grain fiber, lean proteins and colorful fruits and vegetables and low in saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars can greatly improve health in general.

To learn more, please contact the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County.

A Healthy Recipe for February: Simple Miso Soup

Bring water to a boil.  Add the dashi and whisk to dissolve. Turn heat to medium-low and add tofu (and additional vegetables if you wish).

Drain the seaweed and add to the pot.   Simmer for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, spoon miso paste into a bowl.  Ladle 1/2 cup of the broth over the miso and whisk to mix and melt the paste so that the mixture is smooth.

Turn off the heat under the broth, add the miso paste to the pot and stir well.  Do not boil the soup once miso has been added.

Top with green onions and serve.

 2015 Cancer Awareness and Prevention Campaign

Presented by the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County in collaboration with the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency.

The Cancer Resource Centers mission is to improve the quality of life for those in Mendocino County faced with cancer.

Coastal Office: 45040 Calpella Street, Mendocino, CA 95460 | (707) 937-3833

Inland Office: 590 South Dora Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 | (707) 467-3828

Health and Human Services Agency | (707) 472-2333

• What We Do
• Home Grown History
• Volunteer Opportunities

A book in our lending library.

We sponsor a variety of support groups located in Mendocino, Fort Bragg, and Ukiah.Our offices house up-to-date lending libraries on subjects such as diagnosis specific information, stress management, relaxation, nutrition, and personal stories from people facing cancer. We provide referrals to community resources. We offer our clients hats, wigs, breast prosthesis, and bras. Our medical consultation support services include:

• Assistance in preparing questions for medical appointments
• Accompaniment to medical appointments
• Audio recording services and written summarization of the appointment

Around a table in a house in the woods, the first ideas sprang forth to provide our communities with access to cancer-related services. We were women living with cancer who had sought information and resources and found there was no one place to go to locally. With this very real need in mind, we worked hard, formed a board and opened our doors in the summer of 1995 in an alley way in a room off a garage. We became the first non facility- based cancer resource center from Marin County to the California-Oregon border. Today, over eighteen remarkable years later, CRCMC has become a central, depended-upon, absolutely essential part of our rural community, not only for people who have cancer but for the community as a whole. The Centers has grown beyond our wildest imaginings. So too has the spread of cancer; some are healing , some have died. More and more of us are touched. Our hope is that someday our work will not be needed, that prevention will be foremost on the minds of research funders, governments and citizens of the world, and that the Precautionary Principle will be in place globally. Until then we will continue serving. Thank you friends, for allowing us to do just that.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

One of our Ukiah volunteers sorts
bras for clients, 2008

Volunteers are Vital to our Organization! If you are in any town around the county it may be a good thing to hear that business is booming, but in our business it implies that there is someone is our community who needs help. We always need more volunteers to staff the office. We provide training, you provide time and compassion. Below is a list of jobs for which we need more volunteers to provide a variety of services. For more information, call CRCMC or fill out the Volunteer Form and Confidentiality Form, located here, and mail them in. Remember, many hands make light work. All of these jobs can be done by more than one person. Even if you cannot volunteer on a regular basis, let us know your schedule and we’ll work with you. If you are interested in volunteering for driving, please print out the Drivers Volunteer Enrollment Form and Drivers Confidentiality Form, located here, and mail them to CRCMC, Volunteer Application, P.O. Box 50, Mendocino, CA, 95460.

Being a woman is the greatest risk factor leading to a breast cancer diagnosis.

The Avon Foundation for Women has released its new Check Yourself campaign to increase awareness of breast cancer.

Other general risk factors include increasing age and certain ethnic heritages. In addition, every woman has unique risk factors.

Breast cancer incidence and mortality rates generally increase with age; in the United States 79% of new cases and 88% of breast cancer deaths occur in women ages 50 years and older.

Breast cancer incidence rates are higher in non-Hispanic white women than African American women for most age groups. However:

Coastal Office: 707.937.3833  |  Inland Office:  707.467.3828 | info@crcmendocino.org | P.O. Box 50, Mendocino, CA 95460