October's IAL report

24 new Laryngectomees have received their Lary operations nationwide.

 

Unfortunately, 3 have met their demise.

 

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The IAL annoucement for September 2013

31 New Laryngectomees have become larys this month with the unfortunate update that three of our Laryngectomees have passed on this month.   

E-Cigarettes Dangerous For Teens

 

Letter to the editor
7:13 PM EDT, September 18, 2013

Advertisement

The editorial "E-Cigarettes Aren't For Teens" [Sept. 16] takes a strong stance against the use of electronic cigarettes by teenagers. Teens and young adults do not understand the power of addiction and potentially damaging effects of e-cigarettes.

One reason for the misunderstanding is the fact that these new cigarettes are marketed as tobacco-free and are perceived to be safer than old-fashioned cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes still contain nicotine -- the chemical that causes addiction.

Another reason teens should not have access to e-cigarettes is the fact that the teenage mind is still developing and cannot necessarily process long-term consequences associated with e-cigarette use.

I agree with and support the efforts to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of the younger generation. Passing a law that puts them into the same class as standard cigarettes, and having consequences associated with buying of them illegally sends a strong message that will perhaps make a teen think twice before picking one up.

Corina Gilmore, Salisbury

The International Laryngectomee Association Announcement

The IAL announced that 43 new Laryngectomees have joined the life of Larys.   Unfortunately, three of the members have passed on.

The IAL monthly announcement for July 2013

The International Association of Laryngectomees regretfully announced 3 have passed away during the month of July 2013, and 25 have joined the Laryngectomee world, during the same period.

 

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cancer.............a strange cell

Some will say you will pray because it is a nice thing to say or it is politically correct. Then there are those of you who will get down on your knees and really do it. I'm sending this to some who will. This prayer means so much so please say the prayer for everyone and pass it on. Cancer is a strange cell . You can go along for years in remission And then one day it pops its head up again. If you ever have it you will never be free of it. If you never had it, don't feel too cozy, you can get it. Pray for the day there will be a permanent cure. A SMALL REQUEST... 93% won't forward, but I'm Sure You Will. A small request.....Just one line Dear God, I pray that You will guide someone to find a cure for cancer in 2013 ....in Jesus' name. Amen All you are asked to do is keep this circulating, Even if it's only to one more person. In memory of anyone you know who has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it. A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle. Please Keep This Candle Going fs

IAL Report Of June 2013

IAL reported that 32 New Laryngectomees were operated on this month and that we lost three, unfortunately, through their demise. fs

Second Hand Smoke in Cars revisited by Legislator

Rep. Henry J. Genga, 10th Dist. including East Hartford, Ct. has introduced for the third time a bill to making it illegal for a parent to smoke while driving a car with youngsters in the car in order to avoid second hand smoke from injuring the children passengers. fs

ORAL,·HEAD AND NECK CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

< If you or a loved one has been touched by an oral head and neck Cancer diagnosis-we're here toryou No Pressure Just Support June 3, 2013 at 7:00pm ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center 1 00 Haynes Street Manchester, CT 06040 Meetings are held the 1st Monday of every month. - - -1st Floor ConferenceRoom -- -- - To register or for additional information contact: Alice Nadeau 860-268-3963 www.oralheadandneckcancer.com SP0NSORED BY: American Cancer Society .1-800-227-2345 ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

IAL report for the Month of April 2013

We have had 26 new Laryngectomees receiving their operation nationwide and unfortunately, we have lost 4 -IAL members that expired during the same period. 

 

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March IAL Report

Unfortunately, they were 28 New Laryngectomees reported nationally and 9 Laryngectomees passed on. 

 

　

.  HEAD AND NECK CANCER SUPPORT GROUP  

  

 

If you or a loved one has been touched by an oral head and
neck cancer diagnosis we're here for you

No Pressure Just Support
April 1, 2013 at 7:00pm
ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute
John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center 1 00 Haynes Street
Manchester, CT 06040
Meetings are held the 1<sup>st Monday of every month.
- - - rst Floor Conference Roc5m-- - - -</sup>
To register or for additional information contact:

Alice Nadeau 860-268-3963 ^{www.oralheadandneckcancer.com}

 

Sponsored By The  American Cancer Society .1-800-227-2345
ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

 

 

 

IAL Monthly Report

26 New Laryngectomee were reported for the month of February and unfortunately three passed away

HEAD AND NECK CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

HEAD AND NECK


CANCER

SUPPORT GROUP .. .,

If you or  Ioved one hss been toucnedby en.orslheed and

neck cancer diagnosis we're here for you

No Pressure Just Support

March 4, 2013 at 7:00pm

ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center

1 00 Haynes Street

Manchester, CT 06040

M eet~-First -M onday-Of every month~To-~the.--

1st Floor Conference Room

To register or for additional information contact:

Alice Nadeau 860--268-3963 www.oralheadandneckcancer.com

American Cancer Society .1-800-227-2345

ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

Obamacare to Hit Smokers with Huge Penalties

Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's healthcare law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act —

"Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan.

For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.

Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.

Workers covered on the job would be able to avoid tobacco penalties by joining smoking cessation programs, because employer plans operate under different rules. But experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually.

Nearly one of every five U.S. adults smokes. That share is higher among lower-income people, who also are more likely to work in jobs that don't come with health insurance and would therefore depend on the new federal health care law. Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung problems and cancer, contributing to nearly 450,000 deaths a year.

Insurers won't be allowed to charge more under the overhaul for people who are overweight, or have a health condition like a bad back or a heart that skips beats — but they can charge more if a person smokes.

Starting next Jan. 1, the federal health care law will make it possible for people who can't get coverage now to buy private policies, providing tax credits to keep the premiums affordable. Although the law prohibits insurance companies from turning away the sick, the penalties for smokers could have the same effect in many cases, keeping out potentially costly patients.

"We don't want to create barriers for people to get health care coverage," said California state Assemblyman Richard Pan, who is working on a law in his state that would limit insurers' ability to charge smokers more. The federal law allows states to limit or change the smoking penalty.

"We want people who are smoking to get smoking cessation treatment," added Pan, a pediatrician who represents the Sacramento area.

Obama administration officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but a former consumer protection regulator for the government is raising questions.

"If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don't want in your pool, the ones you really don't want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years," said Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "You would have the flexibility to discourage them."

Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options, said Pollitz, formerly deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the federal Health and Human Services Department.

First, the law allows insurers to charge older adults up to three times as much as their youngest customers.

Second, the law allows insurers to levy the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones.

And finally, government tax credits that will be available to help pay premiums cannot be used to offset the cost of penalties for smokers.

Here's how the math would work:

Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama's law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.

But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can't be used to offset the penalty, the smoker's total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That's considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.

"The effect of the smoking (penalty) allowed under the law would be that lower-income smokers could not afford health insurance," said Richard Curtis, president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a nonpartisan research group that called attention to the issue with a study about the potential impact in California.

In today's world, insurers can simply turn down a smoker. Under Obama's overhaul, would they actually charge the full 50 percent? After all, workplace anti-smoking programs that use penalties usually charge far less, maybe $75 or $100 a month.

Robert Laszewski, a consultant who previously worked in the insurance industry, says there's a good reason to charge the maximum.

"If you don't charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers," said Laszewski. "They are going to have to play defense."

Proposed Law Would Ban Smoking In Cars Carrying Young Children

courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-smoking-in-cars-0221-20130220,0,4460949.story


Courant.com
By DON STACOM, dstacom@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
8:35 PM EST, February 20, 2013

Connecticut should declare that cars become "no smoking" zones when youngsters are along for the ride, says 16-year-old Justin Kvadas.

"Children who are trapped in a car with a parent who smokes don't know what the secondhand smoke is doing to them," Kvadas testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.

The East Hartford teenager wants Connecticut to outlaw smoking in cars where children are passengers, and he wasn't the only young person campaigning for the proposed law Wednesday.

The bill, HB 5380, would ban anyone from smoking in a car when a child younger than 7 is a passenger. Rep. Henry Genga, D-East Hartford, calls it a matter of public health, and 29 other lawmakers have signed onto his proposal.

Skeptical legislators, though, question whether Connecticut should be in the business of regulating what people do in their own cars.

"How do we legislate parental responsibility while cigarettes continue to be legally purchased?" Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, asked during the transportation committee's hearing.

"Would you support banning it in someone's home, as well? Is the car an extension of someone's home? To me, the biggest obstacle is, 'is government reaching too far into our personal lives?'"

Advocates say there's already precedent for regulating behavior in cars, since Connecticut bars drivers from drinking, texting or making phone calls while behind the wheel.

"Your vehicle is on a public road. If it's at your home, this wouldn't apply," said Genga, who noted that the state association of police chiefs supports the bill. "If it's on your private property, this wouldn't apply — but if it's on a public thoroughfare, it would apply."

If Genga's bill becomes law, police wouldn't stop drivers for violations. Instead, they'd issue tickets to drivers who've been pulled over for other reasons. The bill would create a grace year when police would issue only warnings, said Genga, who emphasized that the goal is to stop drivers from smoking when children are in the car — not to issue tickets.

California, Maine, Louisiana and Arkansas already have similar laws, Genga noted. Utah and Washington are considering bills this year; a measure in Virginia died in committee earlier this week.

Before the Connecticut bill can reach a General Assembly vote, it would need the transportation committee's support. Committee Cochairman Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, has signed on as a co-sponsor."

"I'm a convert. The scope of this is limited enough," Maynard said. "If we're going to protect the health and well-being of employees in this state, this is a measured response. I have long worried about nanny state intrusions, but with the provable science behind this, it deserves careful consideration."

Kvadas and his family approached Genga for support several years ago. This is the first time the bill has gotten a hearing. He wasn't the only young person to testify for it.

"In school we learn about how smoking affects the lungs. It's not right that children have to be in a car with that," 13-year-old Heather Abdullah of Mansfield said. "Stop the death and illness, and stop the image that is being placed in young people's minds."

Copyright © 2013, The Hartford Courant

ORAL, HEAD AND NECK CANCER SUPPORT GROUP.

If you or a loved one has been touched by an oral head and neck

cancer diagnosis we're here for you

No Pressure Just Support

February 4th, 7:00pm

ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center

100 Haynes Street

Manchester, CT 06040

Guest Speaker:

Zeiberg Family, creator of Handy Speech iPad App.

To register or for additional information contact:

Alice Nadeau 860-268-3963 www.oralheadandneckcancer.com

American Cancer Society .1-800-227-2345

ECHN/Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute

The Internation Laryngectomee Association's January report:

Tewnty five new Laryngectomees joined as new larys during this month nationally.  Unfortunately, 4 past away during the same period.

fs

TRUE LOVE

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 a.m., when an elderly gentleman in

his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was

in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour

before someone would to able to see him. I saw him look at his watch and

decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed

supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked

him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a

hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to

eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while

and that she was a victim of Alzheimer' s Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that

she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years

now.

I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though

she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still

know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my

arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all

that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

---Author Unknown



From the Maryland Laryngectomee club

Arlene Daigle of Middletown, Ct..

Sadly to report the demise of Arlene age 72 who was a great supporter of BSLC group.   Her wake and funeral will be held in New Britain Saturday Morning at the Burritt Hill Funeral Home, 332 Burritt Street, New Britain Ct.

Wake 9:30 A. M. to 10:30A M  funeral at the Holy Cross Church at 11A.M.