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Vol. 10, No. 4 · August 2006 · Editor: Martha L. Golar, Esq.
· SAVE THE DATE: The Eleventh Annual Ellen P. Hermanson Memorial Symposium · May Program -- New York City's Healthcare System · Komen Race for the Cure -- JALBCA Team · Ellen's Run -- Save the Date · BCERF Regional Cancer and Environmental Forum -- Save the Date · The Sister Study · EPA to Study Relationship Between Cadmium and Breast Cancer · Calendar of Events Cocktail Reception to Kick-Off JALBCA’s ANNUAL COURTHOUSE ALERT Wednesday, September 13, 2006 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. Appellate Division, Second Department Courthouse 45 Monroe Place Brooklyn Heights, New York Hon. A. Gail Prudenti, Presiding Justice Appellate Division, Second Department Honorary Event Chair Hon. Ellen Spodek Hon. William C. Thompson Event Co-Chairs, Judge’s Division Hon. Barbara Irolla Panepinto Judith Livingston, Esq. Co-Presidents, JALBCA Please R.S.V.P. (212) 289.9720 SAVE THE DATE: The Eleventh Annual Ellen P. Hermanson Memorial Symposium October 23, 2006 Association of the Bar of the City of New York 42 West 44th Street, NY, NY May Program -- New York City's Healthcare System On, April 25, JALBCA sponsored its monthly program on “New York City’s Healthcare System: Challenges for Today and Beyond”. The speaker was Lawrence Brown, Ph.D, Professor, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Policy. Dr. Brown discussed the multiple challenges which face the NYC healthcare system. He identified the challenges as follows: (1) how to handle the number of uninsured and whether NYS will be willing to resort to Medicaid for this coverage given that we lose the employer contribution in the group of uninsured who are under the poverty level; (2) whether we will provide chronic care as people live longer and the number of people with disabilities increases; (3) how to create a more efficient, cost-effective health care system in NYC, in light of a long tradition of heavy reliance on inpatient care (with the focus of NYC hospitals being on academic research, training and specialization), the high number of uninsured and the high need for chronic care; (4) the need to emphasize health promotion, in light of the one big success in the war against tobacco but with a present crisis with obesity; and (5) health disparities in our diverse population. With regard to the last challenge, Dr. Brown noted that 1 in 7 people in NYC report frequent mental distress. Dr. Brown also noted the recent legislation in Massachusetts, providing for universal healthcare. By way of background, the Massachusetts legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill in early April 2006 that would require all residents to purchase health insurance or face legal penalties. Essentially, Massachusetts tackled the problem of incomplete medical coverage by treating patients the same way it does cars, i.e., making insurance coverage mandatory. All uninsured adults in the state would be obligated to purchase some kind of insurance policy by July 1, 2007, or face a fine. Their choices would be expanded to include a range of new and inexpensive private policies – subsidized by the s ate – diverging from about $250 per m onth to nearly free. Individuals who can afford private insurance will be penalized on their state income taxes if they do not buy it. Government subsidies to private insurance plans would enable more of the working poor to be able to afford insurance and would expand the number of children who are eligible for free coverage. Further, businesses with more than 10 workers that do not provide insurance will be assessed a fee of up to $295 per employee per year. Dr. Brown stated that there would now be a state agency in Massachusetts to negotiate with private health agencies in that state and this may put pressure on those private agencies to provide services at reasonable prices and may also put pressure on individuals to decide what they are prepared to pay for health care. He warned that, by contrast, New York has some genuine constraints such that it will not be a “slam dunk” to adopt a comparable structure in this state. SAVE THE DATE: The Eleventh Annual Ellen P. Hermanson Memorial Symposium October 23, 2006 Association of the Bar of the City of New York 42 West 44th Street, NY, NY Komen Race for the Cure -- JALBCA Team You may know that one in seven women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime. What you may not know is that you can help these women and thousands of others in the fight against breast cancer. On Sunday, September 10, Judge Shirley Kornreich, along with her cocaptain Emily Ascher, will be participating in the 2006 Komen New York City Race for the Cure® in Central Park on the JALBCA team. Join us by registering as part of the JALBCA team. We need your support! You can join the JALBCA team by requesting an application from Emily Ascher -- eascher@courts.state.ny.us. Last year over 50 men and women walked or ran the Race as part of the JALBCA team and we’d love to see just as many people this year! All JALBCA team members will get a 2006 JALBCA shirt to wear on Race day. (All are welcome — you don’t need to be a judge or lawyer to join!) The registration deadline is August 23, 2006. Feel free to contact Emily with any questions at 646.386.3363 or at her website listed above. Ellen's Run -- Save the Date Eleventh Annual Ellen’s Run Sunday, August 20, 2006 9:00 a.m. rain or shine East Hampton High School BCERF Regional Cancer and Environmental Forum -- Save the Date The Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) is a part of the Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research at Cornell University. It evaluates scientific evidence on the cancer risk of environmental factors. BCERF has scheduled a forum for Thursday, September 28, 2006, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Burns Horticultural Center, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY. The forum will feature topics and offer speakers as follows: For further information or to RSVP, contact Carmi at 607.255.1185 or cso1@cornell.edu. The Sister Study The Sister Study is a national, long-term study of women aged 35 to 74 whose sister had breast cancer. It is designed to learn how environment and genes affect the chances of getting breast cancer and is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health. The study will follow 50,000 women for at least 10 years. The American Cancer Society, Sisters Network, Inc., The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization are supporting the Sister Study by using their own resources and/or opportunities to encourage women to participate. The Sister Study intends to report the study results in papers that will be published in scientific literature, including journals read by physicians, epidemiologists and laboratory scientists. Results will also be reported in the national and regional press, and to the participants in newsletters. Published summary reports from the Sister Study will also be available to government and other organizations that make decisions about evidence that specific agents cause cancer or other diseases and to those who make policy recommendations. Generally, you are eligible to join the Sister Study if you meet the following criteria: For additional information or to learn if you are eligible to join the study, call toll-free 877.4SISTER (877.474.7837). A study representative will ask you questions to find out if you are eligible and answer any questions you may have. For Deaf or Hard of Hearing, call toll-free 866.TTY.4SIS (866.889.4747). The website address is www.sisterstudy.org. EPA to Study Relationship Between Cadmium and Breast Cancer The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a published research plan, structured a project entitled “70708-01 Cadmium and Breast Cancer Etiology”, the goal of which is to determine the effects of cadmium, a heavy metal, on the endocrine systems of wildlife and humans. The sponsor organization for the project is NIH/NCI and research is to be conducted at Georgetown University. In its description of the project, the EPA notes that “recent data from the principal investigator’s laboratory demonstrate that the heavy metal, cadmium, mimics the effects of estradiol in human breast cancer cells, in the uterus in organ culture, and in ovariectomized animals, suggesting a role for cadmium in the development of breast cancer… A recent, very large hypothesis-generating case-control study derived from occupational coding of death certificates found an excess risk of breast cancer associated with cadmium exposure. Taken together, these data suggest that environmental exposure to cadmium activates the estrogen receptor and leads to an increased risk of breast cancer.” The EPA project will seek to (1) define the role of cadmium in the development of breast cancer, (2) determine the mechanism of activation of the estrogen receptor by cadmium and (3) determine whether other heavy metals are estrogenic. The EPA classifies cadmium as a “probable human carcinogen” due to “limited evidence from occupational epidemiologic studies of cadmium (that) is consistent across investigators and study populations.” A person’s normal intake of cadmium is apparently one to three micrograms per days. Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal that is found in soil, water, tobacco, nickel-cadmium batteries and potentially certain foods (e.g., liver, kidney, crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, and shrimp)). It is a toxic heavy metal that can build up in the body over time. Wisconsin researchers recently analyzed urine samples from almost 500 Wisconsin women, aged 20 to 69, between September 2004 and February 2005. Each participant also answered questions about her medical background, reproductive history, smoking history and food intake. Even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, which doubles the normal intake of cadmium in the body, women with the highest levels of cadmium in their urine were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as women with the lowest levels said Jane McElroy, Ph.D, a co-author of the study and an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center in Madison. Whether increased cadmium is a causal factor for breast cancer or reflects the effects of treatment or disease remains to be determined. The results are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 98, No. 12, June 2006. Michael Thun, vice president of epidemiology and surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, has reportedly written that the results of the Wisconsin study mark the first time the cadmium-breast cancer relationship has been shown in humans. Previous studies have apparently demonstrated links between cadmium exposure and lung cancer, prostate cancer and kidney disease. Calendar of Events SHARE Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer) 1501 Broadway New York, NY 11530 Also: QueensSHARE, HarlemSHARE, and BrooklynSHARE www.sharecancersupport.org 212-719-0364 SHARE Breast Cancer Hotline 212-382-2111 SHARE Ovarian Cancer Hotline 212-719-1204 MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER Post-Treatment Resource Program Educational Forums 1275 York Avenue, Room M107 New York, NY 10021 212.717.3527 www.mskcc.org Clinical Genetics Service 222 East 70th St. (betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.) New York, NY 10021 212-434-5149 Offers hereditary cancer risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing by genetic counselors and physicians. ADELPHI NY STATEWIDE BREAST CANCER Hotline & Support Program Adelphi University School of Social Work Garden City, NY 11530 www.adelphi.edu/nysbreastcancer/index.html CANCERCARE 1-800-813-HOPE(4673) info@cancercare.org Telephone Education Workshop -- Fourth Annual Cancer Survivorship Series: Living With, Through, and Beyond Cancer, Part III: Managing Your Costs of Recovery
OCTOBER COURTHOUSE ALERT -- HARLEM VAN A mammography van will be scheduled for October 18, 2006 at the Harlem courthouse at 170 East 121st Street. JALBCA does not endorse the content or efficacy of any workshops or programs listed in the Calendar of Events; listings are for informational purposes only, so that our readership is aware of current offerings. |
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