Hello Carer . . . your support and hope !

In your role as a Carer, this is so unlike any job skill anywhere in the World. It is said the Lord provided Angels for many of the special needs on call and within the World today, many would suggest a Carer is one of those Angels in disguise.
The role is not not tied to a clock; demand fills the need. A Carer is a 'wanna be' person, who has the ability to want to help, to encourage, to be a listener, a controller, a comforter, who can vary and seize the moment and to decide what action to take to rectify a situation at hand.
Carer's make-up comes as females 75% and males 25%, but the minds of the Carer often run at the same speed; one of the few areas of sex gender that has nothing to do with it.
There will be times when you will fall to the 'silent illness'. Do not let it take hold of Yourself. Don't be ashamed if you feel a need to shed a tear now and then - it will assist the stress factor, or a moment of joy for you.
A Carer's mind has to work in a flexible mode, because you never can predict the next crises. Communicate with "I", not with so much "You"; the patient will effectively feel they are working with You, and you are showing responsibility to them.
Work to a set of principles; have knowledge of health systems and insurance, work with medicos, know when to worry 'what's wrong' and when to turn-off. Remember, Caring is a dedication.
Keep a diary - remember those who willingly assist you; don't be afraid to ask for help!
Finally, be aware of advanced health directives and the family legal designations etc. In life's finalities your role is not finished. There are family, friends and love-ones to see too! Finalising the Care goes beyond the patient.
Yours in support and hope, Geoff.

Mushrooms aid Grapefruit Drug effect

Like Grapefruit . . . but have a bit of a problem eating them, due to the drugs you are taking? This writer has the same problem, and likes mushrooms too!
Besides the many blood pressure and heart tablets we take, the sometimes yearn for a juicy grapefruit at breakfast incites a cruelty streak wishing that research had now found away around this problem
Grapefruit has a compound in its structure that inhibits the liver enzymes your body needs, thus increasing the risk of drug side-effects.
New U.S. drug researchers have found edible mushrooms absorb the grapefruit compounds thus lessening drug interaction. Yellow Merell mushrooms were found by the researchers to be the most active mushrooms; a mask of 2/3rds mushroom to 1.7ouncees of grapefruit juice removed the compounds activity. Other edible mushrooms to prove reasonable success were oyster and red yeast varieties, also white button mushrooms.
However, just before you engage the grapefruit juices to the mouth, check with your Doctor first.!
Acknowledgement WebMD. Geoff.

Genetic test scans Cancer and Tumor path

Scientists and Researchers have opened another path to tracking origins of family cancer problems. In an effort to assist GP's and physicians complete their work more successfully, genetic investigations are now proving a more common path into why a patient contracts cancer or a tumor.
Much of this research is covered by germline inherited gene mutations, which are passed from parent to child. Risk of disease is greatly increased during lifetime of people who inherit them due to the fact that mutations exist in every cell in the body.
In late 2007, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center made a land mark decision to obtain consent of patients to include inherited genetic information in patient medical records. This information would assist a family physician to assess risk of cancer or tumor intrusion into family health.
In their Clinical Genetics Clinic Service, Memorial Sloan now offers testing for more than 50 kinds of genetic variants linked to cancer. Information from these tests assist decisions on treatments for breast, ovary, colon, thyroid, eye, stomach, pancreas and skin, as well as for childhood cancers. Diseased-linked genes such as BRACA1 and 2 are also placed in this investigational path, although known for their damage caused to breast and ovarian cancers since early 90's.
All this research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering enables quick decision turn arounds for GP's and physicians to attend their patients, as well as building up important data on high-risk families with genetic flow-on genes to continue cancer risk. It also provids more clues about what really causes cancer.
Acknowledgement Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Geoff