Health
CATCHING HEALTH (blog)
If You Find a Thyroid Nodule Does it Mean You Have Cancer?
on June 13, 2013, at 12:15 p.m.
My friend Lee had a scare recently. She thought she might have thyroid cancer. It all began when she had a CT scan for something else and it showed a nodule or lump on her thyroid. She had a fine needle aspiration biopsy, which came back suspicious for papillary cancer, the ...
MICHAEL NOONAN
Headaches: A common ailment often misdiagnosed
By Dr. Michael Noonan, Special to the BDN on June 13, 2013, at 11:48 a.m.
Headaches are very common, especially tension headaches. The World Health Organization estimates that 65 percent of men and 80 percent of women are affected by tension headaches, and that one in 20 adults gets a headache every day. Headaches are rarely a sign of a serious or life-threatening problem, especially ...
Stand straighter, live longer: Good posture helps to age better
By Diane C. Lade, Sun Sentinel (MCT) on June 13, 2013, at 10:49 a.m.
Turns out “stand up straight” isn’t just good advice from your mother. Aging experts increasingly believe posture is, in some cases, an indicator of how well you will age. They suggest seniors in particular, who sometimes begin to stoop or shuffle as they grow older, should be more aware of ...
New diet craze offers 5 days of feasting for 2 days of famine
By Constance Watson, Reuters on June 13, 2013, at 9:59 a.m.
LONDON — Forget abandoning carbohydrates or detoxing. The new dieting craze sweeping Britain and taking off in the United States lets people eat whatever they like — but only five days a week. “The Fast Diet”, also known as the 5:2 diet, is the brainchild of TV medical journalist Michael ...
A new dad’s despair: Paternal postpartum depression
By Nevin Martell, Special To The Washington Post on June 13, 2013, at 9:57 a.m.
Parenthood is always a shock to the system. “Frank,” a 48-year old Washington dad, got hit even harder. He and his wife decided that he would leave his job to be a stay-at home dad when his daughter was born late last year. Although it was a role the first-time ...
EMHS on budget as other Maine hospitals struggle financially
BREWER, Maine — About 60 percent of Maine hospitals are operating at a loss, but Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems isn’t among them, according to EMHS President and CEO Michelle Hood. Hood, citing 2012 figures compiled by the Maine Hospital Association, laid out the system’s financial picture Wednesday at an annual ...
Small-scale raw milk deregulation law passes House, Senate
AUGUSTA, Maine — The House of Representatives has given final approval to a bill that would deregulate the production and sale of raw milk and raw milk products, leaving only a routine Senate vote on the bill before it heads to the governor to be signed into law. The Senate ...
House Medicaid expansion compromise vote falls short of threshold to overcome LePage veto
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House on Wednesday agreed to a compromise measure that would allow the state to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act but cut off the expansion after three years. The measure managed to attract slightly more support than the Medicaid expansion bill attracted in ...
Senate disagrees with House on override of LePage veto of drug overdose bill
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Senate on Wednesday upheld Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would give witnesses to drug overdoses an affirmative defense in court. The Senate’s vote was at odds with a House of Representatives vote Tuesday to override the veto. Wednesday’s vote marks the third ...
GET PUMPED WITH RYAN (blog)
BodyPump 86 preview…be prepared to go big
on June 12, 2013, at 9:39 a.m.
Even though summer is about to get in full swing, it also means another round of new releases from our friends at Les Mills. BodyPump 86 is a workout that will leave you breathless from the warmup all the way through the core track. It focuses on comprehensive strength, and ...
Fewer children now home alone as number of ‘latchkey kids’ drops 40%
By Frank Bass, Bloomberg on June 12, 2013, at 8:49 a.m.
WASHINGTON — The number of grade-school American children who spend time at home alone has plunged by almost 40 percent since 1997, a result of both federal aid for after-class programs and parents revamping work schedules, census data show. Only one in nine kids ages 5 to 14 spends after-school ...
GOP lawmaker’s proposal to add services for disabled to Medicaid expansion would cost $75 million
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Republican representative’s proposal to provide services to hundreds of people with disabilities on waiting lists would add a $75-million-a-year price tag to a bill that would expand Maine’s Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act. Rep. Deborah Sanderson of Chelsea said Tuesday she plans to ...
Budget panel endorses another proposal to repay Maine’s debt to hospitals
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill offered by Gov. Paul LePage that would use revenue bonds to pay off Maine’s $183.5 million debt to its hospitals. Paying the debt for services provided under the state’s Medicaid system, MaineCare, has been ...
Portland voters may make history with recreational pot referendum this fall
PORTLAND, Maine — Statewide voters won’t get a chance to weigh in on whether recreational pot use should be legal this fall, but Portland voters just might. A group seeking to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Maine’s largest city announced Tuesday that it has enough signatures to get the ...
GYM CLASS DROPOUT (blog)
Study: More meals + more protein = tighter tummy
on June 11, 2013, at 5:23 p.m.
Eating more often and incorporating more protein into your diet helps you lose belly fat, even if you’re eating the same number of calories you burn, according to a study recently published in the journal Obesity. A study conducted by researchers from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., found that eating ...
From the community
Pottle House Ground Breaking
This group recently gathered for a ground breaking photograph at the site of “The Pottle House” on the campus of Lee Academy in Lee, Maine. Through a federally funded grant, Health Access Network has partnered with Lee Academy to provide, not only a school-based health center for the students of ...
Obama administration will drop age restrictions on morning-after pill
By Caroline Humer and Jessica Dye, Reuters on June 11, 2013, at 3:07 p.m.
NEW YORK — The Obama administration will scrap age restrictions on the sale of emergency contraception pills, making the morning-after pill available to women and girls without a prescription. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a letter on Monday that it would comply with a court’s ruling to allow ...
Maine Medical Center moves closer to $40M expansion
PORTLAND, Maine — A proposed $40 million project to add five new operating rooms at Maine Medical Center has won approval from the hospital’s parent organization and was given its first audience with the Portland Planning Board Tuesday. The MaineHealth board of trustees voted on June 6 to support the ...
Maine House overwhelmingly supports GMO labeling requirement
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House took a step Tuesday toward requiring genetically modified food products carry special labels. If the measure ultimately becomes law, its success will depend on action taken by lawmakers in four nearby states. The Maine House voted to support a bill, LD 718, that would ...
Lewiston hospital hires trauma chief
LEWISTON, Maine — Central Maine Medical Center has hired a new director for its trauma program. James F. Reilly, a specialist in trauma surgery, emergency surgery and surgical critical care, has served as a temporary trauma surgeon for CMMC for the past several months. He was recently named medical director ...
Riders finish trek marred by tragic crash
Drug use continues to drive Portland, Bangor rates of violent and property crimes
University of Maine at Presque Isle grad overcomes obstacles, heads to medical school
Conservatives likely to write most remaining decisions in Supreme Court’s term
25 things to do this summer — boats, barbecue, the Bard and everything else
UMPI solar system model expanding into Canada
