Blog 10 What factors can influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and engage in preventive behaviors so as to reduce their risks of CD and Cancer

Women live their lives for their husbands and children. They tend to forget to take care of their selves while taking care of the family. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include age, genetics, race, obesity, smoking, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, and menopause. Women need to change their behaviors in obesity, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle. These are items in which we have control over by using diet and exercise, stop smoking, and continual exercise. Race and genetics is something we do not have control over. Racial differences include Blacks having a higher rate of high blood pressure with more complications. You can look at it as it is predetermined in your hereditary. Mexican American are predestined to be more obese. Lifestyle changes in diet and exercise are the best steps to a healthier lifestyle for women. Make sure you take time for yourself. I am definitely one of those individuals who forget to put myself first sometimes.

Blog 9 What are the biggest challenges to do regular exercise and a healthy diet that you face? How are these challenges going to change for you over

The biggest challenges that I face everyday with exercise and diet is the schedule I live in my home. I work at a before and after daycare, my workday starts at 6:30 am to 8:30 am, then study until 2:30 , return to work and finish at 6:30pm. Dinner normally happens about 7:00pm or later.I have an eighteen year old son that plays baseball who keeps an extremely busy schedule. My current exercise consists of playing with the kids at the daycare and caring clothes up the steps of my home six or seven times a day. As you guys know, I am a breast cancer survivor, eight years I was very thin and fit. Eight years of cancer treatment has put about 45 pounds on me. It has been a constant battle do the medication that I must take to prevent cancer from coming back.

The next five years brings a lot of excitement for me. The ten year cancer free mark will help me get off almost all my medications. Not having these medications I will be able to lose much quicker. Also, upon graduation I will be teaching school and I will not be working late hours any longer. I have taken the right steps already. I joined Fit After 50 where I go work out every other day. I am not fifty yet, however, I do not have to go watch all these skinny young girls working out wishing I could be there again. I know that I will probably never get back to that, however, I can lose the weight that cancer added and firm it all up.

Blog 8 What bother's you most about getting old? What makes you feel good about ageing?

Getting old is a natural part of life. I have never had a problem getting old. My health changed eight years ago on March 23, 1999 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was always a very healthy person. Dancing was my exercised and I did a lot of it and kept very fit. The challenge I was dealt with cancer interrupted my great life and began to break down my good health. I knew that I would beat breast cancer but had no ideas of the side effects of the treatments and the disease. The fatigue that started during chemo continue for quite a long time. The middle-age weight gain started after beginning to take tamoxifen and continued to increase for over five years. My ageing processed was altered due to the treatments. I went through medical induced menopause at 35 years old. The thinning of the bone increased dramatically after taking tamoxifen for five years. At 43 years old my bones are as thin as an 80 year old woman's. I look at all of this and think it is better than being dead. I knew that this was part of ageing, however, I never thought I would go through menopause at such an early age.

What makes me feel good about ageing? Ageing has given me the maturity to accomplish goals in my life. After getting to my five year cancer free mark I decided I needed to live my life to the fullest. I decided to go back and finish my college education. In three years I have completed an Associates in Child Development and a Bachelors in General Studies in May. It is pretty cool my son graduates from high school in May also. In my life plan there was never cancer on the menu. I beat it!! Ageing has never been a problem for me and it has given me opportunities I never thought about when I was young.

Blog 7 What would you tell a friend or loved one who suspected that he/she might have a STD but was afraid to get tested?

I would tell this individual that they need to be tested. It is a matter of good health. There would be given options on where they could go. If you do not want your regular doctor to know, Planned Parenthood, a place to get tested. While there they would be given information on the risks of STD's and the damage they can do to someone. If it was my husband of twenty years , he would be tested first, then counseling to determine where he got the STD.

Should prenatal testing be routine for all pregant women?

Prenatal testing , I believe, is important to all pregnant women but not mandatory. Eighteen years ago, my husband and I lived in Los Angeles, California. When I became pregnant we decided to go to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for all prenatal care and delivery. On my first visit, I was instructed that we would be involved in a medical program dealing with the Alpha-Fetal Protein Test. In 1988, California required all pregnant women to have HIV and Alpha-Fetal Proetin before delivery. My test came back very high so there was major concern that there was something wrong with our son. The level my test was for a thirty year old and I was twenty-three when I was tested. The blood test show that I had a 1 in 340 chance of a down-syndrome baby. UCLA gave me two options, do nothing or have an aminocentesis done to confirm the findings. We made the decision to do the aminocentesis knowing that there was a chance of miscarriage. It came back normal and we had a bouncing 10lb 4oz 24 inches long bouncing boy.

I tell you my story because every person has to make their own decision. Some of my friends thought I was crazy because I made the decision to get the amino done. The question they asked ,"what will you do if it comes back positive for down syndrome". I knew what we would do if it was positive and my husband and I were fine with our decision. Everyone has different beliefs and would respond differently to results in prenatal tests. Those individuals that want the tests done should have the choice to get it done. Some parents can deal with anything, however, there are other parents that cannot deal with a seriously ill child. Prenatal testing are options for those parents.

Some women choose not to have children !

I interviewed one of my dearest friends from grade school who made the choice years ago not to have children. Amy and I met in six grade, me with big glasses and she was born with her left arm developed only to the elbow. We were so good togetherbecause of the teasing we had gone through during gradeschool.

Amy's disability never stopped her. We were cheerleaders on sixth grade and there was nothing we would not do. The years past and we all get to high school and then off to college. Amy and Jeff have been married now almost 15 years. Children is something neither of them every wanted. Amy says, "we enjoy traveling and living life to the fullest". I have had many talks with Amy about children. She is wonderful with other friends children. Her big sister has never had children either. As we talked, our childhoods were filled with many joys and sorrows. I asked, did anything happen as a child to make you not want children? She simply stated to me, "I never had the longing to be a mother and have never regretted my choice."

Amy knows my son, Bryant, who is the light of my life. Amy and her husband love him a lot. They have taken on the roll of aunt and uncle to us and all of our friends kids. This is their calling in life. I am a woman that always wanted to be a mom. Now I have never wanted three of four children that many people want. All I wanted was a boy and I got that bundle of joy eighteen years ago. I just cannot imagine my life without my child.

HOMERUN

I just have to share. My son started his final varsity baseball season at Central High School in Keller last night. He hit a out of the park homerun.