OrganizedWisdom Health Blog

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Is there new hope for ALS?

I was talking with the party hostess when her mom and stepdad arrived. At first, from across the room, I noticed nothing odd -- Stepdad walked with a cane, but that's not out of the ordinary. His wife settled him in a chair right near the door. Then I noticed he was wearing a collar to hold his neck in place. Had he been in an accident? "What's wrong with M?" I whispered to my friend.

"He's dying," she replied quietly. "He has Lou Gehrig's disease." Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis currently has no cure and sentences the person who has it to a life of increasing disability. Some, like famed physicist Stephen Hawking, manage to continue functioning for many years and even remain productive with the help of adaptive equipment.  Others, like my friend's stepdad, go downhill fast.

ALS -- popularly named after Gehrig, the ballplayer who was one of its better-known victims --  is a frightening and often tragic prospect for patients and their families. Today there are several treatments being tested, along with research to find genetic clues and learn more about the mechanism that causes this condition. OrganizedWisdom has gathered the best ALS resources to help you better understand the disease.

Check out the ALS WisdomCard

Photo by ewen and donabel of Gehrig's locker, on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dorothy Hamill has breast cancer

Figure skater Dorothy Hamill has defeated tough Olympic competitors, endured two divorces, gone through bankruptcy and fought an ongoing battle with seasonal depression. This week the 51-year-old announced her absence from the next several Broadway on Ice performances because she is being treated for breast cancer.

Fortunately for her and for many women, breast cancer is not the automatic death knell it might once have been. Hamill's representative tells reporters that her cancer has been caught at an early stage, which makes her prospects even better.

The figure skater has been a strong advocate for charitable causes, including the American Cancer Society, throughout her career, and her fan base remains strong more than 30 years after she won Olympic gold. She's planning to be back at work as soon as possible, and I expect she'll also take the opportunity to share her experience as a way of advocating for regular mammograms and early detection. I know I'm pulling for her -- just as I did as a 10-year-old cheering in front of the TV in 1976. (Photo: Paul Shannon)

Check out the Breast Cancer WisdomCard and the
Dorothy Hamill Breast Cancer WisdomCard.

Don't Resolve. Just Move.

Have you ever known a New Year's resolution that made a lasting change in someone's life? So for 2008, we'd like to encourage you not to bother with the same old health resolutions. Instead, think about how you can move your body more every day. The Exercise WisdomCard, compiled by an expert guide and reviewed by a physician, offers inspiration -- facts, not cheerleading:

• 5 Great Resources on Exercise
• Side Effects and Precautions for Exercise
• Wisdom, Personal Experiences and Blogs
• Scientific Articles
• and much more.

If that's not enough, there's new evidence that exercise helps women who are suffering from symptoms related to menopause. (Photo: Don Fulano)