The Census Bureau on Monday released a new, comprehensive poverty measure that painted a negative picture of the economic landscape for millions of Americans. The report found that 49.1 million Americans — 16 percent of the population — lived in poverty in 2010, which is higher than the 46.2 million Americans found to live in poverty by the official measure that was released in September. The increased level of poverty was fueled by the sharply higher levels of poverty among senior citizens.

The reason for this higher level of poverty in the senior group? This new measurement by the Census Bureau for the first time includes out-of-pocket costs for medical expenses in hits calculations. By including the ever-increasing cost of medical care and high prescription drug costs, the rare of seniors in poverty increased by 6.9% over the previous numbers which did not include medical costs. This increase in poverty among seniors was the highest of any of the groups surveyed.

The Fiscal Times in an article entitled ‘The New Poor: Elderly Hit Hard on Health Costs” outlines how changing the measurement for the poverty level to include costs for medical care and child care resulted in what some call a more accurate representation of the financial picture for America’s seniors. The worry is that poverty amongst seniors will only grow in the future, as the safety of the Social Security Program is eroded by increasing medical and prescription drug costs. Also worth considering is the fact that rising Medicare premiums will reduce the buying power of Social Security every year. Basically, the study confirms what we hear many of our patients at Canada Drugs tell us when they call to order discount prescription drugs, mainly that the rising costs of drugs and medical treatment is making it hard for them to live on their fixed budgets.

It’s the growing reality of poverty amongst a vulnerable group, with important prescription needs that make having an affordable alternative like Canada Drugs so important. We believe that the option to order cheaper international drugs is an important one that seniors and other Americans struggling to stay afloat should have the right to. This poverty study confirming the growing rate of seniors being pushed into poverty by medical costs will hopefully resonate in Congress and with the President when they decide if Americans should have the option of ordering from companies like Canada Drugs.

We invite you to read more and get involved at http://www.rxrights.org, You have a voice and you can let your elected officials know that access to safe and affordable pharmaceuticals should be a natural right for all Americans.

It’s not just the kids who go a candy crazy over Halloween! Who doesn’t love Halloween candy? It’s pretty easy to eat a whole bag of those awesome min-chocolate bars before you even realize that they’re gone. And when those candy bars are 80% off on November 1st? It’s even easier to eat them then!

Unfortunately, most of these Halloween goodies are loaded with an abundant amount of white sugar. This is no surprise since white sugar is added to a myriad of products as a cheap filler to improve taste.

In fact, it is estimated that the average North American consumes two to three pounds of sugar per week in products such as cereals, cookies, yogurts and even ketchup! As you can imagine, during the days around Halloween, the amount of consumed white refined sugar skyrockets.

What is the problem with a little white sugar? In addition to contributing to weight gain, white sugar can create a number of health problems in the body that include:

• Suppression of immune system function
• Fluctuation of energy levels
• Making the body more acidic
• Hyperactivity and impulse behavior
• Raised insulin levels
• Can elevate bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and lower good cholesterol (HDL) levels
• Can contribute to diabetes and heart disease.

Don’t deprive yourself of some Halloween treats, but remember to enjoy them in moderation. Have one or two candy bars, and not the entire bag, and try to balance the candy you do have by also easting more healthy food through the rest of the day. There’s no hard in treating yourself, but watch out for the tricks that too much junk food can play on all our health.

Happy Halloween from everyone at Canada Drugs!

You’ve probably been seeing a little extra pink this past month, huh? That’s because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign by major breast cancer organizations to increase awareness of the disease. This includes educating the public about early detection, the cause, diagnosis, treatment, and support for survivors.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer, and second-most common cause of cancer death in the United States. The lifetime risk for breast cancer in the U.S is 1 in 8, or 12%. The fact that this horrible disease is still so common is why the pink ribbons you see around in October touch so many people’s lives.

The awareness part of the campaign this month places an emphasis on early detection. Advancements in drug treatments, chemotherapy and other medical treatments have improved over the years thanks to money raised to fight this disease, but the Cancer Society still stress that early detection helps fight breast cancer more than other treatment method. While not every lump is cancerous, your chances of getting breast cancer increase once you’re fifty. So think of your breasts and get regular mammograms every two years once you turn 50.

Most women who develop breast cancer have no risk factors other than simply being a woman and getting older (especially being over 50). Talk to your doctor about your risk.

Other risk factors for breast cancer include (Info from National Breast Cancer Fondation):

• having had breast cancer before
• family history of breast cancer (especially in a mother, sister or daughter diagnosed before menopause or if mutations on BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are present)
• family history of ovarian cancer
• an above-average exposure to the hormone estrogen, which your body naturally produces, perhaps because you:
• have never given birth or gave birth for the first time after age 30
• began menstruating at a young age
• reached menopause later than average
• have taken hormone replacement therapy (estrogen plus progestin) for more than five years
• dense breast tissue (as shown on a mammogram)
• a history of breast biopsies showing certain breast changes, such as an increased number of abnormal cells that are not cancerous (atypical hyperplasia)
• radiation treatment to the chest area (for example, to treat Hodgkin lymphoma), especially before age 30

Some factors slightly increase your risk of breast cancer. You may be at slightly higher risk if you:

• are obese (especially after menopause)
• drink alcohol
• take birth control pills (the Pill)

Some women develop breast cancer without having any of these risk factors. Most women with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.

Visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation for more information on how you can reduce risk factors and help contribute to this fight against this disease that has touched so many of our friends and family.

Image via http://www.mountsinai.org

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and Sept. 21 was Alzheimer’s Action Day — a day to wear purple and raise awareness of this devastating disease that affects so many, both those diagnosed with the disease and the loved ones that take on the responsibility to care for those with Alzheimer’s.

The disease affects one in every eight people over the age of 65 and is the nation’s seventh-leading cause of death. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.3 million Americans currently have the disease and that every 69 seconds another U.S. citizen develops Alzheimer’s. The theme of World Alzheimer’s month this year is the ‘’Faces of Dementia” and the Alzheimer’s Society hopes that people with recognize the toll it takes on the diagnosed and those who help care for people with Alzheimer’s.

The disease is a devastating form of dementia, a general term referring to brain syndromes characterized by problems with memory, judgment, language, orientation, communication, and executive functioning. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, leading to memory loss along with multiple thinking and reasoning abnormalities. Eventually, patients become completely dependent on their caregivers for daily activities such as dressing and eating.

Registered nurse Rira Alman, the Vice-President of Memory Care and Programming at the Sunrise Senior Living Centre wrote about 5 easy ways that you can make a difference during Alzheimer’s Month at the Huffington Post. She suggested that you take the time to:

• Educate yourself on how Alzheimer’s impacts those with it and those around them.
• Offer to  help a caregiver. An afternoon off for a friend you know that is caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is a simple and kind gesture that can make a real difference to them.
• Volunteer. Look at the Alzheimer’s Associations website to find out to get involved in your local community.
• Become an advocate. Engage in conversation about Alzheimer’s with those around you — friends, family, co-workers or your local representative. Discussing thoughts and fears about the disease can be a great way to propel others to educate themselves.
• Raise money for research and awareness.

At Canada Drugs, we talk to those with Alzheimer’s and those that are caring for them every day.  There is currently no cure for this disease, although there are medications for those in the early to moderate stages such as:

Cholinesterase inhibitors are commonly prescribed:

• Donepezil (Aricept) is approved to treat all stages of Alzheimer’s.
• Rivastigmine (Exelon) is approved to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.
• Galantamine (Razadyne) is approved to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.

In more advance cases of the disease memantine (Namenda) is approved by the FDA for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s.

We here at Canada Drugs hope that awareness of the disease can lead to better treatment and hopefully a cure at one point in the future., until that day organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association will do important work in bringing awareness and research to beating this disease.