Rita Dichele holds Masters’ degrees in Counseling and Healthcare Administration. Currently, she is an advanced doctoral learner at Capella University where she is writing her dissertation on successful aging. Rita resides in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and serves as a board member on the Council on Aging. She is a town appointee for the Shrewsbury Cultural Council, facilitates two groups at the Shrewsbury Senior Center, and is a certified SHINE Medicare/Medicaid counselor. Rita is also a past presenter at the 2009 American Society on Aging Conference.

Aging is the process of growth and movement as we progress through each stage of life.  The interesting concept of aging is that each of us ages chronically, but emotionally and physically we age in our own unique ways.  For instance, one person may suffer physical hardship related to illness and disease because of an immune system that has been predisposed by genetic makeup, lifestyle habits, and environmental conditions.

Unfortunately, many older persons are subjected to myths about aging that often create detours to age successfully.

In 1975 Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Robert N. Butler authored the book titled, Why Survive?  Being Old in America in which he describes the negative attitude regarding the aging process.  Dr. Butler referred to any negative attitude toward the aged as “ageism” which he considered was consistent with other types of discriminating and stereotyping of people such as “sexism” and “racism”. Dr. Butler suggested that ageism is perpetuated from one generation to the next because of aphorisms such as “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Subsequent to Dr. Butler’s research, stereotyping of the elderly has evolved to a level of erroneous stereotyping that has been heightened, for example, by the mass  media, especially by television and movies made in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  Moreover, literary accounts of the elderly have portrayed ageist attitudes that preempt elderly capabilities to be productive individuals who are able to age successfully. 

Notwithstanding previous portrayals of the elderly, a new image of the older individual has emerged.  Because many of the famous actors are aging such as Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Sally Fields, Diane Keaton, characters in the movies are now being depicted as characters that are aging successfully.   Thus, as a result new stereotyping is being generated that focuses less on ageist attitudes.

But nevertheless, there does exist today many myths about aging that are often perceived by the public at large as absolute truths, thus causing many to believe that aging invariably can lead to a future in which one disengages from the mainstream community. Perhaps individual acceptance of certain myths may take the mystery out of why so many older persons experience depression, substance abuse, and isolation.

Furthermore, in many instances later life can be less stressful.  Unfortunately, members of our society perceive the elderly through stereotype lenses that suggest that as we age, we decline and live out our lives vulnerable to the vicissitudes of time.  The problems of the widowed, those living alone, and certain minorities are often exaggerated inferring that older persons are troubled by later life stresses.  This concept can often add to the typical stereotype of the older individual who is at risk of living the rest of his/her life to the fullest. 

Current research conducted by gerontologists, individuals who study the elderly, suggests that aging is something to look forward to, dispelling common myths about aging.  In fact much is being written about how older individuals are more resilient than their younger counterparts.  Also, older individuals are more able to sustain lifestyles that are consistent with their previous days such as active sexual relations, living independently in their own homes, continued capabilities to make informed decisions, and cognitively able to process information and learn “new tricks”. 

Furthermore, most older persons no longer live in poverty despite living on a fixed income.  For instance, the creation of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Supplemental Security Income can remove economic hardships once a widespread problem with older individuals.

And finally, old age is a period of greater adaptation because older individuals are able to assimilate into their lifestyles more changes than younger individuals.  For instance, older individuals are able to reconcile change because earlier life experiences have prepared them for the uncertainties of life. Decisions made early on will affect the lifestyle choices in later life.

In conclusion, statements made to the contrary places older individuals at risk to living out a life in a compromised manner and in many instances causing some individuals to have to adjust to a lifestyle that just does not have to occur. Future predictions of the baby boomers monopolizing the older generation should provide hope to older people that those misguided myths about aging will dissipate.  Thus, ageist attitudes will no longer be present and will yield to stereotyping that has replaced old stereotyping which historically has contributed to myths of aging successfully.  Therefore, the real truth regarding aging successfully can be appropriately validated.

Kathy N. Johnson, PhD, CMC is a Certified Care Manager and the Co-Founder of Home Care Assistance, Inc. She holds a Doctorate in Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Kathy is committed to serving the needs of seniors nationwide.

A strong association between coffee consumption and a lowered risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers has been reported in the data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference. This comes close to the heels of last month’s action by the Food and Drug Administration to consider the merits of Provenge as a vaccine for prostate cancer.

Insulin and glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels are affected by coffee. All of these play a role in prostate cancer. Kathryn M. Wilson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health conjectures that there is a plausible association between coffee and prostate cancer. Wilson et al found in a prospective investigation that men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer as compared to men who did not drink any coffee. This was the first study of its kind that looked at both overall risk of prostate cancer and risk of localized, advanced and lethal disease.

Editors Note - Caregiver News Roundup will now be appearing every 2 weeks.

Industrial Chemical Linked to Increased Risk of Getting Parkinson’s – A new study has found that exposure to the industrial solvent trichloroethylene increases your risk of coming down with Parkinson’s disease by six times.  Trichloroethylene is an industrial cleaner used in dry cleaning, machine shops and in the manufacture of electrical equipment.

Diabetes Drug Increases Risk of Bone Fracture in Older Women – A study has found that women over age 65 who take thiazolidinedione, a drug to treat Type 2 diabetes, were 50% more likely to suffer bone fractures than women not taking the medication.

57 Million Americans Sickened by Swine Flu – The Center for Disease Control estimates that 57 million Americans have come down with the Swine Flu since April 2009.  

Blood Test May Be Able to Predict Rheumatoid Arthritis – A study has found that blood tests maybe able to detect rheumatoid arthritis years before symptoms appear.  This information make it possible for doctors to identify the disease early and help find the most effective treatments for each patient.

Truth about Heart Disease: There Is No Cure – Heart disease is the number 1 cause of the death in the US and as former President Bill Clinton’s stent procedure shows that while it can be treated there is no cure for it.

FDA Wants to Reduce Radiation Exposure in Medical Tests – The Food and Drug Administration has announced a plan to reduce patient’s exposure to radiation in 3 tests – CT scans, nuclear medicine studies and fluoroscopy.  Medical advances over the past 20 years have resulted in a dramatic increase in radiation exposure from tests.

Marijuana Ineffective as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease – A new study from Canada has found that marijuana is not effective at combating the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Being a caregiver is an incredibly stressful experience and a new study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute has some startling conclusions about its impact.  The report examined employees serving as caregivers and found that they are more likely to suffer from health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and depression than their co-workers.

Some of the key findings in the study include:

• Caregivers have health costs which are 8% higher than people who are not caregivers and cost employers $13.4 billion a year.

• Employees serving as caregivers were more likely to report poor health than their co-workers.  For example, 17% of female employees ages 50 and older who were caregivers reported fair or poor health compared to 9% of non-caregivers.

• Employed caregivers find it difficult to take care of their own health care needs and are less likely to get preventive care such as mammograms, annual physicals and preventive health screenings.

Senate Passes Healthcare Reform Bill – The US Senate passed a healthcare reform bill on Christmas Eve.  The House of Representatives passed a bill in November.  The two bills will be merged and a final vote is expected by late January.

Alzheimer’s May Lessen the Risk of Getting Cancer – A new study found that people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s are 69 percent less likely to get cancer than people not suffering from the disease.

Nursing Shortage Is A Concern for Baby Boomers – The US is expected to face a nursing shortage just as the baby boom generation begins to retire.  By 2025, the US will be facing a shortfall of 260,000 nurses.

Healthcare Will Need to Change as the Nation Ages – A report from the Institute of Medicine says US is not prepared for the coming boom of senior citizens.  A major concern is a lack of medical professionals, such as geriatricians, to treat aging conditions. 

US Senate Set to Pass Healthcare Reform by Christmas – An agreement has been reached in the Senate on a healthcare reform bill and a vote is expected before Christmas.  The bill is expected to be merged with the one passed by the US House of Representatives in the New Year.

Participating in Social Services Activities Can Improve Senior’s Brain Function – A new study has found that volunteer activities such as tutoring students can help improve the brain function of older individuals.

Alzheimer’s Takes A Toll on Finances as Well as Memory – Providing daily care to Alzheimer’s patients including feeding, bathing, and other basic activities is costly and takes a huge toll on the finances of the patient and their families. 

Coffee, Tea May Help Prevent Diabetes – A new Australian study has found that drinking coffee and tea reduce your risk of developing Diabetes Type 2.  The study reports that every cup of coffee you drink reduces the risk of diabetes by 7 percent.

Obesity, Inactivity Are Having a Negative Impact in the Fight Against Heart Disease – New information provided by the American Heart Association finds that medical technology is getting better at treating heart and cardiovascular problems.  However, lack of exercise and obesity are reversing many of the gains being made in medical technology.

Home Health Care Payment Changes Generate Concern – Planned reductions in Medicare home health care payments included in health reform are raising concerns because Medicare patients are the biggest users of these services.  

Smoking Increases the Risk of Colorectal Cancer – A new study shows that long time smokers are at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Muscle Cell Infusion Shown to Help with Incontinence – A new study has found that cells grown in labs have helped animals intestines shut properly again.  If successful in humans, this treatment could help people suffering from fecal incontinence and acid reflux disease.

Constipation Maybe an Early Sign of Parkinson’s Disease – A study by the Mayo Clinic has found that people suffering from Parkinson’s disease are twice as likely to have a history of constipation than people who do not have the illness.

Understanding Which Vitamins Are Worth the Money – Americans take many vitamin supplements.  However, many people take vitamins they don’t need which not only can cost you money but may not be good for you.

Apathy Common in Patients with Dementia – A recent study has found that apathy is one of the most common psychological problems affecting people with dementia.  More than half of patients suffering from the disease lack motivation and initiative.

Too Much Exercise May Increase Risk for Arthritis – A new study has found that middle aged people who exercise a lot may be putting their knees at risk for Osteoarthritis.

Smoking May Be A Risk Factor In Lou Gehrig’s Disease – Researchers have established that smoking is risk factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Chronic Pain Linked to Increased Falls Amongst Seniors – More than two thirds of older adults suffer from chronic pain.  A new study has found that this pain is a reason for falls in people over 70 years old.

Baby Boomers Getting More Hip Injuries – Today’s senior citizens are more active than previous generations and doctors are seeing more hip and pelvis injuries because of it.  This trend is expected to continue as the baby boomers begin to retire.

A New Cause for Alzheimer’s May Have Been Discovered – Researchers in Spain have discovered that a precursor to nerve growth factor (pro-NGF) may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.  High levels of pro-NGF are found in Alzheimer’s patients and this accumulation may lead to natural brain cell death.

For this Thanksgiving holiday, we have so much to be thankful for. 

We thank all of you, the community of eCare Diary caregivers, visitors and partners, who’ve helped make the site a success in such a short period of time.  Our mission was to create a centralized place where caregivers could find help, information, and the support they need.  John and I developed this site based on our own personal frustrations as caregivers with the hope that future caregivers would never have to go through what we did. 

I am thrilled to report that in only 10 weeks since eCare Diary went live, the number of visitors and registered users more than exceeded our expectations.  Response to the site has been amazing!  We are overwhelmed by the emails offering thanks, support and terrific new ideas.

We are thankful for our experiences as caregivers.  It wasn’t a role we expected or wanted.  No one wants to watch their parents suffer through long term disease.  However, while those were very difficult, sad times, that experience gave us a hard and fast education on long term care.  We were exposed to information, resources and communities that lead to the creation of this site.

We are thankful for the loved ones in our lives more than ever.  When you’ve suffered loss and death, you appreciate the people in your life in a whole new way.  Around the holidays, John thinks about his parents a lot wishing that they were alive to have met our daughter, Avery.  Their absence makes me more thankful than ever that my parents are still alive, and I appreciate them more profoundly.

We are thankful for our daughter Avery who just turned 19 months old.  She has opened our hearts in ways we never expected.  Giving birth to her reminded us of the preciousness and volatility of human life, interestingly similar to what we observe as caregivers.

We are thankful that eCare Diary is becoming a family affair.  John’s sister, Polly Whitehorn, recently joined us as Director of Special Events and Outreach.  Formerly of the Arthritis Foundation, Polly’s experience and networking has been invaluable in getting the word out about eCare Diary.  Susan’s brother, Kevin Kim, has also joined eCare Diary as Web Designer.  We are so fortunate to have his talent for developing clean, consumer-friendly designs; he is in the process of redesigning the site for eCare Diary 2.0 coming soon!

We are thankful for many new friends we’ve made and partnerships we’ve formed.   Their generosity and assistance have helped propel eCare Diary.  We thank and acknowledge them below.

We wish you a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!

Acknowledgements:

Bill Walters, CEO of ALTHA (a hospital trade association), for featuring a 2 page story on eCare Diary in ALTHA’S quarterly newsletter

Denise Brown, creator of Caregiving.com (blog for caregivers), for inviting John to write a 3-part series on his caregiving experiences with his father

Howard Gleckman, author of Caring for Our Parents, for his long term care expertise

Margery Pabst, author of Enrich Your Caregiving Journey, for her caregiving expertise and articles

MarketWatch.com for inviting John to write “Obamacare: Why it’s Different This Time”

Chris Lombardi, of WomensVoicesForChange.org,  for publishing my article “Sex in the Workplace: A Caregiver’s Story”

Jason Alba, Founder of JibberJobber.com (a relationship management website for professionals and entrepreneurs), for his advice, constant support, and plugs

Katherine Lewis, of CurrentMom.com (a blog for tech mom entrepreneurs), for publishing my story, “Becoming An Accidental Entrepreneur”

Karla Lightfoot and Stella Grizont, of LadiesWhoLaunch.com (women entrepreneurs website), for promoting the site and connecting me to an amazing community of female entrepreneurs

Jean Levin, founder of Caring From a Distance, for her advice, thoughts and insights.

Facebook Fans & Friends, your thumbs up and support encourage us all the time!

New Guidelines Recommend Mammograms at 50, Instead of 40 – The United States Preventive Care Task Force changed the recommended age for starting mammograms every two years from age 40 to age 50.  The new guidelines have created controversy and confusion.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Overlooked – Advocates for Alzheimer’s caregivers are concerned that policy-makers overlook the unique challenges of caring for these patients.

Surgery in Older People Does Not Cause Memory Problems – For many years it was believed that surgery in older people could be the cause for memory lose.  A new study has found that surgery has no impact on memory in older adults.

An Overactive Immune Response May Be Cause of Viral Infections Amongst Seniors – A study at Yale University has found that exaggerated immune response to viruses may be why senior citizens are more likely to contract viral infections that younger people.

Vitamin D May Impact Multiple Sclerosis – Australian researchers have found that the level of Vitamin D in a person’s system impacts the chances of having a Multiple Sclerosis attack.  The study found the higher the level of Vitamin D, the lower the chance of having an attack.

Editor’s Note:  eCare Diary is pleased to announce that Michael Chien, co-founder of Head to Toe Care LLC, is a guest blogger today.  Head To Toe Care is a free website offering practical tips for home based caregiving.  Medical professionals give step-by-step instructions, symptom management, and medical provider interaction tips.

My friend is a registered nurse experienced in hospice and palliative care.  This is her story.  Her father is a retired Air Force colonel—he served as a commander in three wars and assumed the responsibility to care for his troops.   He still has this responsibility.  

Last Saturday evening, she received a frantic call from her father that one of his “troops” needed assistance.  They rushed over to the condo of his friend, a retired officer and doctor.  He had been discharged from the hospital after a 7 day stay which included ICU care.  He was discharged to his “home” which is a condo in the independent living section of a life care community.   He had been “home” for about 4 hours when another friend happened to stop by for a visit.  He found the doctor in a chair, in the living room, with no ability to care for himself, or call for help. There were no sheets on his bed and no clean towels or washcloths. There was nothing to eat or drink within his reach, and no possible way for him to get to the bathroom. Recognizing that the needs of the doctor were far beyond his abilities, the friend managed to place the doctor on the sheet less bed and telephoned my father for help.

When they arrived, what they found was heart wrenching.  Not only was the hospital gown saturated with urine and feces, there was evidence of old as well as new urine and feces through out the small condo. It took them two hours to see to his basic needs of bathing, nutrition, making the bed, positioning him comfortably and cleaning the condo as best we could.   The colonel is a smart and capable man.  He had insight to know that he could not have cared for his friend alone.  With her directions, he was able to learn and participate in simple care giving for his friend.          

Sadly, this story is not unique. This scenario is happening all the time.  People are being sent home from various health care facilities (hospitals, rehab centers, etc.)   While care needs are evident, there is little if any communication to achieve a seamless transition between the needs of the patient from the outpatient setting to the inpatient setting, and then back to the “home” setting.  With “real” discharge planning—this situation could have been avoided. A paid caregiver could have been hired as there were no family members available because the family lived out of state. When there are no funds to pay for a hired caregiver, than it is up to family members and friends to see to caregiving needs.  However, the family needs to be instructed on how to provide care.    

This type of caregiving information is vital for families and friends.  This will ensure that those who need care can maintain their dignity and get the care that they deserve.

Healthcare Reform Bill Will Lower Medicare Prescription Drug Costs – The healthcare reform bills being considered in Congress will save $24 billion in the Medicare Prescription Drug program which will be used to close coverage gap known as the "donut hole." 

Parkinson’s Disease May Be Slowed by Antioxidant – A new study found that the progression of Parkinson’s can be determined by the level of the antioxidant urate in serum and cerebral spinal cord fluid. Higher levels of this antioxidant can help slow the disease.

Seniors with Dementia Have a Higher Death Rate from the Flu – Senior citizens who suffer from dementia are 50% more likely to die from the flu than those not suffering from dementia. Part of the reason is these patients have a harder time communicating their symptoms to doctors. 

Diabetics Suffering from Alzheimer’s Have Slower Memory Loss – A French study has found that diabetics with Alzheimer’s have slower memory loss than people suffering from only Alzheimer’s. 

Coffee Can Be Good For Your Health –A Harvard Medical School study has found that coffee can help prevent or slow numerous diseases including cancer, diabetes type 2 and Parkinson’s disease. 

Tai Chi Can Help Arthritis of the Knee – A British study has found the Chinese exercise can help relieve osteoarthritis in the knee. 

Robot Can Help Aging Parents Live Independently – A session at TEDMED, a healthcare technology conference, discussed the use of robots to help care for aging parents at home. This technology could eventually help more people stay in their homes.