Health News

Annual heart walk

BANGOR – The annual Heart Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct, 18, beginning from Husson College.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in Maine, officials explained. Stroke is No. 3. Just this year, nearly 30,000 Mainers will be hospitalized because of heart disease and stroke. More than 4,200 of them will die – more than from cancer, diabetes, AIDS and accidents combined. The cost of treating heart disease and stroke in Maine exceeds $1 billion a year.

Mainers are at increased risk for heart disease and stroke because the percentage of adults who smoke, who lack regular exercise and who are overweight are above national averages. In addition, too few eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

The American Heart Association aims to reduce the disability and death from heart disease and stroke by 25 percent by 2010. The group is working toward this goal in many ways, including the purchase and placement of dozens of automated external defibrillators in ambulance, police and fire departments throughout central, eastern and northern Maine. The devices provide the necessary electric shock to restore a heart beat during cardiac arrest.

The American Heart Association also sponsors research projects that have led to advances such as CPR, pacemakers and bypass surgery. Three research projects in Maine – at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor and two at Maine Medical Center in Portland – are pumping nearly $1 million into the state economy, thanks to AHA grants.

To fund such efforts, the Heart Association in Maine will hold its annual American Heart Walk on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Husson College in Bangor. Dozens of teams from area businesses will participate in an attempt to raise $50,000.

A team from the Bangor Daily News will walk in memory of Gene Stewart, the paper’s Millinocket district manager who died of a heart attack in August at age 45. Gene’s family and friends will join the NEWS team on the walk.

It is not too late to start a team or to give a pledge of support to someone who will be walking. To learn more about the American Heart Walk, visit www.heartwalk.kintera.org/bangorme, or call (800) 937-0944.

Leadership Award

BANGOR – The Maine Leadership Award for Breast Health was presented at the eighth annual silver tea hosted by first lady Karen Baldacci recently at the Blaine House in Augusta as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This year’s award recipient is Rosemarie LeGasse of Bangor who was recognized for her leadership role in advocating for the breast cancer needs of the women of Maine.

LeGasse is director of the women’s health initiatives department at the YWCA of Bangor-Brewer, which manages Caring Connections – an affiliate of Eastern Maine Medical Center and a program that provides educational services, no-cost screening to under-insured women, and support groups for women with breast cancer. She helped to create and expand the Encore and Encoreplus programs with the Bridging Books and Bridging the Gap projects.

Bridging Books provides resources and support for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer; Bridging the Gap provides funding assistance for younger women with breast health issues who do not qualify for traditional assistance.

As a longtime volunteer, LeGasse has devoted her time to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life events, to the Maine Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition for which she is currently vice president and co-chairwoman of its support service fund.

The Maine Leadership Award for Breast Health was created in 1998 as a collaborative effort of the American Cancer Society, the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Maine Affiliate and the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition.

The Leadership Award is given annually in October to recognize a Maine woman or man who has made an exceptional contribution to promoting breast health, improving understanding of breast cancer or working toward the elimination of the disease at the national, state or local level.

Annual Buddy Walk

BANGOR – October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. United Cerebral Palsy of Maine, together with Reflections of Angels Down Syndrome Support, will hold the annual Buddy Walk 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at Cascade Park in Bangor.

The event is free and includes a picnic lunch, a bounce house and music. The afternoon of the event, the name of the winner of two tickets to the Oct. 24 Rascall Flatts concert at the Bangor Auditorium will be drawn. The winner will receive the tickets, plus backstage passes to meet Rascall Flatts and Brian McComas. The winner also will receive a prize package filled with CDs and autographed photos of some of country music’s hottest acts.

Raffle tickets for the concert are $5, and all proceeds go toward next year’s Buddy Walk. To obtain information, call Michelle Harmon at 478-1274 or Rochelle Pattershall at UCP of Maine at 941-2952.

Annual White Cane walk

BANGOR – The annual Vision Awareness White Cane walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 18, at City Hall on Harlow Street. Registration is at 10 a.m. The walk begins at 10:30 a.m.

The purpose of the walk is to raise public awareness of Maine’s white cane traffic law, which requires motorists to yield to those using a white cane or a guide dog, and to raise funds to support services to people in Maine who are blind or visually impaired.

Walkers are encouraged to walk with friends, family and co-workers. Walkers who raise a minimum of $25 will receive a Vision Awareness White Cane T-shirt. To learn more about how to participate, call Les Myers at the Maine AIRS Brewer office at 989-0058.