Stay Healthy

BEING ACTIVE IS KEY AFTER A HEART ATTACK

Heart attack survivors are encouraged to ease back into exercising, and many report feeling anxious about triggering another attack through physical stress and an increased heart rate. But research shows that it’s important to maintain an active lifestyle for good heart health.

SOMETIMES WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN KILL YOU. OTHER TIMES, IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

When Christian Bernadotte’s heart was severely damaged after a massive heart attack and triple bypass surgery at age 49, only his doctors and his wife, Marianne, knew how grim his prognosis really was. But two decades later, Christian is enjoying a full life after a heart transplant and doesn’t begrudge them their secret.

HOW TO AVOID THE FLU

’Tis the holiday season, and unfortunately cold and flu season too. So how do you stay well and not miss out on your favorite festivities?

Handwashing — yes, for sure!

When Jerry Manuel took his first psychology class in college years ago, the life expectancy for people with developmental disabilities like Down syndrome was about 18 years.

Today, as the executive director of Osprey Village on Hilton Head Island, he’s watched that change.

Musician Sterlin Covin knows first hand that nothing in life is guaranteed. For years, he performed around the world, ultimately making enough money to settle on Hilton Head Island so that he could spend more time with his young family.

But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the entertainment industry found itself struggling, Covin was forced drastic financial moves — including dropping his health insurance. Seven years later, two freak accidents left him financially ruined, living in Section 8 housing in a wheelchair, and unknowingly facing the possibility of never being able to walk again.

LOCAL EXPERTS PROVIDE TOP CARE FOR BREAST CANCER

In our October 2018 issue, Monthly consulted with the following local experts in our coverage of breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment.

WALKERS FLOCKS TO LOWCOUNTRY FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS FUNDRAISER

The iconic Bluffton scene at the end of Wharf Street — the oak trees, the May River and the Daddy’s Girl  shrimp boat — will be in the background this year as participants cross the finish line of the Bluffton leg of the seventh annual Pledge the Pink three-day walk to raise money for breast cancer treatment in the Lowcountry.

A coordinated approach defines modern breast cancer care. Many Lowcountry practices now hold weekly interdisciplinary meetings where doctors, surgeons, geneticists, oncologists and other specialists review options and details of the patient’s needs before coming to a consensus about treatment.

“That’s really the best way to keep everything together and to give each patient the individualized care they need,” said Dr. William Burak, a breast surgical oncologist at the Center for Breast Care at Memorial Health University Physicians. He also treats patients at Hilton Head Hospital.

MANY WOMEN WITH EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER CAN SKIP CHEMOTHERAPY, STUDY SAYS

A major national study has found that many women with early-stage, intermediate-level breast cancer don’t need chemotherapy, and local doctors are examining its implications for breast cancer treatment.

The TAILORx trial, which stands for Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment, enrolled more than 10,000 women with breast cancer who fit specific credentials, making it one of the largest precision medicine trials ever for breast cancer, and possibly all cancers.