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LSU Health Sciences Center has hired tobacco and smoking expert Dr. Thomas P. Houston, who also will direct the statewide Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program.

Houston to New Orleans
  International tobacco-control leader Dr. Thomas P. Houston has been selected to fill the LSU Health Sciences Center’s (LSUHSC) Jim Finks Endowed Chair for Health Promotion in Public Health. He also will serve in the LSUHSC Department of Family Medicine and will contribute to the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Program. His appointment was effective Oct. 1.
  In addition to his LSU appointments, Houston will serve as director of the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, a statewide project funded by a tobacco tax of two cents per pack on cigarettes. He currently is director of science and community health advocacy and patient safety at the American Medical Association and co-director of the national program office of the Smokeless State National Tobacco Policy Initiatives, a project that has established tobacco control programs in 42 states. Houston also has a host of other respected tobacco-related endeavors and honors, past and present, to his credit.

Heartfelt Walk
  Twins Herman and Sherman, known from TV commercials because they lost lots of weight eating Subway sandwiches, will be on hand at The American Heart Walk Oct. 18 at City Park.
  The 5K and 1-mile fun walks, which help raise money the American Heart Association (AHA) uses to fight heart disease and stroke, are presented locally by Tulane/HCA. Nationally the walks have the support of NutriSoy and Subway. Registration begins at 7 a.m., and the walk begins at 8 a.m.; each walker is urged to collect donations of $100.
  There will be entertainment following the walks, Herman and Sherman will sign autographs, and walk participants will receive free health screenings. For more information, call the AHA at 456-7224.
Excellent Ideas
  To commemorate the five-year anniversary of the Tulane/Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, the facility is staging programs this month, including a health fair and informative talks.
  The first event starts at 7 p.m. Oct. 14, at the Aquarium of the Americas and features Judith LaRosa, one of the center’s founders, who will discuss the difference in health care for men and women. At noon on Oct. 17, psychiatrist Dr. Maga Jackson-Triche will discuss depression and sign her book, Beating Depression: The Journey to Hope (McGraw-Hill).
  From 8 a.m. to noon on Oct. 18, the center will hold a health fair and bazaar in conjunction with the Crescent City Farmer’s Market at the corner of Magazine and Girod streets. That event will feature free glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings, massages and cooking demonstrations by Chef Susan Spicer.
  For more information or to RSVP, call 988-4635.
Be With the Force
  The Louisiana Breast Cancer Task Force, the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans, and the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus are sponsoring a free seminar designed to answer questions about prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
  Registration starts at 9:30 a.m., with the program running from 10 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Jefferson Parish Regional Library (4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie). Registration is free, but should be completed by Oct. 23. Call 733-5539 or (800) 624-2309.
  During the event, participants will sit in small discussion groups to talk about issues related to breast cancer with physicians and other health experts. Topics include boosting the immune system, treatments, hormone replacement therapy, prevention, diagnosis and dealing with the emotional aspects of the disease.

Giving Life
  Organ donors and recipients will discuss the value of organ and tissue donations at a free seminar from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 20 at the Student Life Center at Delgado Community College. The Frank Voelker Memorial Youth Forum on Organ and Tissue Donation is directed toward high school teachers, counselors, youth ministers and students.
  The seminar is expected to draw representatives from more than 40 schools in the New Orleans area, and each will receive free educational materials to promote organ and tissue donation. For information or to register, call Amy Ferguson at 299-7175.
  The program includes presentations by Washington Post reporters Martha McNeil Hamilton and Warren Brown. Hamilton donated a kidney to Brown. Other speakers include Reg Green, who donated his young son’s organs after he died, and heart transplant recipient the Rev. Canon Dalton Downs. A workshop about how to increase donations follows the speakers.
For the Children
  Get retro for a good cause by donning a 1970s costume and dancing the night away at a party to benefit Children’s Hospital.
  The costume party, sponsored by Hampton Inn, is from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center (1733 Constantinople St.) and features food, soft drinks and entertainment. Admission is $10, with proceeds benefiting the 201-bed not-for-profit hospital. For ticket information, call 896-9375.

In the Pink
  Belladonna Day Spa and Retail Therapy (2900 Magazine St., 891-4393) is sponsoring a “Be Supportive” campaign in its store during the month of October to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s efforts to fund research and support services for women with the disease.
  During October, Belladonna owner Kim Dudek says she will donate 5 percent of sales of items in the store marked with a pink ribbon to the foundation. She has also set up a menu of special Be Supportive spa services, including a manicure, facial, and body treatment. She will donate $5 to the foundation for each of those services booked during the month.

Cancer Trial
  Tulane Cancer Center is seeking patients with advanced-stage, low-grade follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to participate in a nationwide, multi-center research trial to determine the efficacy of the new vaccine, MyVax™ Personalized Immunotherapy.
  The vaccine is designed to use a patient’s own tumor cells to stimulate the immune system and help the body attack the cancer. The cancer for which it was designed has no known cure and the National Cancer Institute reports it causes more than 24,000 deaths per year.
  Tulane is among 33 institutions in the United States and Canada that are participating in the study. To apply, patients should be diagnosed with but not treated for follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Call 585-6121 for information or log onto the Web at www.som.tulane.edu/ cancer.

Customers Love Them
  Ochsner Clinic Foundation has been voted a Consumer Choice Award winner by area residents for the eighth year in a row. The National Research Corporation named Ochsner an award winner based on its Healthcare Market Guide study of more than 140,000 households nationwide. NRC provides the award to the most-preferred hospitals in more than 130 markets across the country.

Relieve the Pressure
  If your blood pressure is elevated but not yet termed “high,” you may be eligible to participate in a Tulane University study to determine if protein supplements lower blood pressure.
  The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is sponsoring the clinical trial, which will investigate the efficacy of soy protein and milk protein in lowering the blood pressure of people who are diagnosed with pre-hypertension (blood pressure of 120 to 139 over 80 to 89). The NIH undertook the clinical trial after determining that one in five adults has elevated blood pressure, while 50 million in the United States eventually develop high blood pressure.
  To be considered for the 32-week study, call 988-4390 or email probp@tulane.edu.

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