“This week, we honor and remember the heroic firefighters and first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice to save and protect our citizens, homes, and communities. n 2017, more than 1.3 million fires killed 3,400 people and injured 14,000 more, while causing an estimated $23 billion in direct property loss. Sadly, the number of fire-related deaths continues to rise, even though the number of fires is falling.”
White House (whitehouse.gov)
In a typical home fire, residents may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Escape planning and practice can help them make the most of the time they have, giving everyone enough time to get out.
Plan and Practice your Escape ™Fire Prevention Week / October 6-12, 2019 Not every hero wears a cape.Why is it important to have a family escape plan?
Fire is FAST!In less than 30 seconds a small flame can turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill your home. Fire spreads too quickly and the smoke is too thick. There is only a short time to escape.
Fire is HOT! Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. If you inhale this super-hot air, it will scorch your lungs.
Fire is DARK!Fire starts bright, but quickly makes black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up to a fire you may be blinded, disoriented and unable to find your way around your home.
Fire is DEADLY!Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. The odorless, colorless fumes can lull you into a deep sleep before the flames reach your door. You may not wake up in time to escape.
Having functioning alarms installed throughout your home is the first line of defense for fire prevention. They work around the clock to give your family an early alert in the event of an emergency, allowing you time to safely escape. Smoke and CO alarms should be placed on every level of the home, including the basement, as well as inside and outside each bedroom. Fire alarms should also be placed on every level of the home, especially in the kitchen and garage.
Take this opportunity to discuss fire safety with your family!
“Many germs, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause pneumonia. Understanding the cause of pneumonia is important because pneumonia treatment depends on its cause.”
American Lung Association
“Flu (influenza) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that can cause mild to severe illness. Serious outcomes of flu infection can result in hospitalization or death. … RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.”
Cleveland Clinic
“According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 268,600 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 42,000 will die of the disease in 2019. Breast cancer is the most common type of non-skin cancer in women in the United States.”
Women account for more than 99 percent of all breast cancer cases.
After gender, age is the most influential risk factor for developing breast cancer. Women younger than age 40 account for only 4.7 percent of invasive breast cancer diagnoses and only 3.6 percent of in situ breast cancer diagnoses. Over 70 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses are made in women who are 50 or older.
You may have heard the statistic that one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer. This does not mean that a woman of any age has a one-in-eight chance of developing breast cancer. This statistic conveys a woman’s lifetime risk. This means that if a woman lives until age 85, she has a risk of one in eight of developing breast cancer sometime during her lifetime.
After age 40, Caucasian women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than African-American women. However, African-American women are more likely than white women to die of breast cancer. Women of Asian, Hispanic or American Indian descent are at lower risk than Caucasian or African-American women for developing breast cancer.
If a woman has had cancer in one breast, she is at increased risk of developing cancer in the other breast.
Women with a relative who has had breast cancer are at higher risk of developing breast cancer themselves, particularly if it is a first-degree relative, such as a mother, sister or daughter.
That risk is further increased if a woman has multiple first-degree relatives who have had breast cancer, or if she has a first-degree relative who developed breast cancer at a young age or in both breasts.
Patients with family members who have had breast and/or ovarian cancer may choose to see a qualified genetic counselor from the UCSF Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Mount Zion. These counselors are available to evaluate a person’s likelihood of carrying a gene mutation and to discuss the possibility of genetic testing.
Women who have certain inherited gene mutations (including BRCA1 and BRCA2) have a significantly increased risk of breast cancer and account for about 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancer cases. In most women, the normally functioning BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes help to prevent breast cancer by controlling cell growth. However, these genes are no longer able to control cell growth properly unmutated.
Since these genes are passed down from your parents, it is possible to carry a gene mutation from the mother or father’s side of the family. A female who carries either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation has up to an 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70. However, in men the BRCA2 gene mutation is reported to increase risk of breast cancer more than the BRCA1 gene mutation. Males who carry the BRCA2 gene mutation have a suggested 6 percent chance of developing breast cancer during a lifetime.
A prevalence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations has been observed in the Ashkenazi Jewish (Jews with European or Central European ancestry) population. Having one or more relatives with breast or ovarian cancer, and being of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, puts a person at greater risk for carrying a BRCA gene mutation.
Exposure to high doses of chest radiation, such as for medical therapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, particularly during childhood, can greatly increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.
Researchers have found that the age at which radiation was received is inversely related to the acquired risk. Thus, women who received radiation after their menopausal years incurred very little risk.
“1 out of 8 women will develope breast cancer in their lifetime.”
National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.