Age-Related Macular Degeneration Takes A Devastating Toll
provided by Prevent Blindness Tri-State
Age-related Macular Degenera-tion (AMD) is a serious eye disease that affects the vision of more than 15 million Americans. It is the leading cause of visual impairment among those ages 50 and older. AMD patients slowly begin to lose their central vision that can eventually lead to permanent vision loss. But AMD doesn’t just take its toll on the eyes. It also has proven to be not only a financial burden, but can affect the patient’s mental health as well.
In a report issued in the Archives of Ophthalmology last year, researchers found that, as a nation, Americans spend $35.4 billion related to visual disorders, including medical expenses and loss of productivity. Of that number, $575 million was directly attributed to AMD costs. Alarmingly, because of the extremely large aging population, the number of AMD cases is estimated to balloon in the very near future, potentially creating a devastating financial impact.
But beyond the dollar amount comes an even higher price tag -- the emotional toll that AMD often takes on patients and those that care for them. A study from AMD Alliance International concluded that AMD patients suffer higher rates of depression and report a profoundly negative impact on their quality of life. Patients who lose their ability to drive, read a newspaper or even see the faces of their loved ones begin to feel a significant loss of independence which can lead to emotional distress and often depression.
The most frightening aspect of the disease is that it progresses painlessly, with many patients not aware they are having a problem. Unfortunately, once symptoms begin to appear, vision loss has already occurred. And, if left untreated, studies show that those diagnosed with “wet” AMD (a more rapidly progressing condition than “dry” AMD) will become functionally blind within two years.
Prevent Blindness Tri-State and Prevent Blindness America offer an online resource dedicated to helping patients and their loved ones to learn more about the disease. The Web site, www.preventblindness.org/amd, offers a variety of tools and information on everything from risk factors, treatment options, and even a downloadable Amsler Grid, (a tool that can help identify vision abnormalities linked to AMD).
“We can’t stress enough how important it is that everyone make an effort to visit their eye doctor regularly, even if they don’t think they have a problem,” said Kathryn Garre-Ayars, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness Tri-State. “We challenge all Americans to make an appointment for themselves and their loved ones to ensure healthy vision for years to come.”
Although only a doctor can make a diagnosis, the following are possible signs of AMD:
• Straight lines such as telephone
poles, the sides of buildings or
streetlight poles, look wavy.
• Written text and/or type
can appear blurry.
• A dark or empty spot may
block the center of your vision.
For free information on AMD or a free copy of the Amsler grid, please visit Prevent Blindness Tri-State at www.preventblindnesstriastate.org or call 1-800-850-2020.
About Prevent Blindness Tri-State
Since 1908, Prevent Blindness has worked to save sight and prevent vision loss by providing innovative vision screening services,
information and education programs, and
advocacy for people of all ages, touching lives with a clear vision of the future. Prevent Blindness Tri-State (PBTS) serves communities in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey,
with its headquarters in Middlebury, CT. PBTS is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America,
the country’s second-oldest national voluntary health organization.
One of the world’s foremost experts in immunology and cancer, Robert Gorter, MD, PhD, has predicted that in the first half of this century, cancer incidence will affect 50 percent of the American population, with similar rises throughout the developed nations. That means every other person will have a cancer diagnosis at some time in his or her lifespan, but will not necessarily die from cancer - and the only silver lining here is that fitness lifestyles will be viewed as more important than ever.
Researchers have been investigating the relationship between physical activity and the reduction of cancer risks in population-based control studies for more than two decades. These large surveys, sometimes involving tens of thousands of participants, give us the most valuable information about the long-term protective effects and types of exercise we can practice throughout our lifetimes.
A report in the February 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention found that exercise may reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer. Six or more hours per week of strenuous recreational activity was found to reduce the risks by 23 percent, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center (UWCCC).
The case control study looked at women between the ages of 20 and 69 living in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Wisconsin; they questioned 7,640 women without breast cancer, 1,689 survivors of in situ, or non-invasive, breast cancer and 6,391 survivors of invasive breast cancer. They asked detailed questions about physical activity, occupation, family history of breast cancer, menopausal status, and body mass index.
According to the researchers, women who exercised had a reduced risk of developing invasive breast cancer provided they didn’t have a family history of breast cancer. This reduction in risk was apparent whether the physical activity took place early in life, in the postmenopausal years, or in the recent past.
“A woman's hormone levels naturally fluctuate throughout her life, and we have found that exercise likely offers protection against breast cancer regardless of a woman's stage in life,” said Brian Sprague, a UWCCC research assistant and lead author of the study. “The take-home message for women should be that it is never too late to begin exercising.”
Previous research has linked high levels of estrogen to an increased risk for developing breast cancer. Women who exercise heavily are, in general, older at the time of the first period, and tend to have irregular periods and a shortened estrogen-producing phase, which translates in a lower body exposure to estrogen, the researchers say.
Similarly, postmenopausal women who are physically active have also been shown to have lower levels of estrogen. Dr. Amy Threntham said this explains why increased physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer. Other potential mechanisms include prevention of weight gain, regulation of insulin sensitivity and alterations in immune function.
Taking all these factors into consideration, “intervention studies assessing the effect of physical activity on estrogen and other hormone exposure, and other biomarkers of risk would provide valuable insights on the mechanisms of physical activity in reducing breast cancer risk,” said Trentham-Dietz.
“Further studies of population subgroups are necessary to gain a better understanding of the relation of physical activity to breast cancer risk, and to identify the groups most likely to gain benefit from it,” said Trentham-Dietz.
Dr. Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, is a medical anthropologist, clinician in behavioral medicine, author and presenter. She is on faculty at San Francisco State University. Global Health Media, mail@megjordan.com, 415-785-7987.
The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology offers popular brochures detailing Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer and Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer.
ASTRO’s award-winning patient brochures are part of the public awareness campaign that the Society launched in 2003 to help patients learn more about their treatment options. Although nearly two-thirds of all people living with cancer will receive radiation therapy at some point during their treatment, it is the least understood of the three main cancer treatment modalities, behind surgery and chemotherapy.
“Trying to understand cancer and the treatments to cure it can be overwhelming for patients and their loved ones,” said Thomas J. Eichler, M.D., Chair of ASTRO’s Communications Committee and a radiation oncologist at CJW Medical Center at the Thomas Johns Cancer Center in Richmond, Va. “We hope these materials will help those grappling with cancer to make well-informed treatment decisions.”
The brochures are available free to patients and patient support organizations by visiting ASTRO’s patient-dedicated Web site www.rtanswers.org. Many are available in Spanish as well as English. The site also contains more detailed information and pictures explaining how radiation therapy is used to treat cancer and has a “Doctor Finder” feature allowing patients to search for a radiation oncologist by location and specialty.
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 8,600 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies.
As the leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to the advancement of the practice of radiation oncology by promoting excellence in patient care, providing opportunities for educational and professional development, promoting research and disseminating research results and representing radiation oncology in a rapidly evolving socioeconomic healthcare environment.
