Set Yourself Up for Success

by Lana Carson, Nationally Certified Personal Trainer, Omni Fitness Club

Are you really ready to exercise?

After you have evaluated your physical readiness to begin a moderate exercise program with or without the need of stress testing and/or physician approval, it's time to determine your mental readiness.

You may be one of many who say they want to exercise, but are you really ready to make the commitment? Starting an exercise program means that you are going to have to make time for yourself (this is a big obstacle for many people), challenge yourself, be patient, and stay focused on what it is you're trying to accomplish.

You may have the best of intentions but you may also have 10 excuses why you can't exercise. I'm not trying to discourage people from trying, I just want to warn people up front that excuses will inevitably lead to failure. The problem with this is that failure leads to feelings of frustration and frustration leads to the point where people don't want to attempt to exercise because they know they won't stick to it.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure, let's set you up for success! First, if you're thinking about getting in shape or losing weight, but you're not really ready to commit to a "regular program," don't worry. You can still make changes in your weight and fitness level just by incorporating more movement into your daily activities. For example, walk to your mailbox instead of pulling up to it in the car. Walk around the house while you talk on the phone. Don't wait for the closest parking space at the grocery store - walk! (Are you getting the idea? Something is better than nothing.) If you move more throughout the day, you may experience improvements in your energy level, better endurance and increased satisfaction with yourself because you haven't quit anything! Plus, you will just, plain feel better when you start to move.

Not only will you begin to feel better physically, you may also realize that you are pretty darn proud of yourself. Feelings of success are strong motivators for adherence. It's an amazing thing, if you feel good about yourself and you've accomplished that first step, it will lead to the next one. Small, baby steps all add up to long term success.

The most important thing to do for yourself is to be honest with yourself. As important as exercise is, avoid putting yourself into situations that lead to feelings of failure. Do what you can with the commitment you are willing to give. If walking to the mailbox is it, then that's it - and feel good about that! We all started somewhere. Take the pressure off yourself, the smallest change can lead to your biggest success when you stick with it!

If you would like help designing a fitness program that's just right for you, call MarySue or Lana at the Omni Fitness Club at (231) 739-3391.

Total Hearing Solutions

from Hearing Wellness Center

The Hearing Wellness Center at 6653 Grand Haven Road in Spring Lake is well known in the community as the place to go for total hearing solutions.

The audiologist and owner, Peg Simon, has brought her years of experience in a local medical practice as well as her proficiency in ASL (American Sign Language) and assistive listening devices to help her patients achieve the best possible hearing with today's technology.

If you want to know why your hearing is changing, what, if anything, you can do to slow the progression, and how to compensate for the problem, she has your answer. If you desire the newest technology in hearing devices, the Hearing Wellness Center has a low price guarantee, you won't get better service for less anywhere in the community!

The Hearing Wellness Center started installing induction loop systems in their patients' homes years ago, most of them at no charge. Normally, people with a hearing loss hear the broadcast sound, but only after it has traveled some distance from a loudspeaker, reverberated off walls, and gotten mixed with other room noise. Induction loop systems take sound straight from the source and deliver it right into the listener's ear through the T-Coil in a hearing aid. It's as if one's head was located next to the microphone, or inches from a television's loudspeaker - without extraneous noise, or blurring of the sound with distance from the sound source.

The local demand for loops was so great that the Hearing Wellness Center started designing and installing loop systems in larger facilities. Following the company mission to provide the best hearing to the community, 39 loops have been designed and installed free of charge. The only cost to the church or auditorium was the price of the equipment. The founder of the Loop America initiative, dubbed Peg and Terry Simon of the Hearing Wellness Center his "Muskegon area angels."

Now the Hearing Wellness Center is taking their mission one step further. They are now the U.S. distributor of a full line of assistive listening devices manufactured by Phonic Ear of Denmark. The devices include a full range of loop amplifiers as well as other alerting devices for people that are deaf or hard of hearing.

The Hearing Wellness Center is starting a training program to teach other hearing professionals throughout the country how to duplicate the success they have created locally in spreading the availability of this profound technology.

If you need help with anything related to hearing, the Hearing Wellness Center has the expertise to help you! The people that are teaching the country to hear better are at your disposal locally.

Margaret M. "Peg" Sass-Simon, M.A., CCA-A, is a clinical/educational audiologist with Hearing Wellness Center, 6653 Grand Haven Road, Spring Lake. In Muskegon, call (231) 798-2323.

80 Percent of Breast Biopsies are Benign - the Procedure Should Be, Also

from Muskegon Surgical Associates, P.L.C.

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in women. In America, one in nine will have the disease in their lifetime. A strong family history of breast cancer makes the chances of developing the disease much greater.

Early detection of a breast mass or lesion affords the best chance for a cure if it is cancer. Although the incidence of breast cancer is relatively low in women under the age of 40, all women who have started menses should adopt the practice of monthly self-examination, and this should continue throughout the rest of their lives.

In addition to self-exam and yearly physician performed physical exam, all women over the age of 40 should undergo routine yearly mammography. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should start having mammography sooner. Mammography is a very useful screening tool since some breast lesions can be readily seen on x-ray even though they cannot be felt on exam.

Once a suspicious mass has been identified, a biopsy of the tissue will need to be obtained. Almost all such biopsies can be done in a doctor office setting by a general surgeon, with some performed as outpatient surgery at the hospital. Since some lesions can only be seen by x-ray, there are several techniques available for biopsy that uses mammogram or ultrasound guidance.

A breast biopsy using the Mammotome system can help a doctor make a highly accurate diagnosis without the need for open surgery. Through the use of computer imaging, a breast abnormality can be clearly identified, even in its earliest stages. Digital imaging enables a physician to use the computer-guided Mammotome probe to gently collect tissue samples through one small quarter inch incision.

With the Mammotome system, a breast biopsy can be performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia. A doctor can make a precise analysis with minimal pain, scarring and recovery time. The procedure takes less than an hour, and patients can return to their normal daily activities immediately.

If the biopsy of a mass shows that it is cancer, or may become cancer, then that mass will need to be removed surgically. Sometimes this will involve removal of the entire breast in a procedure called a mastectomy. Increasingly, however, surgeons are able to remove small or medium sized masses with a partial mastectomy or lumpectomy. Often this will necessitate irradiation of the breast afterwards to decrease the chance of recurrence. The technique of providing radiation now includes the possiblilty of a shorter treatment using the Mammosite technology. In cases of breast cancer, the surgeon will usually sample or remove the lymph nodes under the arm to assess for possible spread of the tumor cells. If a cancer is large or has spread, the patient will usually need to have chemotherapy as additional treatment. In all cases, the possibility of long-term survival of breast cancer is greatest with early detection and timely, appropriate therapy.

Since 1972 Muskegon Surgical Associates has compassionately and effectively treated women with breast disease. We are here to care for you and your family.

To learn more, call Dick L. Kamps, M.D., James J. Rice, M.D., Veronica R. Petty, M.D. and Gregory A. Myers, M.D. at Muskegon Surgical Associates, P.L.C., (231) 739-9461 or toll free at 1-888-874-5892. www.msapc.com.

New Breakthrough in Oral Cancer Detection

from the Offices of James R. Donley, DDS

Every hour of every day in America someone dies of Oral Cancer.

Oral cancer does not make headlines or grab public attention the way other types of diseases do, even though oral cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in the United States. About 34,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year. Statistics have not improved for this cancer and they show that the death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of other cancers.

In the past, there has been no way to detect oral cancer until it could be seen. By this time the cancer has been firmly established and the chance of survival has been decreased.

Dr. Donley is very excited about the addition of a new instrument called the VEL-scope to detect tissue changes in the mouths of patients long before they are obvious lesions. This instrument will let him examine tissue two to three millimeters below the surface and it will take only a few minutes.

Detection is done by shining a high energy, blue light into the mouth. Healthy tissue shows up under the light as bright green and suspicious areas are much darker.

Since early detection is key, this procedure will greatly increase patient survival rate. It is recommended to have this procedure done on a yearly basis.

In the meantime, if you notice any sores or discolored areas in your mouth which do not heal within 14 days, contact our office so that Dr. Donley can use the VEL-scope to help in diagnosing your problem.

Dr. Donley and staff can be reached at (231) 744-6661. Their offices are at 166 N. Causeway in North Muskegon.