It’s October. Its breast cancer awareness month.

Here’s a monetary reason for you to go get that mammogram.

The Blagojevich administration has teamed up with Walgreens to offer $50,000 in gift cards to women who sign up for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program during October 2008 and schedule a screening for breast cancer.

And get this: If you are among the first 2,000 women to sign up for the IBCCP by calling the Women’s Health Line at (888) 522-1282 to schedule and keep your screening appointment, you will receive a $25 gift card from Walgreens. The gift cards are an incentive for women to get screenings that could save their life.

If you havent heard about the IBCCP before, its a program that offers free mammograms, breast exams, pelvic exams and Pap tests to uninsured women who meet income eligibility guidelines.

Uninsured women over the age of 35 can receive free cervical cancer screenings, and women over the age of 40 can receive free mammograms and breast exams. Younger women who have symptoms may also be eligible. If cancer is found, IBCCP offers access to low-cost treatment. Even if a woman has been diagnosed with cancer outside of the IBCCP, they may still receive low-cost treatment.

Southern Illinois folk can contact their lead agency: The Little Egypt Breast and Cervical Cancer toll-free at (877) 532-2271 for more information or visit here.

Here are the IBCCP income eligibility guidelines:

This afternoon, I visited George Kao. M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director of the radiation-oncology department at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

He patiently answered a bunch of questions I had and then asked if I’d like to see the radiation room. I said yes of course.

As I entered the room, I felt my stomach knot up.

I caught myself thinking: So this is the room cancer patients came to everyday for a couple of weeks to receive radiation therapy.

It was at once a room of hope, where your cancer cells are getting killed with radiation; and at once a room of such sadness.

What did patients think about as they were asked to lie still for a few minutes, staring upwards at the scenic poster, purposely placed there to calm them down?

What did 6 to 18 million X-Ray volts of radiation passing through their bodies, feel like? (Painless I am told, but what about the toll it takes on you emotionally?)

What were their fears, hopes and dreams?

The good news is more and more people survive cancer and go on to lead productive lives. The bad news is we are still a while away from finding a cure for it.

Know anyone who is depressed?

How about someone with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder?

Mental illness is more prevalent than you think. It’s all around you. It strikes one in four adults, that’s approximately 57.7 million Americans, in any given year. You only have to look closer.

Simeon Grater, M.D., board certified psychiatrist and medical director of St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Behavioral Health Services in Carbondale believes the stigma that surrounds mental illness often prevents people from seeking treatment, due to fear of ridicule and rejection.

“The thing to remember is that mental illness is not the person’s fault,” Grater says. “Unfortunately a lot of people think what have I done to cause this? It’s like saying you are to blame because your pancreas are not producing enough insulin.”

With this week (Oct. 5-11) being Mental Illness Awareness Week, Grater wants everyone to know that there is hope.

“Mental illness is treatable, especially when the treatment comes early,” he says. “Recovery is possible.”

“Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can find relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individualized treatment plan,” Grater says. “The goal is total cure of all symptoms.” 

In conjunction with National Depression Screening Day, free, anonymous mental health screenings for depression and anxiety disorders will be available at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Student Health Center.

The confidential screenings are open to anyone on the SIUC campus on a walk-in basis and take about 10 minutes.

Details: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10 at the Student Health Center and at the Student Health Assessment Center in the Student Center. Contact Barb Elam, interim assistant director of the Wellness Center, at 536-4441 for more information.

The other day, I had a fascinating conversation with Marsha Ryan, M.D., J.D., F.A.C.S., surgeon at The Breast Center in Carbondale.

I asked her how hard it was to be the first to tell her patients they had breast cancer.

“It’s not easy breaking such news,” Ryan admitted. “You have to be prepared to break it. It’s not something that can be rushed. You give your patient a chance to acclimate to the news and then the discussion about treatment options begins.”

For obvious reasons no one wants to get breast cancer.  But when it comes to breast cancer, it is better to know than to not know.

“Early detection is your best protection,” Ryan said.

On the brighter side, most women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are candidates for breast conservation surgery, which focuses on the excision of the primary breast tumor and adjacent breast tissue, while saving the rest of the breast.

“The size of the segment we remove depends on the size of the tumor, which varies in every case,” Ryan said. “It is remarkable to me even after all these years how much tissue can be removed without much cosmetic deficit to the breast.” 

Today’s Mind and Body section of The Southern Illinoisan has an in-depth story on breast cancer myths. Make sure you read it so that any misinformation you may have about the disease is cleared up once and for all.

Have you had your flu shot as yet?

Most of us at The Southern Illinoisan got ours yesterday, under an employee wellness program. Trained personnel from the Jackson County Health Department injected the flu vaccine into our waiting arms.

At one point they almost ran out of needles, which prompted a wisecrack from Kevin, a co-worker, “Oh just reuse the needles!”

The whole room cracked up. Of course needles weren’t reused.

If you haven’t gotten your flu shot as yet, you might want to think about scheduling one soon. October signals the start of flu season after all and sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry.

Remember that the flu vaccine can prevent influenza in about 70-90 percent of healthy persons younger than age 65 years, when the “match” between the vaccine and circulating strains is close. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the influenza vaccine provides the best protection available from flu – even when the vaccine does not closely match circulating flu strains, and even when the person getting the vaccine has a weakened immune system. Vaccination can lessen illness severity and is particularly important for people at high risk for serious flu-related complications and for close contacts of high-risk people.

Here is a partial list of flu clinic providers in Southern Illinois:

• Jackson County Health Department (JCHD): $30 flu shots; $45 pneumonia shots. Medicare Part B and Public Aid medical cards will be accepted for payment. Eligible state employees will receive shots with proper identification. 684-3143, ext. 119. Click here to see the JCHD flu clinic schedule.  

• VNA-TIP (VNA): $30 flu shots; $45 pneumonia shots. VNA-TIP can bill Medicare B and GHP Advantra, Mercy Premier, Humana Gold Choice and Unicare Security Choice insurance plans. 357-1059. Click here to see the VNA-TIP flu clinic schedule.

• Addus Healthcare (AH): $25 flu shots; $40 pneumonia shots. Medicare Part B will be accepted for payment. Deanna, 997-6565.

• Franklin-Williamson Bi-county Health Department (BHD): $30 flu shots; $40 pneumonia shots. Medicare Part B and Medicaid accepted. 993-8111 or 439-0951.

Dr. Otmane Lahlou talks to me about toothbrushes on Sept. 24, 2008.

I was reminded of the frailty of life yesterday.

An email from someone I know announced that Dr. Otmane Lahlou, a general dentist at University Place Dental in Carbondale was no more.

I was shocked. Dr. Lahlou couldn’t have been more than 40 years old.

I met with him just last week in fact, interviewing him for a story on toothbrushes for The Southern Health Magazine. He seemed quite healthy then, laughing and joking around in his customary manner.

When I had emailed him previously requesting an interview, he’d replied, “I’ll be happy too help. I am always available for you.”

Had he really passed away in the six days since I had seen him last?

Apparently he had. It seems a heart attack may have been the culprit.

My thoughts go out to his young wife and two children. I am so sorry for their loss.

Dr. Lahlou had a special gift: He made people smile. He was warm, funny and deeply interested in spreading the word on the importance of dental health.

“If you have a fancy toothbrush but don’t know how to use it properly then it will make a number on your gums,” he once told me. “You need to use it as intended.”

Dr. Lahlou will be missed dearly.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Walker Funeral Home in Carbondale and before 1 p.m. and after 2 p.m. Friday in the Muslim Center Mosque, 530 N. Wall St., Carbondale.

Condolences may be sent to University Place Dental, 1366 E. Main St., Carbondale, IL 62901 or Dr. Lahlou’s home at 170 Spring Arbor Drive, Carbondale, IL 62902.

If you knew Dr. Lahlou, express your condolences and share your memories by signing his online guest book, accessible here.