Health

Relief efforts continue after disasters in the Pacific

It’s been just over a week since Typhoon Ketsana hit Luzon, in the northern part of the Philippines, before storming through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.  Amelia Desesto, 45, a masters student at Berkeley’s Franciscan School of Theology, has spent hours this week watching Filipino news on television, and checking for updates on the latest death counts, injuries, and cleanup efforts. She said that even her young nieces and nephews are reacting to the news. “They feel devastated with what they…

The Mermaids take the waters at annual cancer swim

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center, an Oakland-based support center for women with cancer, held its fourteenth annual Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer event on October 3rd and 4th at the Mills College pool in East Oakland. Swimmers of various skill sets – from those who walked their laps in the shallow end to those who wore their brightly colored swim caps and Speedos in the deep end – grouped in threes or fours to share lanes and swim…

North Oakland Now: Protecting seniors from prescription drug perils and substance abuse

You have to look as far as New Zealand to find another country where drug companies can advertise products directly to patients. In the United States’ less regulated pharmaceutical market, patients can struggle to sort out competing claims about various drugs. And with Americans over 65 taking 34 percent of all prescription drugs, senior citizens are among the individuals most vulnerable drug-related complications. Poisoning is the fastest growing cause of accidental death among seniors, particularly from overdoses of over-the-counter and…

Flu season already? North Oakland’s pharmacies get their shots in

Walk into the Walgreens at 30th Street and Telegraph and it will not take long to realize that this is a pharmacy on a mission.  Every two minutes, a peppy voice cajoles customers into making the most of the 10-til-4 daily seasonal flu shot available at all stores, nationwide. Outside, signs remind customers that the flu jab costs just $24.99. Inside, they’re immediately informed that both Medicare and Medical can foot the bill, and on a recent weekday afternoon a…

Volunteers solar-panel 16 new houses in one day

Most people would probably find the early-morning sound effects at Marie Henderson’s new place in Sobrante Park yesterday– hammers pounding on a roof, construction voices calling out to each other, and the whirring of power drills—a bit of a nuisance. But to Henderson, they were music to the ears:  she was helping build her own home. “My house is progressing very well,” she said happily, brushing off her hands and adjusting the red bandana tied to her head beneath a…