PROSTATE CANCER

WHAT IS THE PROSTATE?

The prostate is a walnut-sized organ that is part of the male reproductive system.  It is located in front of the rectum, below the bladder, and wraps around the urethra.  The prostate makes some of the semen that carries sperm.

WHAT IS PROSTATE CANCER?

Prostate cancer usually starts in the gland cells.  This type of cancer is called adenocarcinoma.  It usually grows slowly and can spread to other parts of the body if untreated.  September is prostate cancer awareness month.



WHAT PUTS ME AT RISK FOR PROSTATE CANCER?

-          African American race

-          Age over 50 (and risk increases with age)

-          Habitual alcohol use

-          A diet high in animal fat

-          Family history of prostate cancer

PREVENTION

The best prevention is to minimize any modifiable risk factors.  Obviously, you can’t change your age, race, or family history.  However, reducing the consumption of alcohol and animal fat (red meat, dairy, poultry skin, eggs) can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.  Those consuming a low-fat vegetarian diet or a traditional Japanese diet (high in omega-3 fatty acids) are at lowest risk. 

EARLY DETECTION

The key to minimizing severity and improving outcomes for prostate cancer treatment is to catch it early.  A simple blood test can measure prostate specific antigen (PSA), which is an indicator of cancer risk.  Annual PSA testing should begin at age 50 for most men, or perhaps slightly younger when there is a family history of prostate cancer.  If you have a family history of prostate cancer, ask your family physician about when to begin PSA testing.  A rectal exam will reveal any prostate enlargement or irregularities.  An enlarged prostate does not necessarily indicate cancer, but it might suggest further testing.  See your family physician annually to discuss prostate health as part of your general well visit and determine the screening approach that is right for you.  If you don’t have a family physician, talk with your plant nurse about finding someone.

If you have an abnormal PSA or rectal exam, a biopsy is necessary to diagnose prostate cancer.  If you have a positive biopsy, a CT scan or bone scan may be done to determine if the cancer has spread.

SYMPTOMS

Regular PSA testing will allow for detection prior to the onset of any symptoms.  By the time symptoms are evident, the cancer may have already progressed.  These symptoms may also be a sign of prostate problems that are non-cancerous.  Such symptoms may include: difficult urination (slow start, slow stream, leaking or strained urination), blood in urine or semen, bone pain or tenderness in pelvis or low back (once cancer has spread).

STAGES

Prostate cancer is graded by these categories of severity:

2-4: Low grade

5-7: Intermediate (most cancers are caught in this stage)

8-10: High grade

TREATMENTS

Depending on your overall health and the progression of the cancer, your doctor may recommend one specific treatment, several options, or a combination of approaches.  These may include surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, or a period of close monitoring.

OUTCOMES

If prostate cancer is detected early (before spreading), it can often be cured.  It may also be cured if it hasn’t spread very much.  Even for prostate cancer that has spread, some treatments can be effective in delaying progression for many years.  The key is early detection, so visit your family doctor to discuss prostate health right away!

WHEN WAS YOUR LAST WELL VISIT?

You don’t have to be sick to visit your doctor! Take care of your health and make an appointment with your primary care physician for a healthy check-up. A well visit allows you and your doctor to discuss important topics like family history and preventive health services that are appropriate for you, such as vaccines (or boosters), mammography, colonoscopy, or a prostate exam. These are among many services that help you to stay well. They provide an opportunity to find problems before they start or in their earliest stages when your chances for treatment and cure are better. By taking responsibility of your health you are creating the best opportunity for a long and healthy life, with many quality years yet to come.

Your actions each day – physical activity, eating habits, sleep, lifestyle, whether you smoke – coupled with your age and family history impact your health. It’s important for your doctor to know these details so he/she can recommend the preventive health services that will be most beneficial to you, provide referrals to specialists, and make adjustments to your medication.

An advantage of seeing your doctor on a regular basis for well visits is that it allows you to get to know your doctor and to develop an open and trusting relationship. Making an appointment once every couple of years for a prescription or antibiotic does not facilitate this relationship well. If you do not like or trust your current doctor, don’t be afraid to shop around. Ask friends and family members who they like and why and consider making a new appointment. You can also ask your Plant Nurse to connect you with a physician who accepts your insurance plan and is taking new patients. When you REALLY need a doctor, you want to be able to call someone who knows you and who will provide you with the highest quality of care and attention.

Another advantage to well visits is the chance to stay well! This type of appointment helps to prevent you from getting sick in the first place. An hour out of your day for a well-visit is significantly less than the time you could lose being sick.

There are a few things to do before your next well visit:

Review your family history – Know the diseases or conditions that have occurred among close relatives, most importantly your parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and sometimes your children. A family history can affect your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Knowing this information, your doctor can assess your risk and recommend preventive measures to decrease your risk. Consider filling out this useful tool and share it with your doctor: My Family Health Portrait.

Find out if you are due for any screenings or vaccinations – There are many screening tools available depending on your age, family history, lifestyle, and overall health. Check with your doctor to see if it’s time for any of them (i.e. tetanus shot, Pap test, eye check, etc.)

Make a list of questions and concerns – It can be easy to forget your mental list of questions once you are in the exam room. Write down your questions and concerns beforehand to help you remember what you need to discuss. Make note of any changes to existing health problems and also changes to your lifestyle. Be honest with your doctor so he/she can provide the appropriate care and recommendations.  

Think about your future – If you plan to quit smoking, start a weight loss program, or another big change, discuss your options with your health care provider.

Bring your most recent lab results – After participating each year in the annual health assessments, the HealthNEXT team recommends bringing a copy of your lab results to your family physician. This is a great opportunity for additional follow-up on any abnormal results and to keep your file updated with accurate medical records.

Take action today to stay healthy! Make the well-visit appointment you have been putting off and take advantage of the opportunity to prevent health problems before they happen.

Additional Resources:

Men: Stay Healthy at Any Age

Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age

Questions Are Answers

SLEEP AND STRESS

Is stress keeping you up at night?  Many people who have difficulty falling asleep report that their mind is on overdrive when it should be coasting into neutral.  Unfortunately, lack of adequate sleep prevents the mind from being fully efficient the next day, let alone the toll it can take on physical health.  And to complete the loop, lack of sleep can contribute to feelings of stress!  If you find that your body needs to rest but your brain won’t cooperate, try these strategies for a more restful sleep.

BREATHING

If you can slow down your breathing, it engages your parasympathetic nervous system (the part responsible for helping you to relax) and turns off the “fight or flight” response.  Try counting how long it takes you to inhale and exhale and then intentionally lengthening it by one more second with each breath until you are taking easy, full deep breaths.  If you can extend the exhale to be longer than the inhale, that is even more beneficial for winding down.

PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION

Stress affects many aspects of your body.  Some are easier to control than others.  While it might be hard for us to change our rate of digestion, we can easily change the action of our muscles as long as we realize what is happening.  When you intentionally relax your muscles, your organs stop reacting to the stress also.  Start at the top of your head or the bottom of your feet and think about relaxing the muscles in each body part.  If you know where you tend to hold your stress the most (maybe your eyes and jaw, shoulders or lower back), you can specifically target those areas and try to relax them first. 
You will probably notice natural changes to your breathing and you will start to feel less stressed when you let go of that tension.  You might even start to doze off before you finish scanning the whole body!

WRITING

Research has shown that just the act of writing things down can reduce stress.  For people who have trouble sleeping, I often suggest keeping a notepad by the bed to jot down their thoughts before trying to sleep, or when having trouble sleeping.  When you get it out of your head and onto the page, you don’t have to hold on and continuously worry about it.  You can come back to it later, when you are more calm and of clearer mind.  Writing can also help you work through a dilemma.  It engages your right brain, whereas just thinking about it is more of a left-brain activity. 

PERSPECTIVE

Ask yourself how important this issue really is in the larger scheme of things.  In 20 years, will you care about this?  Will anyone else?  Think about the whole planet and the generations before and after you.  How much does this matter?  Is it worth making yourself sick and tired?  Sometimes you just need to give yourself a little reality check to be able to let go.  You can even imagine your stresses in helium balloons that you send floating off into the distance and beyond your view.

ENVIRONMENT

Make sure the room is dark and quiet, lacking unnecessary stimulation.  Be sure the temperature of the room and your bed are comfortable. 

ACTIONS

Aim to go to sleep at the same time every night.  If you are on rotating shifts, keep consistency while on one shift, even on your days off (if possible).  Stop eating 3 hours before bedtime.  If you are very hungry, have something light, like a piece of fruit.  Turn off any screens (television, computer) one hour before going to bed.  The lights, sound, and movement stimulate the brain and impact sleep patterns.  While exercising late in the evening can make it more difficult to fall asleep, exercising earlier in the day (at least 3 hours before bedtime) can actually improve sleep quality.  When you exercise, try to push yourself enough that your heart rate is elevated and breathing is labored.  This type of challenging exercise has the greatest benefits for sleep.

GET HELP

If you continue to have difficulties with sleep and/or stress, contact your EAP.  When you can work through mental and emotional challenges during waking hours, they are less likely to be spinning in your head when it is time to wind down.  If you need any assistance with this process, contact us and we can help get you connected.

Good night and sleep tight!

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Get to Know Your Plant Nurse and Wellness Team!

Have you wondered lately who your Plant Nurse might be or what services are available to you? Do you know what the purpose of the Wellness Team is or are you curious how you can become involved?

Each SCA plant is represented by a Plant Nurse whose priority is to respond to the health and safety concerns of employees. However, you don’t need an emergency situation to arise before you get to know your Nurse. There are many services to help you maintain or improve your health and ensure your safety at work.

What Your Plant Nurse Can Do for You Right Now

Your Nurse is a resource to you. You are welcome to stop by her office with a health-related question or concern, if you have a medical condition that needs attention, to check your weight or monitor your blood pressure.  Your Nurse can also check your blood sugar if you are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or are experiencing symptoms of high or low blood sugar.  

You can also visit your Nurse for referrals to a family doctor, sleep clinic, or for diabetes education classes. It’s important to see a family physician for at least one well visit each year. After your annual health assessment with the HealthNEXT team, you can bring your results to your doctor to keep on file and determine any necessary changes to your medical care. Your Plant Nurse can help you to find a local doctor that is covered by your health insurance plan.  Your Plant Nurse may also provide an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) referral to you if you would like confidential support for stress management, addiction, depression, or family matters.

Additional Services Provided by your Plant Nurse:

·       Update and post educational information about diseases and conditions for employees

·       Conduct safety meetings (some locations)

·       Implement Wellness initiatives, Health Risk Assessments, newsletters, mill communications, flu immunizations, and health screenings for osteoporosis, bone density, etc. 

·       Conduct health needs assessment and educate employees on relevant topics

·       Work with plant management to address employees’ needs

·       Coordinate care with local medical providers and specialists

Special Case Services:

In the event of an injury or health concern, your Plant Nurse can assist you in the following ways:

·       Manage worker injuries and compensation cases

·       Manage FMLA for employees (some locations)

·       Conduct and coordinate hearing tests and provide follow-up

·       Manage the Return to Work and Transitional Work program, and Fit For Duty evaluations

Events and Screenings Organized and Implemented by Your Plant Nurse:

·       Quarterly First Responder program,  CPR, First Aid AED, and Blood Borne Pathogen training (OSHA compliant)

·       Blood drives and health screenings (i.e. skin cancer screening with a local Dermatologist, mobile van mammography)

·       Host primary care clinics with a visiting physician

·       Organize event for Great American Smoke Out day in November

Each Plant Nurse works closely with a Wellness Team including employees from many departments. The purpose of the Wellness Team is to organize and manage health initiatives and to promote and communicate them to employees. The Wellness Team members also assist with the annual health assessments conducted by HealthNEXT. If you would like to become a member of the Wellness Team, visit your Plant Nurse for more information.

Barton Wellness Team: From left Bobby Flynt, Stephanie Faulkner, Pattie Harrell, Becky Bassham , Liz Malone, Marsha Smith. Back row new member Bruce Newton. Not pictured Shannon Harrell, Allen Hyde, Joseph Rickard and Greg Robinson.

The ultimate goal of the Nurses is to “become a healthier work force for ourselves and our families.” A healthier workforce not only increases productivity, but it increases the quality of life of the employees…you.

Plant Nurse Contact Information

Vicky Rymer-Gollnick R.N., located at Menasha Paper Mill, also provides services at SEC Neenah, WI

Office: (920) 727-2904

Mobile: (920) 540-9345

Vicky.Rymer.Gollnick@sca.com

Becky Love-Bassham, RNBSN, Occupational Health Nurse at Barton, AL

Office: (256) 370-8173

Mobile: (256) 366-5713

Rebecca.Bassham@sca.com

Ruth Boos, LPN, located at Neenah, WI

Office: (920) 727-8504

Mobile: (920) 527-1924

Ruth.Boos@sca.com

Judy Schkrioba, R.N., located at South Glens Falls and Greenwich, NY

South Glens Falls Office: (518) 742-5762

Greenwich Office: (518) 742-2114

Mobile: (518) 222-3507

Judy.Schkrioba@sca.com

Mike Littlefield- Safety/Environmental Leader

SCA Personal Care

270-796-9300  (Office)

270-535-9474 (Cell)

Mike.Littlefield@sca.com

Stephanie Ziebell- Benefits Analyst

SCA Tissue North America

920-720-4722 (office)

920-527-1791 (Cell)

Stephanie.Ziebell@sca.com

Bellemont & Flagstaff, AZ locations: Plant Nurse TBD