Program designed to help pregnant women who smoke
In Letcher Co., 37.8% of women lit up while expecting in 2006
      A new program based out of the Letcher County Health Department is focusing on helping pregnant women quit smoking cigarettes in a county that has a high rate of pregnant smokers. In 2006, 37.8 percent of pregnant women in Letcher County were smokers, according to the Kentucky Division of Maternal and Child Health. The state rate was 26.5 percent.
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September is ovarian cancer awareness month
By ANN BRADLEY County Extension Agent
      September has been named Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month so more women can learn more about this type of cancer. Ovarian cancer has been called the cancer that whispers because it often has no clear-cut symptoms until the cancer has progressed to a more advanced stage.
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Blood drive set
      A blood drive will be held from noon to 7 p.m., August 26, at Wal-Mart in Whitesburg. The drive is co-sponsored by the Central Kentucky Blood Center. Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health.
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Case stirs debate over autistic children
By DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press Writer
      FARGO, N.D. When a 13-year-old Minnesota boy was banned from church after parishioners complained about his behavior, it exposed a painful truth so politically incorrect that some people feel guilty just saying it out loud: Some autistic children can be annoying and disruptive in public.
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Woman, 80, says spots keep her out of bikini
      DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am an 80-year-old woman, and I'll never be able to wear a bikini again because my body is covered with ugly red spots. The doctor calls them cherry angiomas. They are beginning to appear on my trunk and over my thighs and upper arms. I'd like to know how much longer I can expect to play host to them. — J.H.
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Medicare drug fees to go up about 12%
The Associated Press
      WASHINGTON The typical Medicare beneficiary can expect to see about a $3 increase in their monthly premiums for prescription drug coverage in 2009, federal officials said. Officials made the projection based on bids from private insurers that get the premiums along with a federal subsidy to administer the benefit.
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Testing and Diabetes Control
      Keeping blood glucose at near-normal levels helps people with diabetes avoid long-term complications, which can affect the eyes, nerves and kidneys. Testing blood glucose lets you see how well your medications, eating plan and exercise routine are working to achieve this goal.
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