Facing a travail with panache

Today is a good day for Tracy Ayers.

But then, every day is a good day for the Manhattan Middle School theater and dance teacher.

It's not that she's always happy or feeling well; she has metastatic malignant melanoma -- an advanced form of cancer with a low survival rate -- and she recently endured the hardest week of an aggressive four-week biochemotherapy program that left her sick, tired and weak.

But she's alive, and she's learned her tumor is shrinking.

"I have this overwhelming gratitude for people and life and family and sunshine," she said.

And the 39-year-old mother of two said she's never been panged by the question, "Why me?"

"Why anyone?" she said. "I try not to let my mind go negative."

That philosophy -- along with Ayers' energy, openness and grace as she struggles for her life -- have carried into Manhattan, although she's had to take medical leave.


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LWR: Florida's largest green community

In 2003, the idea of green building confused consumers who often pictured a land of futuristic homes.

"People didn't understand. They were thinking it would be dome houses or grass roofs," said Bob Sisum, director of builder programs for LWR Communities.

Risking the chance of confusion and countering it with education, Sisum introduced the idea of green building to attract a niche market and raise the bar in quality building at Lakewood Ranch. The Ranch is now the largest green community in Florida.

The Green Gallery at the Lakewood Ranch Information Center offers an educational and interactive self-guided tour of a green home's features that save money and also look attractive.

The display offers comparisons of different kinds of insulation, flooring and tile made of recycled materials and energy efficient appliances.


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Moro women, second to none

(This was originally published in the March 28, 2008 issue of the Moro Times, a monthly supplement of The Manila Times. MindaNews was given permission by Moro Times editor in chief Amina Rasul to disseminate this).As we celebrate Women’s Month, we honor the struggle of Moro women to right wrongs, fight poverty, injustice and discrimination, and find peace and development for their homeland. Here are the stories of outstanding Moro women who have broken the glass ceiling in their respective fields. Second to none, veiled or not, these Muslim women have gained the respect and following of their people proving that In Islam, men and women are equal not only in rights but also in shouldering responsibility to the ummah. They are mothers and daughters, peace advocate and mujahideen, educator and politician, aleema and labor leader, journalist and community worker. Above and beyond, they are exemplars of the Muslimah, proof that Islam supports the leadership of women, not subjugate them.


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Students awarded at Pugwash high

PUGWASH - During the 2007-2008 school year, the Pugwash Co-op is sponsoring the Student of the Month award. Each month students and teachers will be asked to nominate worthy candidates from the student body and an awards committee will select two winners from the entries.

Each student will receive a certificate, a letter of congratulations, a complimentary pass to a future school dance, a prize from the Co-op, a PDHS sweatshirt and their name engraved on a special student of the month plaque.

February Students of the Month

Jordain Fredericks and Brad Elliott

Jordain Fredericks is the 17-year-old daughter of John and Kelly Fredericks of West Pugwash. Jordain is an organized, self-motivated, dedicated member of the PDHS Students' Council.


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Sticking it to the pain

Thomas D. Sparrow exudes the quiet, easy, no-mountain-is-too-high confidence of a long-time farmer steeped in years of self-reliance.

Being sidelined by chronic pain has been difficult — frustrating, irritating, depressing — for the 61-year-old resident of Ridgway, Ill.

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MayoClinic.com Features New Strength Training Videos

For the best results with strength training, proper technique is vital. MayoClinic.com has a new series of online strength training videos that help individuals maximize their strength training program. The new series includes detailed instruction on more than 30 strength training exercises, including body weight, resistance tubing, free weight and weight machine exercises.

When done correctly, strength training can help people lose fat, increase strength and muscle tone, and improve bone density. But if done incorrectly, strength training won't provide these benefits -- and may even lead to injury.

Here are some simple tips to help individuals maximize their strength training program:

-- Lift an appropriate amount of weight. Start with a weight you can lift comfortably 12 to 15 times.


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Fesoterodine Provides Significant And Rapid Improvement In Multiple Subgroups With Overactive Bladder

In most subpopulations of patients with overactive bladder (OAB), the percentage of patients who respond positively to treatment is significantly higher in those who receive fesoterodine 4 or 8 mg or tolterodine extended release (ER) versus those treated with placebo, investigators announced here at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Urology (EAU).

Importantly, the response was seen as early as two weeks and was usually maintained at the end of the 12-week treatment period.

Andrea Tubaro, MD, with Sant Andrea Hospital in Rome, Italy, and colleagues elsewhere assessed the efficacy of fesoterodine as measured by self-reported treatment response rates at two and 12 weeks in all subjects with OAB drawn from a recent phase III trial and in subpopulations stratified by sex, age, and incontinence status.


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