Mind, Body & Spirit

Talk to focus on domestic violence survivors

Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D.

LEAH (Let’s End Abusive Households), a program of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, with community partner Hadassah Nurses Council, will present, “Freeing Survivors of Domestic Violence from Stigma and Self-Blame” with Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D., on Sunday, April 7, 10 a.m. to noon at Congregation Bet… Read more »

Tucson talk to explore health risks of Wi-Fi technology

Magda Havas, Ph.D., is an expert on environmental toxicology. (Courtesy Electromagnetic Safety Alliance Inc.)

Fourteen years ago, Jenny Baldwin, wife of Tucson neurosurgeon Hillel Baldwin, was having sleep problems and was diagnosed with restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder, making it almost impossible for her to get deep, restorative sleep. But over the past three years, she says, her symptoms “became… Read more »

UA Cancer Center optimistic on new research

Andrew S. Kraft, M.D.

The University of Arizona Cancer Center performed experiments indicating that a triple-combination therapy might significantly boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer and improve patient survival. Collaborating with researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, the team published its results online in “Clinical Cancer Research” in October… Read more »

CHAI Circle brings power, connection to local women living with cancer

Irene Gefter, Jewish Family & Children's Services executive office Aaministrator; Helene Rothstein, CHAI Circle volunteer; Alice Steinfeld, CHAI Circle volunteer; Susan Kasle, JFCS vice president of community services.(Courtesy Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona)

One Sunday each month, two dedicated psychotherapists come together to provide a salutary space for female cancer patients and survivors in the Tucson Jewish community. Alice Steinfeld and Helene Rothstein are therapists and friends who facilitate the cancer support group, CHAI Circle. CHAI (Cancer, Healing and Inspiration) Circle has… Read more »

At Tucson’s old Benedictine monastery, Jewish health practitioners aid migrants

(L-R): Medical volunteers Audrey Russell-Kibble, D.N.P., F.N.P.C., F.A.A.N.P.; Richard Wahl, M.D.; and Kenneth Iserson, M.D., on Feb. 24, in the Benedictine monastery chapel in Tucson that serves as a dormitory for asylum-seekers. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

Disembarking without fanfare and frequently no forewarning, asylum-seekers file, dozens at a time, into the old Benedictine monastery in midtown Tucson.  Since Jan. 26, the monastery has been a makeshift “hospitality center” providing a safe place for families released from custody after applying for asylum at the Mexican border.… Read more »

Laughter, activity, support help Tucson Cancer Conquerers boost wellness

(L-R): Gila Ben-Jamin, Arlene Kutoroff, and Sheryl Boris at a recent University of Arizona women’s basketball game where cancer survivors were recognized, with Tucson Cancer Conquerors participating.(Courtesy Marlyne Freedman)

For nearly a half-century, Gila Ben-Jamin had a secret she refused to share. She reluctantly accompanied a friend to a meeting of Tucson Cancer Conquerors 17 months ago and called it life-changing. There, for the first time, she was able to talk about what had once been a taboo… Read more »

Israel ranked 10th healthiest country in world

Israel is the 10th healthiest country in the world — 54 spots ahead of the United States. The Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, published Feb. 24, ranked 169 nations based on factors such as life expectancy and access to sanitation and medical care. Countries were penalized for tobacco use and… Read more »

Tale of wife’s recovery brims with love, dark humor

"Struck: A Husband's Memoir of Trauma and Triumph"

Douglas Segal’s “Struck: A Husband’s Memoir of Trauma and Triumph” is a riveting book. It’s heartbreaking, inspiring, unflinchingly honest, and often funny as hell, which is something of a surprise in a book that starts off with the author’s wife and 12-year-old daughter caught up in a horrific car… Read more »

UA team uses genetics to tackle brain cancer

Michael Hammer, Ph.D. (left), and Baowei Chen, Ph.D., examine cells in which the WIF-1 gene is silenced. (Kris Hanning)

Glioblastoma is a deadly brain cancer that grabbed headlines for claiming the lives of Sens. Edward Kennedy and John McCain. Michael Hammer, Ph.D., and a team of University of Arizona researchers have discovered that the disease could be “tricked” into sparing more of its victims. The researchers looked for… Read more »

Crocheting whimsical creatures is a meditation for Jewish Tucson Concierge

Jewish Tucson Concierge Carol Sack with some of her creations. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

A skill Carol Sack attained as a young girl of 10 has become a lifelong treasure that brings pleasure to many. Carol Sack has crocheted a Noah’s ark-full of animals and dolls over her lifetime, an activity she now practices daily as a meditation. She gives her creations, large and… Read more »

OP-ED I tested positive for the cancer-causing BRCA mutation. Now what?

Laura Osman is shown with her husband, Lawrence, and their children, from left, Levi, Teddy and Molly. (Courtesy of Laura Osman)

ENCINO, Calif. (JTA) — Curiosity about my ancestry spurred me to order an at-home genetic testing kit by mail earlier this year. Maybe my blonde hair was a result of some hidden Swedish genes? When the kit arrived, I quickly spit in the tube and sent it off, not… Read more »

UA guided imagery study aims to help smokers quit

Judith S. Gordon, Ph.D.

The University of Arizona is launching a new guided imagery-based smoking cessation program called the Be Smoke Free program. Led by Interim Associate Dean for Research Judith S. Gordon, Ph.D., the study focuses on retraining a participant’s brain both in the need for nicotine and the habit of smoking… Read more »

Aphasia Center of Tucson helps patients regain talk, laughter, life

Volunteers at the Aphasia Center of Tucson practice a memory game with Director Fabi Hirsch (right).(Debe Campbell)

Former U.S. congressional representative and Tucson resident Gabrielle Giffords brought aphasia into the public eye during recovery from the 2011 mass shooting at her “Congress on Your Corner” event in northwest Tucson. Two million people in the United States have aphasia, a communication disorder, but 84.5 percent of Americans… Read more »

OP-ED Ms. Diagnoses: Women’s Lives Are at Risk

Ellen Hershkin

A national call to action for National Women’s Health Week (May 13–19) Women’s health is on life support. Inequities in insurance premiums, gender bias, treatment and care must end. Women’s health doesn’t advance itself, so it’s up to women to be their own healthcare advocates. Women have always been… Read more »

Jewish meditation practice can help expand the spirit

Brian Yosef Schacter-Brooks, right, leads a recent meditation in Sedona, Arizona.

Integral Jewish Meditation is a synthesis of the best traditional meditation modalities, brought together into a simple practice that is easy to learn, yet radical in its effectiveness, says Tucsonan Reb Brian Yosef Schacter-Brooks, who developed the program. It includes chanting, focused intention, contemplation of sacred text, body movement,… Read more »

Honoring our veterans via the gift of hospice

Pinchas Paul Zohav

Before becoming a hospice chaplain, I did not know that one the highest honors of this role would be attending and serving our veterans, the men and women who have served us. The places they’ve gone, the people they’ve seen, the history they have made, astounds me each and… Read more »

Super volunteer takes community’s health to heart

Rhina Gerhauser

A familiar face at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Rhina Gerhauser in March marked a quarter-century there as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. Her motto is, “It’s never too late to start living healthier. And always too soon to stop.” In 2015, she was voted Tucson’s Top Group… Read more »