(JTA) A haredi Orthodox grandmother’s delivery of her 20th child was no big deal to her, but it was an exciting event for the maternity department staff at Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. The Dec. 20 delivery, a boy, was a natural birth. It was the 42-year-old… Read more »
Mind, Body & Spirit
Myalgic encephalomyelitis support group will start in Tucson this month
#MEAction Arizona, a local chapter of the myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) Action Network, meets Thursday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m. Those interested in advocating or building a community in Arizona for people with this disease may attend the meeting in Tucson at 210 N. Court Ave., or join virtually via BlueJeans… Read more »
Disease nearly keeps winner from Jewish Women Who Dared awards
It was late afternoon, and I could barely get my body out of bed. In fact, I’d been in bed most of the last few days or was it weeks? Yet even with all that rest, my legs were still too weak to stand up. It wasn’t that I… Read more »
YWC plans ‘Mindfulness, Martinis & Mitzvahs’
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Women’s Cabinet is hosting an event next month to help women of all ages kick off the new (secular) year feeling rejuvenated. “Mindfulness, Martinis & Mitzvahs” will be held Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center… Read more »
Loft to screen film on reality of chronic fatigue syndrome
“Unrest,” a Sundance-award-winning documentary, will be screened at the Loft Cinema on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. Jennifer Brea, a Harvard Ph.D. student, was about to marry the love of her life when she was derailed by strange symptoms. Hoping to find answers, she grabbed a camera and… Read more »
Robotic arm system puts Tucson surgeon on the cutting edge
People are living longer than ever before — but living with a painful joint can restrict daily activities and decimate quality of life. In the 1950s, few retirees lived beyond their mid-60s, but today the average length of retirement is 18 years. During that time, joints often degenerate. As… Read more »
UA telehealth pioneer sees program thriving
When it comes to healthcare in rural areas, the overarching question is how to level the playing field between geographically isolated healthcare facilities and their urban counterparts, says Ronald S. Weinstein, director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona. That’s exactly why the Arizona Telemedicine Program… Read more »
Smoking is making a comeback in Israel
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel has one of the highest life expectancies in the world — 82.5 years, on average. But a surprising increase in smoking rates may threaten that status. In line with with global trends, the smoking rate in Israel fell from about 45 percent in… Read more »
The three cancers Jews need to worry about most — and how to reduce the risks
As if Jews don’t have enough to worry about. Geopolitical threats to the Jewish people may wax and wane, but there’s another lethal danger particular to the Jewish people that shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon: cancer. Specifically, Jews are at elevated risk for three types of the… Read more »
Gift of Life chairman and bride choose marrow registry over wedding registry
What wedding gift do you give the couple that doesn’t need anything? Bill Begal, chairman of the board of Gift of Life Marrow Registry (giftoflife.org), and his bride, Kira Epstein, decided that in lieu of a wedding registry they would make the marrow registry the centerpiece of their wedding… Read more »
Special abilities coordinator offers resources for local families
Caring for a child or young adult with physical or mental challenges means negotiating a world geared primarily for a differently-abled majority. So where do you start in locating a therapist, a school for a child with learning disabilities, a supervised social environment, or simply a salon to give… Read more »
Local sobriety group blends recovery, Yiddishkeit
The Jewish sobriety support group just entered in its third year as a regular weekly group. Although we are quite eclectic, with participants from all ages and backgrounds, we do have a few things in common. We are all Jewish, we are all in recovery and we all love… Read more »
UA experts help bring medicines, inventions to market
How does an invention get from “there” to “here”? The University of Arizona is at the cutting edge in science, medicine, optical sciences, engineering, agriculture and other areas — but bringing inventions from the lab to the marketplace is a complex process, calling for talented experts with extensive technical,… Read more »
Lecturer for Cindy Wool seminar supports ‘slow medicine’
Doctors should be more like gardeners than mechanics, says physician, author and historian Victoria Sweet, M.D., Ph.D. An advocate of “slow medicine,” she believes patients’ well-being can become a casualty of today’s emphasis on high-tech, high-pressure medical care. Sweet will be the keynote speaker at the Eighth Annual Cindy… Read more »
Gootter Foundation to honor Glicksman at gala dinner
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation will present its annual Philanthropic Award to Elliot Glicksman at the 12th annual Gootter Gala on Friday, March 3 at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa. Glicksman, a lawyer in Tucson, “has supported the Gootter Foundation since its inception 12 years ago. As… Read more »
How the Israeli army wages war on waistlines
NETANYA, Israel (JTA) – One fit young soldier scales a rope. Two others practice hand-to-hand combat. A large group marches across the sand. But those were just the inspirational photographs on the walls. The actual soldiers crowded in the one-room building here on the Orde Wingate army base were… Read more »
UA Cancer Center and Tucson J team up for education series
The University of Arizona Cancer Center is partnering with the Tucson Jewish Community Center to deliver a free, four-part educational series on cancer starting in February. Classes will focus on trends in research and clinical care, from precision medicine to novel drug development to the new frontiers of immunology.… Read more »
This Jewish woman’s research may save millions of lives
LAWRENCE, Kan. (JTA) – Joanna Slusky places a test tube into an incubating shaker, flips the switch, and it begins to quiver. So does she. “I’m excited,” she said, showing off another gadget in her lab, a contraption that stirs solutions using a magnetic coil and a metal… Read more »
JFCS talks to promote ‘Shalom in Every Home’
Jewish Family & Children’s Services will present a Shalom in Every Home Healthy Family Lecture Series this month. The free, interactive two-part series will explore the important connection between healthy families and healthy relationships. The series will begin with “Put Your Listening Ears On: How to Create and Enhance… Read more »
OP-ED In breast cancer testing, knowledge is power — and potentially distressing
(JTA) — Five years ago, on a whim, Cindy, a 27-year-old Jewish woman, decided to pursue genetic testing through an online laboratory. She wasn’t expecting any surprises because she had no family history of cancer or increased risk factors. She was young and living a healthy lifestyle. But Cindy’s… Read more »