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Lung Cancer Screening Saves Lives

By
Guest Columnist
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This year nearly 250,000 patients will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 130,000 will die from it. In SD, 660 people will be diagnosed and over 400 will die from the disease. Lung cancer accounts for the most cancer deaths in both the US and in SD.

Smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer and accounts for 80% of lung cancer deaths. Although smoking rates continue to decline in the US, in SD there are many rural and tribal communities where the smoking rates are still 20-40%. These patients continue to be at risk for developing and dying from lung cancer. The Lakota Sioux have the highest lung cancer death rates in the nation at 95%.

Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been demonstrated to reduce lung cancer death rates by detecting earlier stages of cancer with relatively high cure rates – similar to other screen detectable cancers such as cervical, prostate, breast and colorectal. An LDCT is a five-minute, outpatient CT scan performed without IV contrast and has minimal radiation exposure. The current recommendations are for healthy adults ages 50-80 with a 20 pack year smoking history or who have quit within the last 15 years.

Unfortunately, many SD patients are at risk, and are unaware of the value of an LDCT. In SD, there are at least 30,000 patients who are eligible for this test.

If patients are diagnosed with early stage lung cancer, surgery is the standard treatment with high cure rates. If patients are not surgical candidates, they can be safely treated with 4 to 5 radiation doses, called stereotactic ablative radio-surgery, with essentially no side effects and also very high cure rates. This specialized form of radiation is offered at most cancer centers in SD.

To address the high lung cancer death rates among the Lakota Sioux, we implemented a lung cancer screening navigation program on the west river reservations in an attempt to lower these death rates as part of an ongoing program called Walking Forward that has been in existence since 2002. This is a community-based program based in Rapid City with staff who live and work in their communities of Pine Ridge and Rosebud. The overarching program goal is to lower cancer death rates for Lakota Sioux, through patient navigation, access to cancer screening and early detection and state of the art cancer treatments. To date we have referred over 420 patients for an LDCT with over 335 completed scans.

So, if you are a smoker: 1) try to quit; 2) if you are a candidate for lung cancer screening talk to your primary care provider about an LDCT, and 3) for the younger generation – don’t start smoking!

Bottom Line: lung cancer can be successfully treated if caught early – get screened if you are eligible.

Daniel G Petereit, MD, FABS, FASTRO is a Radiation Oncologist at the Monument Health Cancer Care Institute in Rapid City, SD. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org and on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show based on science, built on trust for 21 seasons, streaming live on Facebook most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.

A Holiday with Grandmother

By
Sandy Pugh
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Childhood memories of Thanksgiving all revolve around my Grandmother Pearl. Every Thanksgiving the whole family would congregate at her home for dinner. I could hardly wait for my parents to get up so we could be on our way to her house. I knew there would be so many good things to eat. Plus I would get to be with my favorite Grandmother for the day.
There would be around 30 of us in her house even though it was no more than 800 square feet. It had a living room with a big archway that opened into what should have been the dining room, but she used it as their bedroom. The small kitchen had only 8 feet of counter and cabinet space, but there was a dining table in there to work on. There was a small bathroom and one small spare bedroom.
When a holiday came around and it was time to feed the whole family they had to take down her bed so they could set up at least 10 feet of tables in the living and dining room.
They would take the two mattresses into the other bedroom and pile them on top of the old iron frame bed. Then there was room for the tables to run from the dining (bed) room into the living room.
Her house always had such a wonderful aroma when you came in the door. She had been up at 2:00 A.M to get the turkey in the oven, so by the time we arrived at 10:00 AM .it was almost done. She had baked the pumpkin, mincemeat, and cherry pies the day before.
When the turkey came out of the oven I was always right there, because I wanted the liver and gizzard. I would try to talk her out of them before she added them to the dressing, and Grandmother rarely denied me something I wanted.
By 11:30 one of my aunts would be busy mashing about 15 pounds of potatoes; while on the stove a large pan of gravy was cooking. As Grandmother was carving the turkey, the sweet potatoes would be warming in the oven, along with the dressing, minus the giblets.
Then the kids were enlisted to help set the table, which I never understood. Why did we have to set the table when we were not allowed to sit at it? There was just enough room for the adults, and the kids had to fill their plates from the dishes on the table and hunt for a space in the house to sit.
If the weather was nice, some of the older boys would go out and sit on the back porch. That was ok with the 3 girl cousins and the younger boys; we wouldn’t have to deal with their teasing.
The kids usually ate in the spare bedroom and we’d climb up on the 4 mattresses. But we had to have a system since it was so high. The largest kid would climb up first and then hold the plates of the others while they scrambled up on a chair and then onto the bed. It was like eating in a tree house.
We had our own dining room in the sky. We could act as silly as we pleased, until someone got to loud. Then we would hear one of our parents yell at us to quiet down.
Going back for seconds was a real obstacle course. We had to walk around the tables to find what we wanted, because it was never where it had been before. Then it was a game of dodge the elbows or someone trying to tickle us, to get in and get the spoon for another helping.
I always had a piece of Grandmother’s pumpkin pie, and then before we went home a piece of REAL mincemeat pie. It was the best.
Grandmother’s small inviting home would welcome all of the family and swell with love, but somehow managed not to split at the seams. Most cousins today do not have the opportunity to become as close as we did. We were together every holiday, and for most birthdays during the year so we were almost like brothers and sisters.
We lost Grandmother when I was 15. The family dinners ended and the family drifted apart. Each family had their own dinners for their children and grandkids.
I was not old enough to eat at the adult table with my Grandmother before we lost her, but the childhood Thanksgiving memories at her house are wonderful to remember. To email Sandy: [email protected]

Lovina’s Thanksgiving table, set for 36 people

By
tammiehoeme
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We had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday. We hosted a dinner here for our family, sister Emma’s family, and sister Verena. We are a total of 39 now. The table was set for 36 people. Andrea, 9 months, was in the highchair. Denzel, 4 months, was in a seat, and baby Jazlyn, 3 1/2 weeks, of course, was laying down or getting passed around. We opened our kitchen table to the extended 12 feet, and we added four tables (each 6 feet long) to that to make room to seat everyone. This extends from the dining room into our living room. 

Emma has four grandchildren and we have ten, and all are 6 and under. It makes for some interesting moments. 

We furnished the hot food for the dinner and everything else was brought in. Three turkeys were prepared. Son-in-law Dustin deep fried one and my husband Joe and sons grilled the other two. That helped to not have to bake them in the oven. 

Also on the menu was mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, a vegetable blend of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (steamed), cheese, hot peppers, and pickles. Then coming in from the others was overnight salad, dinner rolls, pumpkin roll, pumpkin pies, blueberry and blackberry cheesecakes, donut bars, cherry delight, vegetable tray and dip, fruit tray with dip, and sugar cookies. There was way too much food. Chips and dip was also brought in, and we had that along with all the leftovers before everyone left for home. 

The afternoon was spent playing games such as Phase 10, Marble Chase, 10,000 in dice, and the younger ones played Chutes and Ladders. It was an enjoyable day, and it went much too fast. 

Son Benjamin recently spent a night and morning at daughter Elizabeth and Tim’s house hunting. He shot a doe, and Tim told Elizabeth that Benjamin shot a nice doe. Well, little T.J., age 3, was told that you only can shoot the bad does. It bothered him, and knowing they were bad made him feel better. So when he saw me he told me, “Grandma, did you know Benjamin shot a nice doe?” He was really concerned. It was so sweet. He told Elizabeth, “I like when Uncle Ben comes…he makes me laugh.” 

Recently we had a nice visit from Aunt Emma (my mother’s sister). She is 81. Coming with her were her daughter Sovilla and husband Leroy, her daughter Martha and husband Merlin, and her son Amos and wife Marilyn (Marilyn is Joe’s cousin). We had a good visit with them. They had picked up sister Verena and went to visit sister Emma. Our family was home for supper that evening, so they all got in on the visit. I have many fond memories of times spent at Uncle Elmer and Emma’s house. They had a pond, and we had many picnics back there. I have one bad memory, and that was almost drowning in that pond as a little girl. Cousin Milo (Elmer and Emma’s son) came to my rescue, and all was fine. I always did have a fear of water since but wanted my children to learn to swim. When a friend was giving them swimming lessons, she said she will need to leave me home. She said I was scaring my children of the water. So after that I stayed home, as I knew they were in good hands. 

Uncle Elmer died over three years ago, so Aunt Emma has many lonely days. Her family is a good support to her. Seeing her brought back memories of my dear mother. 

We are busy getting ready for daughter Susan and Ervin’s December 30th wedding. Since it will be held at the community building it makes less work for that. Tomorrow, sister Emma and her daughters and my daughters and I will get together at Ervin’s house to plan for the wedding meal and make a shopping list for food. 

God’s blessings to all!

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the eggs, pumpkin, and sugar in a bowl, then add the rest of ingredients and blend together well. Pour into a 15 x 10 x 1-inch greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle clean towel with powdered sugar. Flop out the pumpkin cake onto towel when it comes out of oven. Roll up like a jellyroll; let cool. 

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix filling ingredients together until smooth. Unroll cooled cake, then spread with filling and roll up again without towel and refrigerate. 

Ornaments (Best Of)

By
Lee Pitts
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lee pitts

Around our house we practice the traditional Christmas customs. My wife and I kiss under the mistletoe, or a close facsimile thereof. And we eat turkey in every conceivable fashion from Thanksgiving until New Years.

There is the customary wrapping and unwrapping of packages and not taking down the outdoor lights until July 4th. We swap cards with long lost friends and relatives, drink egg nog, hang our stockings with care and test the limit on our charge cards like everyone else. But the one Christmas custom that I enjoy most is decorating the dead evergreen we drag into our house every November. That’s when I get to open the boxes that contain our Christmas ornaments. Individually wrapped in crumpled tissue, like a jig saw puzzle each piece when hung on the tree collectively tells the story of our life together.

My wife and I each inherited a few ornaments from our respective families to remind us of Christmas as kids, but most of our ornaments have been collected in our nearly 50 years of marriage. Amongst my favorite are the hand painted wooden figures that remind me of our early years when we didn’t have enough money to buy gaily colored glass balls or blown glass figurines. Through the years we have added ornaments of every description… glass, leather, plastic, wood, old fashioned and modern. Like us, many of them bear scratches and scars.

Whenever my wife and I would travel we’d buy an ornament to remind us of our adventures to places like Australia, Williamsburg on Christmas Eve, the Caribbean, skiing or house-boating with Skinner and Joan, Hawaii, our three month trip to all the continental 48 states, and one very special evening at the Kennedy Center with my mom. Unwrapping the ornaments and hanging them on the tree is like revisiting those special places.

Some cherished ornaments have been given
to us by special friends and favorite relatives. A picture of a god child in a small frame or an engraved angel with the date of an anniversary. In our house an ornament doesn’t have to be pretty to be hung in a prominent position on our tree. One of our least pretty is also one of our most prized, a gift from a much loved aunt who lived in Ecuador for awhile.

It takes three days to decorate our tree each year. Not because it takes that long to toss the tinsel but because each ornament tells a story that I must recall and retell. Or, an ornament will remind me of someone I think about only once a year.

Naturally, many of our ornaments have a country theme. A cowboy Santa Claus, a Holstein reindeer or a candy cane boot. A few years ago my wife began collecting cow ornaments. Someone found out and now cow ornaments are found in every gift shop in America. And we have bought one of each I do believe.

In our scrapbook of Christmas “Kodak moments” are two pictures of our trimmed tree taken several years apart. Astonishingly, the ornaments are placed in nearly the same spot although years apart. It seems that unknowingly my wife and I have prioritized the ornaments. Favorites go in the front and in the middle. Those without a story to tell are hung in the back. But they are all irreplaceable. So much so that my wife keeps them in boxes close at hand for easy retrieval in case of fire or flood.

Like the people we have met and the places we have been, these Christmas tree ornaments decorate our lives. In most cases they were presents that we gave ourselves. They represent the shared experiences we have hung on our tree of life. I must admit that tree is getting crowded now and I don’t know how much more it can handle but it will always bring a smile to my face and hold a special place in my heart.

Kansas Soybean Commission funding decisions to be made in December

By
Guest Columnist
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Kansas Soybean Commissioners are gearing up to make important decisions at their Dec. 15-17 meeting. The board convenes at the Kansas Soybean Office in Topeka to analyze funding proposals for fiscal year 2024 and conduct additional business.
A total of 51 funding requests were submitted for consideration. Ed Anderson, who joined the Kansas Soybean staff in October as the Commission’s Research Assistant, provided a preliminary review of the proposals to more efficiently select those to be heard in December.
Project leads who received approval make formal presentations at the December meeting before final funding decisions are made. Each day’s meeting will begin at 8 a.m. Project proposal presentations are slated for the first two days of the meeting. The third day is reserved for discussion and final decisions.
Commissioners will also discuss current projects, market-development activities, educational programs and administrative items. To suggest additional topics for deliberation or to obtain a complete agenda or instructions for calling into the meeting, contact KSC Administrator Kaleb Little at [email protected] or call the office at 877-KS-SOYBEAN (877-577-6923).
As the Research Assistant, Iowa native Anderson will serve in a contractual capacity to oversee KSC’s investment process and manage research projects funded by the Commission.
Anderson earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Biochemistry from Iowa State University and his doctorate in Molecular Plant Virology and Plant Pathology from the University of Missouri. Following other position in the industry, he joined the Iowa Soybean Association in February 2013 as Senior Director of Research. Anderson also serves as Executive Director of the North Central Soybean Research Program, a 13-state collaboration for checkoff funded regional research and outreach programs aimed at improving soybean farmer productivity, profitability and sustainability.
Research is integral to Kansas Soybean’s mission of improving farmer profitability. On-farm and industrial research projects funded through the checkoff add value by improving growing conditions and building demand for soybeans. Anderson’s expertise will be useful in his work as a contractor to more efficiently evaluate and manage the projects funded by the Kansas Soybean Commission.
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