hy... c2 Castlégar News March 9, 1988 T-BILL the Premium Savings account | ib — HIGH YIELD WITH FLEXIBILITY tL CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION For All Your Financial & Insurance Needs SLOCAN PARK CASTLEGAR 601-18th St., 365-7232 Mw. oSeere oon Insurance 365-3368 Insurance 226-7216 Expecting a Friend to Move to Castlegar? ° A Family Member °¢ An Employee ° A Business Associate We will send them FREE a two- month subscription to the Castlegar News! Just phone our Circulation Department with name and ad- dress and we'll do the rest. Castlégar News “Helping Castlegar Grow" Circulation 365-7266 Disease a ‘nightmare’ By SHERYL UBELACKER Press TORONTO — In her worst nightmares, Levanna sees her future like a long black road, dotted with signposts. And the words on the si fill her with dread, Infertility. Hysterectomy, Levanna is among an estimated half-million Canadian women who suffer from endometriosis, a debilitating disease that can cause infertility. The disease, which has no known cause, can also leave marriages wrecked and careers destroyed, The name comes from the word endometrium, the lining of the uterus that develops blood vessels in preparation for Pregnancy during the monthly men8trual cycle, then is discharged if a woman doesn't conceive, But with endometriosis, tissue grows outside the uterus, spreading to the ovaries, Fallopian tubes or under the uterus. Sometimes the growths can be found in the intestines, rectum, bladder, vagina or cervix, and un- commonly in the lungs and limbs. SIZE VARIES Unlike the endometrivm, which is shed during men. struation, these growths ranging in size from small lesions to grapefruit-sized cysts — have no way of leaving the body. Instead, they can cause internal bleeding and searring. Although some women have no symptoms, the one symptom most victims share is pain — ranging from bearable to excruciating. And because the growths can progress over time, causing further inflammation and sear tissue, there is always the threat of infertility. Levanna, who asked that her real name not be used, began having menstruation problems about 10 years ago while in her early 20s. She says she had excruciating pain and an extra ordinarily heavy flow with her Periods, but none of the several doctors she consulted over the years could find any cause With female friends, “I never really talked about the pain, I never really talked about the flow. “I just assumed it was one of those things that everybody lived through, primarily because the doctors would say, ‘Well dear, we all go through this to a certain degreé.’ ” SENT FOR TESTS About 18 months ago, Levanna tried yet another doctor, who suspected endometriosis and sent her to a specialist for a laparoscopy. Time to haul it on home. No Interest* No Payments * FOR 30 DAYS DURING TRUCK MONTH jer On Interest and Payments Expires March 31/88 Maloney Pontiac Buick GMC 1700 Columbia Ave., Castlegar DI. 5058 Call Collect 365-2155 a Steering You Straight. ht to heavy-duty used trucks! ice © Parts © Body Shop The fibre-optic laparoscope, which allows a physician to see the of rep ¢ organs, confi: Levanna had endometrial growths under her uterus. Tests show her Fallopian tubes are still clear, “so as far as I know I still could have children, but you just don't know until you try.” Although she wants a child, Levahna isn't in & position to get pregnant. She is single and is taking danazol — amale hormone that shrinks endometrial growths by interrupting ovulation, While many women find danazol diminishes or eradicates their endometriosis Symptoms with no adverse reactions, some have experienced side effects that can include a deepening of the voice, increased growth of body hair, weight gain, nausea, depréssion and hot flashes. Women taking the drug should also be tested periodically for possible liver dysfunetion, AVOID PREGNANCY Even though danazol halts ovulation, there is still a slight risk of pregnancy and doctors warn women taking the drug to avoid conception because the hormone derivative has been linked to fetal abnormalities, Levanna, who has been on the drug about a year, has experienced some side effects she Says she can live with, but she admits to being concerned about possible long-term effects. She tries to keep a balanced Perspective, but her optimism that she will some day have a child often gives way to the pessimism that she may one day be forced to have a hysterectomy if the endometriosis progresses. For Beth, there is no longer a choice. two years after being diagnosed with sts on her ovaries and Fallopian tubes, she underwent a hysterectomy after two operations and a course of danazol. Faced with yet another bout of surgery, she had signed two consent forms — one to remove the growths if it was possible to retain fertility and the other for hysterectomy. The physician chose to remove her uterus and one ovary — the other was left so menopause wouldn't set in immediately. Beth says she believed the hysterectomy would halt the endometriosis, but she has since learned the radical surgery is no guarantee against recurrence of the disease. “Seven years after my hysterectomy, I now have cysts on my one remaining ovary,” she says. “The doctor hasn't done a laparoscopy, but given my history, the odds are it's my endometriosis back.” Both Levanna and Beth are members of the U.S.-Canada Endometriosis Association, a non-profit or- ganization that offers counselling, education and support to about 7,000 members in chapters across Canada and the United States. Rosemarie Green, a founder of the recently formed Toronto chapter, Says the urgent need for information and support for endometriosis sufferers was brought home at the group's first public meeting in December. “We expected maybe 30 or 40 women,” Green says. “We were astounded when more than 150 people showed up.” TORONTO (CP) — Den- tal researchers at the Uni- versity of Toronto have developed a product they say could eventually help wipe out the main cause of cavities, “I believe the potential here is really quite enor- said Dr. Richard Ten Cate, déan of the faculty of dentistry. Dental researchers Dr. James Sandham and Dr. Thomas Balanyk have de veloped a transparent var- nish that kills the bac terium — streptococcus mutans or strep mutans — widely acknowledged as the main cause of cavities. It concentrates on the hard surface of teeth and pro- duces a glue, attaching it self. Sandham said the body does not naturally produce strep mutans which are instead picked up from other people. For example, at age three or four, Parents are a child's main source of strep mutans from sharing things like spoons. The varnish, named Ch lorzoin, has been tested and the results have been encouraging, said Sand ham. It is painted on the teeth, which are then cov ered with a second coat of polyurethane varnish, sealing off the first coat from saliva chemicals. In about five days, the varnish falls off the teeth, he said. In his latest tests, 33 adult volunteers had this Doctors suggest having Pap smear WASHINGTON (AP) — Medical authorities in the United States recommend that all women age 18 and older have an annual Pap smear to detect cervical cancer. The new guidelines, up dating those in place since 1980, were outlined jointly by the American Medical As sociation, the American Can cer Society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Na. tional Cancer Institute. While stopping just short of recommending that every woman have a Pap test every year, the thrust of the new consensus guidelines is clear. ly in the direction of annual tests for all women 18 and older. The old guidelines called for tests to start at age 20 and to stop after age 60. However, the medical authorities said the Pap tests could begin sooner than 18 if the woman is sexually active. The ofd standards said a woman and her doctor might opt for less-than-annual screening after negative Pap smears in two successive years, while the new recom- mendations said there should be three consecutive neg. ative results before less-fre. quent testing is considered. Harmon Eyre, president of the American Cancer Soc. jety, suggested that even after three negative tests, there should be a predis position to continuing annual tests. Spokesmen for the or. ganizations said a main rea son for calling the press con ference was to counter con. fusion about the value of the Pap test in light of recent publicity about a high per. centage of false negative re. sults reported by some labs. “What we are here for today is to set the record straight about the need for having regular Pap tests,” said Dr. Harry Jones of the AMA. “The Pap test .. . has been clearly responsible over the past decades for a dramatic drop in fatalities from cancer of the cervix.” Although the death rate from cervical cancer has de- clined more than 70 per cent over the last four decades, the overwhelming majority of deaths occur among those who don't have regular Pap tests. T , LD WIPE OUT CAVITIES treatment once a week for four weeks. At the end, 21 had no strep mutans in their mouths at all, and 12 of those have stayed free of the bacteria for six months with no more treatment. Researchers are check- ing why 12 of the 83 sub- jects were not totally freed of the bacteria and how some got reinfected. “If we could treat one generation, we might be able to end the problem permanently, since then there would be no one to pass the bacterium along to the next generation,” Sandham said, Chlorzoin is considered harmless to the many bac- teria in the mouth that help, rather than harm people, he said. Lactic acid, produced by mouth bacteria from car- bohydrates in foods, is a main cause of cavities. If concentrated enough, lac- tie acid can eat a hole through the enamel coat- ing on teeth, exposing the underlying dentin, which is much more vulnerable to acid and bacteria. Only strep mutans keep producing acid until there's enough to eat through the enamel shell. The University of Tor- onto Innovations Founda- tion has the patent to Ch- lorzoin, and Apo Diag- nostics Inc., of nearby Markham, Ont., has been licensed to handle mar- keting. Apo also produces a kit to detect strep mutans in the mouth. ‘Exercise nuts’ issued warning SAN ANTONIO (Reuter) — Exercise nuts may be pushing themselves into an early grave instead of a longer life, says a scientist specializing in research on aging. According to Dr. Roger McCarter, a professor of physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Centre in San Antonio, people may be genetically programmed to burn a set amount of calories before they die. “If you use those calories quickly by having a high metabolic rate, such as one has while exercising, then it could shorten your life span,” McCarter said. McCarter has begun experiments using 160 rats to test the connection between metabolic rates and lifespan. The idea that each person can use only a pre-deter- mined amount of calories during his life is sometimes called the “rate-of-living” theory. The theory, one of many put forth by scientists to ex- plain why people grow old, has been around in various forms since the turn of the century. But it has never been tested in a valid scient- ifie way. The rate-of-living theory arises in part from a simple observation that animals with higher metabolic rates — that is, the rate at which they burn calories — have shorter life spans. Rats, for example, burn calories quite rapidly and live an average of only three years. Dogs, on the other hand, metabolize more slowly than rats and live 15 years or more. As part of his research, McCarter has put one group of rats in a cage with un- limited access to an exercise wheel. Another group, eating the same diet of carbo- hydrate-laden pellets,is not allowed to exercise. The metabolic rates of both groups is measured 24 hours a day by computers that tell how much oxygen is pumped into the rats’ glass cages and how much carbon dioxide, the byproduct of respiration, is pumped out. If the rate-of-living theory has any validity, the rats that exercise should die first. The research will take four years, said McCarter. If the results of McCarter's research lend credence to the rate-of-living theory, he thinks people will still enjoy exercising and receive bene. fits from it, even though they may be shortening their lives. LIFESTYLES THE HONEYBEE HAS ARRIVED At the Plaza gg Siibervaiu UNPASTEURIZED HONEY 2.18 kg. PLAZA SUPER-VALU OPEN SUND lective: Eft While stocks last or until March 13, 1988 (No containers trom home accepted, please) AY! 10 A.M.-5 P.M. H N HELPS SENIORS BOOST INCOME Canadian OTTAWA — An extra $95 a month won't buy a ticket t6 Easy Street, but it still means a lot to thousands of senior citizens who are beneficiaries of the Alberta Assured Income Plan. “They might get their shoes repaired or they might 8° to the sales and get a new coat put away for the wintertime,” says Dora McCulloch of the Society for the Retired and Semi-Retired in Edmonton, The plan is an income supplement paid by the Alberta government to all recipients of the federal guaranteed income supplement. The Provincial supple- ment ranges from $10 to $95 a month depending on other sources of income. The Alberta plan is one of the best of its kind in Canada. Only the Yukon and Northwest Territories have Programs that provide the same level of support. LIKE FREEDOM One of the things Alberta seniors like about the supplement is they can spend it any way they like, McCulloch says. It isn't tied to housing or clothing or any other specific kind of expenditure. “You want to go and Play bingo with it, you can go and play bingo with it,” she says. Ontario's supplement is nearly as large as Alberta's, but it goes to only half the needy seniors in the province. Supplements in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Mani- toba and Nova Scotia are considerably smaller, and coverage is spotty in all of those Provinces except Nova Scotia. Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland have no comparable programs. Gayle Gilchrist James of Edmonton, chairman of the National Council of Welfare, a group that advises federal Welfare Minister Jake Epp, says the Alberta supplement is one reason poverty rates for Alberta seniors are low. COMBINE PAYMENTS “In essence, by combining the federal and provincial Payment, we in fact have a guaranteed annual income Program for seniors in Alberta,” she says. “This $95 difference is probably the cutting edge of being at or being below the poverty line.” Maximum payments under the federal and Alberta programs for seniors last year amounted to $9,081 a year for single people and $15,155 for couples. That's enough to put all couples over the unofficial poverty lines. It's not enough to do the same for single people living in cities or towns, but it does take some of the sting out of poverty. The poverty lines for single people last year ranged from $8,193 in rural areas to $11,079 in big cities such as Edmonton and Calgary. The lines for married couples ranged from $10,708 to $14,617. Across Canada, all people 65 and older get the federal old-age security pension, and nearly 1.4 million seniors with little or no other income also get the guaranteed income supplement. Here's a look at provincial and territorial income supplements for older people as compiled by federal researchers, the benefits that were paid as of last June and information about costs and coverage: NOVA SCOTIA: Most, but not all, seniors who get the federal guaranteed income supplement get lump-sum payments of between $109 and $219 once a year in May under the Senior Citizens Financial Aid Act. About 58,000 people got benefits from the provincial govern- ment totalling $10.4 million in May 1986, and the average lump-sum payment was about $179. If that same amount of money had been paid in monthly instalments, the average monthly payment would have been about $15, ONTARIO: About 189,000 seniors — roughly half of those who get the federal supplement — get monthly payments of up to $83 a month as a provincial Guaranteed Annual Income Supplement, sometimes known as GAINS.-A. The total cost of the Program in the 1985-1986 fiscal year was $131.5 million and the average benefit was $58 a month. MANITOBA: A program called 55 Plus says benefits of up to $105.50 every three months to a limited number of people in need over the age of 55. About 27,000 people got benefits from the program during the last fiscal year at a cost of $7 billion. That works out to the equivalent of $22 a month on average. SASKATCHEWAN: The Saskatchewan Income Plan covers nearly 25,000 seniors or roughly 40 per cent of those who also get the federal income supplement. The maximum monthly benefit is $65. The cost of the program in 1985-1986 was $9.8 million and the average benefit was $33 a month. ALBERTA: All recipients of the federal supplement also get monthly payments ranging from $10 to $95 a month under the Alberta Assured Income Plan. Nearly 86,000 people got benefits from the plan in 1985-1986 at a cost of $61.7 million and the average benefit was $60 a month. BRITISH COLUMBIA: Roughly 30 per cent of the people receiving the federal supplement or the federal spouse's allowance, a comparable program for people between 60 and 65, get monthly benefits of up to $60.25 a month under a program called GAIN, Guaranteed Avail- able Income for Need. Nearly 45,000 people got GAIN benefits totalling $16.7 million in, 1985-1986 and the average payment was $31 a month. CAPITAL GAINS If you have a capital gain or loss to report on your income tax return this year, bring your return to H&R/Block. Our specially trained tax return preparers can save,you time and money. So this year let the specialists at H&R Block help you get the biggest refund you have coming or pay the lowest legitimate tax. Ask about our guarantee. — HaR THE INCOME TAX 1761 Columbia Ave., Castlegar (Old Shell Building) 365-5244 Native women force Ottawa to change Act By LAURA EGGERTSON Canadian The day Bet-te Paul lost faith in sit. ins, protests and calls to federal authorities, she tucked a rifle into the baby carriage beside her infant son and set off to confront the chief on New Brunswick's Tobique Indian reserve. T was going to personally hold him hostage and make him go through the same kind of conditions I and my child were going through,” she remembers. A housing shortage, particularly for women, on the reserve near the Maine border had reduced Paul — a status Maliseet Indian and single mother — to life in an isolated, one-room cement shack without plumbing, water or heat. Paul's recollections of her struggle eight years ago are contained in the new book Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out (The Women's Press). “After the baby was born and we were living out there and I was carrying the baby on my back and hauling water — T couldn't take it any more,” Paul said in an interview during a visit to Toronto, On her way to the chief's, Paul stopped at the home of a friend, who persuaded her to hand over the rifle — it wasn't loaded. CHANGED LAW However, the protests, sit-ins and lobbying by a group of Tobique women including Paul, joined by other native and white women's groups across Canada, finally saw success. In June 1985, Bill C-31 was passed, amending the Indian Act to abolish discriminatory clauses that had stripped status and band membership rights from Indian women who married non-status or non-Indian men. Under the act, Indian men who married non-status or non-Indian women lost no rights, and their wives gained Indian status. Paul, now 36, and Shirley Bear, 51, were at the forefront of the Tobique women's struggle to amend the act. They staged a four-month occupation of their band office despite threats, vandalism and fire; obtained a United Nations con- demnation of Canada for its discriminatory treatment of another Tobique woman; and launched a 170-kilometre walk to Ottawa to publicize their cause. “I hope the women that read the book, and men too, see that changes are possible — we managed it,” says the soft-spoken but determined Bear. “We changed the law of Canada.” DID INTERVIEWS The book consists of interviews with Tobique women, recorded by Janet Silman, a researcher with the United Church of Canada. Bear and Silman say the fight started when a core of women got together to try to improve their housing on the reserve. Under the Indian Act, and as enforced by the Tobique chief and council, native women had no rights to houses in their own name. If a woman was kicked out by her spouse or left him, she had ‘nowhere to go. women persuaded Lovelace to go to the which in 1981 upheld her complaint, calling ble denial of her rights.” ile, about 40 Tobique women and children staged the four-month occupation of the band office to force the chief and council to listen to them. Some of the women's children had to face a lot of ty going to school, and at one point the place was set on fire to try to get us out,” Paul says. “We stayed through it all, Nothing stopped us.” When a new chief was elected, the women left. But when conditions didn't improve — at one point Paul was living in the reserve jail — they continued to lobby for change. WALK WAS BORN Although mainly status women, the Tobique group saw the section stripping others of their rights as the root of their problem. So the walk was born, What began in July 1979 as 35 Tobique women walking from the Oka reserve near Montreal to Parliament Hill snow balled into a outpouring of support for their cause that led to a meeting with then prime minister Joe Clark and his wife, Maureen McTeer. “From the Yukon, from the Northwest Territories, from all over Canada women came and walked with us,” Paul says. The walk “got a lot of press and that was when people first got to know about Tobique women,” Silman says. Enough is Enough: A Women Speak Out. Pub- lished by The Women’s Press, 153 Pages, $11.95. Cambridge Diet gets green light TORONTO (CP) — The Cambridge Diet, denied fed- eral government approval in 1983 because it didn't have enough calories, has been re- developed and given the green light for sale in Canada says a company spokesman. The Health Protection Branch had turned down the application by the U.S. manufacturer of the Cam- bridge Diet. Dennis Jones, a chemist from Point-Claire, Que., said the diet originally offered about 330 calories a day but now contains more than 900 nutrition bars that dieters consume in place of three regular meals and a snack each day. Joan Gadsby, director of marketing for Cambridge Nutrition Canada Ltd., based in Burnaby, B.C., said the diet plan costs about $180 a month. LIVE IN CONCERT! 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