Cancer Patients and Parenthood: Sharing Hope

Cancer diagnoses are always heartbreaking, but the news can be especially devastating to patients with plans for children. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments often compromise eggs and sperm cells, making future conception more difficult. Egg-freezing and sperm-banking services are available, but they can cost as much as $10,000, forcing many patients to skip the procedure and risk later infertility.

But post-cancer parenthood may now be within more patients’ reach. The nonprofit organization Fertile Hope recently unveiled its Sharing Hope Program, which gives cancer patients deep discounts on fertility preservation services.

Read more of this story in the Spring 2005 issue of Conceive.

Can Medicine Make You Fat?

When you start putting on weight, you look to the usual suspects: the dusty treadmill or that stash of chocolate in your desk drawer.

But for 30-year-old Chelley Thelen, the culprit sat in her medicine cabinet. In six years, Thelen gained 60 pounds from taking prednisone, a steroid used to treat her arthritis.

Thelen is just one of a growing number of women who can blame their excess pounds on the drugs they're taking for everything from allergies to migraines. The chances of finding yourself on a drug that can lead to weight gain have more than doubled in the last 20 years.

In fact, the number has increased from one in ten to one in four, says George Blackburn, MD, associate director of the Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition. The problem is so critical that Blackburn teaches a course for physicians on the weight-gain side effects of medications.

"The drugs we're most concerned about are drugs for chronic diseases, like diabetes and psychiatric problems, because you have to be medicated for life," Blackburn says. But even innocuous-sounding meds like over-the-counter sleep aids can cause snug-jeans syndrome-some by slowing your metabolism, others by altering the hormones in your body that control your appetite.

Read more in the October 2007 issue of Health.

Well Hung

Clotheslines - a.k.a. "solar dryers" - are making a comeback

When I think of my childhood backyard - a large, rambling plot on the Alabama Gulf Coast - the first thing that comes to mind is the clothesline. A thick, green wire suspended between burly t-posts, the line was a focal point in the back half of our five acres. I can faintly recall dashing in and out of bed sheets as they flapped in the wind. But the years marched on, younger siblings arrived, and laundry eventually became an exclusively indoor event. The last time I saw that clothesline, it was nothing more than a pair of dilapidated posts, defeated by an almond-colored Kenmore and a box of Bounce.

Since then, clotheslines have become a rare sight for me. But a new crop of sheet-washers is attempting to return those archaic "solar dryers" to the American backyard. Armed with promises of fresher-smelling linens and lower energy bills, they trumpet the virtues of clotheslines - and warn that our "right to dry" is slowly being eroded.

Read more in the April/May 2007 issue of Plenty.

Let's Dish

A Brooklyn artist breathes new life into old tableware

I bought my first set of dishes at the Salvation Army shortly after I started college. The earth-toned, 1970s-style plates cost me $7, and they served me well until I got married six years later. I took them, chipped and well-enjoyed, back to a thrift store so someone else who was just starting out could use them. Clearly, I do not have as much imagination as Sarah Cihat.

Cihat, a 28-year-old artist in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, gives new life to old saucers through her business, Rehabilitated Dishware (www.sarahcihat.com). Cihat refires and reglazes secondhand dishes in her studio, infusing them with bold colors and silhouettes, a process she bills as "an exercise in sustainability that reincarnates existing products."

Read more in the October/November 2007 issue of Plenty.

Is It a Boy or Girl?

Mary and Jason Williams knew that they wanted their first child to be a boy. A friend suggested they try a particular position in the bedroom that she swore had helped her produce a healthy baby son.

"It also helps if your husband has his orgasm first," Mary Williams' friend said matter-of-factly.

Their bedroom episode did lead to successful conception, and Mary gave birth 10 months later - to a beautiful little girl named Stella. "We adore her," Mary says. "Looking at Stella it's hard to believe the gymnastic routine we went through trying to have a boy. Not that it wasn't fun!"

The idea of gender selection is almost as old as reproduction itself. For centuries, methods of conceiving boys or girls have been passed down through the generations for couples who favor one sex over another. But do they work?

Unfortunately, there's no clear answer to that question. With the exception of expensive, high-tech treatments, most methods of influencing gender outcome have not been scientifically validated, says Dr. Celia Dominguez, an OB/GYN at the Emory Reproductive Center in Atlanta. But like any other age-old tale, these at-home techniques continue to stand the test of time - and couples continue to practice them. Here, we round up a few of the most common. Who knows? One of them might work for you.

See more of this story in the March 2005 issue of Pregnancy.

Rising Jail Numbers: What to Do

The numbers just came in from the jail administrator's office, and they aren't good. With few extra beds and an average of 10 inmates staying in other counties' facilities every day, it's clear that your county is quickly outgrowing its jail. A new or expanded facility is in order.

However, the task is easier said than done. State requirements, architect selection, and other considerations that come with jail construction are enough to frustrate even the most experienced county official. But fortunately, many counties have been there. Here, they share their advice on building the best jail for the county buck.

When counties build new jails or modify their old ones, it's usually done to increase capacity. But that begs the obvious question - exactly how big should it be? The answer depends on several factors. Wise County Sheriff Doug Whitehead, who recently oversaw a major expansion of his county's jail, said area population trends should be a major consideration.

Whitehead said counties should consult Census records, county historical records and other documents to figure out where the county is headed in terms of population. The local council of governments can also be a big help in retrieving demographic information. If the county is fast filling up, it's a safe bet to say that the jail will be, too.

"Really and truly, population, in most cases, will have a direct relation on what your inmate population is going to be," Whitehead said.

Read more of this story in the January-February issue of County Magazine.