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Actress Jane Seymour discusses her successful spine surgery. (free Apple Quicktime required to view).

Jane Seymour Urges Americans to Get 'Back To Health' in 2003

New Advanced Spine Care Treatments to Help Millions of American Back Pain Sufferers

June 2003 (Newstream) -- Eighty percent of Americans will suffer from back or neck pain at one point in their lives. And despite what many spine care patients, including actress Jane Seymour, think about a hopeless struggle to recovery, there is relief out there. In fact, more sufferers are preventing common spine problems by maintaining active lifestyles.

In an effort to raise public and patient awareness of the social and economic impact of back and neck pain, the North American Spine Society (NASS) has created a "Back to Health" campaign to educate people with spine problems - as well as those at risk - on back care techniques and prevention strategies and how emerging technologies in the spine care field help patients recover faster.

Even someone as seemingly healthy as Jane Seymour is not immune to back pain. The 51-year-old actress suffered from a painful herniated disk. When the pain became unbearable, surgery was her only hope.

This feature medical story offers Jane's testimonial and that of her orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. Rick Delamarter, to highlight the different stages of spine health and the steps you can take in order to prevent, maintain and recover from common spine conditions. Additionally, recent technological breakthroughs with microsurgery and artificial disks give doctors new hope for relieving spinal pain among millions of back sufferers.

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Produced for North American Spine Society

CONTACT: Zane Robbins, 312-222-9850

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Deliver the Dream Launches Program to Help Families in Crisis

Founder and CEO Pat Moran sees dream come true

June 2003 (Newstream) -- Deliver the Dream, a respite and retreat program serving families facing serious illness or crisis, has successfully completed its pilot program of extended respite and retreat weekends. The four-day, three-night gatherings, all at no charge to families, offered recreational activities for children and adults, as well as the opportunity for families to informally talk together about their similar situations, and connect with one another in discussion groups facilitated by clinical social workers and counselors.

Each weekend is tailored to serve the needs of families experiencing similar illnesses or crises in their lives, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, developmental disorders, blood disorders, and trauma. Thirty-eight families, including 93 children, participated in the four weekends which were held at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C. and the Florida Elks Youth Camp in Umatilla, Fla. The families were referred by the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, Mission St. Joseph's Children's Hospital and Mountain Area Hospice, both located in Asheville, North Carolina, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of South Florida, and the American Cancer Society of Florida.

"The families shared very personal aspects of their lives with one another -- challenges and feelings they have in common," said Mary Turney, manager of the Psychosocial & Palliative Care Program at the Moffitt Cancer Center. "The opportunity to express their common emotions in a supportive environment, as well as the respite and recreation offered during the weekend, was very therapeutic for the families."

According to Deliver the Dream Founder and CEO Pat Moran, "When one person in a family is ill, whether a child or an adult, the entire family is impacted. Challenges associated with illness can tear families apart and rob children of their childhood," she explained. Moran has seen this dynamic firsthand in her own family and thus it became the impetus for founding the organization.

Through the DTD respite/retreat weekends, families can escape the stress of their daily routines, find time to reunite and enjoy recreational activities and find support from other guests who are coping with similar experiences. Program activities include a variety of recreational and relaxation opportunities as well as therapeutic workshops and peer-to-peer discussion groups.

Blake Wagner and his wife Paula recently lost their five year-old daughter, Noelle, after an agonizing battle with cancer. Along with their nine year-old son Kenneth, they attended a respite/retreat weekend that focused on handling grief and loss.

"At first we were reluctant to attend, but we needed outside help handling our feelings, and eventually we were really looking forward to it," Blake Wagner said.

Soon the family realized that they were around people they could trust to share their most painful life experience with, and by opening up, and listening to others, their thoughts and feelings and fears flowed. By the final day of the retreat, "It felt like the threatening darkness had lightened and the sun had come out. Even though our road will still be very rough and painful, I know we have made some real progress, and friends, down that road towards the day when sadness and loss are no longer overwhelming."

At least eight additional respite/retreat weekends are planned throughout 2003 at venues in North Carolina and Florida to help families from throughout the southeastern United States. In addition to the agencies previously mentioned, families are referred by other DTD partnering organizations, including: Chris Evert Children's Hospital at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Ga., Grady Healthcare System, IDP in Atlanta, Ga., Transylvania Community Hospital in Brevard, N.C., the American Cancer Society, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Nemours Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla.

"These pilot weekends were rewarding and emotional for all of us," said Moran. "We shared a lot of laughter and some tears as well. The families truly gained a sense of renewal and great strength in the new friends they met. This new-found support will continue to help them back home."

"We came together from different walks of life and shared something so precious that we'll never be the same again," said program participant Stephen Knapp of South Florida, who has multiple sclerosis. "We all grew together as a group with mutual respect and understanding, sharing things that even our spouses and children cannot fully appreciate. There is inestimable value in the comfort of knowing that there are others out there just like us, and that we're not alone."

Keizah and Keila Aponte, with parents Debra Urshan Gonzalez and Eliat Aponte Gonzalez, show off the masks they decorated at the children's art therapy workshop during Deliver the Dream's inaugural pilot program weekend, held at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C. The Gonzalez family attended through Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.

About Deliver the Dream

Deliver the Dream, Inc. (www.deliverthedream.org), a respite and retreat program, serves families facing serious illness or crisis by helping them to enhance coping skills, reduce stress and cultivate relationships. Through unique experiences during planned retreat weekends, Deliver the Dream enables those they help to regain strength, mend spirits and just be families and kids again. Those interested in volunteering at a future DTD Retreat Weekend are encouraged to contact DTD at 1-888-687-3732.

Pat Moran is also chairman of the board of diversified automotive company JM Family Enterprises, Inc. headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

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Produced for Deliver the Dream

Contact: Kimberley Denney, 954-418-5127
Kimberley.Denney@deliverthedream.org

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Watch a report from the National Headache Foundation about a free new assessment tool -- Migraine Attack Profile. ( Apple Quicktime required to view).

New Migraine Tool Helps Doctors Match The Right Drug To The Right Patient

National Headache Awareness Week Is June 1-7

June 2003 (Newstream) -- The National Headache Foundation is launching a free new assessment tool for the 28 million Americans who suffer from debilitating migraine headaches.

It's called the Migraine Attack Profile, and it tracks the duration and intensity of individual headache attacks so doctors learn which aspects of migraine affect a patient most, how long each phase of an attack lasts, and what tends to make them get better or worse. Eventually, a pattern appears and doctors can use this information to help select the most appropriate medication for the patient's migraine, as well as identify the best time to start treatment of individual attacks.

The NHF offers the following tips to help improve the doctor/patient partnership:

Industry loses approximately $50 billion per year due to absenteeism and medical expenses caused by headache, and migraine sufferers lose more than 157 million workdays each year. Typically, migraine sufferers experience an average of two attacks per month, which can last anywhere from four to 72 hours.

For more information about headaches and to obtain a free copy of the Migraine Attack Profile, contact the NHF at 1-888-NHF-5552 or visit www.headaches.org.

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Produced for National Headache Foundation

Contact: Patricia Gabriel, (212) 594-4810

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