NEW YORK,/PRNewswire/ -- Danica Patrick is shining a spotlight on an often overlooked healthcare issue – oral health – as she teams up with Aspen Dental and Oral Health America to launch the Healthy Mouth Movement, a community giving initiative designed to deliver free dental care to thousands of people in need in communities across the U.S., and oral health education to millions more.

"Last year 100 million Americans didn't visit a dentist, and millions more live in communities with little or no access to dental care," said Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. "This is an issue that affects a lot of hard-working people, including NASCAR fans, who are often living in pain. It's time to do something about it, and that's why I'm proud to partner with Aspen Dental and Oral Health America."

Through the Healthy Mouth Movement, dentists and team members from every Aspen Dental practice in 27 states will devote a day to providing much-needed dental care to those who need it most – free of charge, no questions asked. And to reach communities where care isn't available, the newly-constructed Aspen Dental MouthMobile, a fully-equipped dental office on wheels, will go directly into communities to not only provide free service, but raise awareness.

The Aspen Dental MouthMobile would not have been possible without the generous donations of equipment and supplies from Carestream Dental, Dental EZ, Henry Schein, Tuttnauer, Sultan Healthcare and Image Press, which are valued at nearly $100,000.

"The sad reality is that for many Americans, dentistry has become a luxury and not a priority," said Dr. Clark Downey, Aspen Dental practice owner from Richmond, Indiana. "Every single day I and hundreds of other dentists at more than 400 Aspen Dental locations across the country see patients who are struggling financially and have put off regular dental care. The result is that people are living with infection and pain, and it's impacting their health and quality of life."

Added Dr. Downey, "Aspen Dental has always worked to remove barriers that keep people from getting dental care -- we keep fees low, stay open on evenings and weekends, and welcome emergency patients. But we want to do more, and that's where the Healthy Mouth Movement comes in."

What is the Healthy Mouth Movement?

Beginning in February and continuing throughout 2014, Aspen Dental dentists and teams will volunteer a day of their time, opening their doors to provide free dental care to the community. The Healthy Mouth Movement will begin in Florida and Georgia and move up the East Coast and through the Mid West through the spring and summer months.

While dentists and teams at Aspen Dental have always volunteered their time and talents, both at home and abroad, through organizations like Missions of Mercy and the American Dental Association's Give Kids a Smile program, the Healthy Mouth Movement will be the largest and most far-reaching initiative that they've ever undertaken together.

In the spirit of helping as many people as possible, dentists will focus on treating the most urgent dental need of each patient by providing services such as a filling, extraction, basic cleaning or denture repair. The first priority will be to get participants out of pain, make them aware of what their other dental care needs are, and through Oral Health America, connect them with free or low-cost resources in their community to access continued care.

Education Is Key

According to Oral Health America's 2013 State of Decay report, the oral health of many Americans is suffering, with more than half of the country rated as fair or poor when it comes to minimal standards affecting dental care access for older adults. And so to have the biggest impact, the Healthy Mouth Movement will make oral health education a priority.

"Dental care is the most common unmet health need in the U.S. Yet while the debate about healthcare has dominated the headlines in recent months, there has been very little discussion about oral health," said Beth Truett, president and CEO of Oral Health America. "The Healthy Mouth Movement is a great opportunity for us to continue to not just raise awareness about these important issues, but also to connect people who need dental care with local resources."  

To learn more about the Healthy Mouth Movement, visit www.AspenDental.com. For additional information about Oral Health America's "State of Decay" report, visit www.toothwisdom.org.

For broadcast quality, downloadable B-roll on demand, visit: www.vistaworldlink.com/healthymouthmovement (note: case sensitive).

TORONTO, ON — After a long, tiring day many of us simply give in to the urge to grab a favorite unhealthy snack and avoid tackling obligatory tasks. But we don’t have to.

A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough shows that while people have a harder time controlling themselves when tired, it doesn’t mean they’ve exhausted all of their willpower. The key to boosting self-control is finding pleasure in the necessary activities of life.

“When people are fatigued they experience a change in motivational priorities such that they are less willing to work for the things they feel obliged to do and more willing to work for things they like to do,” says Michael Inzlicht, professor in the Department of Psychology at UTSC and affiliate faculty at U of T’s School of Public Policy and Governance.

Inzlicht defines self-control as the mental processes that allow people to override thoughts and emotions in order to adapt their behavior from one moment to the next. The prevailing view in psychology has been that self-control is a limited resource where repeated acts of restraint exhaust supply until individuals are left with little to no willpower at all.

While it’s true that people tend to lose their focus after performing specific tasks over a period of time, Inzlicht says that is the result of a shift in priorities and not an absence of self-control. In fact, there may be ways to avoid hours of being unproductive when one’s energy and focus are low.

The important thing is to convert tasks from “have-to’s” into “want-to’s,” says Inzlicht. When that fails, it’s worth planning for the unavoidable ups and downs in motivation by steering clear of temptations and taking mental breaks in order to refresh.

For individuals with busy personal and professional lives this may be easier said than done, but certainly not impossible, notes Inzlicht.

“If someone wants to eat healthier they should think of the enjoyment they can get from eating delicious nutritious foods. They should not frame their eating goal as something they feel obliged to do because their doctor or spouse told them to do so,” he says. “The key is finding a way to want and like the goal you are chasing, just like the person who loves to jog as a way to relax or take a break.”

The study, which was co-authored by Brandon Schmeichel at Texas A & M University and Neil Macrae at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, is available online and will appear in the upcoming edition of Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Online link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661313002945

MANHATTAN -- People who decrease sitting time and increase physical activity have a lower risk of chronic disease, according to Kansas State University research.

Even standing throughout the day -- instead of sitting for hours at a time -- can improve health and quality of life while reducing the risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and colon cancer, among others.

The researchers -- Sara Rosenkranz and Richard Rosenkranz, both assistant professors of human nutrition -- studied a sample of 194,545 men and women ages 45 to 106. The data was from the 45 and Up Study, which is a large Australian study of health and aging.

"Not only do people need to be more physically active by walking or doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but they should also be looking at ways to reduce their sitting time," Richard Rosenkranz said.

The twofold approach -- sitting less and moving more -- is key to improving health, the researchers said. People often spend the majority of the day being sedentary and might devote 30 to 60 minutes a day to exercise or physical activity, Sara Rosenkranz said. Taking breaks to stand up or move around can make a difference during long periods of sitting.

Sitting for prolonged periods of time -- with little muscular contraction occurring -- shuts off a molecule called lipoprotein lipase, or LPL, Sara Rosenkranz said. Lipoprotein lipase helps to take in fat or triglycerides and use it for energy.

"We're basically telling our bodies to shut down the processes that help to stimulate metabolism throughout the day and that is not good," Sara Rosenkranz said. "Just by breaking up your sedentary time, we can actually upregulate that process in the body."

In a previous study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, the researchers found that the more people sit, the greater their chances of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.

For the more recent study, the researchers wanted to take a positive approach and see if increasing physical activity helped to increase health and quality of life. The researchers want to motivate people -- especially younger people -- to sit less and move more so they can age easier with less chronic disease.

"There is only so far that messages about avoiding diseases can go, especially when talking about chronic disease because it is so far removed and in the future," Richard Rosenkranz said. "For young people, being motivated by avoiding diseases is probably not the most pressing matter in their lives. We wanted to look at excellent health and excellent quality of life as things to aspire to in health."

To help office workers and employees who often sit for long periods of time, the researchers suggest trying a sit/stand desk as way to decrease sedentary time and add physical activity into the day. A sit/stand desk or workstation can adjust up and down so employees can add more standing time to their days. There are even sit/stand desks for children to stand and do homework or projects.

The research appears in the journal BMC Public Health. Collaborators included Gregory Kolt of the School of Science and Health at the University of Western Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and Mitch Duncan of the Institute for Health and Social Science Research with the Centre for Physical Activity Studies at Central Queensland University in Rockhampton, Australia.

While the researchers have used existing data for this latest study, the Rosenkranzes are now conducting experiments to manipulate sitting time in already active people. They want to understand how increased sitting time affects physiological risk factors such as blood pressure, body composition, triglyceride and cholesterol levels, inflammation and oxidative stress.

NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council and the Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives announced today the release of the new mobile gaming app, Toothsavers, available online and for Android and iOS devices. Created on behalf of the Kids' Healthy Mouths campaign, the free mobile game is the first developed in-house by the Ad Council -- the nation's largest producer of public service advertising. The app inspires kids to brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day by enlisting them in rescuing friendly fairy tale characters from an evil, cavity-creating sorceress who cast a wicked teeth-rotting spell on the kingdom.

Featuring a fun and colorful design, Toothsavers includes three key features to help parents and their kids learn about the importance of oral health:

The game calls on kids to be heroes. In a timed, finger-swipe brushing game, they can save 10 characters in a fairy tale kingdom from an evil, cavity-creating sorceress. The two-player version of the game allows for kids to "brush" the teeth of their friends and parents when the mobile device is held up to their mouths. The app also offers a real-life toothbrushing companion for kids and parents to keep track of their brushing progress, as well as morning and nighttime reminders.

"Toothsavers is a terrific way to get kids thinking about their teeth from an early age," said Gary Price, Secretary and CEO of the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation. "I look forward to seeing families embrace the app as both a teaching tool and a way to monitor their daily toothbrushing routines."

Dental decay is the nation's most common chronic childhood disease, affecting 16.5 million children. In the U.S., oral disease causes kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually.

"Mobile technology plays a major role in influencing young people's behavior and is a great fit for this campaign," said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. "We're thrilled to release our first mobile game, which represents our ongoing efforts to use technology to promote health, education and well-being. We look forward to using this app to help kids maintain healthy oral health habits, and have fun while doing it!"

Currently, 91 percent of American adults own a cellphone[i]. According to Ad Age, "U.S. adults spend an average of two hours and 21 minutes per day using their mobile devices for activities other than phone calls."[ii] Common Sense Media reports that one in five kids under the age of 8 uses a mobile device every day.[iii]

Launched August 2012, the Kids' Healthy Mouths campaign has received more than $46 million in free ad time and space and nearly 1.6 million visitors to the campaign website, 2min2x.org, which offers a collection of free, two-minute videos -- featuring notable characters from children's shows and networks. In addition, after its first year, the Kids' Healthy Mouths campaign has reported progress in the effort to improve children's oral health habits. A survey released in August 2013 indicated that more children in the United States now regularly brush their teeth.

Toothsavers is now available for free in the App Store and Google Play (both smartphones and tablet version). It is also on the web at 2min2x.org/PlayToothsavers. The game is geared toward children ages 3 to 6. For more information, visit 2min2x.org/toothsavers.

Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives

The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives (healthymouthshealthylives.org) is a coalition of the leading organizations in the field of oral health. The Partnership is committed to improving children's oral health so that they can develop into healthy, productive adults. The coalition shares the view that no child should be in pain and suffer broader health issues or endure the social stigma and lack of opportunity resulting from untreated dental diseases and conditions. The coalition's primary mission is to teach parents and caregivers, as well as the children themselves, to take control of their own health through oral disease prevention.

Members of the Partnership include: Academy of General Dentistry, Alliance of the American Dental Association, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Periodontology, American Association for Dental Research, American Association of Endodontists, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Association of Orthodontists, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, American Association of Women Dentists, American College of Prosthodontists, American Dental Assistants Association, American Dental Association, American Dental Education Association, American Dental Hygienists' Association, America's Dentists Care Foundation, Association of State & Territorial Dental Directors, California Dental Association, Children's Dental Health Project, Connecticut Coalition for Oral Health, Connecticut State Dental Association, Dental Trade Alliance Foundation, DentaQuest Foundation, Hispanic Dental Association, Maine Dental Access Coalition, Medicaid/SCHIP Dental Association, National Association of Dental Laboratories, National Children's Oral Health Foundation, National Dental Association, National Network for Oral Health Access, Oral Health America, Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention, Santa Fe Group, the Society of American Indian Dentists and Washington State Dental Association.

Ad Council

The Ad Council is a private, nonprofit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or view our PSAs on YouTube.

[i]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/06/cell-phone-ownership-hits-91-of-adults/

[ii]https://adage.com/article/digital/americans-spend-time-digital-devices-tv/243414/

[iii]https://mashable.com/2013/11/06/children-media-activity/

(BRONX, NY) - The first study of hepatitis C infection among different Hispanic groups in the U.S. has found that infection with the virus varies widely, with Puerto Rican Hispanics much more likely than other groups to be infected. The study, led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, highlights which Hispanic populations would benefit most from increased hepatitis C testing and treatment. It was published today in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that primarily affects the liver and is caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus is usually spread through contact with the blood of an infected person, often from sharing needles to inject drugs. Many people were also infected through blood transfusions before testing of donated blood began in 1992. About 150 million people worldwide are now infected with hepatitis C, including three to four million in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The majority of infected people don't know they're infected, since it may take decades for the virus to cause liver damage severe enough to cause symptoms.

"Until now, national health surveys that assessed hepatitis C's prevalence among U.S. Hispanics have looked only at Mexican-Americans," said Mark Kuniholm, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor of epidemiology & population health at Einstein. "As a result, no one knew whether the rates were higher or lower in other Hispanic populations. It turns out that there's a dramatic variation in prevalence, with infection rates ranging from less than 1 percent in Hispanic men of South American or Cuban background to 11.6 percent in men of Puerto Rican background – a more than 10-fold difference. This suggests that it's not appropriate to lump all U.S. Hispanics into a single, broad at-risk group."

The prevalence of hepatitis C infection found for men in other Hispanic groups are: Mexican (1.9 percent), Dominican (1.5 percent), Central American (1 percent), South American (.4 percent), and Cuban (0.8 percent). Hispanic women generally had a lower prevalence of hepatitis C infection than men, with Puerto Rican background women having the highest prevalence (3.9 percent) among Hispanic women. The overall prevalence of hepatitis C among men and women in the U.S. is 1.3 percent, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The researchers said it was not clear why the prevalence of hepatitis C was highest among Hispanic men and women of Puerto Rican background compared with Hispanics of other backgrounds.

The Einstein study used data collected on 11,964 individuals as part of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, a National Institutes of Health-funded study of Hispanic adults from four communities (Bronx, Miami, Chicago and San Diego). It was led by Robert Kaplan, Ph.D., the Dorothy and William Manealoff Foundation and Molly Rosen Chair in Social Medicine and professor of epidemiology & population health, and by Gloria Ho, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology & population health, both at Einstein.

"Clearly, our findings strongly support the need for community-based campaigns to increase testing and treatment in the Hispanic population," said Dr. Kuniholm. "But in our view, outreach efforts should be redoubled in those communities with large numbers of people of Hispanic background and a high prevalence of the disease.. For example, if you're in Miami with its mostly Cuban Hispanic population, the cost effectiveness of extra screening may be less than in the Bronx or Chicago, which both have large Puerto Rican communities. Extra efforts to increase screening may be warranted in those communities."

In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all Baby Boomers (people born from 1945 through 1965) be tested for hepatitis C. Those at increased risk for hepatitis C infection should also be tested, including people who ever injected illegal drugs (even if they did so only once or many years ago), have abnormal liver tests, received donated blood or organs before 1992, have been exposed to blood at work through needle sticks or injury with a sharp object, or were ever on hemodialysis.

The study's findings take on added importance with the development of a new class of hepatitis C drugs, recently approved by the FDA that can potentially cure more than 80 percent of people infected with hepatitis C. "In the past, treating hepatitis C was often very difficult and was associated with severe side effects," said Dr. Kuniholm. "The newer treatments cause far fewer side effects and are more effective and more convenient to take."

Infectious disease experts at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health have launched a website that reports weekly predictions for rates of season influenza in 94 cities in the United States based on a scientifically validated system. The URL is cpid.iri.columbia.edu.

Reporting the latest data from the week of December 29, 2013 through January 4, 2014, the website—Columbia Prediction of Infectious Diseases: Influenza Forecasts, or CPID—shows:

• Flu cases in most of the country are forecast to peak in January, including San Francisco (Jan. 5-11), Chicago (Jan. 12-18), Atlanta (Jan. 12-18), Washington, D.C. (Jan. 12-18), and Los Angeles (Jan. 12-18), New York City (Jan. 19-25), and Boston (Jan. 26-Feb. 1)

• Flu cases are predicted to continue to rise into February for several cities, peaking in Miami during the week of Feb. 2-8 and Providence, RI, during Feb. 16-22.

• Areas of the country hardest hit by seasonal flu—including Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Nevada—have already seen the worst of the outbreak.

• Overall, the 2013-2014 flu season is currently predicted to peak later with fewer cases than the 2012-2013 season but considerably more severe than the 2011-2012 season.

New predictions are posted every Friday afternoon during the flu season.

"For the first time, people can see the outlook for seasonal flu in their area by going online," says Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School, who led the development of the site and forecasting system. "We hope the site will help foster greater awareness of influenza activity and risk around the country, and motivate individuals to take measures, such as vaccination, to protect themselves against the virus." Dr. Shaman is also affiliated with the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia's Earth Institute, which is hosting the website.

Website Features

• Interactive map of the United States the displays the relative severity of seasonal flu in cities across the country flu and incidence numbers for each.

• Influenza incidence predictions by city for the coming weeks.

• Map that illustrates the proportion of flu cases by region.

• Charts that compare the timing and severity of the four most recent flu seasons.

• Exportable data for each week of the flu season (beginning in 9/29 for the 2013-2014 season).

The flu forecasting system adapts techniques used in modern weather prediction to turn real-time, Web-based estimates of influenza infection into local forecasts of the future influenza incidence by locality.

For the public, the flu forecast may promote greater vaccination, the exercise of care around people sneezing and coughing, and a better awareness of personal health. For health officials, it could inform decisions on how to stockpile and distribute vaccines and antiviral drugs, and in the case of a virulent outbreak, whether other measures, like closing schools, are necessary.

"Flu forecasting is a powerful example of how public health research is leveraging technology to prevent the spread of infections and safeguard our health," says Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean of Columbia's Mailman School.

In the U.S. the Centers for Disease Control estimates that between 3,000 and 49,000 die from the flu every year, according to the CDC.

PHILADELPHIA — Postmenopausal women who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to develop the most common type of endometrial cancer compared with women who did not drink sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Postmenopausal women who reported the highest intake of sugar-sweetened beverages had a 78 percent increased risk for estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer (the most common type of this disease). This association was found in a dose-dependent manner: the more sugar-sweetened beverages a woman drank, the higher her risk.

"Although ours is the first study to show this relationship, it is not surprising to see that women who drank more sugar-sweetened beverages had a higher risk of estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer but not estrogen-independent type II endometrial cancer," said Maki Inoue-Choi, Ph.D., M.S., R.D., who led this study as a research associate in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis. "Other studies have shown increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has paralleled the increase in obesity. Obese women tend to have higher levels of estrogens and insulin than women of normal weight. Increased levels of estrogens and insulin are established risk factors for endometrial cancer."

Because this study is the first to show the association between high sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and endometrial cancer, such findings need replication in other studies, according to Inoue-Choi.

Inoue-Choi and colleagues used data from 23,039 postmenopausal women who reported dietary intake, demographic information, and medical history in 1986, prior to the cancer diagnosis, as part of the Iowa Women's Health Study.

Dietary intake was assessed using the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), which asked study participants to report intake frequency of 127 food items in the previous 12 months. A typical portion size for each food item was provided to give study participants a sense of scale.

As reported in the study, the FFQ included four questions asking usual intake frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages, including 1) Coke®, Pepsi®, or other colas with sugar; 2) caffeine-free Coke®, Pepsi®, or other colas with sugar; 3) other carbonated beverages with sugar (e.g., 7-Up®); and 4) Hawaiian Punch®, lemonade, or other noncarbonated fruit drinks.

"Sugar-free soft drinks" included low-calorie caffeinated and caffeine-free cola (e.g., Pepsi-Free®), and other low-calorie carbonated beverages (e.g., Fresca®, Diet 7-Up®, and Diet Ginger Ale®).

The "sweets and baked goods" category comprised 13 items in the FFQ, including chocolate, candy bars, candy without chocolate, cookies (home-baked and ready-made), brownies, doughnuts, cakes (home-baked and ready-made), sweet rolls, coffeecakes or other pastries (home-baked and ready-made), and pies (home-baked and ready-made).

The researchers categorized the sugar-sweetened beverage consumption patterns of these women into quintiles, ranging from no intake (the lowest quintile) to between 1.7 and 60.5 servings a week (the highest quintile).

Between 1986 and 2010, 506 type I and 89 type II endometrial cancers were recorded among the women Inoue-Choi and colleagues studied. They did not find any association between type I or type II endometrial cancers and consumption of sugar-free soft drinks, sweets/baked goods, and starch.

"Research has documented the contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to the obesity epidemic," said Inoue-Choi. "Too much added sugar can boost a person's overall calorie intake and may increase the risk of health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer."

Exposure to low levels of bisphenol A during development may make men more susceptible to prostate cancer later in life, according to a new study published Tuesday. The study, which uses a new model of implanting human stem cells into mice, is the first to link early-life BPA exposure to human prostate cancer. It adds to a growing body of research that suggests exposure to low doses of the chemical alters cells and can lead to diseases later in life.

Click here to read the article.

Manufacturing problems have created a shortage of the liquid form of Tamiflu, which is designed for young children who can't swallow capsules, U.S. health officials announced Wednesday.

Read the HealthDay News article by clicking here.

OXNARD, CALIF. – DUX Dental marks the beginning of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month with a donation of $11,800 to the Tracy Lane Foundation, a foundation created by Tracy Lane and her husband to help raise awareness and motivate action to eradicate cervical cancer. Teal is the color that represents cervical cancer awareness and DUX Dental has donated one dollar for every teal-colored product sold in 2013. This represents thousands of teal-colored mirrors, trays and tubs in the DUX Dental line of dental supplies.

“Although the number of cervical cancer cases have gone down in recent decades, still many demographic groups in the United States are not receiving the screening and care they need to detect this disease,” says Paul Porteous, chief executive officer of DUX Dental. “Cervical cancer is treatable and the Tracy Lane Foundation is supporting positive outcomes for women diagnosed with cervical cancer by financially supporting screening, vaccinations and treatment efforts.”

The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes for Health has reported an estimated 12,340 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,030 deaths from the disease in the U.S. in 2013. According to the Centers for Disease Control, half of the cases of cervical cancer occur in women who are rarely or never screened for cancer. Another 10 to 20 percent of women who have cervical cancer received screening but didn’t receive the follow-up care required to treat or avoid the disease.

Tracy Lane and her husband Derek Lane, of La Quinta, Calif., created the Tracy Lane Foundation in July 2013, less than a year after Tracy was diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer. Despite aggressive treatment, Tracy subsequently passed away from cervical cancer on Aug. 10, 2013 at the age of 31. The mission of the foundation is to promote early detection of cervical cancer by encouraging women to get regular check ups including Pap smear exams and HPV (human papillomavirus) screenings and vaccinations. HPV is the cause of most cases of cervical cancers. The foundation works vigorously to raise awareness of female cancers and contributes to cancer research efforts.

Tracy Depew Lane was originally from Bemidji, Minn. and graduated in 2004 from Bemidji State University (BSU). An accomplished athlete, she played golf at BSU and entered the golf industry upon graduation. She achieved all certifications and became a Class A Member of The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and worked as a PGA Assistant Professional at a number of golf clubs in the Coachella Valley before her passing.

“One of Tracy’s many amazing qualities was her ability to think tomorrow was going to be better – even in the face of cervical cancer and her demanding treatments,” says Derek Lane, co-founder of the Tracy Lane Foundation. It is with that spirit that the Tracy Lane Foundation operates – with the hope and belief that detection and treatment of cervical cancer will get better. We are grateful and appreciative to DUX Dental for supporting our mission and keeping Tracy’s hope for a better tomorrow alive with their generous donation.”

The first annual Tracy Lane Foundation Golf Classic will be held at the La Quinta Resort and Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. on Feb. 3, 2014. To learn more about the Tracy Lane Foundation or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.tracylanefoundation.com. Become a fan of the foundation on Facebook to receive up dates about the foundations activities and events. Donations can also be sent to the Tracy Lane Foundation, attention Michael Licari at Delt Law, 5402 Ruffin Road, Suite 209, San Diego, CA 92123.