Health & Wellness 2012

WELLNESSHEALTH&

A Special Supplement to the Dairyland Peach

A Focus On Today’s Health & Wellness Issues For Men, Women and Children

MAy 2012

FAITH geTs JulIe Meyer THrOugH everyTHIng In lIFe

After skin cancer diagnosis, she now encourages others to protect themselves

In this issue...

yOu Are WHAT yOu ... DrInK Beverages play a big role in personal health

revAMPeD HeAlTHy eATIng guIDe Get a better understanding of what foods should fill your plate

gOOD HeAlTH sTArTs WITH THe sKIn Looking after your skin is essential for your health and well-being

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Dairyland Peach, Health & Wellness Edition 2012, Page 4

Faith gets Julie Meyer through everything in lifeAfter skin cancer diagnosis, she now encourages others to protect themselves

By Jennie ZeitlerStaff Writer

[email protected]

One of the big pieces ofadviceJulieMeyerofferstoothersis,don’twait.If theyseesomethingoutoftheor-dinary with a mole or spoton their skin, get it lookedatimmediately. About eight years ago,Meyer,whogrewupinSaukCentre and now lives inWatkins, had a small moleontheoutsideofherupperarmthatshehadbarelyno-ticed. “My mom told me Ishouldgetitlookedat,butIforgotaboutit,”saidMeyer. During a routine physi-cal several months later,after nearly forgetting itwas there,Meyerbarelyre-memberedtoaskthedoctoraboutit. The mole had changedslowly over time, gettingdarker and maybe slightlylarger. The doctor immediatelydidabiopsyonthemole.“Acouple days later there wasamessageontheansweringmachine from the doctor’soffice,butitwasabusysum-merandIdidn’tcallback,”Meyersaid. “Then, one or two dayslatertherewasanothermes-sage. I called the next dayand they read me the pa-

thologist’s report over thephone telling me the molewas cancerous — melano-ma,”saidMeyer. “I didn’t know what todo.Thedoctorrecommend-ed a dermatologist, whosqueezedmeintheverynextday,”shesaid.“Thenit feltlike therewasarock inmystomach.” The dermatologist didn’trealize that Meyer hadn’teven spoken to a doctorsince the biopsy, and hewalkedintotheexamroomand right away startedmarkingherarmwherethemolewouldberemoved. “Iaskedhimtostopandanswersomequestionsfirst.He didn’t know I hadn’ttalked to anyone abouttreatment options,” saidMeyer.“Iwasgladafriendhadcomewithme.” “Thenthedoctornumbedmy arm, and the mole wasremoved right there in theoffice,”shesaid. After that, there wasno further treatment. ButMeyerunderwentashift inher entire way of thinkingas she considered what tomakeoftheexperience. “Itwasarealmentalshiftfor me,” she said. “I likedbeing in the sun, and likedbeingoutdoors.” With her pale complex-ion, Meyer had also vis-

ited tanning booths to geta healthy glow. She had afewbadsunburnsasachild,with one extremely severeburn as a first-grader. Shehas no recollection of everusingsunscreenbefore. “NowIputsunscreenonand keep it handy. And Igotusedtobeingthepersonat softball games under anumbrella,”saidMeyer. Afterherexperiencewithmelanoma, Meyer becameinvolved in kickboxingthrough a friend, Nia Mei-erhofer. “IaskedJulieif shewant-ed to come along to kick-boxing, and she becamevery involved,” said Meier-hofer. “Julie’s experienceprompted me to immedi-atelymakeanappointmentwithadermatologisttohaveafullbodyscan.NowIusesunscreen faithfully, andbuyitdirectlyfrommyder-matologist.Iwearahatandthree-quarterorlongsleeveswhen the sun is strongest,from10a.m.to2p.m.,”saidMeierhofer. Atakickboxingclass,theinstructor challenged theclass members to considereliminatingsugarfromtheirdiets. They were to comeback the following weekwiththeiranswer. “I said I’d do it,” said

Meyer. “It was hard forabout a month, until mythinkingshifted.” “We didn’t always havedessertswhileIwasgrowingup,andmymomalwayscutdown the amount of sugarthatwasinarecipe,soIhadnevereatena largeamountofsweets,”Meyersaid,“butitwasstillachange.” Sinceshehasfollowedhermom’s lead, Meyer’s fam-ily are used to less sugarin desserts such as bananabreadandapplecrisp,eventhoughtheyhavenotcut itout entirely. But when hereldest daughter was gradu-ating fromhigh school twoyears ago, Meyer was re-mindedthatshewouldhavetobreakdownandbuypopfortheparty,whichshedid. Meyer used to go to avending machine in the af-ternoonstogetacandybarforapick-up.Onceshecutoutsweets,shefeltalotbet-ter and had more energy,shesaid. “Now I bring healthysnacks with me when I’maway fromhome.But thereis still pressure from otherpeople to eat foods withsugar,”shesaid. “At a party where I washonored, my friends hadprovidedhealthysnacksbutstill made a cake. When Ihadtorefusethat,theystill

tried to pressure me to eatit,”saidMeyer. “WhenItoldthemthatIdonotgiveintopeerpres-sure, they were okay withit,”shesaid. After a couple years ofkickboxing, MeierhoferagainledMeyerintoanewchallenge — running. Mei-erhofer ran in a 5K first,andMeyerwassointerestedshestartedrunningtoo. “We progressed fromkickboxing to walking to-gether. Juliewouldwalk sofastthatItoldherwecouldberunning—sowedid.Shestarted running some 5Ksand hasn’t looked back,”Meierhofersaid. “I used to run in highschool,butwasn’tanygoodor anything,” said Meyer.“It was a new way to pushmyself alittlebit.NowIfeelIneedtorun,sinceithelpswith stress and gives memoreenergy.” “If I know I’m going tohave a rough day, I knowI’llbebetteroff if Igetupa little earlier and go for arun,”shesaid. “Myfirst5Kwasin2009.They were becoming morepopular,andIwantedtoseeif Icoulddoit,”saidMeyer.“Since then, I run aboutseven5Ksayear, andhavedone maybe five 10K racestoo.”

“TwotimesI’vebeenpartofatriathlonteamwithtwofriends,whereIdidtherun-ning,” she said. “That wasfun.” Meyer’s favorite part ofracesisseeingallthediffer-ent people. Everyone is sofriendly and supportive ofoneanother,shesaid. “I like the whole atmo-sphere, just being there,”saidMeyer.“ButI’mreallyinspired by older runners,womenintheir70s.” “AndIlikerunningintherain.Idowellinwetraces,”shesaid. Meyer, who teaches sev-enthandeighthgradeLan-guageArtsatSaukRapids-Rice Middle School, usesopportunities in her class-roomstoremindstudentstotake care of themselves. If theylookred,sheasksthemaboutbeingoutinthesun. “Kids think nothing isgoing to happen to them,”shesaid.“MygirlstellmeIwouldn’t believe how manykidsgototanningbooths.” “Istronglyrecommendtoeveryone to watch a shortYouTubevideocalled‘Dear16-year-oldme,’”saidMey-er. “It shows people whohave had melanoma andwhattheywouldsaytotheiryoungerselvesabouttakingcareoftheirbodies.Shareitwithfriends.”

“I gained a few yards down the sideline before someonetackled me in the rain. With one freak play, I lost threesports in my senior year. It was hard to get over that, butone person who really helped me was Dr. Johnson. He didthe surgery on my ankle and gave me a few pep talks alongthe way. After I followed his advice and rehab program, it's

great to know that I can still compete.” —Zach Lanners, Royalton

Your orthopedic team for life.St. Gabriel’s Hospital and Little Falls Orthopedics unite yourfamily doctor, orthopedic surgeon, imaging and rehabilitationspecialists to get you back in the game. Whether it’s a sportsor a lifestyle injury, you should never give up the activities youlive for. We’re close, we’re uncompromising, and the onlything we know better than medicine is you.

Call (320) 631-2200 for an appointment.

— Paul R. Johnson, DOOrthopedic Surgeon

“My life is football, but I was blindsided.”

— Zach Lanners, Royalton

All for One. You.

StGabes_OrthoFinal:Layout 1 8/16/11 9:28 AM Page 3

Albany • (320) 845-2157Long Prairie • (888) 550-3671

Melrose • (320) 256-4228Sauk Centre • (320) 352-6591

“I gained a few yards down the sideline before someonetackled me in the rain. With one freak play, I lost threesports in my senior year. It was hard to get over that, butone person who really helped me was Dr. Johnson. He didthe surgery on my ankle and gave me a few pep talks alongthe way. After I followed his advice and rehab program, it's

great to know that I can still compete.” —Zach Lanners, Royalton

Your orthopedic team for life.St. Gabriel’s Hospital and Little Falls Orthopedics unite yourfamily doctor, orthopedic surgeon, imaging and rehabilitationspecialists to get you back in the game. Whether it’s a sportsor a lifestyle injury, you should never give up the activities youlive for. We’re close, we’re uncompromising, and the onlything we know better than medicine is you.

Call (320) 631-2200 for an appointment.

— Paul R. Johnson, DOOrthopedic Surgeon

“My life is football, but I was blindsided.”

— Zach Lanners, Royalton

All for One. You.

StGabes_OrthoFinal:Layout 1 8/16/11 9:28 AM Page 3

Dairyland Peach, Health & Wellness Edition 2012, Page 5

That video can be foundat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4jgUcxMezM. Ittakesfiveminutes. “People need to knowtheydon’tneeda‘basetan’before summer starts orthey go on vacation,” shesaid.“Youdon’tneedatantolookgood.” Sunscreenneedstobeputon30minutesbeforegoingoutside. Meyer heard fromherdermatologisttobesurenot to forget feet and toes.People wear flip-flops andsandals and often get sun-burnedfeet. Meyeriscarefultoruninthemorningswhen the sunisnotasstrong.“WhenIdo5Ks I look for thosewherethe route will be in theshade,”shesaid. She continues to makeregular visits to her der-

matologist, and has hadseveral suspicious and pre-cancerous moles and spotsremoved. “I encourage people towatch their moles,” saidMeyer. “They should havefamily members or friendslookat theirback tocheckthere,too.” “Itwasashocktogetskincancer. Sometimes I kindof forget that Ihad it, andthensomethingwillremindme,” she said. “When I’mdriving in the car and thesun warms up my arm, I’llrememberthatIhavetoputsunscreenoninthecarnow,too.” Withinthefirstyearafterthe cancerous mole was re-moved, Meyer went to do-nate blood and found outshe couldn’t because it wastoo soon after the surgery.

“Iwalkedoutofthatplacefeelingverysickly,”shesaid. “I think everything hap-pens for a reason,” Meyersaid. “Maybe the cancerhappened so that I can tellmystudentsandotherpeo-pletoprotecttheirskin.” “Julie is dedicated tohealth and to being edu-catedaboutit,”saidMeier-hofer,“butshedoesn’tpushpeople. She just shares herexperienceanditspeaksforitself.” “Iwillneverbedonewithit; I will always have to bevigilant,”shesaid.“Butmyfaithgetsmethroughevery-thing I encounter in life.God doesn’t give a personmorethantheycanhandle.” “Remember—beingpaleis ‘in’ and you’ll look bet-terasyouage,”Meyersaid.“Wearhats.”

Julie Meyer survived cancer and runs to live. She is holding up the t-shirt she re-ceived at her very first 5K run, surrounded by shirts from other runs. She runs about seven 5Ks every year, and a couple 10Ks, too.

Staff photo by Jennie Zietler

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Moles, brown spots and growths onthe skinareusuallyharmless—butnotalways. Anyone who has more than 100molesisatgreaterriskformelanoma.Thefirstsignscanappearinoneormoreatyp-icalmoles.That’swhyit’ssoimportanttogettoknowyourskinverywellandtorec-ognizeanychangesinthemolesonyourbody. Look for the ABCDE signs of mela-noma,andif youseeoneormore,makeanappointmentwithaphysicianimmedi-ately. A - Asymmetry: If you draw a linethrough a mole, the two halves will notmatch. B-Border:Thebordersofanearlymel-anomatendtobeuneven.Theedgesmaybescallopedornotched. C - Color: Having a variety of colorsis another warning signal. A number of

different shades of brown, tan or blackcouldappear.Amelanomamayalsobe-comered,blueorsomeothercolor. D - Diameter: Melanomas usually arelarger in diameter than the size of theeraseronyourpencil(1/4inchor6mm),buttheymaysometimesbesmallerwhenfirstdetected. E - Evolving: Any change — in size,shape,color,elevation,oranothertrait,oranynewsymptomsuchasbleeding,itch-ingorcrusting—pointstodanger.

Source: www.skincancer.org

Warning Signs: The ABCDEs of Melanoma

One Color Multiple Colors

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Health & Wellness 2012