Stop Smoking Expert Jane M. Martin shares Stop Smoking management news and commentary at StopSmokingConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257 http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257 http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/33930/copd-versus Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:37:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin A note from Jane:   I’ll be taking some time off in July, but in place of my usual shareposts I’d like to pass on some wisdom from the writings of a dear friend, a lady with COPD, Jo-Von Tucker. At age 52, Jo-Von was told that she had COPD, she’d have to wear oxygen 24-hours a day for the rest of her life, and she had less than five years to live. But she didn’t give up – or give in. This was just the start... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/33930/copd-versus http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/33102/effectiveness Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:59:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin I’m sure most of you with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) have heard of Spiriva, and I am quite sure, as well, that many of you are taking it. Since it is still a relatively new medicine, I wrote this article to answer questions, clear up any confusion, and help you get on with your life by achieving the most effective COPD management possible.First a little background. I’d been hearing about Spiriva for a while before... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/33102/effectiveness http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/31145/lung-disease Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:07:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin What does it cost to test for lung disease? Charges for each of these tests vary across the country, but here are some ranges. Now, before you get all excited about the charges, thinking that your hospital or doctor’s office is rolling in cash, keep in mind that Medicare and most other insurers pay what they want, and that is usually just a small fraction of the original charge. Most of the cost of a test is then written off as a loss by... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/31145/lung-disease http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/31141/test-disease Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:36:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin I had my first colonoscopy last week. How was it? Well, pretty much just like they say, meaning that the procedure itself (not that I remember a single second of it, which was just fine with me) wasn’t bad at all – but the hard part was the prep. Actually, though, I was greatly impressed with the efforts put into the entire process, from the scheduling, to the detailed information mailed to me, the calls from the pre-testing people... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/31141/test-disease http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/30481/medical Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:20:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin In doing research for a story she was recently working on for CNN, Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen stumbled upon her own personal health information online.“There it was,” she says, “in black, white, and hypertext blue. My annual mammograms; the visits to the podiatrist for the splinter in my foot; the kind of birth control I use – it was all on my health insurance company's Web site. And that's not all: The... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/30481/medical http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/29639/1ad-deficiant Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:10:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin It was Mary Pierce’s 40th birthday. As she stood in her kitchen that day, her phone rang. It was not a call from a friend to wish her well, but news from her doctor that would change her life. “I was right,” he said. You have this thing called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. It’s inherited.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~For years Mary had been struggling with shortness of breath, repeated lung infections, severe,... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/29639/1ad-deficiant http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/27753/travelers Tue, 13 May 2008 16:05:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin Imagine traveling by air – spending several hundred dollars on your ticket, then being required to pay an additional fee of $100.00 on each leg of your flight to use something provided by the airline, by mandate – something you already own! Until now, this is what people using oxygen have faced when they fly. But things are about to change. Here’s a little background for some of you who might be unfamiliar with oxygen and air... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/27753/travelers http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/26986/control-young Mon, 05 May 2008 10:43:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin Taken from the story, A Winning Season Breathe Better, Live in Wellness: Winning your Battle Over Shortness of Breath ©Copyright Jane M. Martin.  Infinity Publishing, 2003   Jennifer Smith, a college student and award-winning tennis player who has asthma, shared her story at our annual asthma education event. Here is the conclusion of that story, as she told it that day.  Read Part I for the beginning of Jennifer's... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/26986/control-young http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/26275/control-young Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:40:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin Taken from the story, A Winning Season Breathe Better, Live in Wellness: Winning your Battle Over Shortness of Breath ©Copyright Jane M. Martin.  Infinity Publishing, 2003   Read Part II of Jennifer Smith's Story Here   I invited Jennifer Smith, a college student and award-winning tennis player, to share her story at our annual asthma education event. Meeting her for the first time that day, I knew right away that she... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/26275/control-young http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/25200/visit-7 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:16:00 -0400 Jane M. Martin "What brings you here today, Mr. Jones?" the doctor asks as he enters the room."Well, Doctor, I started feeling kind of crummy a while back and I've noticed that the feeling comes and goes.”"How long ago did it start? Can you describe your symptoms?""I'm not quite sure when it started. It may have been a month ... or so, ago... maybe longer. I can't remember exactly how I felt then and I'm not... http://www.healthcentral.com/stop-smoking/c/19257/25200/visit-7