Senior Citizens Council benefit raises record amount

The Senior Citizens Council of Clackamas County raised more than $21,500 at its annual fundraising dinner and silent auction June 9 at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, the most ever for the event.

At the dinner, the Oregon City-based nonprofit group presented its 2012 Citizen for Seniors Award to Teresa Kaady, administrator at Rose Linn Vintage Place in West Linn. Close to 160 people attended.

Sponsored by Hillside Chapel of Oregon City, the event featured a benefit performance by standup comedian Dave Anderson.

This year the council is marking its 40th anniversary of providing services for home-bound, frail, vulnerable and geographically isolated individuals. Not available anywhere else, its programs promote independence, improve quality of life and prevent or end abuse, neglect (including self-neglect) and exploitation of at-risk seniors and adults with disabilities.

More information about the council is posted at www.seniorcitizenscouncil.com.

Take part in cancer research

What if we could personally participate in research that might help determine factors that cause or prevent cancer?

What if our involvement, and that research, ultimately leads to the elimination of cancer as a major health problem for this and future generations?

What if we could make it so just one family never has to hear the words “you have cancer”?

Area residents have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in cancer research this year. Enrollment for the American Cancer Society’s third Cancer Prevention Study will take place in Portland at multiple locations.See all the locations and times of enrollment by visiting CPS3Portland.org.

Individuals between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer and are willing to make a long-term commitment to the study are encouraged to sign up. Those who choose to enroll will simply fill out a comprehensive survey packet about health history, provide a small blood sample (to be collected by trained phlebotomists) and provide a waist measure. Participants will periodically be sent a follow-up questionnaire for the next 20 to 30 years.

If you aren’t eligible to participate, you can still make a difference by telling everyone you know about Cancer Prevention Study-3.

For more information, visit www.CPS3Portland.org or call tollfree 1-888-604-5888.

Hospice volunteer training class begins Sept. 11

Registration is open for Mt. Hood Hospice's "Introduction to Hospice" training course this fall. The 21-hour program is for people interested in the hospice concept and/or in volunteering for Mt. Hood Hospice.

The course is free, and there is no obligation attached to attending. Classes will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 11 to Oct. 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mt. Hood Hospice offices at Scenic Pointe, 39641 Scenic St. in Sandy.

Topics include medical aspects of end-of-life care, psychosocial aspects of terminal illness, spiritual caregiving, grief and bereavement and the role of the volunteer. Mt. Hood Hospice is seeking people who can be compassionate listeners, grounded and comfortable with their own identity, comfortable talking about death and dying, able to keep confidentiality and maintain appropriate boundaries. It is particularly interested in recruiting veterans of any age for hospice volunteers.

Call 503-668-5545 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register or obtain more information.

Report: Glaucoma on the rise

The past 10 years have seen a dramatic rise in the percentage of older Americans afflicted with vision-threatening eye disorders, as seen in new data released by Prevent Blindness America in partnership with the National Eye Institute and Johns Hopkins University.

While the U.S. population of people age 40 and older grew by 19.5 percent between 2000 and 2010, the number of people with the most common diabetic eye disease — diabetic retinopathy — increased more than 89 percent. It is the leading cause of blindness in American adults. Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 and older, increased by 25.3 percent in those age 50 and up. Cataracts in those 40 and older increased 19.2 percent, while glaucoma for the same group increased 22 percent.

The report was released as part of a national summit held in Washington, D.C., in June.

Even as cases are on the rise, recent advances in treatment for those afflicted have had dramatic results. In particular, drugs for those with the most serious form of macular degeneration, called “wet,” have allowed even those diagnosed as legally blind to resume daily life.