unsubscribe dbldam@erath.net ---- Original Message ---- From: valoriez@zimres.net To: McQUEEN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [McQUEEN] US Surgeon General's National Family History Day Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 16:45:43 -0800 >http://hhs.gov/familyhistory/ > >U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative > >Health care professionals have known for a long time that common >diseases - >heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - and even rare diseases - like >hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia - can run in >families. >If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, it is not >unusual >for the next generation to have similarly high blood pressure. > >Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and >other >blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which >you may >be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy. > >To help focus attention on the importance of family health history, >U.S. >Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., in cooperation with >other >agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services >(HHS) has >launched a national public health campaign, called the U.S. Surgeon >General's Family History Initiative, to encourage all American >families to >learn more about their family health history. > >In addition to the Office of the Surgeon General, other HHS agencies >involved in this project include the National Human Genome Research >Institute (NHGRI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention >(CDC), >the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Health > >Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). > >National Family History Day > >Surgeon General Carmona has declared Thanksgiving 2004 to be the >first >annual National Family History Day. Thanksgiving is the traditional >start >of the holiday season for most Americans. > >Whenever families gather, the Surgeon General encourages them to talk > >about, and to write down, the health problems that seem to run in >their >family. Learning about their family's health history may help ensure >a >longer future together. > >My Family Health Portrait > >Americans know that family history is important to health. A recent >survey >found that 96 percent of Americans believe that knowing their family >history is important. Yet, the same survey found that only one-third >of >Americans have ever tried to gather and write down their family's >health >history. > >Because family health history is such a powerful screening tool, the >Surgeon General has created a new computerized tool to help make it >fun and >easy for anyone to create a sophisticated portrait of their family's >health. > >This new tool, called "My Family Health Portrait" can be downloaded >for >free and installed on your own computer. See >http://hhs.gov/familyhistory/download.html > >The tool will help you organize your family tree and help you >identify >common diseases that may run in your family. > >When you are finished, the tool will create and print out a graphical > >representation of your family's generations and the health disorders >that >may have moved from one generation to the next. That is a powerful >tool for >predicting any illnesses for which you should be checked. > >For information on other activities of the Office of the Surgeon >General, >please visit www.surgeongeneral.gov. > >For more on this subject, see: >http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/11/knowing-family-history-can-save- >your.html > >Have a great Thanksgiving, Americans! > >Valorie > > >==== McQUEEN Mailing List ==== >RootsWeb forbids posting of copyrighted material without >permission of the author. Read RootsWeb's Acceptable Use Policy >at http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/aup.html > >============================== >Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. >New content added every business day. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx >