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Did you know that here in the Piedmont and Foothills of North Carolina, one in five of the people under our care through the Hospice and Palliative CareCenter are veterans? So many of the men and women who served our country proudly, sacrificing time away from their homes and families to go overseas to Europe, Japan, Korea or Vietnam, are aging. Now, instead of fighting Hitler or communism, they are fighting the diseases of old age: cancer, heart disease and COPD, to name a few.

It is hard these days to not be aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Pink is everywhere, from socks of NFL football players to lids of Yoplait Yogurt. Of course, as with everything, there are people who argue the pros and cons of this multi-media, national exposure. But there is no denying that the work done by many foundations to raise money for research and educate the public on the importance of proper screening for early detection is doing good.

It's natural to wonder how bad a serious condition is. Will treatment be effective? The prediction of recovery, in medical terms, is called a "prognosis." Many conditions are difficult to predict. Cancers, on the other hand, run a fairly expectable course. A cancer prognosis, for instance, depends on

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It afflicts more than one-third of American adults over age 65. This arthritis comes on slowly with age and is more common in women. If your loved one has complained of joint stiffness or achiness, make a doctor's appointment for a diagnosis. Although osteoarthritis has no cure, the pain can be managed. Motion is lotion! Surprisingly, the key to living well with osteoarthritis is to keep moving. Research shows that regular physical, whole-body activity reduces arthritis pain over time.