Wellbeing

Teen Drug Abuse Signs, Symptoms Meeting in Fairfax

Parents can learn the signs and symptoms of teenage drug abuse, actions to take and where to find supportive resources at a “PROTECT Against Substance Abuse” program.

Excuse Me

Early on during my indoctrination/assimilation into the cancer-patient world in which I now reside, I remember asking a fellow cancer patient/friend if I could use cancer as an excuse for whatever it was needed excusing (directly or indirectly related), and she said: absolutely, “blame the cancer.” Years later, after a chemotherapy infusion, I saw my oncologist walking through the Infusion Center and asked him if my thinning hair might be a result of this most recent chemotherapy drug (not all chemotherapy results in hair loss). His response was similar to what my friend had advised me in 2009. He said: “You can blame me,” (which of course, I understood to mean, cancer/the treatment of cancer) “for anything.”

Dos, Don’ts and What-Ifs

Instinctively, I am not the most open-to-new-ideas/new-things kind of person. However, an unexpected diagnosis of stage IV, non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at age 54 and a half – along with its equally unexpected “13-month to two-year prognosis,” changes a few things. And thanks to a great friend, Rebecca Nenner, whom I have written about previously, I have/have had to become more open, and consequently, have assimilated into my life many non-Western, non-traditional alternatives (pills, supplements, super foods, activities/behaviors, etc.) with which I was totally unfamiliar (I’m a sports and chocolate kind of person), in an attempt to outlive my prognosis.

Alexandria Dental Office Offers Free Services for Veterans Day

Willie Davis of Mount Vernon just had an impacted molar surgically removed. “When I bit down, every time I ate it was hurting, like biting the inside of my cheek,” he said. “Not having insurance, not knowing how to get this tooth fixed, it was a blessing actually, that someone would give us a free service.”

Traveling Purses Raise Domestic Violence Awareness Around Fairfax County

“Victoria” moved to the United States eight years ago with her husband. (Her name has been changed for protective anonymity.) At the beginning, he was the perfect gentleman: holding doors, full of compliments, telling her he loved her. She quit her job to be with him, her first love. Their future in a new country seemed bright.

Stroke Comeback Center Celebrates 10th Anniversary

For 10 years the Stroke Comeback Center (SCC) has helped people with aphasia and their families receive communication support when these families have lost their insurance benefits. And on Thursday, Oct. 30, the SCC held its 10th Anniversary celebrating “The Art of Communication.”

Cookbook Offers Hearty Dinners

Local chefs use seasonal produce to create new dishes.

When the weather turns chilly and the produce at farmers’ markets change from bright orange tomatoes to thick skinned squash and pumpkins, Dorothy Myers faces a culinary conundrum.

Natural Treatments for Anxiety

Experts say complementary medical treatments can help relieve anxiety and other mental disorders.

When 35-year-old Andrea Evenson decided to try meditation, exercise and yoga to deal with her anxiety, she had already been on a myriad of anti-anxiety medications.

Column: Friendly Visitor Senior Services of Alexandria

Senior Services of Alexandria's Friendly Visitor Program matches socially isolated seniors in the City of Alexandria with volunteers for weekly visits.

HOT Topic

Fairfax County Fire & Rescue invites the media for Hands-On Training.

Rob Schoenberger is pretty good with a 15-foot extendable camera. Its built-in microphone and powerful lights come in handy, paired with a Delsar seismic sensor device, when trying to locate people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Arbors of Chantilly Gets a Thumbs-Up

Assisted-Living facility would focus on Alzheimer’s patients.

It’s on to the Board of Supervisors now for a proposed, elder-care facility in Chantilly. The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave it a thumbs-up last Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Fairfax County Calendar

Your guide to entertainment in Fairfax County.

For those looking to fill their calendar with some home-brewed, Fairfax County fun stuff (read: entertainment and diversion), The Connection's Fairfax County Entertainment Calendar has many options: weekend jaunts and larks; date night inspiration; winter-to-spring fun; day-long festivals and events; art-outings; family fun-and-learning fusions; plays and shows; beyond-Small Business Saturday local shopping and bazaars; markets of handcrafted wares; music; 1Ks to marathons... the list goes on. If you know of an event not listed in our entertainment calendar, email it to south@connectionnewspapers.com for happenings in south Fairfax County or north@connectionnewspapers.com for entertainment in the northern parts of the county.

Board Approves Bicycle Master Plan

The Fairfax County Government Center has several massive parking lots. Many hundreds of spaces. But Bruce Wright and members of the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling only needed some rack real estate in front of the building. They rode into the afternoon session of the Board of Supervisors on two wheels apiece from Reston, taking the West Ox Road Side Path.

Running Out of Efficacy

Not that I’m the least bit worried (actually, I’m the most bit worried), but surviving a terminal cancer diagnosis years beyond one’s original prognosis does present its own unique set of problems. Most notably, and most personally for me, they concern treatment options. Specifically, what drugs, targeted or otherwise, can be infused and/or swallowed (when in pill form, like Tarceva) and for how long, when signs of internal organ damage are indicated on regular lab tests?

Northwest Federal Helps Promote Breast Cancer Awareness

Each October, Northwest Federal Credit Union and Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation host “NWFCU Pink Day” to rally employees and members around Breast Cancer Awareness. But this year, the effort got personal.

The Connection