“I can’t have cancer. That’s somebody else,” thought Richard Dennis when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Dennis, a retired Petersburg resident, had been active his entire life, walking two to three miles a day and working in his yard. “I’d never had a symptom, I hadn’t had health issues, and I didn’t take medication,” said Dennis. But a slowly elevating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood level suggested otherwise. PSA is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. A PSA test uses a blood sample to measure the level of PSA in a man’s blood. The PSA blood level is often elevated

“I can’t have cancer. That’s somebody else,” thought Richard Dennis when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Dennis, a retired Petersburg resident, had been active his entire life, walking two to three miles a day and working in his yard. “I’d never had a symptom, I hadn’t had health issues, and I didn’t take medication,” said Dennis. But a slowly elevating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood level suggested otherwise. PSA is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. A PSA test uses a blood sample to measure the level of PSA in a man’s blood. The PSA blood level is often elevated

UIS, Innovate Springfield & SIU Medicine to host inaugural event celebrating research, health care, others SPRINGFIELD – The University of Illinois Springfield, Innovate Springfield and the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine will host the first Illinois Capital Innovation Competition Awards. The awards will be presented during a ceremony from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 6, 2018, at the UIS Student Union. The awards aim to identify, celebrate and engage area innovators in the Sangamon County area and bring them together to collaborate with leaders from industry, social impact

UIS, Innovate Springfield & SIU Medicine to host inaugural event celebrating research, health care, others SPRINGFIELD – The University of Illinois Springfield, Innovate Springfield and the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine will host the first Illinois Capital Innovation Competition Awards. The awards will be presented during a ceremony from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 6, 2018, at the UIS Student Union. The awards aim to identify, celebrate and engage area innovators in the Sangamon County area and bring them together to collaborate with leaders from industry, social impact

http://www.siumed.edu/cpd Health professionals can register now for March 21 session

Physicians from Simmons Cancer Institute (SCI) at SIU Medicine will provide free cancer screenings at Hillsboro Area Hospital (HAH), 1200 East Tremont in Hillsboro on Saturday, March 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. “Finding cancer at its earliest stage is the key to beating the disease,” said Aziz Khan, MD, executive director of SCI and chief of hematology/oncology at SIU Medicine. “Screenings are the first step.” Supplies and promotion for the free event is funded through the Montgomery County Cancer Association. The event will include three screenings: head and neck cancer, skin cancer and take

Physicians from Simmons Cancer Institute (SCI) at SIU Medicine will provide free cancer screenings at Hillsboro Area Hospital (HAH), 1200 East Tremont in Hillsboro on Saturday, March 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. “Finding cancer at its earliest stage is the key to beating the disease,” said Aziz Khan, MD, executive director of SCI and chief of hematology/oncology at SIU Medicine. “Screenings are the first step.” Supplies and promotion for the free event is funded through the Montgomery County Cancer Association. The event will include three screenings: head and neck cancer, skin cancer and take

Two scientists at SIU School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology have received federal funding to develop more effective therapies to treat two major health problems: depression and endometriosis. Depression is a lingering feeling of sadness that interferes with daily life and can last for weeks or months at a time. The National Institutes of Mental Health estimates that 16 million adults – nearly 7 percent of the US population – has at least one major depressive episode annually. Most people, even those with the most severe forms of depression, can get better with treatment. Assistant

Doctors and dentists agree: Oral health isn’t just important for staving off halitosis. It’s also a good indicator of what’s going on in other areas of the body, like your heart. “We know that there is a definite correlation between heart disease and gum disease,” says SIU Center for Family Medicine-Lincoln dentist Sharon Molitoris, DMD. According to Molitoris, heart disease and gum disease share many of the same risk factors including smoking, diabetes, age, poor overall health, stress and diet. While experts can’t yet agree if poor gum health causes heart disease or is merely a reflection of

Doctors and dentists agree: Oral health isn’t just important for staving off halitosis. It’s also a good indicator of what’s going on in other areas of the body, like your heart. “We know that there is a definite correlation between heart disease and gum disease,” says SIU Center for Family Medicine-Lincoln dentist Sharon Molitoris, DMD. According to Molitoris, heart disease and gum disease share many of the same risk factors including smoking, diabetes, age, poor overall health, stress and diet. While experts can’t yet agree if poor gum health causes heart disease or is merely a reflection of