Tag Archives: daughter

Women escorted from mall for wearing “F— CANCER” hats

Two sisters were escorted from a mall in King of Prussia, Pa., on Sunday because they were wearing hats reading “F--- CANCER” with the “C” in the expletive replaced by a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. Zakia Clark, 29, and Tasha Clark, 27, said that they were wearing the shirts to honor their mother, Jackie Underwood, who had passed away on May 14 at the age of 51 after a battle with breast cancer. The women, both from Philadelphia, were at the King of Prussia Mall with a group of friends and relatives, shopping for a dress for Zakia’s daughter to wear to their mom’s funeral. After two-and-a-half hours of shopping, the women were approached by a security guard in the mall’s food court. Zakia told the Philadelphia Daily News that the guard approached them without a greeting and said, “‘Take your hats off.’” Zakia removed her hat, but Tasha – a former mall employee – asked to see something in writing. “He said, 'Since you don't want to take your hat off, you can leave my mall,'” Zakia told the Philadelphia Daily News. “He stood there while we ate and threatened to call the cops.” The women stated that seven more guards then approached them and escorted them to the mall office. “I was very embarrassed,” Zakia told the Philadelphia Daily News. “My daughter was so scared she was crying.” At the mall office, the women were met by a police officer who had been called by mall security. “The officer said, 'I find it offensive that you even have that hat that says 'F--- CANCER,' ” Zakia recalled. “He said, 'It's their mall, they want you out, you have to get out.'” The women were escorted out of the mall, and two security cars waited by the sisters’ car until they left. After the Philadelphia Daily News looked into the incident, Les Morris, a spokesman for Simon Property Group in Indianapolis, IN., which owns King of Prussia Mall, called Zakia to apologize. “Certainly this could have been handled in a much more empathic and sensitive manner,” Morris told the People Paper. “We're very sorry about her loss and wanted to apologize for the way her party was treated.” “I do think this is an entirely different situation than a 16-year-old kid with a swear word on his T-shirt cruising the mall,” Morris said. Click for more from the Philadelphia Daily News.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/women-escorted-from-mall-for-wearing-f-cancer-hats/

Women, break the trend: Take care of yourself

Women’s health care has a big problem, and we women are the cause of it.  That sounds like a broad statement, but I believe for the majority of women it is the truth.   When it comes to women’s health care, we have a pretty easy time talking about the big picture. We discuss statistics and trends and how women don’t receive the same levels of service as men when it comes to research studies and early diagnosis in the United States. But that kind of talk doesn’t get down to the nitty-gritty problem that each one of us faces when it comes to our health.  I’m not saying there is one universal condition or illness, as we each have unique issues to confront.  But as a gender, we women just don’t put the same effort into caring for ourselves as we put into caring for our families. As a women’s health advocate, that raises a giant red flag for me – and it for all of us. One of the first symptoms of this problem is that we don’t take ownership of our own health. We put it into the hands of others and hope for the best.  When we actually get around to going to the doctor, we don’t tell him or her the complete truth.  Sometimes it’s an accident, as we just don’t remember to talk about certain things or we don’t realize something might be significant. Other times – and these are the worst – we choose not to talk about things because we are embarrassed or afraid of what the doctor will say.   We see this kind of thing on EmpowHer.com all the time.  Women come to us and post anonymous questions about being gassy or bloated or incontinent.  They know they might have a problem, but for whatever reason, they don’t want to talk to the doctor about it. Don’t get me wrong: Anonymous questions are always welcome. In fact, we encourage our visitors to choose screen names that don’t give away who they really are.  But the fact that women are ashamed or afraid to have a one-on-one conversation with their doctors about these issues is a symptom of how we collectively don’t do everything we can to safeguard our own health.   Stress is another issue for us as women.  We know that stress taxes every aspect of our bodies – from our hormones to our cells.  But instead of doing things for ourselves to relieve stress, we try to be wonder-women and take on the weight of the world.  And in the process, we put our own health at risk and potentially damage our ability to take care of our families. Of course, some types of stress can’t be avoided.  I’m thinking in particular of financial concerns.  When money is tight, we women often cut our own “indulgences” so we can keep funding the things our families enjoy doing. Ladies, listen up when I tell you that going to the doctor is not an indulgence.  Getting your annual exam is not something extra that you should put off until it’s convenient or until you have some extra money lying around.  Don’t let the economy dictate your health.   It’s a simple fact that no matter how much disposable income you have, you cannot buy your way out of being sick.  There isn’t enough money in the world to buy your way out of a hard diagnosis like cancer.  And there isn’t enough money in the world to turn back the clock to get an earlier diagnosis or restore treatment options if you waited too long to get tested. It’s time for women in this country to stand up for themselves, and if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your mother or your sister, your best friend or your daughter.  Be the brave one, or the smart one.  Be the one who sets the example of taking care of your family by taking care of yourself.   And don’t stop with yourself.  Share this with other women you care about and encourage them to take better care of themselves.  Your family and everyone who loves you will be glad you did.Michelle King Robson (pronounced robe-son) is one of the nation's leading women's health and wellness advocates. She is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of EmpowHER, one of the fastest-growing and largest social health companies dedicated exclusively to women's health and wellness. & In 2011 EmpowHER reached more than 60 million women onsite and through syndication expects to reach more than 250 million in 2012.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/women-break-trend-take-care-yourself/

7 tips to stop your summer weight obsession

With summer approaching, you might spend time preparing for swimsuit season. Rather than dreading this time of year, here are some tips to begin to practice appreciating your body so you can enjoy the sun. 1.   Accept your weight. You may think the more you fight your weight, the more you’ll succeed in losing weight. This simply isn’t true. Accepting doesn’t mean not taking steps towards changing your weight, it means not letting your weight hold you back from your life. If you’re waiting until you lose weight to apply for jobs or start online dating, your weight is going to weigh you down. Do what you care about now. 2.   Go on a weight-talk diet. It’s tempting to ask your friends if you’ve lost weight, ask them about what they’re doing to lose weight, or discuss together who you think needs to lose weight. There is way more to talk about than weight. When the topic comes up, practice moving the topic to something more fun! 3.   Only visit your scale once a week. Weight fluctuates within six pounds on any given day depending of what you’ve had to eat and drink. Rather than checking your weight compulsively and worrying you gained weight after you ate a big meal, only weigh yourself once a week and make it at a set time, like 8 a.m. Monday mornings. 4.   Go shopping.   If you are in between sizes and your clothes are uncomfortably snug, you will constantly remember you’ve gained weight and eat to cope with this negative feeling. I’ve seen a lot of clients feel better and eat better by wearing clothes that fit. Buying clothes your size is not giving up, it’s being practical. 5. If you compare, be fair. It’s weirdly tempting to compare yourself to the thinnest person you see or a celebrity you admire. Yet, this is so unfair and sets you up to feel inferior and obsess further. Rather than compare yourself to someone remarkably thin or fit, compare yourself to every eighth person you see. Better yet, don’t compare. When you notice you’re judging yourself in comparison to someone else, remind yourself that’s a judgment and let go. 6. Eat regular meals. Many people who struggle with obsessing around food get caught in this cycle: Overeat --> limit what they eat to make up for the indulgence --> feel hungry --> overeat. Rather than get caught in this cycle of feeling too full then feeling too hungry, eat three meals and two snacks. If you ate too much for breakfast, eat a normal lunch; this will prevent you from skimping on lunch and splurging on dinner. 7. Relax your face when you look in the mirror. One of the ways to improve your body image and stop engaging in negative thoughts about your appearance is to relax your face and body when you look in the mirror. There’s a facial feedback loop and the facial expressions we make solidify how we feel. Research on Botox shows people whose facial muscles are paralyzed experience less intense emotions. One way to relax your face is to ever so slightly lift the upper corners of your lips. If you don’t want your daughter to learn to grimace in front of the mirror, become a role model for self-acceptance.Jennifer Taitz & is a licensed clinical psychologist based in New York City. She is the author of End Emotional Eating: Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills to Cope with Difficult Emotions and Develop Healthy Relationship to Food. Visit her website drjennytaitz.com to learn more.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/7-tips-to-stop-your-summer-weight-obsession/

Focus on STD, not cancer prevention, to promote HPV vaccine use

These results go against the conventional wisdom that scaring women about the possibility of cancer is the best way to get them vaccinated. The failure of that cancer-threat message may be one reason that fewer than 20 percent of adolescent girls in the United States have received the HPV vaccine, said Janice Krieger, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University…