Disease States

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your body either does not produce insulin or does not properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that your body needs to convert sugar, starches, fruits and other food into energy.

There are almost 24 million adults and children living in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, who have diabetes. While almost 18 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, about 6 million more (or nearly 1 in 4 people) don't know that they have the disease.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (or "hypertension") is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure or other health problems. About 1 in 3 adults in the United States has high blood pressure. High blood pressure by itself usually has no symptoms - you can have it for years without even knowing it. High blood pressure can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.

COPD

COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. "Progressive" means the disease gets worse over time. COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms.

COPD develops slowly and symptoms often get worse over time. Severe COPD may prevent you from doing even normal everyday activities like walking, cooking, or taking care of yourself. Most of the time, COPD is diagnosed in middle-aged or older people, although it can be diagnosed in younger adults. The most common cause is smoking or presence of asbestos.

Cancer

Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer, but they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person's life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries. Because cancer cells continue to grow and divide, they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying, cancer cells outlive normal cells and keep forming new abnormal cells. Another difference between cancer cells and normal cells is that cancer cells can invade (grow into) other tissues. While this seems easy, a lot is still unknown about how cancer works.

Women's Health

While there are many different conditions to women, and specifically those covered under the heading of "women's health", Get Screened America is more focused on understanding the importance of screening and testing. While the testing schedule found under the "Testing Schedule" tab provides general guidance, this site will focuses on two specific health conditions - Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer.

Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist. Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity.

Breast Cancer: Breast cancer is a type of cancer where cells in the breast divide and grow without normal control. About 85 percent of breast cancers begin in the mammary ducts, while about 15 percent arise in the lobules. Tumors in the breast tend to grow slowly, so by the time a lump is large enough to feel, it may have been growing for as long as 10 years. However, some tumors can be aggressive, and grow much more rapidly. Invasive breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells from inside the lobules or ducts break out into nearby breast tissue. This allows the cancer cells to spread to the lymph nodes and, in advanced stages, to organs like the liver, lungs and bones in a process called metastasis. When abnormal cells grow inside the milk ducts, but have not spread to nearby tissue or beyond, the condition is called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Although the abnormal cells have not spread to tissues outside the ducts, they can develop into invasive cancer.

Ulcers

Ulcers are sores on the lining of your digestive tract. Your digestive tract consists of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum (the first part of the intestines) and intestines. Most ulcers are located in the duodenum (called "duodenal ulcers"). Ulcers located in the stomach are called "gastric ulcers", while ulcers in the esophagus are called "esophageal ulcers". All can be quite painful and tend to lead to other more severe health problems.

Testing Schedule

When it comes to testing, most people do not make great patients. Whether due to the fear of what might be found, cost, or simply not wanting to be bothered, getting tested is critical to good health. The biggest confusions are – what tests should I have taken, when should they be taken, and how often before I take then again? This section gives you a lot of information about testing schedules.

More information is available at www.usagainstathero.com.