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VOL. 60 NO. 16 FOR THE
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Giving back after years-long ordeal By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com
Courtesy Oceanside School District
Katie Patton was recognized at the Florence A. Smith Elementary School #2 last Friday during the school’s Superhero Day for her courageous battle with a rare blood disorder 11 years ago. Alongside her were her brother, Brady, and teacher Joanne Constantino.
Katie Patton, an Oceanside High School student, has used her inspiring journey conquering a life-threatening illness to help children who are facing similar health challenges. The Florence A. Smith Elementary School #2 honored the 16-year-old on Friday during the school’s annual Superhero Day. The day gives students the opportunity to wear superhero shirts and celebrates Patton, a former student at the school, as its very own superhero. Katie was born with a rare ContinuED on PAgE 9
MSSN panel explores alcohol-cancer link By KEPHERD DANIEL
kdaniel@liherald.com
In a panel discussion last week at the Optimum Theater in Bethpage, exper ts from Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital and Oceanside community leaders gathered to address the growing concerns about alcohol consumption and its link to cancer. The event, on April 9, which was the day before National Alcohol Screening Day, brought together medical professionals and community representatives to share their insights about a recently released Truth in Medicine poll and strategies to mitigate alcohol-related health risks.
The poll was conducted by a nationally recognized independent polling firm, LJR Custom Strate gies, with of fices in Washington and New Orleans. LJR has conducted more than 2,000 studies for a broad spectrum of health care, business, education, cultural, and political clients in nearly every state in the country and around the world. Sponsored by Four Leaf — for merly Bethpage Federal Credit Union — the poll periodically gathers data about public attitudes on key public health topics. The discussion opened with an overview of the poll, which was conducted in late January
and surveyed 600 adults across Long Island and New York City. Forty-six percent of respondents had heard about outgoing surgeon general Vivek Murthy’s recommendation that cancer warning labels be placed on alcohol products, and 51 percent said they would consider drinking less if informed about the risks — but nearly half of those polled remained skeptical or unsure about the association between alcohol consumption and cancer. “There is no doubt that alcohol causes cancer,” said Dr. Adhi Shar ma, president of Mount Sinai South Nassau, likening alcohol to well-known hazards like tobacco and ben-
zene. “The scientific evidence is clear: even moderate alcohol consumption car ries risk. There is no safe level when it comes to cancer.” The current health warning label on alcoholic beverages states only that alcohol impairs the ability to drive or operate machinery, and that women should not drink during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.
“There’s no data to support that one glass of alcohol a week is harmless,” Sharma added. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to get a cancer definitively, but it does mean that you have a risk associated with that. Doesn’t mean that you’re going to get cancer with every drink, but it is a cancer-causing agent. It is a little concerning that a certain significant percentage of peoContinuED on PAgE 10