Bruce Roos has never shied away from a hard day’s work, but that doesn’t mean he’s not ready to enjoy, and explore some other things in life that are important to him. Thirty-five years as a dairy farmer, or any life-long career, will do that to a person. He and his wife Sandi raised their twin boys, Case and Cody, while running the farm on East Beaver Creek.
The couple is excited to enter this next phase of their lives. Yet, Bruce recognizes that at 58 years old, and with his family’s medical history, he has a responsibility to ensure he will be ready, and healthy, for their new adventures.
“I have a family history of colorectal cancer. My dad got it. He was diagnosed in, I believe, 1978. He passed away in 1980 and he was sixty years old.” Cornelis Roos died when Bruce was only a sophomore in high school. “I missed my dad. I went through a lot of ‘life isn’t fair.”
As he entered his 50’s, Bruce began getting screened regularly for colorectal cancer (CRC) a few years ago. During one of these colonoscopies, doctors found a polyp, which they removed. “The doctor told me that if I hadn’t taken care of that when I did, I would have been a very sick man”
Bruce is not alone in this proactive family battle. His sister Nelly was getting a CRC screening when doctors found cancer in her colon. “She was getting colonoscopies on a regular basis, every three years. It was a very aggressive form of cancer to have gotten to that stage so quickly.”
Doctors removed a section of Nelly’s colon and reattached it to save her life. “She is currently cancer-free, she’s doing fine,” said Bruce.
Bruce has made lifestyle choices to help improve his chances of avoiding a cancer diagnosis and to be in a better position to fight it if necessary. This includes lifestyle changes in diet, alcohol consumption, exercise and getting regular CRC screenings every three years.
Throughout this time, Bruce has gained a real understanding of what’s important to him and how to prioritize a life-work-health balance, as he Sandi prepare for retirement. Their plans include lots of travel and spending time with family.
“We’ve saved enough money to go into retirement. Now, I want to be sure that I’m taking care of myself enough to enjoy the years that we’ve got to look forward to. Throw a grand kid in the picture and that changes things too,” said Bruce, his composure immediately softening as he talks about Rose, his two-year-old granddaughter.
“I want to be around for that.”
Bruce hopes that sharing his story will remind others to focus on the important things in life and to realize there are ways to increase the odds of enjoying them longer. He believes that even if only one person decides to get a CRC screening after hearing his tale, it was worth sharing it.
“I don’t know much more to add, you know, you look around, you look at life, you look at the things you enjoy, and you ask yourself, ‘Do I want to be here?’ If you do, there’s only so much I can say. It is up to you, but I can only recommend that if you really enjoy things in life, do these things to help prolong your life.” If you are aged 50-75, contact your healthcare provider about getting screened for colorectal cancer.
Insulin Resistance. You might have heard this term before and wondered what it meant. Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes, and it is associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. If you have any of these conditions you might have insulin resistance.
So, what is Insulin Resistance?
Insulin is like the key that unlocks the door so that blood sugar can move from our blood stream into our body’s cells. This keeps our blood sugar from getting too high, resulting in diabetes.
But, what if we have insulin, but it doesn’t work? It’s like something has gummed up the lock and the key can’t open the door to let the blood sugar move out of our blood stream. This is insulin resistance. We have insulin but something is resisting it and stopping it from working.
This is what happens in the early stages of type 2 diabetes, or prediabetes. Insulin resistance can be present for years before someone develops diabetes.
When insulin isn’t working well enough, our pancreas tries to make more insulin to get the job done. But, over time, our pancreas starts to wear out and can’t make enough insulin and our blood sugar goes up and we have type 2 diabetes.
Is there something we can do to help our insulin work better and prevent the pancreas from wearing out? YES!
Number 1 – Physical Activity – 30 minutes a day of moderate activity can reduce insulin resistance. This can be a brisk walk or bike ride, heavy housework like washing windows, vacuuming, mopping, yardwork like mowing the lawn or raking. You don’t have to do all 30 minutes at once. It can be spread out through the day.
Number 2 – Eat more Fiber and Less Fat – High fiber foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils and nuts can lower insulin resistance. High fat foods make insulin resistance worse, so aim for lean meat and fish and smaller portions of meat and dairy. The Mediterranean Diet is a good place to start.
Number 3 – Weight Loss – If you are overweight, you can improve insulin resistance by losing a few pounds. Physical activity and eating morefiber rich foods and fewer high fat foods help with weight loss.
Number 4 – Get a Good Night’s Sleep – Seven to eight hours of quality sleep at night helps reduce insulin resistance and does many other good things for your health, but that is for another day.
Simple lifestyle choices can make a world of difference for your health. It is an investment that will last a lifetime. Check out the Diabetes Prevention Program on the Tillamook County Wellness page for more information.
And, when we are able to resume group medical appointments, Adventist Health will resume the Lifestyle Medicine Program led by Dr. Ben Douglas. These group appointments help patients learn about healthy nutrition, physical activity and other lifestyle habits that keep us healthy and happy.
AUTHOR: Dr. Ben Douglas, Adventist Health Tillamook
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Photo Caption: Rinehart Clinic’s Art of Eating class participants touring Moon River Farm in Nehalem
At Rinehart Clinic in Wheeler, Oregon, we have learned that helping our patients take a broad and interactive approach to wellness makes a big difference. Combining a supportive environment with tools for health, such as fresh food (and free classes), leads to group and individual successes. The Rinehart Clinic understands success looks different for each person and so must our educational offerings!
What started four years ago as a summer-long veggie class transformed into a comprehensive effort to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and now has grown into a broader Community Wellness program. Many of our participants see multiple health benefits from lowered A1C, lower blood pressure, healthier eating habits, weight loss, and even improved mood.
By offering a wide range of classes – from nutritional education to movement and mindfulness – our goal is to offer something for everyone. We place an emphasis on creating supportive group classes and helping make it easier for people to have access to healthy foods and exercise. The classes often can create social networks, which we know play just as important of a role in health and wellness as recorded screening numbers.
Each year, we try new approaches and check in with our participants to see what they are interested in learning. Their input has helped our Community Wellness program evolve and grow.
Here is a sampling of the Community Wellness classes and workshops we have held over the past four years:
Mindfulness Meditation, taught by one of our social workers, focusing on mindful approaches to eating, managing stress, and more;
Blood Sugar & Nutrition, taught by our Certified Diabetes Educator;
Intro to Fasting, taught by our Naturopathic Physician, covering the health benefits of fasting;
our ever-popular Art of Eating, a hands-on class showcasing local farm-fresh vegetables, recipe sharing, and encouragement for healthy eating habits.
Over the past year, as the pandemic unfolded, it changed how we hold our classes as we moved to Zoom. In 2021, our hope is to continue Zoom offerings and eventually be able to offer some classes in person again (when we can safely do so).
These group classes are a critical part of Rinehart Clinic’s Community Wellness program, and thanks to grant funding and great community partners, we are also able to pair the classes with healthy foods. For instance, our Art of Eating participants not only get to sample and learn ways to cook fresh vegetables during class, but they also get a big bag of farm-fresh produce from Nehalem’s Moon River Farm to take home each week. And (depending on the season), some class participants receive vouchers they can use to buy healthy foods at the Manzanita Farmers Market or the Manzanita Grocery & Deli (the Little Apple).
As another addition to the program in early 2020, we started the Prescription for Exercise Program, partnering with the North County Recreation District (NCRD). As part of primary care appointments, providers could write prescriptions for exercise with patients receiving a 10-visit pass for swim or fitness. We hired a Wellness Navigator, Alisa, to help coordinate first steps into NCRD. We saw a lot of positive results, have a solid partnership in place and will look to resume this program later in 2021 as we adjust to these changing times.
We appreciate all our partners who make this Wellness Program possible–Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization, Manzanita Farmers Market, Manzanita Grocery & Deli, Moon River Farm, and North County Recreation District. We are also fortunate to have a staff team whose varied backgrounds and interests allow us to offer such a range of classes. And lastly, the success is not possible without those in the community who participate and share this experience and wellness journey with us!
During 2021, we will continue many of our popular classes. And NEW, coming in March: a book study/discussion group called “How to Be Sick” led by Sara, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, focused on mindfulness, particularly for those facing chronic health conditions.
