The fight against Breast Cancer has a new ally in Clark County.  The Southwest Washington Medical Center unveils the Kearney Breast Center today.

GNPDX spoke with Ken Cole at the center and he says there are two key factors they wanted when they set about building the 12,000 sq ft facility:

Top of the line equipment.  Check.  One of their machines is so state of the art, the FDA hasn’t even finished the approval process (don’t worry, they won’t use it until it gets the formal thumbs up).

Soothing atmosphere.  Check.  Cole says they put in great  attention to make sure the facility would ease anxiety that comes with treatment.

And if you’re wondering what the community thinks, you can ask the 1,000 people who helped raise $4 million to get the doors open.  Talk about grassroots.

The Kearney Center is open to anyone in the area, Oregon and Washington, and is designed to serve a woman’s needs for an entire lifetime.  For more info, go here.

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Life Flight is the number one air medical service in the world

When it comes to air ambulance service, you can’t get better than Life Flight.  Anywhere.  Like, in the world.

The Life Flight network is the recipient of a major award this week from the body that oversees all air medical services for outstanding service.  Not only is it the first time any such service in the Pacific Northwest has been recognized, it’s the first time any crew on the WEST COAST has been honored.

You can learn more about Life Flight, how to donate to the nonprofit AND how to become a member (which works a lot like an insurance policy) by clicking here.

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Get FREE training for the Portland Marathon by supporting ACS

Here’s an obvious statement: you cannot wake up on an average Tuesday and say “I want to run over 26 miles today.”  Well, if you’re in really good shape, maybe.  But for the average Joe, completing a marathon requires some prep (and for the GNPDX staff, it would help to spread the mileage over several days).

If it’s your first marathon, it can also be a huge boost to have some experienced help in your training regiment.  While most of us would LIKE to complete the marathon course, the time it takes to train and the ability to pay someone to work with us can be a hurdle.

The American Cancer Society and Fit Right Northwest have cleared one of those hurdles.  For everybody.

If you sign up for the Portland Marathon and agree to raise money for the ACS, you’ll get free, personal training all the way up to race day. 

GNPDX spoke with Bonnie Ell with ACS about the program which kickstarted in the 90’s in Chicago.  That race now raises about a million bucks a year and has 800 people signed up.  Locally, the first year for the program has 16 people on board already (guaranteeing $8,000-16,000 for ACS) with the hopes to push that number over 25 by the cut off in early August.

You do have to comitt to run in order to get the free training, but if you’ve ever wanted to run a marathon, there’s never been a better time to train.  For sign up info go here.

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Annie Bennett a few years ago

This is Annie Bennet.  Well, it was.  For years she struggled with her waist line and her weight.  Like most of us, she believed the secret to losing pounds was simply eating less.  Makes sense, right?  But the truth is, if you only eat three ounces of potato chips (and ONLY those chips) your body is not going to be healthy.  But you can eat platefuls of grilled chicken and veggies and be in perfect health.

After years of yo-yo dieting, she figured that out.  With a passion for cooking behind her, she hit the kitchen and devised countless recipes, incorporating those good-for-you foods.

She lost seven pounds in the first week.

More than 20 pounds the first month.

Annie Bennett today

Now, this is Annie Bennett.  (You may recognize her from the cover of this month’s issue of Good Housekeeping).  Bennett created MyFreedomFit.com after shedding 75 pounds and keeping it off for a full four and a half years.  It’s a site devoted to living a healthy lifestyle where she shares all of those delicious recipes she created to shed pounds herself.  Plus, they offer one-on-one advice and counseling, personalized to your own goals.

And here is the coolest part.  Bennett is offering the first month at only $1.00.  Now, if you try the first thirty days and are getting fantastic results from their personalized counseling staff, you are welcome to stay.  But, if you just wanted to snag some jump start advice, there is no comittment (you can download all of her recipes and ideas for only a buck).

Check out the site today, we promise you won’t be dissapointed.

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The Lions Club

When 2008 began, life was going downhill fast for Terry.  Cataracts were slowly robbing her of her sight.  Because of her bad vision, she lost her job.  She and her husband lost their home.  Bad.

But then the Oregon Lion’s Club stepped in.  They have a program called Mission Cataract where people in need can get free cataract surgery.  Terry’s name made the list.  With her vision restored last spring, she got a part time job, got training and she and her husband are in their own apartment, back on their own two feet.

The Lion’s will be giving six people free surgeries today, all of whom are “head’s of household” (read: moms, dads or other adults with other people depending on them for support) and without any other means of fixing their eyes (no insurance, no Oregon Medical plan).  Hopefully, we’ll have six more amazing stories to share with you in a few months.

You can learn more about the program by going here.

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First, the local Red Cross came up with Single’s CPR night.  Now, it’s Comedy Night. 

Yep, those who sign up for the special Friday night class will be C P R certified, but also get a few laughs in the process.

Art Krug (a comedy vet of 26 years) will be joining the class, adding humor to the first aid training.  Krug has a personal attachment to the program.  Six years ago, his own heart stopped for about 6 minutes.  His wife used the CPR training she got in high school to keep him alive until paramedics arrived on scene.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross is thrilled at the new theme nights they’ve been rolling out.  Lisa Harwin with the local chapter says things like Singles Night, Comedy night and the upcoming LGBTQ class attract students who might not have taken a class otherwise.  AND, by adding some entertainment, it’s easier for the students to process.  Keep checking back with GoodNewsPDX because there are some NEW CPR class ideas in the works …. trust us, they’re fantastic!

You can sign up for classes by clicking here.

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The vote isn’t until this afternoon, but the Multnomah County Board looks like it’s going to pass a new rule that will make dieting a lot easier.  If the votes add up, any restaurant with 15 or more locations will have to list nutritional facts right on the menu.  Calories and fat grams will be staring at you right alongside your Monster Burger with cheese.  

While this is great news for waist-watchers who have been forced to research their meals online or prowl for those folded charts stashed next to job applications, there are also morsels of good for the non-nutritonally-focused.  The new program doesn’t cost a dime to implement.  Restaurant inspectors already check each spot in town so this is just one more line on the sheet.  And, according to those on the board, restaurants of this size tend to change menus about every nine months anyway (there’s a six month grace period and plans have been in the works for over a year) so no one has to rush out and buy all new menus.

(Info thanks to KXL)

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