Experts estimate that chronic pain affects millions of Americans. Pain can interfere with daily activities, causing patients to lean heavily on family and friends.

Providing care for a loved one experiencing chronic pain presents challenges, such as making sure your loved one reports pain to his or her healthcare provider. Even with chronic diseases and conditions, pain should be taken seriously by doctors and physicians.

Suzanne Mintz, president and CEO of the National Family Caregivers Association, vouches for appropriate care because each person feels pain differently. Although it is a physical sensation, perceptions of pain are influenced by social, cultural and psychological factors. It can be difficult to make sure your loved one’s pain is evaluated appropriately.

However, there’s little information and few resources available to help family caregivers cope with these problems. The National Family Caregivers Association has teamed up with the pain management education program Partners Against Pain to create Caregiver Cornerstones, a program providing information, encouragement and tools to family members. The four Caregiver Cornerstones are:

1.    Learning about pain management. Taking an active role in helping to manage a loved one’s pain may help you feel more useful and worry less.

2.    Caring for a person with pain. This includes making sure that patients receive proper assessment and follow their treatment plans.

3.    Caring for yourself. Being a family caregiver can be a demanding job. Allow others to help provide a support system.

4.    Advocating for all people in pain. The Cornerstones program strives to raise awareness about the importance of access to effective pain care. Learn more about Caregiver Cornerstones at www.partnersagainstpain.com.

Resources to Help Family Caregivers was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

In a time when many people point to advanced technology for answers, some experts are encouraging Americans to reconnect with the philosophies of their forefathers. Modern society has produced conveniences and amenities alongside challenges and apathy. This probing issue is the focus of conservative columnist, television and radio host and political activist Armstrong William’s  latest book.

In his new book, “Reawakening Virtues: Restoring What Makes America Great,” Williams shares his personal point of view – “a set of fundamental moral guidelines are necessary to get us through and beyond these hard times.”

“America has a great chance to come out of this current recession and restore its role as the world’s beacon of light. I truly believe that. But if we’re not careful in how we think and act from this point forward, we could easily lose it all,” says Williams. “So the question I ask in my latest book is ‘How do we get beyond the impasse and move toward a new harvest season?’”

Williams encourages his readers to return to virtues like faith, social justice, personal accountability and enlightened compassion. Principles based on America’s founding fathers, such as a return to basic capitalism, the importance of saving and returning to morality, family and God, are analyzed for their merits – now lost amidst confusion about the national debt.

“Although my fundamental values haven’t changed, my perspective has broadened. I communicate with more empathy and compassion than I may have in the past. And above all, I do not delve into partisan politics,” explains Williams.

To learn more about Williams’ ideas, visit New Chapter Publisher or purchase the book at Amazon.

Will a Return to Traditional Values Save Our Economy? was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

1.    Get the Basics Down First – There is far too much competition in this desirable field for sub-par writers to succeed. Read books on writing well, take a course at your local community college, or attend workshops that include peer and teacher reviews. At a minimum, travel writers need to master the basics of reporting and writing engaging prose before blogging or getting hired by an editor.

2.    Find Your Niche – Trying to be a generalist travel writer puts you into a bloody pool with incredible competition. It is far easier to make a name for yourself becoming the expert on one region or one style of travel.

3.    Be Original – Ideas are your main currency as a travel writer. The ability to find good original story ideas for any destination is often more important than what you actually put on the page.

4.    Be a Professional – The main complaint of editors is that so many writers are unprofessional. They send sloppy e-mails. They miss deadlines. They make promises they can’t deliver. You can rise above the pack by reading publication guidelines carefully and not wasting editors’ time.

5.    Travel Every Chance You Get – It’s difficult to succeed as a travel writer, even a part-time one, if you are not traveling on a regular basis. It can be in your own region, but you need to go find the stories nobody else is writing and get past the routine vacations that have been reported on a thousand times already.

Tim Leffel is a full-time travel writer and editor whose latest book is “Travel Writing 2.0: Earning Money From Your Travels in the New Media Landscape.”

Five Tips for Aspiring Travel Writers was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Crystal Clear International, a company representing the world’s leading psychics for 13 years, is using live video-conferencing similar to Skype on its new site PsychicCast to create a richer experience for those seeking psychic advice on everything from relationships to finances to major life decisions.

According to Jeff Wolf, PsychicCast founder, the new generation that’s interested in psychic advice can now get it on an interactive platform. PsychicCast is a quantum leap in bringing psychic services to this audience, and we are proud to be serving it.

PsychicCast is an international organization – with psychics located throughout the world, many are multi-lingual. Now someone can reach an international psychic from anywhere at any time. According to Wolf, they represent psychics with a minimum 10 years experience; many have worked with the police.

PsychicCast also has user-friendly policies. Not only are all newcomers offered a free trial, clients do not pay unless they are satisfied. This adds a nice personal touch to an experience that is all about personal touch, according to Wolf. They are also the first website to offer a free psychic social community similar to Facebook, where members can interact with each other on a variety of topics – from astrology, clairvoyance, i-ching, numerology and Tarot – using the Facebook format, considered the standard in online social communities.

Psychic Advisors Use Modern Technologies to Offer Help was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Have You Seen America’s Hidden Third World? was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Three Tips to Avoid Heartburn was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, studies have consistently reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems among caregivers than among their non-caregiving peers.

But caregivers can learn to manage their stress. For example, talking with a trusted friend or counselor can help caregivers reduce stress, feel less helpless and understand how to respond to their loved ones.

Many of the same methods that help caregivers can apply to anyone facing a stressful situation. Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) offers the following tips:

• Find a treatment center that will help. CTCA’s mind-body medicine team work closely with both patients and caregivers to listen and provide support. CTCA also helps ease stress by coordinating appointments, providing transportation and scheduling travel arrangements and hotel accommodations.

• Ask for and accept help. If another family member is willing to help out, let them ease your burden. Depending on the source of your stress, you should also seek out additional community resources. For example, cancer caregivers can find support groups for both themselves and patients.

• Know your limits. Determine what you can and can’t handle, based on your responsibilities to your family and professional life. If adding another obligation is too much, either say, “No” or find someone with whom to split duties.

• Take care of yourself. Sufficient sleep will help you manage challenges more easily. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. Start exercising — regular activity can help reduce irritability, fatigue and overall stress levels.

• Make time for yourself. Relaxing or doing something that you enjoy — even for a few minutes — can go a long way towards lifting your mood. Caregivers should set aside at least five minutes a day to meditate or simply be still and relax.

For more information, visit www.cancercenter.com.

Stress-Busting Tips for Caregivers was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Exercise causes small tears in muscle fibers. During rest, the body works to repair those muscles, building them back stronger than they were.

Experienced athletes know the value of structured rest — many strive to help their muscles build back as fast as possible, so they can move on to harder, longer and more challenging workouts. But even casual athletes and weekend warriors can takes steps towards smarter rest. The experts at W.F. Young, Inc., the company that makes Absorbine Jr. pain relieving liquid, offers the following tips:

• Start slow. Many people make the mistake of trying to do too much too fast. If you haven’t participated in an activity for a while, ease yourself in — start with a moderate 15 to 30 minutes of activity, and increase duration and intensity by no more than 10 percent each week. Vary your workouts so you give each muscle group one to three days of rest, depending on your fitness level.
• Fuel yourself. Prior to a workout, your body needs carbohydrates, so snack on fruit or oats. Consuming an energy drink or bar during long workouts can help boost your muscles’ glycogen, or energy stores, so you won’t feel as sore post-workout.
• For approximately two hours after exercise, your body can synthesize carbohydrates and protein faster than normal, so make sure you eat healthy carbohydrates and protein soon after exercise. Good choices include toast with fruit or a whole-wheat bagel with peanut butter.
• Soothe your muscles. If your muscles are sore after exercise, use heat, massage and gentle stretching to increase circulation and promote healing. Use Absorbine Jr. pre- or post-workout for added relief – the fast-absorbing, pain relieving liquid uses botanical extracts to soothe aches, pains and strains, so you’ll be ready for your next workout in no time.
• Embrace active recovery. Your muscles need rest — but rest can mean a brisk walk or a slow bike ride. In fact, gently exercising during a rest day can increase blood flow to sore areas, helping muscles recover more quickly than a few hours spent vegging on the couch.

For more information, visit www.absorbinejr.com.

Four Tips to Avoid the Burn After Workouts was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Many are afraid to undergo surgery because of the risks or the expense that is often associated with these cosmetic procedures. Fortunately, there are now products that can be used in the privacy of your own home for a fraction of the cost, are more convenient and offer great results.

For years, those searching to get rid of fine lines and get that healthy glow went to a physician for microdermabrasion, a treatment where dead skin cells are removed with tiny silicon or aluminum-oxide crystals blown against the skin using a hand-held device and then sucked up with a small vacuum. Costing about $1,200 a visit, the procedure was not easy on the wallet. But there’s a new generation of at-home alternatives that allows you to get similar results within weeks. Creams and serums that contain Retinol (pure vitamin A) exfoliate the skin, giving a more youthful appearance. Those who want to go a step further can now buy their own high-tech beauty treatment system, a microdermabrasion machine, at a cost of $79.95 (www.sharperimage.com).

Some women are unhappy with the size or shape of their bust. They might have always wished they were a cup size larger so that their clothes fit them better, or they may have noticed changes in their shape after childbirth. Regardless of the reason, many of these women are afraid or unwilling to undergo the pain associated with implants. Others are simply not willing to fork over the average $5,000 cost for surgery. Now there is another option available, a system that is clinically proven to grow a woman’s own natural breasts about a cup size without surgery, pills or creams. At a cost of around $1,000, the system, called Brava (www.brava.com), is about a fifth of the cost of breast augmentation surgery. More information can also be found by calling 1-800-422-5350.

The shade of one’s pearly whites has also become part of the beauty fix-it phenomenon. Until recently, whitening was only available in a dentist’s office and was costly, ranging about $500 to $800. Now in less than two weeks, it is possible to get whiter teeth and a gleaming smile. Products such as Crest Whitestrips (www.crest nighteffects.com), wipe on gels and whitening toothpastes can be used at a fraction of the cost. In a matter of a few days, teeth will be shades whiter and brighter without ever having to sit in a dentist’s chair.

These are just a few of the do-it-yourself at home beauty treatments that are easier on your wallet, provide you with more control of your looks and can be done on your own time. To find out more about these treatments, log on to their Web sites or try the procedures yourself for the ultimate proof.

At-Home Beauty Treatments Offer Lower Costs, Lower Risks was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com

Before Wilson died, he saw his dream come true during a visit to the world’s first hospital-based proton center at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California. His legacy lives on in the thousands of lives spared by proton therapy.

“The primary reasons for the growth of proton therapy, from a patient’s perspective, are that it is noninvasive and nonthreatening to healthy cells and organs, produces better outcomes and has fewer adverse side effects,” said Leonard Arzt, executive director of the National Association for Proton Therapy.

“We hear from grateful patients and their families, who have experienced the advantages of proton therapy. Many patients have come to realize that the treatment is no longer as frightening as the disease itself,” Arzt said.

Take, for example, men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Since the mid-1990s, men have taken their fate into their own hands, formed their own word-of-mouth networks, shared information and experiences, and referred themselves for treatment to the few proton therapy centers in the United States, such as Loma Linda University. Many of these men successfully sought noninvasive proton radiation therapy as an alternative to radical prostate surgery.

As additional medical studies are published about the advantages of proton radiation and the positive outcomes resulting from modern patient treatment protocols, the referring medical community may begin to realize that proton therapy could help their patients.

A good example is the newly published Journal of the American Medical Association study of 500 men who have had surgery for prostate cancer and have relapsed with the disease. The study says that if doctors treat them early with radiation therapy, such as proton radiation, these men can be cured. Other recent studies have established the greater efficacy of proton therapy over standard radiation therapy.

The increased demand for proton therapy has motivated one of the most prominent cancer centers in the world. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is building a $125 million proton facility due to open for patients in early 2006.

For further information, go to www.proton-therapy.org or call 1-800-PROTONS.

Patient Demand for Proton Therapy On the Rise was posted at Copyright Free Content. | http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com