Asthma talks

Asthma talks
YOUNGSTOWN -- Humility of Mary Health Partners' "Talk With a Doc" series will focus on asthma at two separate sessions.
Dr. Robert DeMarco, an associate professor of clinical internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine, will speak at 7 p.m. March 22 at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Dr. John S. Belany, medical director of the respiratory department at St. Joseph Health Center in Warren, will talk at 7 p.m. March 29 at St. Joseph. Call (877) 700-4647.
ALS communication
CLEVELAND -- The ALS Association Northeast Ohio Chapter has started the Grace Walsh Communication Program, which will provide ALS patients who have lost their ability to speak with communication devices and training.
ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, occurs when motor nerve cells in the nervous system stop functioning and die. Muscle control is lost and paralysis sets in although the patient's mind is unaffected. The program is named for Grace Walsh, who died of ALS in 1978.
Devices will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call (216) 592-2572.
Red Cross training
WARREN -- The American Red Cross Trumbull County Chapter offers training programs at its office at 661 Mahoning Ave. N.W., including CPR for the Professional Rescuer, from 6 to 10:30 p.m. March 21 and 28. The cost is $45. Call (330) 392-2551.
The chapter's South East District Office at 401 Vienna Ave., Niles, will be offering Community First Aid and CPR, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 24; and Sports Safety Training, from 6 to 10 p.m. March 22. Both are $40. Call the Niles office at (330) 652-6412.
Arm, neck school
NILES -- Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital will offer a program on proper arm and neck care. The course is offered March 13 from 9 to 11 a.m. and March 27 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Community Health Connection in the Eastwood Mall. The cost is $28. For more information, call (330) 372-4020, Ext. 137.
Birth preparation
BOARDMAN -- A childbirth class is offered Thursdays at Beeghly Medical Park from March 15 to April 19. The cost is $35. For registration and times, call (800) 842-9727.
Sjogren's booklet
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has published a booklet on Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that targets moisture-producing glands.
The 36-page booklet is available by mail at NIAMSD Information Clearinghouse, 1 AMS Circle, Bethesda, Md. 20892-3675, or through the National Institutes of Health's site, www.nih.gov/niams. The Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation is headquartered in Jericho, N.Y.; call (800) 475-6473.
Pain information
At least half of all cancer patients experience chronic pain, and at least a quarter experience breakthrough pain -- spikes lasting three minutes to three hours that most patients rate 10 on a scale of one to 10. The Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) says there is no need for cancer patients to live with excruciating pain.
ACOR has assembled a Web site, www.cancer-pain.org, to help patients and caregivers learn more about pain, how to deal with it and possible treatments.