Just a heads-up that on Tuesday, Jan. 26, our Business and Professional Women and the Washakie Hospital Auxiliary will co-host a noon Brown Bag lecture in the Washakie Room at the Community Center. Dr. Sara Radabaugh will talk about acupuncture for pain relief and all other applications of this treatment. According to the Hospital Auxiliary President Mary Minish, this will be a good time to get your questions about acupuncture answered.

Back when Dr. Sara’s father was practicing here in Worland, I went to him and acupuncture definitely helped me. To put it in time perspective, one time Dr. Sara was home on a college break and she was still in training, but “assisted” her dad. Talk about that being a long time ago!

January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and Dr. Bramble, here at Worland’s very own Banner Health, was the one who caught the fact that I had uterine cancer. I was doing the pre-op work for a local doctor to operate on me. Thank you, Dr. Bramble, for doing such an excellent job reading the x-rays and catching the fact that I needed to go to Billings for the operation and for my cancer treatments. Nowadays, I could have those treatments right here in Worland and not have to find people to drive me to/from Billings.

January is also National Radon Action Month and, according to a press release from the Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, the Wyoming Department of Health, is encouraging state residents to test their home for radon, which is an invisible, odorless, tasteless and dangerous gas found in home, especially older structures. Radon naturally occurs as a radioactive gas released from the element radium and is found in rocks, soil, and water.

“As radon naturally degrades, it can seep up into your home, get trapped inside, and build in intensity,” said Julie Tarbuck, Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control Program manager.”

Radon is recognized as the second leading cause of lung cancer,” Tarbuck said. “The good news is exposure to radon is easily preventable with testing and fixing.”

All home have radon; however after a certain level of radon, health concerns exist. An elevated level of radon is considered anything over 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter of air) and should be fixed, while anything below 2pCi/L is considered within normal limits and doesn’t require immediate attention, but may eventually cause health concerns with prolonged exposure.

The Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control Program has radon test kits available for individuals and families at a low cost, as well as resources for contractors, real estate agents and home buyers. For more information about radon or to obtain a radon test kit, please call (307) 777-8609 or visit health,wy.gov/phsd/radon http://health.wyo.gov/phsd/radon,

However, just so you know, we have those very same test kits right here in the Washakie County Extension Office, 1200 Culbertson, Suite G. They cost $5 per kit and it is recommended that a person get two kits so they can test two different areas of their home at the same time. Because I received a grant from the Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, you are able to purchase the kits at this low price. A bonus is that you don’t have to go on-line to order them or call and have one sent to you. This is an example of your local Extension Office being your go-to place to get the kits.

There are picture directions, along with the written ones, that clearly show where to put the test kits, how long to leave them up, and how to send them to the company in the pre-paid envelope. I’ve found that people who hang their kits up some time over the weekend or the first part of the week and complete the allotted time, can have the kits in the mail before the weekend. That results in the kits arriving at their east coast destination the first of the week. Because the kits are time-sensitive, this is an important tidbit of information to have because that way the kits can be immediately read.

Another FYI for you is the fact that the results are sent only to the person who sent in the kit, not to the Extension Office. Also, ‘they’ ask that you use your physical address for where the kit was used. ‘They’ don’t want the post office to be the one that shows the levels of radon in your home.

Finally, yes, radon is everywhere. Back when the results use to be sent to the Extension Office, there was a home in the Ten Sleep area that was so high, the people were encouraged to vacate the home due to the home’s dangerously high levels. Because it is odorless, colorless, and tasteless you aren’t aware of its existence without having your home tested.

If you have questions about the placement of the kits, etc., please stop by the Washakie County Extension Office and I, hopefully, will be able to help you. I worked with Steve Melia, who was in charge of the radon program until his retirement. Now Julie Tarbuck is filling that position.

Even if you tested your home years ago, it is still just a small price and small amount of time involved to re-test it, especially given how much digging has been done these past few years in our alleys due to utility companies upgrading their lines.

Women’s Expo will be held Feb. 5 and 6 at the Worland Community Center Complex. The dinner will be held Friday night, Feb. 5, with the Expo happening in the big gym on Saturday, Feb. 6. The Saturday event will go from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., and booths are now available to both non-profits and for-profits. Non-Profits will be charged $25 and For-Profits will be $50. For more information or to reserve a booth, please call Sheryl Ley at the WCCC, 347-8616.

Nine years ago I had this brain wave that a group of us should do something to honor Red Dress Day (heart health). That led me to talking to Connie Hoffman, who was at Banner Health, and we approached Sheryl. The rest is now history. This will be our eighth annual Expo and it seems to grow each year. We’ve got many of the details ironed out, so stay tuned for who will be this year’s Community Angel, etc. Do call right away to reserve your booth.