Access Heath Care would also like to announce that July is the month of Cord Blood Banking. The Cord Blood Banking Mission Statement states that, "today, a growing percentage of stem cell transplant patients are receiving cord blood to cure over 70 diseases. Seventy percent of patients who need a transplant of blood-forming stem cells do not have a matching donor in their own family and their physician must search public registries of donors." The National Marrow Donor Program (www.marrow.org) is dedicated to matching US patients with donors of either bone marrow or cord blood from anywhere in the world. There is a shortage of cord blood donations, and they are especially helpful to those patients who are minorities or those of mixed heritages. America is a melting pot of all nationalities, so this is becoming increasingly essential to many people around the country. Just as mixed heritages are becoming more prominent, stem cell research is also making its way in medical history! The National Marrow Donor Program exclaims that "medical research is developing new therapies where stem cells help the body to repair itself, called regenerative medicine. So far, these therapies require the patient's own stem cells, not those from a donor. Children who have their own cord blood in storage (banks) may have more medical options later in life. However, the diseases for which children receive stem cell transplants, including most cancers and genetic diseases, require that the cells do come from another person." These fantastic medical discoveries in stem cell research are not only opening many doors for those who may be suffering, but this new-found research can help solve medical mysteries in our near future. Access Health Care encourages you, and our staff to participate and help others by donating to Cord Blood Banks located in our area.

On a lighter note, Access Health Care will be celebrating National Ice Cream Month. This monumental month of July cannot go by without our physicians and their staff enjoying at least one bowl or cone of their favorite ice cream. As I take my own time scanning the frozen aisles of my neighborhood grocery store, I find I am having trouble deciding on just one flavor... Should I choose strawberry, double dutch chocolate, neapolitan , or go with the orange sherbet? However, does sherbet count? I decide to take home one of each, just in case. We, at Access Health Care feel that giving in to the guilty pleasure of eating ice cream is just one of those American past times that we will never give up. Ice cream may be a bizarre item to have an observance month, but it sure tastes good!