SKIN CANCER EDUCATION GUIDE CAN HELP Dcs On June 9, fourth-year Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) student and melanoma survivor Tyler Damen presented a donation to Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and introduced The Chiropractor’s Guide to Skin Cancer, a manual for Dcs compiled by Damen’s charity, Chiros Care, with CMCC’s support. Damen feels that chiropractors could be powerful allies in the fight against skin cancer, as they see more skin than most health-care professionals do. “Patients don’t see chiropractors as someone they can ask about skin cancer,“ said Damen, at a gathering with CMCC staff members and Cindy Goldman, director of special events for Princess Margaret Hospital. “Yet, given the numbers of patients seen by chiropractors in a week, month or year, chiropractors would be able to screen millions of people!“ When Tyler Damen first heard the words, “You have melanoma,“ the 24-year-old knew almost nothing about this potentially deadly form of cancer. A year later, following five surgeries and a gruelling 11-month course of chemotherapy, Damen had a new goal in his life: to change the statistics around skin cancer and, in particular, melanoma. That was only four short years ago. At the time of his diagnosis, Damen had just completed an undergraduate degree in kinesiology and was set to begin the first of four years as a student at CMCC. Continuing his studies even through treatment, Damen created the charity Chiros Care. The charity has a three-pronged approach to improving the outcomes for skin cancer victims: educate chiropractors on how to identify possible skin cancer in patients, so they may refer these patients to the appropriate specialist; raise funds for melanoma research; and raise funds for patient care for melanoma victims. Damen created The Chiropractor’s Guide to Skin Cancer, for Dcs specifically, and, through the support of CMCC, it was sent out to 5,400 chiropractors across North America. “I realized that if I could educate Dcs about the signs of skin cancer,“ notes Damen, “that we would have thousands of professionals helping to diagnose skin cancer earlier - this is currently one of our best strategies for increasing survival rates.“ At the donation gathering, CMCC president Dr. Jean Moss said, “Since chiropractors see a lot of skin, this guide would help them to identify lesions that should be looked at more carefully.“ Dr. Moss also told those present at the gathering that CMCC is proud to have students like Tyler who are not only committed to their profession but who are also committed to making a difference in their communities as well. Damen presented a cheque for $10,000 to Princess Margaret Hospital and says he hopes this will be the first in a series of donations that Chiros Care will make. He hopes to continue gathering funds through the sale of Chiros Care T-shirts. The T-shirts are $15 + shipping and a portion of proceeds from them also goes into the production of the skin cancer guide for Dcs. Tyler looks forward to being able to sell these guides, in the near future, to collect further funds for melanoma research and victims of melanoma. Speaking on behalf of Princess Margaret Hospital, Cindy Goldman thanked Tyler Damen and Chiros Care, saying, “I’m always impressed by the power that one person has to impact on a community, a school and a profession - even by asking, or prompting the necessary questions. This is an impressive thing that you have done!“ For more information on Chiros Care, and to order a T-Shirt or inquire about the The Chiropractor’s Guide to Skin Cancer, please visit www.chiros-care.com CANADIAN CHIROPRACTIC CONVENTION 2010 SESSION SUMMARIES AVAILABLE Session summaries are now available for the Canadian Chiropractic Convention 2010 (CCC2010) to be held in Toronto from November 11-13, 2010. Registered delegates may attend any one of the three available tracks without pre-registering for specific sessions or tracks. The Canadian Chiropractic Convention 2010 will feature speakers who will approach a wide variety of topics that are relevant to the chiropractic profession in Canada and around the world. These will include Drs. Guy Riekeman, Gerry Clum, James Chestnut, Fabrizio Mancini, and more. Panel discussions will feature comments and opinions by a number of prominent and experienced chiropractic experts such as Drs. John Triano, Mark Erwin, Howard Vernon, Igor Steiman and many more. Program-at-a-glance and full session summaries can be viewed by visiting the convention website at www.chiroconvention.com. NEW GUIDE OUTLINES EFFECTIVE NECK PAIN TREATMENTS A new neck pain guide offers a concise summary on both helpful and unhelpful approaches to treating this common condition. The Neck Pain Evidence Summary is based on a series of research reviews published in the journal Spine. It covers the range of possible treatments for different severities and types of neck pain, including whiplash. The Institute for Work and Health (IWH) created this summary to share the evidence synthesis completed by the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain. IWH worked with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, the Ontario Chiropractic Association and some members of the task force’s executive committee to prepare the summary. In February 2008, Spine published a special edition dedicated to the task force’s reviews on the prevention, prognosis, diagnosis and management of neck pain. After publication, a network of Canadian chiropractic leaders, co-ordinated by IWH, suggested distilling the evidence into a summary. “It’s exciting to see the chiropractic community take up the work of the task force this way,“ says Dr. Sheilah Hogg- Johnson, a task force member and IWH senior scientist. “The Neck Pain Evidence Summary provides a way for health-care professionals to review the evidence easily in their practice, and if they need further information, they can refer to the full research papers.“ The task force recommends treatments or further assessments, based on the severity of neck pain. They classified severity into four grades. In the evidence summary, a chart outlines the signs and symptoms, and further assessments for each grade. Then both helpful and unhelpful treatments are presented by grade and type of injury. Because there are several helpful treatments for some grades of neck pain, the patient’s preference should be considered. For instance, any of the following treatments may benefit for the less serious Grade I or II neck pain, in cases with no traumatic accident: acupuncture, neck mobilization and manipulation, supervised exercise, low-level laser therapy, and pain relievers. The guide will be useful to various health-care professionals who use these approaches, including chiropractors, medical doctors, physiotherapists and others. “We’re very pleased to be working with IWH and OCA to provide chiropractors with results of key research so they may continue to provide the best informed care to their patients,“ says Dr. Jean Moss, president of CMCC. “This Neck Pain Evidence Summary guide is another example of how intricate results of relevant research are distilled and transferred to practising chiropractors in a practical and accessible format.“ “We welcome the work of this international task force whose study affirms the safety and benefits of chiropractic care for people with neck pain, and we were very pleased to work with IWH and CMCC to ensure practitioners will have easy access to the most current and comprehensive research on neck pain,“ says Ontario Chiropractic Association President Dr. David Brunarski. The Neck Pain Evidence Summary is available online at http://www.iwh.on.ca/neck-pain-evidence-summary. 2011 WFC BIENNIAL CONGRESS TO BE HELD IN RIO April 2011 will provide Dcs with an opportunity to experience a World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Biennial Congress in one of the world’s most exciting cities and countries – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A spectacular academic, as well as social, program is now confirmed for the WFC’s 11th Biennial Congress, titled Redefining Chiropractic Around the World. The event will be hosted by the Brazilian Chiropractors’ Association and will be held at the Intercontinental Rio Hotel April 6-9, 2011. Co-hosts will be the two Brazilian universities with chiropractic schools, FEEVALE and Anhembi Morumbi. It is expected that over half of Brazil’s 700 chiropractic students will attend the Congress. The opening day will begin with a focus on sports chiropractic featuring speakers from the Brazilian and US Olympic Committees, Joao Grangeiro, MD, Director, Medical Services and Mike Reed, DC, Director, Sports Performance Division, USOC. World authorities Dr. Scott Haldeman and Dr. Gregory Kawchuk will then review current knowledge on the physiological and biomechanical mechanisms and effects of joint manipulation. This will be followed by a session of clinical Grand Rounds at which an expert panel and the audience will discuss case examples likely to be seen in chiropractic offices. Also to be held on the opening day, in the afternoon, is a choice between original research presentations, technique workshops, or a philosophy forum featuring Dr. Gerry Clum, Dr. Fabrizio Mancini and Dr. Guy Riekeman. The full academic program, which includes optional one or two-day pre-Congress seminars on Activator Methods, ART, McKenzie Methods, Pediatrics and Taping/Kinesiotaping, can be accessed at the WFC 11th Biennial Congress website www.wfc. org/congress2011. The language for the Congress is English, but with Portuguese translation available. Rio de Janeiro is the home of Carnival, the Bossa Nova and the world’s largest football stadium. Many consider it the world’s most beautiful city, nestled between forests, mountains and its famous beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema. Experience the music, samba and passion of Brazil at the Brazil Show and the Gala Banquet and Dance. Experience Brazil’s famous barbequed meats served from the sword at the Friday night visit to the Oasis Churrascaria. Make your plans to attend now! For all information, including registration details, please visit www.wfc.org/congress2011.