cancer

During Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 7 – 13, we celebrate those who give their time and energy to improve the lives of others. The benefits of volunteering go beyond lending a helping hand. Studies show volunteers have significant health benefits such as lower blood pressure, decreased likelihood of depression, and an increased sense of purpose and life satisfaction.

Volunteers are the bedrock of Barton Health. More than 55 years ago, our hospital was founded by volunteers, and the spirit of helping to support our community’s health thrives within our organization to this day.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Tuesday, April 2, 325 6th graders from South Tahoe Middle School, Zephyr Cove Elementary School and home-schooled youth, will spend the day at Lake Tahoe Community College going through the 16th annual Drug Store Project.

Since 2004, middle school students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) have gone through the Drug Store Project (DSP), a day-long comprehensive drug prevention program designed to educate youth about the dangers of substance use and abuse.

You may have heard something lately about “preventive health care.” What does that mean?

At its most basic, preventive health care means living a healthy lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. Maintain a healthy weight. And stop smoking.

Like anyone else, people with Medicare can benefit from healthy living habits. But Medicare covers a wide variety of shots to help you stay healthy. It also covers numerous tests to help detect diseases early, when they’re in their most treatable stages.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On March 23, 2019, participants will take to the slopes to raise funds for patients in the South Lake Tahoe area who are fighting cancer in the inaugural Pink Heavenly.

The Barton Foundation is joining Heavenly Mountain Resort in putting on the event with the hopes of giving cancer the boot by raising $250,000.

Elevate Wellness is hosting the 2nd annual Holiday Mall Crawl will take place at The Crossing in South Lake Tahoe on Friday, December 14 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This is a festive and family fun event that also serves as a fundraiser for the Lake Tahoe Fire Academy scholarship fund.

Wild Blue Dogs, a nonprofit for canine cancer treatment and research, is hosting four holiday events for dogs and their humans in South Lake Tahoe.

There will be "Santa Paws" events on December 2, 15 and 22....get your dog's photo taken with Santa Claus. Then on December 22 is Canines and Cocktails.

Santa Paws - December 2, 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. at DogDogCat in the Heavenly Village Center
Santa Paws - December 15, 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. at The Beach Retreat and Lodge
Santa Paws - December 22, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. at The Beach Retreat and Lodge

Twenty-six local nonprofits were awarded $78,974 Thursday in donations from the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and American Century Championship thanks to funds raised during the 2018 celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe.

“The continued support from our partners American Century Investments and NBC Sports means so much to this community,” said Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “These contributions benefit so many in the South Shore a long time after the tournament ends.”

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but breast cancer is not the only screening women should care about. All women should have an annual health-screening exam. Having an annual health care visit is a great opportunity to take charge of your health. Routine health care visits can help find problems early or prevent health problems before they occur. If problems are found early, they may be easier to treat and less likely to pose serious risks to your health.

SOUT LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It is often said, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In South Lake Tahoe, the same could be said about keeping kids healthy. October is National Farm to School Month, and in South Lake Tahoe, the UC Cooperative Extension CalFresh nutrition education program has partnered with Barton Health and Lake Tahoe Unified School District to implement Harvest of the Month, a statewide initiative that motivates students to make healthier choices and brings fresh, in season produce to all South Lake Tahoe elementary schools.

A South Lake Tahoe man won gold in the Heavyweight Para-Division of the Abu-Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tournament recently in Los Angeles.

Ryan Wallace, who we've written many stories about over the last four years, competed against para-athletes from around the world for the second consecutive year at the tournament. In 2017 Wallace won the silver medal and he spent the last year working tirelessly to improve, capping his 2018 performance with a hard fought 7-0 victory.

"I was grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate that improvement," said Wallace.

The annual Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, September 29, at the American Legion Post, from 10:00 Am to 4:00 PM. Admission to the show is free.

NFL Hall of Famers, former Major League Baseball players, other sports and entertainment celebrities will gather July 8-9 at Schaffer's Mill Golf Club in Truckee to pay tribute to former Oakland Raider Gene Upshaw. The tournament raises funds for cancer programs and traumatic brain injury research and, to date, they've raised close to $1.5 million.

Each year this tournament runs the week before the American Century Championship held in South Lake Tahoe, something Upshaw played in while he was alive.

The 13th annual Longest Day of Golf will be held on June 21, 2018, at Tahoe Paradise Golf Course and will be raising funds for the South Lake Tahoe Cancer League.

Participants spend hours on the course, from sun-up to sun-down, or however long they can last, earning money for every hole they golf. During the 2017 event they raised $10,000 and this year's goal is to have golfers play over 135 holes and raise $12,000 to help the SLT Cancer League help locals with the disease.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra’s Elegant Evening 2018 at Harrah’s Tahoe was a huge success and that was due to the generosity of businesses and friends both near and far.

Thank you to all who attended this fun, entertaining and worthwhile event and those that donated to enable our support of the many programs and organizations we assist. As always, all money raised is invested into schools, scholarships, community projects, youth, and services both locally and globally. (www.sitahoesierra.org) .t

BMC Racing Team’s Tejay van Garderen (Tacoma, Wash.) rocketed to a decisive stage victory and the overall race lead at the Amgen Tour of California individual time trial in San Jose / Morgan Hill today.

The Barton Foundation will be awarding $50,000 in grant funding to improve community health. As part of Barton Health’s commitment to community health and collaboration, this annual grant cycle provides funding for programs and services that positively impact the health of the local community. Applications are being accepted through May 31, 2018.

Grant criteria and the application can be found online at bartonhealth.org/grants, and for more information contact Marty Chartraw at 530.543.5784.

There will be a fundraiser for the South Lake Tahoe Cancer League on Thursday, May 10 at Casey’s American Cantina.

$3.00 all you can eat chili all day long with all proceeds going to help local cancer patients.

Casey's is located in Zephyr Cove, Nev., next to Safeway.

(Note: The location inside Harrah's Tahoe has changed, see below)

Every year, men, women and children get their heads shaved to raise funds to fight childhood cancer. This year, a new sponsor for the event has come forward, LuLu Hair Design, and there will be a new venue, Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

Dianna Souza, the owner, and her staff at LuLu's wanted to keep this popular fundraiser going, so put together the event quickly and are looking for support, and participants, from the community.

The South Lake Tahoe Cancer League has a lot to be grateful for this past year. For nearly four decades, the volunteers of this organization have driven patients from South Lake Tahoe to their medical treatment, at no charge to the patients or their families. The drivers take patients to Reno, Carson City, Minden, Truckee, and as far away as UC Davis. The Cancer League also gives limited monetary assistance in the form of small grants to the patients to help with their monthly expenses.

January is National Radon Action Month, and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program is offering educational presentations and free radon test kits across the State of Nevada.

One presentation is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) offices in Stateline, 128 Market St. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has partnered with the California Radon Program, so free radon test kits will be available at the event for residents of both states.

Sierra-at-Tahoe is holding "Jammin 4 Tash" on Saturday, January 20 to honor the late Natasha "Tash" Sagucka who died from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on November 4, 2017 at the age of 24.

"From the time she was two years old till her last days on this earth she found peace, love and light on the mountains," was stated on Sagucka's obituary. "She thrived from the energy of slashing through the trees and sliding on the rails just perfectly."

How many steps can you take in 97 days? Almost a million?

Join El Dorado County's team in the 1 Billion Steps Challenge which tracks participant's steps through apps from January 1 to April 8, 2018.

The challenge is through the American Public Health's Associations (APHA) who are encouraging Americans to get out and walk, roll and get moving. Register at https://stridekick.com/tc/apha18 and have your steps logged. You don't even have to do anything once registered (except walk, run and move, of course)...your phone or other fitness tracker will communicate with the challenge.

The Beach Retreat in South Lake Tahoe is not your normal lake front hotel this season. It has been transformed into something from the North Pole. Walk through the grounds and look at their lights and holiday decor that cover every inch of the resort and stay on display until mid-January. All Winter Wonderland events are family friendly, and some are even pet-friendly. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all events.

The Holiday Season is an especially wonderful time of year. We look forward to holiday get togethers, to holiday meals, to good cheer and yes, treats. But we don’t look forward to holiday pounds. Many of our New Year’s resolutions are testament to our holiday eating patterns. We vow to start a diet, or to exercise more, or change habits. We know we often consume more than we should. So what can we do to reduce the unhealthy parts of the holidays, and keep the treasured parts?