Health Awareness Observances for the Month of July

Do you know why it’s important to save your baby’s cord blood stem cells? How many people each year receive eye injuries directly related to the fourth of July? What is sarcoma? What is the percentage of children under the age of 18 who have juvenile arthritis? You can learn these answers and more by celebrating the following health observances in the month of July:

Cord Blood Awareness Month

Do you know why it’s important to save your baby’s cord blood stem cells? How many people each year receive eye injuries directly related to the fourth of July? What is sarcoma? What is the percentage of children under the age of 18 who have juvenile arthritis? You can learn these answers and more by celebrating the following health observances in the month of July:

Cord Blood Awareness Month

According to the Cord Blood Registry, “Each year more than 35,000 Americans with life threatening illnesses find themselves in need of a stem cell transplant. Cord blood stem cells have been playing an increasing role in filling that need and have been offering potential treatment options for many conditions that have no cure today.” What is cord blood? It’s the blood that remains in a baby’s umbilical cord after of it has been cut. Cord blood has been used to treat a wide variety of life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and other cancers. Cord Blood Awareness Month educates families on the importance of cord blood banking and donating.

Watch this video on the importance of cord blood: 

Sarcoma Awareness Month

Sarcoma  is a rare cancer that develops in the connective tissue of the body which includes fat, blood vessels, nerves, bones, muscles, deep skin tissues, and cartilage. With more than 50 different subtypes, sarcomas are divided into two main groups: bone tumors and soft tissue sarcomas.

Sarcomas represent less than one percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates are that approximately 11,280 soft tissue sarcomas and about 2,890 bone sarcomas will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year in both adults and children.

Watch this video of Dr. Albert Aboulafia, Director of Sarcoma Services at Sinai Hospital:

Fireworks Eye Safety Month

Did you know that in 2007 about 2,300 Americans were treated in emergency rooms across the nation because of fireworks-related injuries around the Fourth of July weekend? Many of these injuries were due to sparks getting into the eyes of young children. Fireworks Eye Safety Month warns consumers against the dangers of fireworks around children and teaches them how to deal with fireworks accidents.

Here is a great video that teaches you how to deal with firework eye injuries:

Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

Over 300,000 children in the U.S. are affected by juvenile arthritis. Juvenile arthritis is a term used to describe a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions that can develop in children under 16 years of age. Some of these conditions include Juvenile Lupus, Juvenile Scleroderma, Juvenile Dermatomyositis, and Kawasaki Disease. Juvenile Arthritis Month aims to educate the public about childhood illnesses related to arthritis and the impact that these illnesses can have on families.

This video features a child affected by juvenile arthritis:

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