Tips for Men. When you get a preventive medical test, you're not just doing it for yourself. You're doing it for your family and loved ones.

It’s very exciting that our health — and our ability to stay strong and live longer — are not just a matter of our genes or our luck. Here are two things you can do to take charge of your health. You can take a quiz to see how much you know about men’s health, and you can also take some simple steps to support your health, your family, and your future.

• Eat healthy. Nutritious foods give you energy and may lower your risk of certain diseases. Focus on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free milk products. Learn nutrition basics and how to read a food label.
• Stay at a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can raise your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Find out your body mass index, or BMI, to see if you're at risk. Eat healthy foods, control portion sizes, and be active to keep your weight in check.
• Get moving. Regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Find out how much physical activity you need.
• Be smoke-free. Smoking is linked to many of the leading causes of death, including cancer, lung disease, and stroke. If you smoke, quit today! Also, avoid secondhand smoke.
• Get routine exams and screenings. Ask your doctor how often you need to be examined. Ask about screening tests for certain diseases and conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and certain types of cancer.
• Take any medications you need. Thousands of deaths could be prevented each year by taking medications properly. Make sure to follow your doctor's instructions for all medications, including those that help control conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Learn about medication safety.
• Avoid heavy drinking. Heavy drinking can lead to many problems, including high blood pressure, various cancers, psychological problems, and accidents. For men 65 and younger, drinking in moderation means no more than two drinks per day. Men older than 65 should have no more than one drink a day. Find out about drink serving sizes.
• Manage stress. Balancing work and family obligations can be challenging. But it's important to protect your mental and physical health. Find healthy ways to cope with stress.
• Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep can affect your mood and your health. Try certain changes that can improve your sleep. See your doctor if you think you have a serious problem. Sleep apnea, a common problem in which your breathing stops briefly, can increase the risk of accidents and certain health problems.
• Know your risks. Learn how your lifestyle affects your risk of health problems. For example, people who work with certain chemicals need to take protective steps, and men who have sex with men should talk with their doctors about particular concerns. You also should keep track of your family medical history and share it with your doctor.
• Stay safe. Safety means many things, like wearing seatbelts and helmets, having working smoke detectors, and following safety rules at work. It also means using condoms, washing your hands, taking care of your teeth, and wearing sunscreen. Take steps to protect yourself and others.

Agape Senior of the Lowcountry recently hosted a FIVE WISHES seminar at the Mt. Pleasant Senior Center. Participants received their own Five Wishes book along with explanations of each section. By completing these advanced directives, participants give their family the gift of knowing their health care plans should they not be able to communicate it themselves. This is a free service and legal in South Carolina among other states. Shown here is Todd VanOrden, Agape Senior's own notary. When a completed FIVE WISHES is signed by the participant, notarized and also signed by two witnesses, it is a legal document.

Agape Senior and Agape Hospice of the Lowcountry offers free educational senior-care seminars to community centers, churches, facilities, civic groups and more. To schedule a Five Wishes workshop, please contact Melanie at 843-360-0964

Four Simple Qualifying Questions could Amount to Over $21,000 in Veteran Care Benefits

Agapé Senior Lexington assisted living is one of many locations within the Agapé network of companies where VA education is provided on a regular basis. The education is aimed at providing Veterans with critical information about monies available for care options as they age. The Aid & Attendance benefit which is commonly regarded as one of the best kept secrets by the VeteransAdministration can have a major impact on the type of care a veteran can afford when they may need it most.

Agapé a statewide leader in the senior care industry has been conducting these VA seminars across the state for over two years and has educated over 10,000 Veterans about the benefit. The Aid & Attendance benefit can amount to over $21,000 per year toward the care of a veteran in need of help with activities of daily living. To qualify a Veteran must have some minimum war-time service, meet income and asset limitations and not have been dishonorably discharged.

These educational seminars are completely free and last approximately one hour. Veterans that believe they would qualify for the benefit after the initial seminar can schedule a follow up appointment and get a personal assessment and help with form submission. If you would like more information about this benefit or would like to attend the next seminar in Lexington email Jennifer Warren at jwarren@agapesenior.com or call the Lexington community at 803 520 5850. For information about the schedule of seminars across the state you can email the Agapé Senior Veteran Advocate Jennifer Kistler at jkistler@agapesenior.com.

Agapé Assisted Living of Lexington provides senior-focused solutions. In working with seniors and their families, the dedicated staff strives to optimize quality of life by embracing individuality and preserving dignity. Lexington, Gilbert, Batesburg, Red Bank, Gaston, Pelion SC – Call Agape Senior Lexington Assisted Living at (803) 520-5850 or (800) 411-2427

Agape Senior Chaplain Alma Brown was the featured speaker in today's Grief Support Service held at Sandpiper Village Independent Living in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The service offered uplifting music and practical ways to deal with grief, including humor. It was a wonderful way to offer bereavement support to those who have lost loved ones. This was the kick-off to the monthly Grief Support Group that will begin meeting in March. Stay tuned for dates and locations.

Agape Senior and Agape Hospice offers grief and bereavement support, in addition to hospice and senior care throughout South Carolina. For more information about these services in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties, please contact Melanie Floyd at (843) 553-7122.

Hospice nurses care for people with terminal illnesses. They provide comfort and support to patients and their families in the final days of the patient's life. But contrary to popular belief, hospice nursing isn't all doom and gloom. Most hospice nurses describe their jobs as tremendously rewarding.

The hospice movement was borne of the recognition that dying patients and their families possess a unique set of physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Instead of focusing on a cure, hospice nurses focus on comfort. They establish a rapport with their patients and create highly individualized care plans based on the patient's belief system, disease process and psychosocial needs. Often, they provide care in a patient's home. Other times, they minister to patients in specially designed, homelike hospice rooms or in long-term care facilities.

Comfort is a major focus of hospice care. Hospice nurses work with physicians to establish and maintain effective pain control regimens - and the definition of "effective" may vary from patient to patient. Some patients want to be pain-free even if it means that they spend most of the day sedated. Other patients prefer longer periods of lucidity even if it means a little bit of pain. Like all nurses, hospice nurses tailor their care to their patients' priorities.

Hospice nurses understand the dying process and provide emotional support to patients and their families as they come to terms with death. They can also explain the physical process of death to family members; many family members find this sort of anticipatory guidance invaluable. In addition, hospice nurses can show family members how to care for the patient.

Often, hospice nurses act as team leaders. They serve as a liaison between the family and physician and call clergy and counselors as needed. They may connect the family to additional community support networks such as meal programs or grief groups, as well.

While most hospice nurses are generalists, some sub-specialize. Popular specialties include oncology, pediatrics or geriatrics. Certification is available through the National Board for Certification for Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses.

Here are some common myths about Breast Cancer:

1. Breast cancer only affects older woman (false):  While the risk for breast cancer increases as we grow older,  breast cancer can occur at any age.

2. If you have a risk factor for breast cancer, you're likely to get the disease (false): Getting breast cancer is not a certainty, even if  you have one of the stronger risk factors, such as breast cancer gene abnormality.

3. If breast cancer doesn't run in your family, you won't get it (false):  Every woman has the same risk of breast cancer.  About 80% of women who get breast cancer have no known family history of the disease.

“The day I understood everything, was the day I stopped trying to figure everything out. The day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.” ― C. JoyBell C.

“You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.” ― C. JoyBell C.

Routine Home Care- Encompassing hospice services provided to the patient and family by the interdisciplinary team in the patient’s or family’s private residential residence. Routine home care is commonly known as standard hospice services. 

General Inpatient Care- Commonly referred to as GIP, it is short term, intensive hospice services provided in an appropriately licensed or certified skilled nursing, hospice facility, or hospital to meet the patient’s need for skilled nursing, symptom management or complex care. For patients experiencing acute or severe pain or symptom management problems that cannot be adequately managed through Routine care.

Respite Care- Short term non-crisis care generally provided in a nursing facility, hospice facility, or hospital to provide relief for the family from daily care of the patient. Hospice is responsible for paying for room and board services under this level of care. Contracted rates are usually established between hospice and the facility. Rates must be based on a fair-market value that is not utilized for “kick-back” purposes. Hospice must guarantee that the facility has a registered nurse on the floor 24 hours a day to utilize this level of care.

Continuous Care- Intensive hospice services usually reserved for extreme crisis circumstances. The interdisciplinary team will intervene with services with at least 51% of the care being nursing care, providing one-on-one care and staying with the patient until the patient is relieved of the crisis.

The Agape Joyful Noises choir from Agape Senior York performed Christmas carols on a float for the 2013 York Christmas Parade. The residents, staff and volunteers had a wonderful time as the community cheered as they sang a few songs for a preview of the upcoming concert on December 6th, 2013 at 6pm.

The Agape Joyful Noises choir will perform all of your holiday favorites and a few humorous twists at Agape Senior York, located at 1020 N. Congress St. York, SC 29745. Come out and join us for a fun night of fellowship as we show what our choir can do! For more information, call Lindsay Davis at (803) 684-0183.