by Tre’ Mason

There are many things that are trending throughout this particular world as far as crime and even more crime in certain areas of the world. Sickness is stamped in every possible place that can be imagined today. However, which sickness is becoming more and more prevalent today? Well, Ebola is on the uproar once again and is spreading rapidly through the United States as we speak. But again I ask what exactly is the Ebola virus? According to worldhealthorganization.com, Ebola virus disease (EVD), formally known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. According to worldhealthorganization.com, the Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The name Ebola comes from the famous Ebola river where a similar occurrence of the virus happened also. Ebola is transmitted mostly human-to-human with blood, broken skin, semen and breast milk. People remain infectious as long as their blood and body fluids contain the virus. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.
The symptoms of Ebola are fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Those symptoms are usually followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash and internal and external bleeding. There is no proven treatment available for Ebola. However, a range of potential treatments including blood products and drug therapies are currently being evaluated.
Therefore, we can not joke about Ebola anymore because the virus is here and it is deadly. PLEASE BE SAFE AND STAY EDUCATED!

SoBeautiful App Sponsored by Beauty Pioneer Iman
NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ — HelloBeautiful (www.hellobeautiful.com), the fastest-growing online destination for today’s Black woman, has launched the SoBeautiful App. Sponsored by Iman, a pioneer in the beauty and fashion industry, the app is a mobile destination for women of color seeking beauty and fashion advice curated by industry experts and top HelloBeautiful editors.  The app will offer curated how-to videos from top iconic influencers such as social media maven & founder of the style blog, LoveBrownSugar, Christina Brown and co-founder of the beauty company DooBop.com, Jodie Patterson, as well as user-generated content.  Users can share their own personal tips and will be encouraged to share content with friends to create social conversation.
SoBeautiful is HelloBeautiful’s first-ever style and beauty-focused app. It can be used with Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, and is now available in the Google Play and iTunes app stores.
“The HelloBeautiful woman is all about mobile!” said Leigh Davenport, Editorial Director, Women and Lifestyle, Interactive One.  “Every day over 70 percent of our users are finding us on their smartphones and the SoBeautiful App is the perfect way to indulge their insatiable appetite for beauty, hair and style trends. The SoBeautiful App also allows our readers to participate in a community where their beauty is celebrated shamelessly! The more selfies the better!”
HelloBeautiful is part of Interactive One, the #1 digital platform for the New Urban community.

(NAPSA) – Ovarian cancer, the eighth most commonly diagnosed and the fifth most common cause of cancer death for women in the United States, is sometimes called a “silent killer.” There is currently no reliable screening method to detect ovarian cancer and symptoms often go unnoticed. Early stages of ovarian cancer often present symptoms that are more commonly caused by other less serious conditions, such as abdominal pain, swelling or bloating, or pelvic pressure.
As a result of late diagnosis, 75 percent of patients have ovarian cancer that has spread to nearby organs. The five-year survival rate for these ovarian cancer patients is less than 50 percent.
“It is vitally important for women to understand that their risk of developing ovarian cancer and subsequent prognosis is influenced by several factors, including age, environmental and lifestyle factors, early stage of diagnosis, and family history,” said Sue Friedman, founder and Executive Director of Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. “Additionally, the risk of developing ovarian cancer is increased in women with specific inherited genetic abnormalities. One of these risks is associated with BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutations.”
Consider these facts and work with your doctor to understand your options for ovarian cancer treatment.

Ovarian cancer facts and figures:

•    Approximately 22,000 U.S. women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in
2014.
•    Ovarian cancer is a disease in which cells in the ovaries grow out of control
and form tumors, which are abnormal tissues that serve no function.
•    All women are at risk for ovarian cancer; however, roughly 90 percent of
women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are older than 40.
•    The greatest number of ovarian cancers occur in women aged 60 years or
older.
•    High-grade serous cancer is the most common and aggressive form of
ovarian cancer.
•    Approximately 60-80 percent of ovarian cancer is of the serous subtype and
as many as 95 percent of advanced ovarian cancers are of the serous
subtype.
•    BRCA gene mutations can play a key role in serous ovarian cancer. In the
general population, 1.4 percent of women will be diagnosed with ovarian
cancer, while up to 40 percent of women with BRCA 1/2 mutations will be
diagnosed with ovarian cancer in their lifetime.

If you are living with ovarian cancer, be sure to talk to your doctor about all of your treatment options. And if someone you know has ovarian cancer or may be at risk, please visit www.myOCjourney.com, which is sponsored by AstraZeneca and designed to provide the support you need to live your best life as you fight ovarian cancer.

Your doctor can help you understand additional treatment and support options for ovarian cancer.

By Marilyn Tavenner, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator

Fall is a wonderful time of year. Changing leaves. Cooler weather. It’s also the season for people with Medicare to review their current Medicare coverage, as Medicare Open Enrollment begins.
As we prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment, which began on October 15 and ends on December 7, Medicare wants everyone to know that quality continues to improve both in Medicare Advantage and in the Part D Prescription Drug Program.
Each year, plan costs and coverage can change. During open enrollment, seniors and people with disabilities across the country have the opportunity to review their current Medicare coverage and see if they want to make any changes for the next year. It’s important for people with Medicare to take the time to make sure their current situation still meets their health care needs best.
To help people choose a plan, Medicare calculates plan “star ratings” for Medicare health and prescription drug plans. Each plan gets a number of stars on a scale of 1 to 5 – with 5 being the best – based on quality and performance. These ratings are designed to help people with Medicare, their families, and caregivers compare plans, in addition to information on their premiums and benefits.
This year, people with Medicare who choose to enroll in a Medicare health or prescription drug plan will have access to more high-rated, four- and five-star plans than ever before.
Approximately 60 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees are in a Medicare Advantage Plan earning four or more stars in 2015, compared to an estimated 17 percent back in 2009. Likewise, about 53 percent of Part D enrollees are currently enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug plans with four or more stars for 2015, compared to just 16 percent in 2009.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, enrollment in Medicare Advantage will increase to 42 percent to an all- time high of over 16 million and Medicare Advantage premiums will have decreased by 6 percent.
For people with Medicare, this is good news in how they receive care. Plans that are higher rated deliver a high-level of care, such as improving the coordination of care, managing diabetes or other chronic conditions more efficiently, screening for and preventing illnesses, making sure people get much-needed prescription drugs, or getting appointments and care quickly. A high rating also means these plans give better customer service, with fewer complaints or long waits for care.
If you have Medicare and need assistance, you can visit Medicare.gov., call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). You should have received the 2015 “Medicare & You” Handbook and important notices from your current plan, Medicare, or Social Security about changes to your coverage.
If you’re satisfied with your current coverage, there’s nothing you need to do.
Better quality in Medicare health and prescription drug plans isn’t the only good news for people with Medicare. For most seniors who have Original Medicare, the 2015 Part B premium will stay unchanged for a second consecutive year at $104.90.  This means more of seniors’ retirement income and any increase in Social Security benefits will stay in their pockets. The Part B deductible will stay the same as well.

Medicare is working hard to make sure this good news continues so that seniors and people
with disabilities will continue to get the health care coverage they deserve.