Get EyeSmart EyeCommitted
Dr. Harry Koster, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the major American retinal societies are all trying to stop the alarming increase in cases of diabetes-caused eye disease through a new public awareness campaign called EyeSmart EyeCommitted.
Damage to the retina—the back of the eye-- caused by diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of legal blindness among working-age Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that the number of adults with this disease, called diabetic retinopathy, will double by the year 2050.
An estimated 19 million Americans 20 years or older have diabetes, and one third do not even know they have diabetes. People who have diabetes have an increased risk of developing glaucoma and are 25 times more likely to become blind than people without diabetes. Often there are no warning signs in the early stages of diabetic eye disease. Vision may not change until the disease is severe.
An annual eye exam is critical in identifying vision problems and in preventing further vision loss for diabetics. Ninety percent of severe vision loss from diabetes can be avoided. Yet more than half of all people with diabetes do not even take this most basic step to protect their vision.
The message of EyeSmart EyeCommitted is simple: an annual eye exam and appropriate treatment can help prevent vision loss in people with diabetes. However, EyeSmart EyeCommitted is also a campaign to have diabetics pledge to get an annual eye exam through the interactive web “widget” (see below) that encourages users to make the EyeCommitted pledge to have an annual eye exam. The widget also features important and helpful information about diabetic eye disease and permits users to share the pledge and related information with friends and family.
If you are a diabetic, or are interested in learning more about preventing diabetic retinopathy, please click below.
If you are a diabetic and are interested in scheduling your annual eye exam, please call 212-243-2300 or 718-805-0700 or email us at nylasergroup@aol.com.
HARRY KOSTER RUNS MARATHON FOR MOM IN 3 Hours, 10 Minutes
On Sunday, October 12, 2008, Dr. Harry Koster, Medical Director, NY Laser Group, completed the Mohawk Hudson Marathon in Albany, New York. He ran the race in 3 hours and 10 minutes and dedicated the race to his mother Katherine Usiak Parsons, who passed away in April of this year after a long battle with breast cancer. He is hoping to raise contributions for the Cancer/Oncology Department at Wyckoff Hospital to help care for other cancer patients.
This is how Dr. Koster describes his mother’s battle with cancer and the relationship running has to it.
“My mother was planning on becoming a psychiatrist when she learned that her own mother had breast cancer. She returned to Geneva to finish medical school and be with her mother, who ultimately died in my mother’s arms. This remained a haunting image for my mother. She first developed breast cancer in 1977 and had four recurrences thereafter—despite raising two children and a career as a physician, she always lived with the disease by her side.
Shortly after my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I took up running as a way to deal with my sense of helplessness about the disease and to create some sense of control. Last fall as my mother’s illness worsened, I rededicated myself to running. Her illness was very long and difficult for her; and it was very painful for me to see what she was going through. I started to run and train harder with a purpose of higher fitness and, again, to deal with the sense of helplessness one feels about terminal diseases.
My mother never complained about her illness but fought through two episodes of brain metastases, diffuse bony metastases and other secondary illnesses. The last time I saw my mother was the weekend before her death. We talked for a long time; she was primarily concerned about my family and me. She also asked if I could look into whether there were any other treatments available for her. She said that no matter what, ‘being above ground was better than being in it.’
I dedicated my running the Mohawk Hudson Marathon to my mom because she was the most important person in my life. She gave me strength for years. Every run is a joy for me because I think of her, and still sometimes cry, even as I continue to run.
Running is an affirmation of life, and a marathon is a mirror for the struggling we all face in life. To do it well, you have to be prepared and more importantly, be in the moment, savoring every step of the way. The marathon also represents the admiration I have for my mother’s spirit. She never gave up fighting. As I ran the marathon on October 12, I remembered her strength, recognizing that whatever I endured during the three hours of the marathon was nothing compared to what she endured in the course of her battle with cancer.
Anything I can do to help others with breast cancer and other cancers is a small plus. Wyckoff is a phenomenal Medical Center, and the empathetic care I have witnessed there is very healing. I hope that my run and contributions related to it can help make a difference to people like my mom, battling cancer. As she would say, ‘it is better to be above ground than in it’. Her spirit will never be buried.”
If you would like to contribute to the Wyckoff Cancer/Oncology department, click here to download the form and send to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. All contributions will go to the Cancer/Oncology Department for the care of patients with cancer.
