Pancreatic cancer is not a new disease. It just so happens that it has received a lot of attention with the health battles of celebrities including actor Patrick Swayze and football great Gene Upshaw. Their struggle with pancreatic cancer has shed some light on the severity of this disease. Unfortunately, a lack of awareness of pancreatic cancer continues to exist.

In 2010, an estimated 43,140 new cases and 36,800 deaths from pancreatic cancer were predicted for the year. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. This cancer is so deadly because it is usually not diagnosed until the disease has spread.

After living 30 years without a neighborhood grocery, might Hill District residents buy more fresh fruits and vegetables once the new Shop ’n Save opens on Centre Avenue next year? Would they eat less fast food? Will changes in dietary options and the store’s proximity, have a measurable effect on their health?

These are just some of the questions that will be asked by RAND Corp. investigators who are partnering with the Hill House Association for the five-year, $2.7 million study being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

(NNPA) -  New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced plans to deliver a full-service hospital in New Orleans East. After renegotiating a flawed real-estate deal with Universal Health Services (UHS), Landrieu announced that the City will purchase the Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital site for $16.25 million - representing a cost of $23.75 million in savings for the real estate deal alone. Landrieu laid out a plan to renovate and open the hospital for a projected cost of $110 million - resulting in projected total savings of $53 million for the taxpayers.

The Black Aids Institute is reaching across America with an innovative way to help African-Americans 40 and up become more aware of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The campaign, supported by local organizations such as 7NO! PLAYERS, Sisters Love and AIDS of Atlanta and Southwestern AIDS Planning Coalition, Pa., is called TRUMP AIDS.

It combines the traditional Black pastime of bid whist, a popular card game among Black Americans, as a unique way to educate this often overlooked HIV/AIDS demographic.

WINNERS—Jerry Lopes, president of American Urban Radio Networks, the overall event coordinator, holds a check for first place winners Monica Hill and Sheila Alston of McKeesport as Tom Covington, from the Greater Pittsburgh Bid Whist Club Association, one of the sponsors of the event, looks on.