AL-AfricaAmer-L Archives

From: Saundra Brown <>
Subject: Thanksgiving Day as the first National Family History Day says Surgeon General
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:12:07 -0800 (PST)

Surgeon General Says Thanksgiving A Good Time To Review Health Histories

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has declared Thanksgiving Day as the first National Family History Day, but hes not interested in genealogy.

Instead Carmona wants families to use their time together over the holidays to explore their familys health history.

"The bottom line is that knowing your family history can save your life," Carmona said.

"Millions of dollars in medical research, equipment, and knowledge can't give us the information that this simple tool can. When a health care professional is equipped with a patient's family health history, he or she can easily assess the inherent risk factors and begin tests or treatment even before any disease is evident."

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced the Family History Initiative this week.

"With this new family health history tool we are entering the next generation of prevention," Thompson said.

"In addition to healthy eating and exercising, we know that technology and research can also prevent and treat disease before the disease becomes debilitating. The miracle of the human genome provides new hope for millions of Americans and a new path to health for all of us."

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