Be Bold, Be Black, And Be Aware!
Editor:
I just finished reading your editorial, “Being Black with a Capital B.” Now, that’s an outstanding quotation. To be a Black African American in America, living in Colorado…Now, that says a lot.
Back in the days, being Black was a special feeling and had meaning. Blacks were on the rise, coming together. M.L. King gave us hope, understanding, and vision. Life for Black families was getting better in America.
Now, two hundred years after Mr. Lincoln set us free, we’re still facing the same issue of racism. They changed the name and put it under new management, but it’s still slavery, just with new masters and a bigger plantation. The world calls them prisons! Silent as death to all, an unspoken word around the house, yet they’re known all over the world. They destroy families. Some recover; many don’t. It’s The New World Order for people of color. And they are legal. Right now, Blacks make up 50 percent of our nationwide system. Colorado leads all states at present.
Take a look at Colorado on the rise and fall. First, schools are closing. Why? State and feds claim there’s no money to keep schools open or to pay teachers. Second, now they’re telling those kids that want their education, to bus across town to other schools. Some will make that move, but what happens to the ones that don’t? While the state and feds claim there’s no money for education, they are planning for a new jail and another prison.
So where’s the money coming from? I thought education was “top concern” in Colorado, not prison. Who’s going to fill those new facilities? I pray not those children who couldn’t make those changes. Where are the Black organizations, the NAACP, or the Black Church Communities? Right now, they should be breaking down City Hall doors.
Believe it or not, it’s targeting all children of color, especially our Black and brown children.
M. L. King wrote, “I Have a Dream.” Hey, this isn’t it.
Spike Lee produced a movie called School Daze, a good movie with a meaningful ending where Lawrence Fishburn cries out, “Wake up! Wake up!” Well we Blacks need to “Wake up!”
We come from a great race of kings and queens. They were a people proud of their families and their heritage. They held their heads high. Now, their offspring stand around talking loud or doing nothing, letting life pass us by, no fight or flight for our free rights. Oh, Lord, where are those days of fire and desire? Gone.
Now is the time for all of us to be “Black with a Capital B.”
Jerry Sloan

Men Can Get Breast Cancer Too
Editor:
I am a 75-year-old man and a 30-year breast cancer survivor.
Shortly before my 45th birthday in June, 1976, I discovered a lump in my right breast. My wife, Sonya, urged me to have it examined. The doctor told me it was a cyst, and not to worry. The lump grew and became more painful, so Sonya insisted I get a second opinion.
In mid-June, I was diagnosed to have breast cancer and underwent a double radial mastectomy and removal of several lymph nodes on the right side. This was followed by intense radiation therapy for several weeks.
In 1978, after moving from New York to Washington, D.C., there was a recurrence in the right chest wall. This was treated with high dosages of radiation for almost a year.
In 1981, there was another recurrence in the right chest, followed by surgery to remove the malignant tumors, chemotherapy, and more radiation.
There was another recurrence in 1984 in the same area, followed by more surgery and radiation.
Things went really well until January, 1996 (We were living in Richmond, VA then) when there was another recurrence in exactly the same area, followed by major surgery and a skin graft which did not take, and a wound that would not heal.
In June of that year, since my wound had not healed, I underwent major reconstruction surgery. More malignant tumors were removed along with three ribs. The muscle from the back of my right shoulder was moved to under my arm and used to create a flap to protect my right chest wall.
Today, after numerous CAT scans, PET scans, sonograms, needle biopsies, and all the radiation my body will stand, I’m still taking Tamoxifin, and having semi-annual checkups. Through most of this ordeal, I tried to keep my breast cancer to myself and Sonya by not telling relatives, friends, and co-workers.
Now I realize that by talking about my experience, I may help other men who are unaware of this disease. Every day I thank my wife for saving my life. If she had not insisted that I go to the doctor in 1976, I would never have done anything about that lump.
Please share this information with your friends, relatives, associates, and loved ones because they need to know that “men can get breast cancer too.”
Theron J. Bell
Denver

Facts About Men And Breast Cancer

• Men tend to discover they have breast cancer between the ages of 60 and 70.
• Men, like women, should examine their breasts monthly for any changes including a lump, nipple, discharge, skin dimpling, nipple redness or scaliness, or an inverted nipple.
• Mammograms for men are not covered by insurance.
• Two Black men per 100,000 develop breast cancer, compared to one white man per 100,000.
• Black men, like Black women, tend to be diagnosed with breast cancer later than whites.
• Daily alcohol consumption, high levels of radiation exposure, high levels of estrogen, inherited gene mutation, a family history of breast cancer, men with Klinefelter’s syndrome, and a disturbance in the liver’s metabolization are risk factors that increase the chance of developing breast cancer.
• A lumpectomy for a man is similar to a mastectomy for a woman, because men have breast tissue.
• A tumor in a man’s breast can feel like a pulled muscle because the breast tissue is thinner than a woman’s, and the tumor can be sitting on top of a muscle.
• Treatment for men and women with breast cancer is the same and involves a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy or hormone therapy.
• Most men are not aware that they can get breast cancer.

Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. George H.W. Bush; Namesakes' Reward For Racism
Editor:
AP reporter Jennifer Loven just about brought me to my knees and to tears with her Oct. 8 Denver Post article, "Bush Clan Dubs Navy's Latest." The naming of our newest Navy aircraft carrier, after former President Bush, a true-blue bigot, is a slap in the face of African Americans who served in the military in the past 54 years. I served in the U.S. Navy for 23 years as a steam propulsion engineering officer in three nuclear powered submarines, four surface conventional powered combat ships, and three deployments to Vietnam. Do we dub the next new Navy ship, the U.S.S. George Romney? He was a member of the Nixon administration. When the Vietnam War broke-out, Romney arranged for his son to break for his Mormon mission. Ali was nearly lynched for this stunt.
Former congressman Bush is guilty of violating President Truman's executive order mandating desegregation of all military units. Bush thumbed his nose at this lawful order, and created a racially-segregated Texas Air National Guard unit (federal country-club), so his son "W", and his rich white crony friends, would have a sanctuary from the Vietnam War. Furthermore, old-man Bush also violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with this move. Boy George was partying and getting DUIs, while 55 percent of the draftee-soldiers, who fought and died in-country, in Vietnam were Black, and we comprised only 14 percent of the nation's entire population. I say, USAG Gonzalez should investigate the Bush clan and “W”’s guard "home-boys", who like "W", blew-off their military service obligations (military felonies; illegal separation/discharge) too, and not investigate terrorist Barry Bonds. 
James J. Tenant
Lt. Commander, US Navy, LDO, Retired

Health Care Crisis Lessened By Quality Improvement
Editor:
The health care crisis in Colorado and nationwide looms larger everyday. The focus is often on the negative financial challenges, however there are positive steps that are being taken to improve access to quality health care by Colorado’s providers and facilities with the help of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), like the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC).
Coloradans expect and deserve to have access to quality health care. Therefore, Coloradans need to have an understanding of health care quality improvement and ask physicians and health care facilities questions about quality standards.
Colorado health care providers work hard to provide the best care possible. Part of the solution to the health care crisis is improved systems and processes in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and physician offices. CFMC’s work with Colorado’s health care providers and facilities accelerates that improvement.
It is also important to recognize the work of Colorado’s legislature. The legislature recently created a Blue Ribbon commission to study and establish health care reform and expand health care coverage and to decrease health care costs for Colorado citizens. CFMC looks forward to sharing our insights with the commission to improve health care for Coloradans and ensure that patients get the right care every time.
Arja P. Adair Jr.,
CEO/President - Colorado Foundation for Medical Care