Hurricane Sandy continues to bear down on the East Coast of the United States and has now forced the cancellation of approximately 300 Red Cross blood drives resulting in a shortfall of nearly 9,000 units of blood and platelets. That number is expected to grow as Sandy is causing power outages and flooding in many areas along the East Coast.

The Red Cross shipped blood products into the affected areas ahead of the storm and now urges eligible donors in unaffected areas, like ours, to roll up their sleeves and give blood to replenish supplies. Just as Red Cross disaster workers from across the country have mobilized to help, blood donated through the Red Cross can help patients locally as well as patients in areas affected by Sandy.

Attached is a news release with more information about the need for blood and platelets as well as how people can make a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Please let me know if you have any questions, would like to schedule an interview, or need additional information.

Thank you,

Ben Corey
Communications Program Manager
American Red Cross

Mid-America Blood Services Division
405 W. John H. Gwynn Jr. Ave.
Peoria, IL 61605
o. 309-636-4284 | c. 309-634-1385

Upcoming Blood Drives

Carroll County
Oct. 31 from 8:30 am- 2:30 pm, West Carroll High School, 500 Cragmoor Drive in Savanna, Ill.

Nov. 15 from 1-6 p.m. at Milledgeville First Brethren Church, 521 N. Main Ave. in Milledgeville,
Ill.

Clinton County
Nov. 8 from 12-6 p.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Academy, 312 S. Fourth St. in Clinton, Iowa

The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.™

Henry County
Nov. 1 from 12-6 p.m. at First United Methodist Church South Campus Building, 302 N. State
St. in Geneseo, Ill.

Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Woodhull Alwood High School, 301 E. Fifth in Woodhull, Ill.

Nov. 8 from 2-6 p.m. at St. John's Vianney Church, 313 S. West St. in Cambridge, Ill.

Nov. 14 from 2-6 p.m. at First Christian Church, 105 Dwight St. in Kewanee, Ill.

Mercer County
Nov. 9 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Sherrard High School, 4701 176th in Sherrard, Ill.

Whiteside County
Oct. 30 from 10 am- 2 pm, Halo Branded Solutions, 1980 Industrial Drive in Sterling, Ill.

Oct. 31 from 2 pm- 6 pm, Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St.
in Rock Falls

Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fulton High School, 1207 12th St. in Fulton, Ill.

Nov. 3 from 6:30-11:30 a.m. at CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road in Sterling, Ill.

Nov. 6 from 8-11 a.m. at River Bend Senior Center, 912 Fourth St. in Fulton, Ill.

Nov. 7 from 2-6 p.m. at Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, Ill.

Nov. 8 from 3-8 p.m. at Tampico United Methodist Church, 202 Lincoln Ave. in Tampico, Ill.

Nov. 12 from 1-6 p.m. at Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico CUSD No. 3, 79 Grove St. in
Prophetstown, Ill.

Nov. 13 from 1-5:15 p.m. at River Bend Senior Center, 912 Fourth St. in Fulton, Ill.

Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St. in Rock
Falls, Ill.

How to Help
The Red Cross has mobilized disaster volunteers and is providing safe shelter from Hurricane
Sandy to thousands of people in the storm's path. The Red Cross is working closely with federal,
state and local government officials, as well as community partners to coordinate response
efforts.

To help people affected by disasters like this, as well as countless crises at home and around the
world, make a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the
Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in
response to disasters. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS
to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to a local American Red Cross
chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Red Cross Apps

The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.™

The free Red Cross Hurricane App for mobile devices provides real-time hurricane safety
information such as weather alerts and where Red Cross shelters are located. The app also
features a toolkit with a flashlight, strobe light and alarm, and the one-touch "I'm Safe" button
lets someone use social media outlets to tell family and friends they are okay. The Hurricane
App is available in Spanish. Users just need to make sure the language setting on their smart
phone is set to Spanish before downloading. The First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday
emergencies in someone's hand. The apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google
Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters;
supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides
international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red
Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the
American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join
our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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Sometimes healthy babies can cry for hours at a time and can't be soothed. It's called the Period of PURPLE Crying and it's common in the first five months of life. The good news is it will end. No matter how long a baby cries, never use shaking to stop crying. This can cause serious and permanent injury. The characteristics of this time of increased crying can be explained by the acronym PURPLE, described below.

The Letters in PURPLE stand for:

P- Peak of crying- Your baby may cry more each week, but most in month 2, then less in months 3-5.

U- Unexpected- Crying can come and go and you don't know why

R- Resists Soothing- Your baby may not stop crying no matter what you try

P- Pain-Like Face- A crying baby may look like they are in pain, even when they are not

L- Long Lasting- Crying can last a much as 5 hours a day, or more

E- Evening- Your baby may cry more in the late afternoon and evening

The word Period means that they crying has a beginning and an end.

Soothing is a way to calm your baby, and soothing techniques should be used even when your baby is not crying. This list is not an all-inclusive list, as there are many other things you can try to calm your baby's crying. While many of these techniques will work most of the time, nothing works all the time and that is okay. This does not mean there is anything wrong with you or your baby.

Tips to Soothe Your Crying Infant

1. Check to see if your baby is hungry, tired, or needs changing. Hunger is the main reason a baby will cry.

2. Burp your baby. Babies do not have a natural ability to get rid of air built up in their stomach.

3. Give your baby a lukewarm bath.

4. Massage your baby, or hold him close with skin-to-skin contact.

5. Make eye contact with your baby, smile, and kiss your baby.

6. Sing softly, or hum in a low tone against your baby's head.

7. Take your baby on a walk or for a ride in the car.

When the crying becomes frustrating and you've tried everything to soothe your baby, it's important to take a break. If a trusted caregiver is not available to help with the baby for a while, put your baby in a safe place and walk away. Take a few minutes to calm yourself down, then go back and check on the baby. When you take a break, do things that will relax you, such as listening to music, reading a book, taking a bubble bath, or having a cup of tea.

Be sure to share this information with all caregivers of your baby.

For more information on the Period of PURPLE Crying, visit www.PURPLEcrying.info.

For more information on PURPLE in Georgia, visit www.choa.org/dontshake.

Credit: The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, www.dontshake.org

October brings to mind the colors of autumn, the black and orange of Halloween, and pink, the color of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It is a time to reflect on strides made in breast cancer prevention and chart a course for the future.

The realm of breast cancer is far different from what it was in 1985, when October officially became Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  What once was a silent killer is now a widely talked about, often highly treatable disease.  Breast Cancer Awareness month has helped us overcome much of the stigma once associated with breast cancer, and women are now encouraged and are lauded for sharing their breast cancer stories.  As a result, many more women in America today have heard messages emphasizing the importance of early detection and screening and know they should schedule their first mammogram by age 40.  We know the mortality rate from breast cancer has decreased over the past two decades, and we know there are more treatment options than ever.  What we seem to have forgotten, however, is that breast cancer is still the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women.

Today there exists an alarming thought that breast cancer is simply not as big a concern as it once was, but nothing could be further from the truth.  It is estimated 226,870 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012; in Iowa alone, it is estimated 2,350 women will be told they have breast cancer, and 400 women will die from the disease.  These are still huge numbers, so it is critically important the American public does not become complacent about breast health.

There are many proactive measures women can take toward detecting breast cancer, including:

Breast Self-Exam:  Every woman should perform a monthly examination of her breasts to check for physical changes.  If you are unsure of how to perform a breast self-exam, ask your health care provider to demonstrate and explain the ideal time to conduct one.  It is very important for women to become familiar with their breasts and understand what feels normal. Start early, beginning at age 20.

Clinical Breast Exam:  Be sure to ask your health care provider to give you a clinical breast exam each year. The exam consists of checking the breasts for any changes, lumps, or other possible warning signs of breast cancer through physical touch and appearance.  You should begin having clinical breast exams in your 20s and 30s.

Mammography:  By the age of 40, all women should have a mammogram, and it is important to talk to your health care provider about how often the test should be performed.  The mammogram is an "x-ray" of the breast and, at this time, is the most effective method of detecting breast changes that may be cancer, long before physical symptoms can be seen or felt.

While every man and woman is at risk for breast cancer, some are at higher risk.  Risk factors include a family history of breast cancer, inherited abnormal genes, a previous diagnosis of cancer in one breast, a sedentary lifestyle, and age - women over 50 are more likely to develop breast cancer.  Like all cancers, risk for breast cancer can be reduced by leading a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise and not smoking.  New drugs have been developed to help prevent breast cancer in high risk patients, so if you believe you are at a higher risk for breast cancer, please talk to your health care provider.

In the paragraph above, you will notice it says, "every man and woman is at risk ...". Yes, men can get breast cancer. too. While breast cancer risk for women is calculated by state, the same information for men is available only for the United States as a whole.  In 2012, the estimate is 2,190 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and there will be 410 deaths.

Survival rates for breast cancer are higher now than they were ten years ago in large part because women are getting tested and catching it early.  Please follow the above guidelines and encourage friends and family to do the same.  A cancer diagnosis affects not only the patient and her immediate family, but also their entire community of friends, schoolmates, neighbors, colleagues, and service providers.  Protect your health this and every month, if not for yourself, then for the people who love you.

If you would like additional information on cancer prevention, please visit  www.preventcancer.org.

Barbara Grassley, a breast cancer survivor, is a member of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation and the spouse of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Each year, Medicare beneficiaries in Iowa and around the country have a chance to select a new plan or keep their existing plan during Medicare's Open Enrollment period.  This year, the open enrollment begins October 15th and ends on December 7th.  By getting a head start on choosing their plans for 2013, seniors can ensure they will receive the benefits they need.  Any changes made will take effect on January 1, 2013.

The options for choosing a plan can be daunting, but the Medicare website - www.medicare.gov - is a good resource for seniors to select a plan and answer questions about their options.   The site also includes The Medicare Plan Finder, a unique tool that allows seniors to compare numerous drug and health plans simultaneously.  The Plan Finder breaks down monthly premiums, deductibles, co-pay levels, and prescription drug coverage.

The Medicare website also highlights the most popular and highly rated Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans that have been reported by Medicare recipients.  The highest quality plans received an overall rating of five stars with the best performers receiving a "gold star" icon.  This guide can help Iowans analyze others' experiences with Medicare plans and choose the plan that's right for them.

I encourage all beneficiaries in Iowa to take a look at these new resources including http://www.healthcare.gov/, where Iowans can find more information about The Affordable Care Act - the landmark health law - and how it benefits them.

For more information about Medicare and the new changes, please visit the following sites:  www.cms.hhs.gov/center/openenrollment.asp or www.shiip.state.ia.us for information specific to Iowa.  If you do not have access to a computer, feel free to call 1-800-MEDICARE.  And of course, you can find more information on my website at www.harkin.senate.gov.

A PDF version of the column is available by clicking here.