Thursday, April 19

Cancer support groups. the Wellness Community offers two ongoing groups at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. the group for adult cancer patients meets 5-7 p.m. every Thursday. the group for loved ones and/or family of cancer patients meets 5-7 p.m. every other Thursday. Both groups meet in the first floor Radiation-Oncology Department, 2801 Atlantic Ave. 310-376-3550, wellnessandcancer.org.

Friday, April 20

Macular degeneration lecture. Dr. Arthur Pazornik, optometrist with Pioneer Medical Group, discusses signs, symptoms and treatment options for macular degeneration, an eye condition that causes blurred or distorted central vision. Free. 11 a.m. Friday. Pioneer Medical Group, 2220 Clark Ave., Long Beach. 562-597-4181.

Hearing devices exhibit. Free hands-on display of devices that help with hearing difficulties; includes information on how they work and where they can be purchased. Presented by the Hearing Loss Association of Long Beach/Lakewood. 10 a.m.-noon Friday. Weingart Senior Center, 5220 Oliva Ave., Lakewood. 562-425-5651, hlalongbeachlakewood.org

ALS support group. For people with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), their families and friends. Sponsored by the ALS Association, Greater Los Angeles chapter. Noon-1:30 p.m. third Friday of the month. City of Long Beach Health and Human Services Family Health Education Center, 3820 Cherry Ave. 818-865-8067, Ext. 234.

Dental screening. For seniors age 50 and older. 10 a.m. third Friday of the month. Free. Norwalk Senior Center, 14040 San Antonio Drive. 562-929-5580.

Saturday, April 21

Nutrition boot camp. Cheyana Van Dender, a nutritionist and certified personal trainer, conducts an interactive workshop offered by South Bay Fit Camp. 3 p.m. Saturday at a home in Long Beach; address and directions provided upon registration. $45-$50. Contact Emily Duval Ledger at 562-243-2221 or .

Monday, April 23 

Breast cancer support group. For women diagnosed or in treatment. 7-9 p.m. second and fourth Monday of the month. Los Alamitos Medical Center, 10861 Cherry St. 562-594-9977.

Nar-Anon. the Long Beach family group, Healing Hearts, offers support for family and friends of drug addicts. 7 p.m. every Monday. Community Grace Brethren Church, 5885 Downey Ave., Long Beach. 562-490-4689, 888-297-9560, nar-anon.org

Tuesday, April 24

Caring and Coping. Support group for cancer patients and their families. 2:30-4:30 p.m. second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Los Alamitos Medical Center, 10861 Cherry St. 562-594-9977.

Autism Society of America, Long Beach/South Bay Parent Support Group. For parents and caregivers of those with autism. 7-9 p.m. fourth Tuesday of the month. Prisk Elementary School, Room 7, 2375 Fanwood Ave., Long Beach. Contact Joey Hayashi at 562-982-9129 or , or go to greaterlongbeach-asa.org

Prostate cancer support group. 6:30-8:30 p.m. last Tuesday of the month. Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Houssels Forum, 2801 Atlantic Ave. 562-595-5977.

Recovery International. the group teaches participants skills for coping with anxiety, depression and anger. 1:30 p.m. every Tuesday. Burns Community Center, 5510 Clark St., Lakewood. Donations requested but not required. Call Bob at 562-343-5195, or go to lowselfhelpsystems.org

Wednesday, April 25

Ask the pharmacist. A pharmacist answers questions about medications. Blood pressure screening also available. 9-11 a.m. Wednesday. Cypress Senior Center, 9031 Grindlay St. 714-229-2005.

Newly diagnosed breast cancer support group. For women recently diagnosed or in treatment. 4:30-6 p.m. every Wednesday. Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Radiation Oncology Conference Room, 2801

La Leche League of Long Beach. Support group for mothers wishing to breast-feed; fathers are also welcome at this meeting. 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month. 2271 Pepperwood Ave. 562-804-8725.

Send health calendar items at least two weeks in advance to .

Haitian cholera underestimated the United Nations might be underestimating the human toll posed by Haiti’s ongoing cholera epidemic, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco. Using a mathematical model, the team calculates that nearly 800,000 more cases of cholera could occur before the epidemic ends, killing an additional 11,000 people. Current U.N. estimates predict 400,000 cases and 4,000 deaths occurring between December 2010 and December 2011. Vaccinating 10 percent of the population could avert 63,000 cases, the researchers predict in a study posted online March 16 in the Lancet. —Nathan Seppa

Omega-3s vs. vision loss Consuming omega-3 fatty acids found in fish might lessen the risk of vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration, Harvard University researchers report online March 14 in the Archives of Ophthalmology. Starting in 1993, more than 38,000 women filled out questionnaires regarding their health status and lifestyle. After 10 years, 235 had developed age-related macular degeneration. Those eating fish at least once a week were 13 to 62 percent less likely to develop the disorder than those who ate fish less than once a month, the researchers calculate. Researchers took into account confounding factors such as smoking, blood pressure and diabetes. —Nathan Seppa

Heavy smoking declines Since the first Surgeon General report warning against smoking came out in 1964, the percentage of smokers in the United States has fallen, as has the number of actual cigarettes lit up by those smokers per day, an international team of researchers reports in the March 16 Journal of the American Medical Association. Roughly 23 percent of U.S. adults smoked a pack a day or more in 1965, a rate that fell to 2.6 percent in California by 2007 and to 7.2 percent in the rest of the country. California has led the nation in antismoking programs. only 4.6 percent of Californians born during the 1970s who had reached age 35 were moderate-to-high-intensity smokers, compared with 13.5 percent nationwide. —Nathan Seppa

New test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Doctors may soon be able to diagnose a human brain-wasting condition similar to mad cow disease without taking a sample of brain tissue. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by an infectious protein called a prion. the disease produces symptoms similar to other forms of dementia, so definitive diagnosis usually requires a brain biopsy or an autopsy after death. Now, researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have developed a test that measures levels of an iron-carrying protein in the spinal fluid. low levels of transferrin protein in the spinal fluid can diagnose the disease with 80 percent accuracy, the researchers report online March 9 in PLoS one. —Tina Hesman Saey

Apple bodies no worse than pears A new study of more than 220,000 people in 17 countries finds no exaggerated heart risk for apple-shaped people — those who wear their excess fat around the belly. A major international research consortium confirmed what other studies have found: Excess weight increases an individual’s risk of heart attack and stroke. but contrary to a host of research, having that fat aggregated around the waist was no worse than having it amass at the hips or elsewhere, the authors report online March 11 in the Lancet. the findings linked heart risk primarily to factors associated with excess weight: blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. —Janet Raloff

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