1993_04 Insight April 1993

              Page A5
April 28,1993
Panacea
from page 1
^tests done on rats (giving the animal
a dose of the drug equal to a human
level) shows "a lower incidence of
embryo implantation and a higher incidence of fetal death, or retarded in
utero growth."
Dr. M. Margaret Hadcock, medical
director at the Fresno Breast Center
says that the press has given the drug
a bad image because of this.
"There has been no patient treated
with Tamoxifen that has developed
liver cancer," said Hadcock, "and
Tamoxifen hasn't been proven to damage a human fetus."
Hadcock said that the danger is seen
to be low enough thai if a woman
were to be pregnant and develop breast
canccrduringthcpregnancy.she could
have surgery and start chemotherapy,
and still carry to term successfully.
"The noble goal of the study is to
prevent cancer," said Hadcock.
The NSABP first believed that the
drug might be used to prevent breast
cancer when in a previous and on
going study (B-14 trial). Tamoxifen
was found to prevent the recurrence
of malignant tumors significantly in
women who had the disease previously.
"The B-14 study was the largest
done in this area," said Pleskoff.
"There is a far greater risk of developing cancer in the opposite breast and
the study found a 50 percent reduction in that risk."
Tamoxifen is taken in pill form and
has been used for nearly 20 years to
treat advanced breast cancer patients
as a form of chemotherapy. Studies
have recommended, since 1985, ihat
the drug be used for"adjuvant" (additional) treatment following radiation
treatments and/or surgery to prevent
cancer from developing in the opposite breast
Tamoxifen is considered an "anti-
estrogen" because it works to block
the female hormone receptors known
to promote the growth of cancer cells
in the breast, and yet researchers are
hoping to prove that the drug will
have the same positive effects as estrogen.
"There has never been a larger study
done to prove or disprove that an
estrogen-like drug actually works to
prevent osteoporosis or cardiac problems," said Pleskoff. "That's what
researchers want to determine."
Plcskoff said that the drug is likely
to work like estrogen because it fills
ihe receptor sites in the same way that
the hormone docs .but that is yet to be
proven.
In treatment the drug is known to
slow or stop the the growth of these
particular cancer cells found in the
breast
Researchers believe that because the
drug has shown to significantly reduce the chance of cancer developing
in the other breast, it may be able to
prevent the occurrence of the disease
altogether.
At least 16.000 "high-risk" women
ages 35-78 years are needed to act as
subjects in the random, double-blind
experiment Half of the subjects will
receive 20mg a day of Tamoxifen,
and the rest will receive a placebo (an
inactive pill). Neither the subject nor
her physician will know which she is
taking.
"Younger women with a high risk
history [fordeveloping brcastcancer]
are the best patients," said Hadcock.
"Their chances for a successful trial
arc better."
Hadcock said that women age 60
and up are more likely to die of cardiac problems, and women ages 40-
50 are already dealing with meno-
Immigrants weigh down California
pause symptoms, and are hard to keep
on the regiment
Tamoxifen's largest side effect has
been "hot-flashes". Some nausea,
headaches, and vomiting have occurred with patients taking the drug,
butit'snot known if the symptoms are
caused by the drug or something else.
Potential subjects are asked to fill
ouian application to participate, which
is sent to the NSABP headquarters in
Pittsburgh.
Researchers accept or reject the applicant based on the degree of the
subject's potential risk for developing breast cancer. Major risk factors,
as staled by the NSABP, include:
*thenumbcroffirstdcgree relatives
(mother, daughters, or sisters) who
have been diagnosed wiih breast cancer,
•whether a woman has any children
and her agcat the first delivery (breasts
aren't considered fully mature until
the birth of a child, and cells arc seen
as more susceptible to cancer until
then);
•the number of times a woman has
had breast lumps biopsied;
*the woman's age at her first menstrual period.
Women al risk for blood clots are
not able to participate, and women
taking hormone replacements for
menopausal symptoms or using oral
contraceptives will have to discontinue usior not participate.
Pregnant women cannot participate,
and premenopausal women who have
been chosen to participate must use a
barrier method of birth control to prevent pregnancy during the trial, because of the potential damage to the
fetus.
By John D. Chavira
Staff Writer
In the minds of its residents, travelers and immigrants, California had
always been "The Golden State" but
the high level of immigration to the
state over the past decade is causing
many Califomians to consider shutting America's "golden door."
California had been portrayed and
perceived, as recently as a decade
ago, as a sun-drenched paradise on
the edge of the western sea, a rich
playground of swaying palm trees
and laid-back citizens tanned by a
warm sun, cooled by ocean breezes.
But according to The Wall Street
Journal, the increasing costs to taxpayers of providing public services,
especially health care and schools, to
the increasing numbers of non-citizens and their children is fueling an
anti-immigrant mood in California.
The percentage of foreign-bom residents in the United States is well
below the 13.5 percent of the peak
year 1910, butas the country continues to reel from the effects of a three-
year lingering recession, the new
immigrants are encountering a rising
national native-bom backlash heard
loudest in California.
A Los Angeles County report found
that the cost of providing services to
immigrants in fiscal 1992 cost the
county government S947 million or
31 pcrccmofcxpcnditurcsforapopu-
lation that constitutes only 8-to-12
percent of the county lax base. The
county found that serving immigrants
takes up68percentofthenet costs of
the Department of Health Services
because of the inordinate demand
immigrants place on public hospitals
and clinics.
The issue is fell locally as well
because of Fresno's own large immigrant population.
"The load is tremendous," said State
Assemblyman Bill Jones of Fresno
speaking by phone from Sacramento.
"It makes it very difficult on the
taxpayer." Jones represents the 32nd
assembly district
Jones believes the federal government sets immigration policies without regard for the states that arc most
likely to be affected. He said California, with the largest population and
percentage of foreign-bom residents
in the country, is most affected.
"The federal government ought to
be forced to pay for immigration
policies that they pass," he said. "We
(in California) have not been kept up
on a yearly basis to what the federal
government owes us."
The United States accepted more
than 1.5 million immigrants, count-
\ ing only legals, in 1990 alone. An-
■ nual legal immigration since 1990
averages 950,000—including the
140,000 refugees and the 100,000
granted political asylum.
Officials admit ihat no one really
knows how many illegals arc in the
country. As it is, the United States
takes half of all the emigrants in the
world.
"Since California doesn't control
its own borders, (immigration) is really a federal issue," Jones said.
Unlike those wbi migrated west
85' FORD BRONCO XLT 4x4
292-0357
from other states, today's new Califor-
nians are predominantly arriving from
poor countries with little money and
few technical skills. A total of 85 percent of the 11.8 million legal immigrants arriving in the United States
between 1971 and 1990 were from the
Third World, (44 percent from Latin
America and the Caribbean, and 36
percent from Asia). Mexico alone accounted for 20 percent of the total
number of legal immigrants, well ahead
as the most common country of origin
for foreign-bom residents.
The 1992 Census Bureau report states
that nearly 60 percent of foreign-bom
—residents are not United States citizens
but remain under temporary resident
visas or "green cards". The report did
not reveal how many of the new immigrants were in the country illegally but
it gave a "conservative estimate" that
illegal immigrants would add at least a
million to California's official population.
Assemblyman Jones believes the federal reimbursement to California would
need to be at least Sl billion to cover
the costs of providing for immigrants.
He agrees thai there are four possible
solutions to the immigrant problem —
(1 )either public services must be withdrawn because of the costs of providing these services, (2) employers must
be forced to pay for public services or
(3) the flow of immigration must be
seriously cut back.
Jones also postulates a fourth solution —the North American Free Trade
AgrccmentfNAFTA). If implemented,
NAFTA would greatly reduce the costs
to American companies of doing business in Mexico. Jones believes NAFTA
could keep a sizable portion of the
Mexican labor force at home rather
than having them cross the border into
the U.S. illegally in order to find jobs.
Mike Cazares. assistant director of
Fresno County Health Services, estimates it costs the county $11 million a
year out of a S30 million budget to
provide services to the immigrant community alone, a slight increase over
recent years. Yet, he believes immigrants represent only 10-IO-15 percent
of users of county health services.
"Funding is never adequate to the
demand," Cazares said, adding that the
county's woes continue despite the
increase in the state sales tax last year
by one-half percent to help the counties deal with rising costs.
Cazares said S10 million of the S30
mi llion Health Services budge t is "pure
county dollars", meaning that the revenues must come from the county itself rather than from state or federal
grants. This puts an enormous strain on
county resources, forcing the county to
increase fees for certain procedures
just to meet costs.
According io the Immigration Reform and Control Act a patient must
possess a social security card or proof
of county citizenship status to be eligible for treatment
In addition, an individual who meets
the indigent income limitation, (currently S500-to-S600 a month for a family of four) is eligible to receive a host
of free services in addition to being
eligible for Medi-Cal. a joint federal-
state program lo provide health care
services to low-income people.
"The clinics are 40-to-50 percent
Medi-Cal," Cazares said.
Cazares added that illegal aliens frequently skirt the legal resident provisions of the Immigration Act by having babies in the United States. Upon
birth, their children automatically become U.S. citizens and their parents
legal residents.
Besides the burden placed upon the
counties themselves, the state agency
that must bear the brunt of aiding the
immigrant population is the Department of Social Services.
The department's Refugee and Immigration Programs Branch (RIPB)
administers the federally-funded Refugee Resettlement Program which provides cash, medical assistance and
social services to aid refugees. The
department also administers through
county agencies and contracts with
private nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, vocational trainingand English asa second
language classes to the immigrant
community.
RIPB also administers the federally-
funded State Legalization Impact Assistance Grant (SLIAG). which pays
for education and otherserv ices under
the federal Immigration Control and
Reform Act of 1990. In 1990-91, approximately 320,000 refugees in California received cash assistance through
programs administered by the Department of Social Services.
Current SLIAG funding is due to
expire this fiscal year. Last January,
Gov. Pete Wilson went to Washington to ask the federal government for
S1.4 billion in SLIAG funding for the
coming fiscal year.
U.S. Rep. Cal Dooley of Visalia,
who represents the 17th District has
worked to put an increase in SLIAG
funding for California in President
BillClinton's proposed budget, which
is now before Congress. Dooley said
in a phone interview from Washington that he has spoken with the president and Secretary of Commerce Ron
Brown and has been assured thai $900
million has been allocated for California in the proposed budget
"We'd always like to see more,"
Dooley said. "(But) I think that the
outlook has been better lhan in years
past"
Dooley said "a good part" of the
funds will wind up in the Central
Valley to assist refugees.
"I think it's encouraging that Bill
Clinton appointed Secretary of Commerce Brown to ensure that the federal government meets its commitment to resettlement of refugees," the
congressman said.
Dooley is aware ofthe large population of Southeast Asian immigrants,
mostly Cambodian, Laotian and
Hmong in the Valley. He believes the
former Bush administration policy that
allowed 20.000 to 50,000 into the
country per year was appropriate considering American involvement in that
region during the Vietnam era.
"We made a commitment to those
people as the victims (of the conflict)," Dooley said. "1 think it's important that we maintain that commitment"
Even so, the congressman said that
bills aimed at reducing the level of
legal and illegal immigration have
been introduced in Congress during
the current legislative session amid a
growing anti-immigrant climate.
Illegal aliens are not covered by
SLIAG. Hence, the federal government won't reimburse the state, and
the state won't reimburse the counties which must provide immunizations and emergency services to all
their residents regardless of immigration status.
"There's some legislation being
considered now to try and reduce the
number of illegal residents in the
country," Dooley said, adding that
the Immigration Act of 1986, which
made itagainst the law for employers
to hire illegal aliens, may not be sufficient to hall the tide of illegal entries into the United States.
"I think you need to put some new
rules on the books to try and stem the
flow of new immigrants," he said.
Dooley said that specific measures
proposed in Congress include devising a forgery-proof social security
card, increasing funding for the Border Patrol and immediately deporting any illegal alien currently incarcerated in the United States.
"Another of the bills is whether we
ought to grant automatic citizenship
to anyone born in the country,"
Dooley said.
Don Riding, the officer-in-charge
of the Fresno sub-station of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS), oversees an area from Bakers-
field to Merced.
Riding said that despite all the uproar from citizens to deport illegal
aliens, the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 prevents the
INS and the Border Patrol from rounding up the number of illegal aliens
they once did. The law also granted
amnesty to illegals who could prove
they had been in the country since
1982.
The law prohibits INS or Border
Patrol raids on fields and shops without a search warrant or ihe permission of the landowner or employer.
Both requirements are cumbersome
and difficult to obtain, according to
Riding.
"We have to know who they are
before we gel there," Riding said,
"but we don't know who they are
until we get there."
Riding believes that the percentage
of undocumented aliens residing in
the Valley and working outside of
farming is not very high. He said it is
difficult to estimate the number of
illegal aliens in the Valley, "You're
talking about an unknown." he said.
"If we knew where they were, we'd
deport them."
We don't go in the fields anymore,
we haven't since 1987. The way the
law is written makes it an impossibility to go out and do it."
By comparison. Riding said that
before the 1986 law, the INS and the
Border Patrol were making arrests in
the fields and apprehending up to 300
people a day. easily a thousand a
month during peak harvest times.
"From our observation, the level of
illegal immigration is down (because)
we took over 100.000 of the ille«als
and made them legal under the amnesty program," Riding said. "(However), I would suspect that we'd have
more this year."
Mirror Image
Detailing
Professional Car Care
Specialising In Custom Can
iCompUtm InUrior Skmmpoo
♦Howl Polufc. Color ~mdmg A Ruff** I
♦ i 75 4 up for kuic can unJ truck.
"     <t A,u,i* 4.tff-flQ4.T
Happy 20th Birthday
DAN
HAN
APRIL 30TH
INSIGHT Advertising
"I swear it works!"
278-3934
TUtfJINGAJcRESNOONrTSEARI
Presents a "Support College Radio" benefit
Featuring:
Spike    lOOO
NEANDERTHALS
Kenneth, Whaf$ 1he Frequency?
and
Una Kabuka
Friday, April 30 at The Wild Blue
Live broadcast on KFSR 90.7 & KFCF 88.1
$5 at the door. Show starts at 9 pm
HYPER HAIR
Your family Hair Care Center
Men, Women & Children
Hair Cut    $6.00   reg. 8.00
Perm        $25.00 reg. 35.00
Spiral      $40.00 reg. 50.00     No appointment necessary
FlaiTop     $7.95 reg. 9.00 2794 Willow, Suite#103
Frotl       $40.00 reg. 50.00+     Corner of Cettyibutrg A Willow
Weave       $40.00 reg 50.00+ (209)291-5242
TOMODACHI
Japanese Restaurant
5730 N. First SL #102
Hoover Market Place
(209)447-9068
Dine la or Take Out
SorrTNoChfk«!
Mon.-Sat. llam-9pm
Closed Sundays
f$T99Buffefi
M-F 11:30-1 SO
includes: Pizza
Breadstix. Salad Bar
Pasta
Dine In Only
I
2 Medium
Specialty Pizzas
$12.99
Dine-In, Carry-Out,
or Delivery
11414 E. Shaw 222-0994
WtaT
I Now accepting applications
J   1 for drivers! J
I
The Different, Pleasant
Dining Experience
229-6353
\r$S) 4743 N. Blackstone
Try our Delicious Lamb Shanks
THE BEST EN PERSIAN AND EUROPEAN CUISINE