Some, but not all, cancer treatments cause hair loss. Ask your cancer team if your treatment is likely to cause hair loss. The Just for You Wig Salon at Simmons Cancer Institute offers wigs, hats, and scarves at no cost to cancer patients. The salon benefits from funds raised by BJ Grand Salon & Spa. Appointments Please make an appointment by calling Jenny at 217.545.6122 or email, jbonds48@siumed.edu to come into the salon for a personalized fitting.

Support groups provide those diagnosed with cancer a place to learn information about their cancer; a place to share feelings, experiences and concerns with others who have the same cancer diagnosis; and a place that gives emotional and spiritual nourishment. Support Groups connect people facing similar challenges. Finding Hope Support Group is open to any cancer patient, spouse/partner, friend, or caregiver. The focus is to provide a safe place to address the emotional needs of cancer patients and their families, provide support and improve health and wellness. Group meets the third Wednesday

CORRECTIONS, SIU MEDICINE PARTNER TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN STATE FACILITIES by Lauren Crocks More than 76,000 Illinoisans live behind bars, and nearly 41,000 of those individuals call state prisons home. Like the more than 2.2 million justice-involved individuals in the United States, many suffer from a complex combination of anxiety, post-traumatic stress and a range of chronic health conditions, including hypertension and arthritis. In an effort to improve health care delivery in correctional facilities and meet its mission, SIU School of Medicine is partnering with the Illinois

by Richard Austin, MD "Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane….” On November 7, 2018, the NRA, in response to a position paper from the American College of Physicians, tweeted that doctors should stay in their lane when it comes to gun violence research. This tweet led to a massive response from not just physicians, but health care workers of all types as well as the general public. The majority felt that gun violence research was firmly in the lane of physicians. The fact is that gun violence is responsible for 36,000 deaths every year. Unfortunately, this

by Jan Hill-Jordan, PhD “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” - Arthur Ashe If an audience standing in a conference room is asked, “If you or anyone in your family was a victim of child abuse, sit down,” a few people would sit down. “If you know someone who was a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence, sit down” – a few more people would sit down. “Did a friend or family member commit suicide? Please sit down.” “If someone you know was murdered, sit.” Eventually, nearly everyone would be sitting. Experiences with violence are widespread and the impacts can devastate

TRAINING FOR TRAUMA & VIOLENCE AT WORK by Steve Sandstrom On an early Monday morning in March 2018, James Waymack, MD, was on his way to work at Taylorville Memorial Hospital. Waymack is the director of the emergency medicine residency program within SIU’s Department of Emergency Medicine, and on Mondays he accompanies a team of residents on a rural service rotation to a hospital 30 minutes east of Springfield. Nearing his exit, he was suddenly passed by three ambulances. Approaching the hospital, he found the parking lot teeming with police vehicles. Inside, emergency medicine director Rich

by Anneke Metz, PhD, Interim Director of MEDPREP All of us at MEDPREP (Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program) were heartbroken to learn of the death of one of our own, Dr. Tamara O’Neal, who was a MEDPREP student from 2007-09. After MEDPREP, Tamara went on to complete her MD at the University of Illinois at Chicago, followed by a residency in emergency medicine. She was working as an emergency department physician at Mercy Hospital in Chicago at the time of her death. Dr. O’Neal, who was affectionately known at “TO” by her colleagues and friends, was beloved for her smile, her kindness