Healthy Employee Spotlight: Kelsey Wilkes

     Whether it’s an injury, age, or just not finding the time, there is always going to be an obstacle that can get in your way of exercising. Kelsey Wilkes, director of project management, shows that overcoming the challenge will make your efforts that much more rewarding.

     “When I started I was having some leg and hip pain and it would take me 40 minutes to walk a mile,” Kelsey said. “I don’t think it’s because I was out of shape or overweight or anything like that. I’m not a desk sitter,” she explained. “But I just couldn’t walk, or sustain a pace or walk for any distance.”

     Emily Radaker, senior internal auditor, organized the team of walkers at first under the name Fit for Five with the goal of getting the group ready for 5K events.

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

     Heart disease is typically thought of as a man's disease but more women than men die of heart disease each year. In fact, heart disease is the number one killer of women. When we think "heart attack" it's the chest pain, gasping for air, and tingling in the arm that comes to mind. However, a woman's heart is different from a man's and many of these traditional symptoms do not present themselves when a woman suffers a heart attack.

Breast Cancer: When Knowledge is Power

     Most women view breast cancer as their biggest health threat—even more than heart disease. The fact that one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime can cause anxiety.

     Cancer grows when a cell’s DNA is damaged. The cause could be genetic or environmental—or a combination of the two. While scientists continue to examine the exact cause of cancer, some established risk factors are associated with a woman’s risk for breast cancer.

Genetic risk factors