This training covers common chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, asthma, COPD and more. It discusses the causes, symptoms, and prevalence of each disease. It emphasizes that while chronic diseases are serious, many are preventable through healthy lifestyle choices like nutrition, exercise, and avoiding tobacco. The role of PCAs is to understand these diseases, assist patients compassionately, and ensure patients adhere to treatment plans.

1. PCA Training – Day 3 of 6
Common Chronic Diseases

2. Objectives
• Understand the different type of common
chronic diseases that affect the population
• Learn your role in assisting others that suffer
from these diseases
• Learn to be creative and proactive in dealing
with others
• Learn definitions

3. Fact
• Chronic diseases - such as heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes - are the leading
causes of death and disability in the United
States. These diseases account for seven of
every 10 deaths and affect the quality of life of
90 million Americans.

4. Important Fact
• Although common and costly, many chronic diseases
are also preventable. Many chronic diseases are linked
to lifestyle choices that are within your own hands to
change. Eating nutritious foods, becoming more
physically active and avoiding tobacco can help keep
you from developing many of these diseases and
conditions. And, even if you already have
diabetes, heart disease, arthritis or another chronic
condition, eating more healthful food and getting more
exercise, whether it's a brisk walk, a bike ride, a jog or a
swim, can help you better manage your illness, avoid
complications and prolong your life.

5. ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is
commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's disease,"
named after the famous New York Yankees
baseball player who was forced to retire after
developing the disease in 1939.

6. • ALS is a progressive disease that destroys nerve
cells in the brain and spinal cord which control
the muscles throughout the body. When these
nerve cells (also called motor neurons) die, the
brain can no longer send impulses (messages) to
the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle
movement. The disease most commonly afflicts
people between the ages of 40 and 70. As many
as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any
given time.

7. Alzheimer's Disease
• Alzheimer's disease is a
progressive, degenerative disorder that
attacks the brain and results in
disorientation, with impaired
memory, thinking, and judgment. People with
Alzheimer's also undergo changes in their
behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly
and get worse over time, becoming severe
enough to interfere with daily tasks. This
combination of these symptoms is also called
dementia.

8. • Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where
dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a
number of years. In its early stages, memory loss
is mild, but with late-stage
Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry
on a conversation and respond to their
environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading
cause of death in the United States. Those with
Alzheimer's live an average of eight years after
their symptoms become noticeable to others, but
survival can range from four to 20
years, depending on age and other health
conditions.

9. Dementia
• Dementia is a gradual and progressive loss of memory, thinking and
reasoning skills, as well as physical function. Alzheimer's disease is
the most common cause of dementia.
• Dementia is a non-specific syndrome in which affected areas of
brain function may be affected, such as memory, language, problem
solving and attention. Dementia, unlike Alzheimer's, is not a disease
in itself. When dementia appears the higher mental functions of the
patient are involved initially. Eventually, in the later stages, the
person may not know what day of the week, month or year it is;
they may not know their surroundings, and might not be able to
identify the people around them.
• Dementia is significantly more common among older people.
However, it can affect adults of any age.

10. Arthritis
• The term "arthritis" covers more than 100 diseases and conditions
affecting joints, the surrounding tissues, and other connective
tissues, such as tendons and ligaments. Arthritis and other
musculoskeletal conditions include:
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Gout
• Rheumatic Fever
• Lyme Arthritis
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Bursitis
• Tendinitis

11. • You might have arthritis if you are experiencing:
• Pain
• Aching or stiffness in or around a joint within the past 30 days
• Pain, aches and stiffness that has been present for 3 or more months
• If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor or health care
provider.
• What are the risk factors for developing arthritis?
• Women: Women make up about 60% of arthritis cases.
• Older Age: Nearly half of the elderly population has arthritis. Risk
increases with age.
• Obesity: Obesity is associated with osteoarthritis in adults and gout in
men.
• Joint Injuries: Sports, occupation and repetitive motion joint injuries
increase the risk of arthritis. Occupations such as farming, heavy
industry, and those with repetitive motion are associated with arthritis.

12. Asthma Information
• Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs.
• Nationally, nearly one in 13 school-age children have
asthma, and that rate is rising more rapidly in
preschool-aged children and those living in urban inner
cities than in any other group. Although there is no
cure for asthma, asthma attacks can be prevented and
controlled with proper care. New York is actively
working with health care providers, community
coalitions, schools, families and many others to fight
asthma so people with asthma can live a full and active
life.

13. Cancer
• ancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases
that begin when abnormal cells in the body grow out
of control. Normally, cells grow and divide to create
new cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy.
Sometimes this process of growing new cells does not
work properly and cancer forms.
• Most cancers are named after the body part or cell
where abnormal growth begins. For example, cancer
that begins in the breast is called breast cancer, even if
it spreads to other parts of the body.

14. How does cancer start?
• Normal cells become cancer cells because of
damage to DNA. DNA is in every cell and
directs all its actions. In a normal cell, when
DNA gets damaged, the cell either repairs the
damage or it dies. In cancer cells, the
damaged DNA is not fixed, but the cell does
not die like it should. Instead, this cell goes on
making new cells that the body does not
need.

15. • Abnormal cells can grow into a mass, or tumor. Not all
tumors are cancerous. Tumors can be either malignant
(cancerous) or benign (noncancerous). A malignant
tumor, or cancer, can spread to other parts of the body and
form other tumors.
• Some cancers, like leukemia, rarely form tumors.
Instead, these cancer cells are in the blood and blood-
forming organs and flow through other tissues, where they
grow.
• Some cancers grow quickly; others may grow slowly over
many years.

16. • Cancer can occur at any age, but it is most often
found in those people middle-aged and older. The
number of people diagnosed with cancer has
increased over the past 40 years. Most of this is
due to an increase in the population and because
people are living longer.
• The most common cancers found in men, besides
skin cancer, are prostate, lung and colon cancer.
Breast, lung and colon cancers are the most
common cancers found in women.

17. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is
a disease of the lungs. A person with COPD has
trouble breathing. This is because the airways –
the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs –
are damaged.
• COPD may also be called by other names, such as
emphysema (em-fa-seema) or chronic bronchitis.
COPD is a serious lung disease that develops
slowly. It may be many years before a person
starts to have symptoms of COPD.

18. What causes COPD?
• COPD can be caused by different things:
• Cigarette smoke – The most common cause of COPD is cigarette, or
tobacco, smoke. COPD can happen in people who smoke now, and
sometimes in people who have smoked in the past. People exposed
to secondhand smoke are also at risk for COPD.
• Air pollutants – Chemicals, dust, fumes and secondhand smoke are
examples of air pollutants that can cause COPD if a person breathes
them in over a long period of time. People may be exposed to these
pollutants either at home or at work.
• Genetic factors – In some people, COPD can be caused by a disease
called alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency that they have inherited
from their parents. In people with AAT deficiency, their bodies do
not make a type of protein that helps to protect the lungs. AAT
deficiency is not a common cause of COPD.

19. What are the symptoms of COPD?
• Constant coughing
• Shortness of breath, especially when you are doing activities that you are used to
• Sputum (mucus) production
• Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound) in the chest when you breathe
• Feeling like you can't take a deep breath
• Tightness in the chest
• How common is COPD?
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 24 million
Americans have COPD. In the United States, COPD is the fourth leading cause of
death.
• Over the past few years, the death rate from COPD has been higher in women
than in men. This may be due to the increase in smoking by women since the
1940s. The good news is that as smoking has become less common in both men
and women over the past 25 years, the number of people with COPD between the
ages of 25-54 has dropped.

20. Other Diseases
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Diabetes
• Eating Disorders
• End Stage Renal Disease
• Heart Disease
• Obesity
• Oral Health
• Osteoporosis
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) Syndrome
• Tobacco Use and Related Conditions

21. The Power of Prevention
• Additional booklet
• http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview
/pop.htm

22. How you can help
• Educate yourself on diseases to better prep for
taking care of your patients
• Being sensitive and patient
• Ensuring your patient is receiving proper
treatment and is not skipping days that he/she
has appointments with specialty doctors