We have moved the 10 Years Younger in Burlington website to a new address: http://10yyb.com.

The new site gives us greater functionality so we can do things like have a 10 Years Younger in Burlington Club (10YYBC) for everyone in the area who wants to partake of the 10 years younger process in their own way.

All you have to do is go over to the new site (click here) and login — that means register a username and password. You can just use your first name or even a pseudonym if you like.

We will be posting special offers, events and coupons for club members from various Burlington businesses. We will email you as these specials become available. You can pick and choose what you want to try.

We want everyone to have a chance to do something that will help them look and feel 10 years younger along with our chosen candidate.

If you would like to be the one who undergoes the 10 Years Younger in Burlington transformation this year, you need to apply. The application form can be downloaded from here.

Completed application forms must be received at Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa by noon on Monday, April 27th, 2009.

Sorry, application forms cannot be accepted after this deadline.

If you know someone who would benefit from a 10 Years Younger transformation, please forward the link to this article to them and tell them to apply.

You need to be available for interviews in the week of April 27th. We expect to finalize our selection by the end of the week and start the transformation the following week.

This week we will be making an announcement about the Spring 2009 Ten Years Younger in Burlington project.

If you are interested in looking 10 years younger or know someone else who might be, you want to check in here for all of the details about the program, the application process, and some new extras that will be available for everyone to enjoy.

We are making the 10 Years Younger in Burlington program bigger and better this year.

IPL is the first medical cosmetic treatment I ever had. It did wonders for my complexion, toning down my pink cheeks, shrinking my broken capillaries and erasing my sun damage.

I remember doing a clinic with dermatologist Dr. Rosenthal when I was an intern. He pointed out to the patient all of the telangiectasias (broken capillaries) that I had on my cheeks.

How glad I am that I don’t have those any more.

Before IPL treatment

This isn’t me but it gives you a good idea of the kind of results you can get with an IPL photofacial.

After IPL treatment

See how much brighter her skin looks? The sun damage on her upper lip was creating such a shadow that it almost looked like a mustache. After the treatment, her skin looks clear and radiant.

This article is reprinted from Advanced Rejuvenation’s newsletter of January 21, 2009. If you would like to subscribe, click here.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

The Globe & Mail is reporting on new research that shows that using botox reduces depression.

The study, undertaken in a chain of medical spas in the UK, compared women having botox in their frown lines with women having other cosmetic procedures.

The Botox group scored significantly lower on measures of anxiety and depression. And merely looking younger or refreshed didn’t explain the difference; both groups were about equally happy with their new appearances.

I commented on the effects of botox on our emotions in this post.

An example is bruxism or teeth-grinding. This is a condition that is becoming more frequent and severe as people worry about the current economy. Using botox to reduce teeth-grinding results in the individual not only feeling less jaw pain but also feeling less stressed.

Botox doesn’t replace dealing with your problems or getting the therapy that you need but if nothing seems to be working, it just might be the catalyst that you need to get you on the road to feeling better.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

To me, photography is not about equipment or technical skill, nor is it purely about aesthetics or composition. I love human beings, and as an artist and explorer, my goal is to connect with people and capture their strengths, their vulnerabilities, their relationships with one another, and their interactions with me. My images are born of real moments – they are expressions of both emotional and physical human experience. Whether I am photographing a mother and child, or a couple making love – this is the common thread.

For me, it is about trust and relationships.

Because of this, I feel it is important to remain aware of what it is to be the subject… to be naked, either literally or emotionally, to relax, to be directed and recorded by someone else. In keeping with this, I enjoy posing for other photographers, and last weekend I did a shoot with R. Ward Shipman. Here is one of the many beautiful images we made together…

Nude portrait

This image captures trust and relationship as I have described. As subjects, we felt safe and comfortable and were able to express this as Ward both directed us and also worked with our natural body language. His sensitivity as an image maker is key here, and for anyone who photographs people, this is just as important as knowing which buttons to push on the camera. Often though, this is somewhat overlooked by people who are trying to achieve this type of image.

For those of you who are aspiring photographic artists, have you ever wondered how to create a comfortable shooting situation where you can capture this sort of intimacy and emotional presence? In just a few weeks, I will be hosting a seminar to address this topic. It will include a lecture, slide show, and Q&A period…

Warmth and Beauty in Bareness: demystifying the nude

Thursday April 16th, 7 – 8:30pm
at The Melanie Gillis Studio Gallery
126 James Street North, 3rd floor
$20 admission
Signing up early via phone or email is recommended as seating is limited.

905 297 7050
info AT melaniegillis DOT com

Posted by: Melanie Gillis, The Melanie Gillis Studio

Here’s a good video about breast MRI.

It was made in 2007 so some aspects of the technology have already advanced. For instance, in the video they say that MRI can detect a tumor at 5 – 6 mm but we are now talking about detecting tumors of only 2 mm.

The video is brief (less than 3 minutes) and shows the breast coil. It also shows some images taken with the MRI.

I personally received my first donation for the software for the MRI breast coil last week. I know that other donations are going through the Running Room’s page for the Hamilton General Hospital’s running team, The Rack Pack, and through the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation site.

You can learn all about the MRI breast coil project here.

The software for the MRI breast coil allows the radiologist to interpret the images from the MRI of the breast quicker and more accurately.

If you’re in the middle of figuring out what to do about a breast lump, you want to know if there are masses in both breasts, if there is spread to tissues around the mass like muscle or bone, and if there is spread to the lymph nodes in the armpits and behind the breast bone. This is the information that an MRI scan of the breasts will give you.

And if you are having an MRI of your breasts, you want the results as quickly as possible.

So having raised the money to get the breast coil, Kelly Arnott and I and everyone in the MRI department at the Hamilton General Hospital want to get this software as soon as possible.

The software costs $67,000.

The woman who gave me the donation last week is a pensioner, a lovely silver-haired woman who feels that her life has been so blessed that she gives back with her meagre income and her time and energy whenever possible. She insisted that I maintain her anonymity; she doesn’t want any praise or attention for her donation.

Here is what she said: “I was going to give you $50 towards the software but when I heard that you needed $67,000, I decided to make it $67. Now you only need 999 more people to do the same thing.”

Wow! When she put it in those terms, I really felt that we would achieve our goal.

If you would like to be a part of this important project, please click on the links above to donate via the internet or drop your donation in to the Hamilton General Hospital’s Diagnostic Imaging department or here at Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa at 425 Locust Street in Burlington, near Lakeshore.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

I’d like to share with you a great story about my friend Joan. The story came out from Joan (after some prying by me) when I tried to find out why Joan’s time wasn’t showing in the results.

The attached picture shows what is possible when a cause becomes greater than the task. One of the reasons Joan Jory entered the Chili 1/2 was that it was a fundraiser for the new breast-cancer MRI at the Hamilton General Hospital. She had received pledges for the race from friends, but why barefoot? Here is my friend Joan’s story in her own words,

Joan running barefoot

“I ran in to problems with my feet at 7 km, and took the insoles out of the shoes. It took me 1hr03 to finish the first 10 km because of the foot problems. At 12 km, I took off my shoes, ripped off the timing chip (don’t ask me how I know to do this – that’s another story related to Waterfront last fall), and threw the shoes on the side of the road at about 12.5 km. I ran the second 11 km in under 50 minutes, of which 9 kms were barefoot. The Masai would be proud of me .

I had the timing chip in my hand as I crossed the finish line but my friend told me it won’t read if the chip is above knee level (now he tells me!). So, no results. But I came in at 1 hr 53 odd, and we left 1.5 minutes after the race started according to my group who keep track of these things. I believe my final ‘chip’ time was 1 hr 51 or 52 odd.”

So Joan finished the race barefoot knowing that her pledges for the MRI breast coil equipment would now count. There is another reason too that she told me about. Joan promised someone close to her, whose health is impaired, that she would finish this race on her behalf.

An exceptional effort by an exceptional woman. This is why runners are the best, and running races are so important for the community at large.

Dan Little

[Ed.: I'd just like to remind everyone that it was a frigid -8C on March 1st. Most of us couldn't tolerate bare hands for any length of time, let alone running on bare feet.]