THE SPORTS MEDICINE BIBLE FOR YOUNG ATHLETES; By Dr. Lyle J. Micheli, with Mark Jenkins; Sourcebooks; 252 pages, $19.95

This book from the sports medicine director at Boston Children’s Hospital is a wonderful contribution to a growing field.

With more kids playing sports--and with the competition in youth sports intensifying--injuries and health risks are on the rise. Four million children are treated for sports injuries in hospital emergency rooms each year. But many injuries can be prevented, as this book makes clear. Dr. Lyle Micheli offers information on improving children’s fitness levels and preventing injuries, plus sections on how to protect athletes with chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes. Parents of girls will appreciate the chapter devoted to the special needs of female athletes. And there is a frank review of substance abuse in children’s sports.

Participation in sports offers numerous health benefits. That is perhaps why many parents and doctors are willing to accept the risks that accompany sports participation. But Micheli offers a new paradigm for youth sports that goes beyond merely treating injuries and embraces keeping kids healthy.

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BREAST HEALTH: NEW HOPE

A three-part series from Discovery Health Channel

Produced by Temple International; Robin Kent, executive producer

Oct. 16, 5 p.m., three hours

“Breast Health: New Hope” touts itself as a comprehensive look at breast cancer that showcases many new diagnostic and treatment advancements.

And the three-part series does that, telling viewers about cutting-edge science that may someday greatly reduce the need for mastectomy. But those days are not yet here, as the opening segment makes painfully clear.

The most compelling part of the program is not about new treatments or exciting advancements. It’s about 23-year-old Jaime Kloch, who carries a gene that puts her at high risk for developing breast cancer and whose family history is riddled with cases of the disease. Viewers watch as Kloch makes the decision to have her breasts removed to prevent the development of cancer--a procedure known as prophylactic mastectomy.

It is devastating to see this healthy young woman undergo such radical surgery and to watch her struggle with the ramifications of her decision.

The point is made that Kloch may be part of the last generation of young women who must grapple with prophylactic mastectomy. But that doesn’t make it easier to be overly cheered by the promises of better treatments and cures presented throughout the rest of the program. Techniques such as ductal lavage may allow more women to be diagnosed earlier, but Kloch’s story makes it clear that many treatments today are still crude and extraordinarily painful.

The need for greater progress in diagnosing and treating breast cancer is also apparent in a segment devoted to racial and ethnic disparities. The program shows how some African American women avoid mammography based on the mistaken belief that it’s painful. Viewers also learn that awareness about breast cancer is low among Asian American women, most likely due to the fact that rates of the disease are lower in Asian countries.

However, once Asian women move to the United States, their chances of developing the disease increase--a phenomenon that may be linked to Western diets.

“Breast Health: New Hope” does offer hope and information. But the message viewers take away from the first hour may have less to do with future hope and more to do with present horrors.