“Life After the Diagnosis”Last week one of my family members was diagnosed with a serious illness.
My niece, a physician in San Francisco, recommended a book written by one of her colleagues: Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and Caregivers.
I immediately bought myself a copy, too. (If you’ve followed my blog, you know I’m an advocate of hospice, palliative care … read on
Fear-mongering and clickbaitWhile sipping a glass of wine with dinner last night, my ears perked up when I heard a teaser for NBC Nightly News: “New report links even light alcohol intake with increased risk of cancer.”
Oh, boy, I thought. Here we go again.
I don’t like network news because of this kind of lousy health reporting (I just wanted to see local election returns). Again and again, … read on
October is Breast Cancer Awareness monthOctober has become the month to pressure women to Buy Pink! and schedule their annual mammograms.
But I’d rather see more women informed about the effectiveness of annual mammograms (not as much as you might think).
And I’d like to see more care providers drop the paternal attitudes and really have a conversation with women about the pros and cons of screening mammograms, and … read on
I think one of the best discussions about the prevention and detection of melanoma is from Doctor Mike Evans in this YouTube video:
It’s only 8 minutes long, but packed full of information.
And the numbers are increasing. Did you know:
FDA warns consumersNothing makes me angrier than unscrupulous companies (owned by unscrupulous individuals) marketing products advertised as “miracles” to cure illness.
These modern-day snake oil salespeople prey on fear and suffering by selling false hope. Worse, the products they sell can sometimes harm rather than heal.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently put out a new warning on their Consumer Updates page: Products claiming to “cure” cancer are … read on
In 2010 my husband almost died while being treated for a small papillary thyroid cancer.
Papillary tumors are by far the most common type of thyroid cancer, and are typically very slow growing. Most doctors I know say that if you have to get cancer, papillary thyroid cancer is the one to pick!
My husband didn’t choose to get thyroid cancer, of course, but once … read on
I recently read a disturbing report that colon cancer is on the rise in Millenials and GenXers.
People born in 1990 now have double the risk of colon cancer and four times the risk of rectal cancer, compared with those born around 1950 when the risk was lowest, the researchers said.
The overall risk is still very low for that age group, … read on
A smart way to quit smokingIs quitting smoking on your New Year’s resolution list? Or that of a friend or family member?
If so, consider the SmartQuit app.
But first I’ll tell you what I do and don’t like about it.
I like that it seems to be pretty effective. The SmartQuit program and app were developed by researchers at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University … read on
I just returned from an errand to the bank where I saw a huge cardboard advertisement for a pink-ribboned Susan G. Komen credit card. That reminded me that October (or Pinktober) is all about Think Pink and breast cancer awareness.
But be aware that there are less-than-worthy charities and lots of for-profit merchandising, too. This post from last October has excellent links to help you know if a charity … read on
Many years ago I had a primary care doctor who used to perform a total body skin examination (TBSE) on me every year as part of my annual exam.
Of course, those all-inclusive physicals are a thing of the past. I haven’t had a physician perform a TBSE for a long time.
I often wondered about that. A TBSE seems like a relatively easy and harmless way to … read on