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
As a nurse who worked for a surgeon, I had to spend a lot of time talking to patients and educating them about their proposed surgeries.
The surgeon talked to them first, of course, but often patients don’t remember everything the surgeon said. Or they think of questions after the consult.
If I couldn’t answer a question, or if I thought the patient really didn’t understand what the surgery entailed—why … read on
Scary headlines sell newsLast week the media blitzed us with headlines that linked cell phones with an increased risk of brain and heart cancers.
Don’t believe everything you read in a headline!
That news story was based on a study out of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that looked at the effect of cell phone radiation on rats.
Most journalists, if you bothered to read the … read on
I’ve been a fan of Peggy Girshman’s science and healthcare writing for a long time, so it was with great sadness that I read about her death in March at the young age of 61.
But in tribute to her award-winning journalism career, which included long stints at both NPR and Kaiser Health News, she actually wrote her own eulogy!
She wanted to share a few simple lessons … read on
This week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a report that shows since the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine was introduced in 2006, HPV infections
have dropped by 64% among females aged 14 to 19 years and by 34% among those aged 20 to 24 years.
That’s great news. HPV is responsible for most forms of cervical cancer, as well as an increasing number of rectal and oral cancers.
Related … read on
PSA stands for Prostate-Specific Antigen. It’s a blood test used to screen for prostate cancer.
Doctors used to recommend an annual PSA test for men over 40. But now we know that the PSA is not a good screening tool. It results in a high number of false positives, and not all forms of prostate cancer need to be treated.
Too many men have received unpleasant, expensive treatment they … read on
We’ve all heard the phrase “cancer kills.”
But guess what? So can the high cost of treatment.
I just read about a study that came out of the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center here in Seattle.
The results won’t surprise anyone familiar with how much cancer treatment costs (a lot!), but researchers found:
… read on…cancer patients who go bankrupt are nearly 80 percent more likely to die than patients who don’t,
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month.
Following the recommended guidelines for Pap smears is a good way to find and treat cervical cancer early, when it’s basically curable.
A Pap smear is one of the few screening tests for which there is good evidence that it’s effective, plus it’s relatively cheap and painless.
The American Cancer Society, The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the American College … read on
I’ve always believed that if I were diagnosed with a terminal illness and had a choice between a few months of quality living and a few extra months filled with doctors’ visits, surgeries, lab tests and drug treatments, I would choose quality of life.
Many friends, some of them doctors, have told me, “Oh, you think that now, but when the times comes the will to live is just too … read on