Skin Skin Health Skin Disorders and Aging By Jane Farrell article Your skin changes with age. It becomes thinner, loses fat, and no longer looks as plump and smooth as it once did. Your veins and bones can be seen more easily. Scratches, cuts, or bumps can take longer to heal. Years of sun tanning or being out in the sunlight for a long time may lead to wrinkles, dryness, age spots, and even cancer. But there are things you can do to protect your skin and to make it feel and look better. Here are tips from the National Institute on Aging: Dry Skin And Itching
_ Why It May Be More Than "The Blues" By Jane Farrell article Everyone feels blue now and then. It’s part of life. But if you no longer enjoy activities that you usually like, there may be a more serious problem. Feeling depressed without letup can change the way you think and the way you experience emotions. Doctors call this clinical depression.
_ Being Underweight Is as Hazardous as Obesity By article Being underweight puts people at the highest risk of dying just as obesity does, according to research dome at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and published in March 2014 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health. A release from the hospital written by Leslie Shepard notes that the connection between being underweight and the higher risk of dying is true for both adults and fetuses. This is so even when factors such as smoking, alcohol use or lung disease are considered, or adults with a chronic or terminal illness are excluded, the study found.
I Want To Take The Alzheimer's Test By blog Last night I had trouble getting to sleep. Tossing and turning, I attempted to clear my thoughts, but my brain had other ideas. My mind was on an instant replay loop: A new study reveals researchers have developed a blood test that will predict if a healthy person — someone with no symptoms — is likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease within the next few years. The study focused on people over 70 and was about 90 percent accurate.
Breast Cancer Breast Reconstruction: Making the Decision By Jane Farrell article Every woman who has a mastectomy is then faced with another choice: whether to have breast reconstruction – surgery to rebuild the shape of the breast. There are other choices, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI): to wear a breast form, or padding, or to do nothing.
_ PSA Screening Down Since 2012 By article Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center have assessed the impact of the 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) cancer screenings. The 2012 report cited evidence that the risks of screening outweigh the benefits. Results of the current study indicate that the USPSTF recommendations have resulted in a decrease in the number of PSA screenings ordered by doctors, with the greatest decline seen among urologists.
Lessons From Managing Geriatric Patients By article A large team of experts led by a Johns Hopkins geriatrician reports that efforts to improve the care of older adults and others with complex medical needs will fall short unless public policymakers focus not only on preventing hospital readmission rates, but also on better coordination of community-based "care transitions." Lessons learned from managing such transitions for older patients, they say, may offer a framework for overall improvement.
_ 10 Things Docs & Older Patients Should Question By article “Choosing Wisely”, and initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, has released a 2014 update from the American Geriatrics Society listing 10 procedures and tests that should not be routinely performed or prescribed for older patients:
_ Screening for Sickle Cell Trait Needed By article Researchers at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine say the time is long past due to use current scientific data and technical advances to reduce the burden of sickle cell disease (SCD). Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) is estimated to affect 3 million people in the US: approximately 8 percent of African Americans and .5-3 percent of Hispanics. The inexpensive identification of the mutated hemoglobin and the technical capacity to screen populations have been known for decades.
_ Chemo at End of Life Ups Risk of Dying in ICU By article The use of chemotherapy in terminally-ill cancer patients in the last months of life is associated with increased risk of undergoing resuscitation and dying in an intensive care unit, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today. The researchers suggest that end-of-life discussions may be particularly important for patients receiving chemotherapy and suggest that caregivers should ensure that patients are aware of their prognosis, likely outcomes of treatment and that their choices are aligned with their end-of-life values.
How the Power of Words Helped Me Take Back Control By Jane Farrell blog In January 2013, I was diagnosed with stage IV invasive thymoma. Never heard of it? Don't feel bad; no one else I know has either. In fact, MD Anderson sees only about 25 cases a year. It's a rare cancer that starts in the thymus, a gland located in your chest between your lungs. It's pretty scary to have something so few people have experienced. I remember so clearly my doctor in Lubbock giving me my diagnosis and talking through the treatments.
_ Healthier Broccoli That WonΓÇÖt Spoil Quickly By Jane Farrell article While researching methods to increase the already well-recognized anti-cancer properties of broccoli, researchers at the University of Illinois also found a way to prolong the vegetable's shelf life. An article about the study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, reports that the method is natural and inexpensive.
_ Pain Management Talk Therapy Best for Chronic Pain? By Jane Farrell article Psychological treatment often provides better relief for chronic pain than prescription drugs or surgery, according to a review published by the American Psychological Association. However, it’s used much less frequently. “Chronic pain affects 116 million American adults, making it more prevalent than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined, and traditional medical approaches are inadequate,” said lead author Mark P. Jensen, PhD, of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington.
_ Breast Cancer New Breast Ca Surgical Guideline By article The Society of Surgical Oncology announced on February 10th 2014 the release of a comprehensive consensus guideline for physicians treating breast cancer that will reduce healthcare costs and improve the course of treatment. Developed in conjunction with the American Society of Radiation Oncology, the guideline outlines an evidence-based surgical treatment path that will save patients from unnecessary surgery.
_ Preventing Radiation Burn By article Severe skin reactions during radiation therapy could be prevented by applying a thin transparent silicone dressing to the skin from the first day of treatment, according to a study done at the University of Otago Wellington's Department of Radiation Therapy in New Zealand. The results have been published online in 2014 in the international journal Radiotherapy and Oncology.
Breast Cancer The Mammogram Controversy Continues By Jane Farrell article Annual mammograms for women aged 40-59 don’t reduce the death rate from breast cancer, according to a new study. The study, published on bmj.com, also said that 22 percent of breast cancers detected via mammogram were over-diagnosed—meaning that the cancers that were found were ones that would not cause symptoms or death. The findings are fueling an ongoing debate about the benefits of mammograms.
Re-Emerging By blog One definition of the word re-emerge is to once again make popular. Life has a way of going full circle and dreams from our past at times re-emerge. I found this to be true when my husband completed an improv class a few months ago. As a child, Kevin enjoyed entertaining his family by putting on silly shows and making them laugh. Many times things we are passionate about are things we did when young. If we are lucky and smart when grown we allow ourselves to let them re-emerge.