MedWorm Tags: diagnosis MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'diagnosis'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:47:55 +0100 Hospital CEO Is Diagnosed With Cancer While Building A New Cancer Center http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181800&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospital-ceo-is-diagnosed-with-cancer-while-building-a-new-cancer-center%2F2011.09.01 Pat Elliott, me and a HUGE cactus at Banner MD Anderson! I am just back from the Phoenix-metro area. It’s now the 5th largest in the United States and despite home foreclosures, there is still a feeling of growth in many areas. Gilbert, a nearby suburb, has expanded to over 200,000 people and a growing major medical center. I spent several days interviewing patients and staff about the soon-to-open, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. The hope is that by bringing MD Anderson’s world-renowned expertise, clinical trials and processes to this new center, cancer care around Phoenix and the southwest will be improved. Look for my video interviews coming soon. But, in the meantime, one interview stuck out for me; the one with the Banner Health President and CEO, Peter Fine. Peter is in his lat... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181800 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0100 5181800 Misdiagnosis Happens All The Time: Tips To Avoid It http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181802&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmisdiagnosis-happens-all-the-time-tips-to-avoid-it%2F2011.09.01 Billionaire Teddy Forstmann has apparently been diagnosed with a serious form of brain cancer.  There’s a tragic twist to the story: according to Fox Business News, Forstmann believes that for more than a year, he had been misdiagnosed with meningitis. ABC News wonders: How could such a misfortune befall a billionaire —- a man able to afford the best doctors, best technology and the most sophisticated diagnostic tests? They’re missing the point.  Misdiagnosis happens with shocking regularity – as much as (more…) *This blog post was originally published at BestDoctors.com: See First Blog* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181802 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:03 +0100 5181802 Credit Card Sized mChip Can Diagnose Disease in the Field http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181734&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=35060&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthnewsblog.com%2Fblog%2F831111 Nature reports that a new credit card sized device, called mChip, can be used to diagnose diseases like HIV and syphilis in minutes. The device could act as a mobile lab that would be extremely useful in the developing world. Nature reports the the mChip was successfully field tested in Rwanda. The mChip is also cheap to manufacture, is highly accurate and requires just a single pin-prick of blood. Take a look: Permalink | Facebook | Twitter | Recent Headlines | News Feeds (Source: HealthNewsBlog.com) HealthNewsBlog.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181734 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:00:00 +0100 5181734 The Multiple Sclerosis Spell-Checker http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182096&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fthe-multiple-sclerosis-spell-checker%2F The more I write about multiple sclerosis, the more I realize that I’m smarter than my computer about said topic. Sometimes I feel like my spell-checking software hasn’t caught up with the vernacular of our disease. Other times, I feel like we’re just making up words for stuff — oft, we are! Myelin, Cog-Fog, Assistive, PML, CCSVI… not something your everyday word processing program recognizes; and I need it too! In my current state, I find myself relying more and more on the brain under my fingertips more than I trust my own T-Cell infested gob but squiggly red, blue or green highlights (GREAT! Now I’m to understand color-coding as well) splash their way across my screen as I type. I once mentioned, a few years ago now my issue with typing my passwords when my fingers aren... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182096 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:13:11 +0100 5182096 Patient History Found To Be Key Element In Making A Diagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174617&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpatient-history-found-to-be-key-element-in-making-a-diagnosis%2F2011.08.28 Four out of five doctors agree that they don’t need scans to make the right diagnosis. It’s an old-fashioned concept frequently discussed among ACP members, but the history and physical combined with basic tests is way more important to diagnosis than ordering scans and advanced tests. A recent research letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine makes the case. In the letter, Israeli researchers described a prospective study of 442 consecutive patients admitted from the emergency department in 53 days. A senior resident examined all patients within 24 hours of admission (mean=14), including a history, physical, and review of ancillary test findings done at the emergency department, such as blood and urine tests, electrocardiography, and chest radiography. The resident also rev... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174617 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:30:00 +0100 5174617 --- http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159877&cid=t_92646_155_f&fid=38410&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FOncopathology%2F%7E3%2FctuWglwyQno%2Fprotocolfor-of-breast-diagnosis-of.html Protocol for Synpotic reporting of Breast  excision specimen with diagnosis of  Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) of the Breast Protocol applies to DCIS without invasive carcinoma or microinvasion. The complete pathology report should include following parameters. Specimen type. ___ Partial breast ___ Total breast (including nipple and skin) ___ Other (specify):  ___ Not specified Procedure  ___ Excision without wire-guided localization ___ Excision with wire-guided localization ___ Total mastectomy (including nipple and skin) ___ Other (specify): ____________________________ ___ Not specified Lymph Node Sampling (select all that apply)  ___ No lymph nodes present ___ Sentinel lymph node(s) ___ Axillary disse... Oncopathology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159877 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:27:00 +0100 5159877 Needing Me Some Neuroplasticity http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159491&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fneeding-me-some-neuroplasticity%2F If, as the time-tested saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is true than how is an old dog with multiple sclerosis to get his treats… or in my case, “Juice”? I’ll first have to disagree with the entire principal of that un-teachable old dog as Max, our 12-year-old rescue — who was 9 at the time — certainly learned new “tricks,” commands and behaviors even though he was well into his canine middle age when he came to live with his new packmates. If dogs can do it, surely I can train my brain a new trick or two… or at least do some of the same old tricks even if the habit-worn pathways of said tasks are currently under attack. Right now, I’m in survival mode. I’m not looking for long-term answers to big questions. Hell, the “big questions... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159491 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:57:29 +0100 5159491 Battle Breast Cancer With the Best Research, Medicine, and Doctors http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159655&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbattle-breast-cancer-with-the-best-research-medicine-and-doctors%2F In my family there are a number of people who are interested in and who have pursued alternative medicine. Sister knows a lot about it, and I have an aunt who has devoted her career and most of her life to exploring health food and alternative medicine and treatments. For my part, I research it extensively. While I am not professing to be an expert or even extremely knowledgeable, I am wary of any claims to curing or successfully treating cancer outside of conventional medicine. These methods are best considered as complementary treatments, and there may be excellent benefits to pursue healthful options during conventional treatment, but not by foregoing tried-and-true Western medicine. With regards to invasive breast cancer, I just do not know anyone who has been truly cured or successful... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159655 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:11:25 +0100 5159655 Life After the Battle With Breast Cancer http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140176&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Flife-after-the-battle-with-breast-cancer%2F I am in North Carolina on vacation this week. My husband and I have been enjoying leisure time fishing, exploring, and watching the sun set over the mountains. Vacation time is important to me, and even though I am a full-time student and our income is drastically reduced, I would not go without it. I can’t tell you if this is because of having been threatened by breast cancer, or because of the change in attitude towards life I experienced when my dad died. It was after his death that I realized that life was for the living, that when it was over it was over, and all the things you wanted to do wouldn’t get done. My dad didn’t live for tomorrow. He enjoyed each day as it came. He was the most patient, content person you could ever meet. When he was in the hospital before his death... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140176 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:05:27 +0100 5140176 Commissioning prison based substance misuse services 2011/12 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139638&cid=t_92646_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F17%2Fcommissioning-prison-based-substance-misuse-services-201112%2F Title: Commissioning prison based substance misuse services 2011/12 Scan or click to download 'Commissioning prison based substance misuse services 2011/12' The Skinny: Dear Collegue letter that recommends the composition of Joint Commissioning Groups for Commissioning prison based substance misuse services 2011/12 should comprise of: • Prison governor or member of the prison senior management team (NOMS1) • PCT • DAAT lead • Local Authority representative • Probation (NOMS) • Police Publisher: DH Published: 27/07/11 Size: 3p. Filed under: Ooops Missed Category! Tagged: Addiction, Addiction units, Alcohol Abuse, Alcohol abuse services, Behaviour disorders, Commissioning, Drug Abuse, Drug abuse services, Dual Diagnosis, Grey Literature, Health Services, Management cont... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139638 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:58:20 +0100 5139638 Missing the big picture http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5131004&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fmissing-big-picture.html A cancer friend was telling me the other day about a friend of her's who was just diagnosed with breast cancer and was refusing chemo - because she didn't want to lose her hair. I think she is missing the big picture. She can make a trade here - lose your hair and keep your life. Multiple doctors have recommended chemo to her and she still says no. I also think she is in that stage called 'denial'. She needs to move on to the anger, bargaining, depression and then acceptance stages. Its not an easy transition and it certainly doesn't happen over night. My friend was going to talk to her some more and find out about her cancer stage and other factors in her diagnosis. I have thought about this for a few days and think there is some fault of the doctors here (or maybe she just isn't heari... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5131004 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:26:00 +0100 5131004 Increased Number Of Antidepressants Prescribed To Patients Without A Psychiatric Diagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125742&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fincreased-number-of-antidepressants-prescribed-to-patients-without-a-psychiatric-diagnosis%2F2011.08.12 Prescriptions for antidepressants given by nonpsychiatrists to patients without a specific psychiatric disorder increased more than 12% in 12 years, leading to the drug class becoming the third most commonly prescribed, a study found. A study in the August issue of Health Affairs reported that antidepressant prescriptions by doctors who didn’t record a specific psychiatric disorder increased from 59.5% of all prescriptions by nonpsychiatrists in 1996 to 72.7% in 2007. Researchers reviewed data on patients age eighteen or older from the 1996-2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys, a national sample of more than 233,000 office-based visits. The proportion of antidepressants prescribed for patients without a psychiatric diagnosis... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125742 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0100 5125742 How Young Is Too Young For ADHD Diagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118821&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-in-the-classroom%2Fhow-young-is-too-young-for-adhd-diagnosis.php Some parents notice signs of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in their kids even before they start school. The child may not be able to sit still for very long, or pay attention to games or television. However, not all children displaying these signs suffer from the disorder. Children develop and grow at different rates; therefore, it is crucial to get a professional opinion. ADHD may not be noticed by parents or others, and may go unobserved until the child runs into problems at school. Since school is very structured and task-oriented environment, ADHD will be more apparent there than anywhere else. It is often a teacher who first notices ADHD in a child. Teachers come into daily contact with all types of children, and, with experience, become aware of children who have learn... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118821 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5118821 The MS ‘Honeymoon’ http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107744&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fthe-ms-honeymoon%2F Diagnostics are better. Primary care doctors are more aware. Patients are seeking knowledge. The general population of people newly diagnosed with MS seems to be getting a bit younger. Truth be known, it’s likely that they are being diagnosed earlier in the course of multiple sclerosis, and that’s a good thing! Medications appear to be more effective early in the course of MS. That’s not just to say they seem to “work” better at keeping attacks down. The meds seem to slow the progression to the point where we may have some extra “good years” before (if) our MS decides to get progressive. Herein lay my thoughts for today: The MS Honeymoon. Many, if not most, of us can think back to some physical “oddities” which we experienced well prior to diagnosis. It wasn’t until a f... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107744 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:40:34 +0100 5107744 More Specialty-Specific Apps Are Coming On The Market http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103339&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmore-specialty-specific-apps-are-coming-on-the-market%2F2011.08.06 The explosive growth of medical applications for smartphones, launched by the  debut of the innovative Apple iTunes App store in 2008, promises to fundamentally change the physician’s tool set. While many specialties have always been heavily dependent on technology, such as radiology and cardiology, the ubiquity of these small, interconnected computers means that every physician will soon have access to a broad array of software and hardware to help them perform their daily work. At iMedicalApps.com, we have been reviewing the most interesting medical apps on the market today as well as watching for trends in mobile medical technology. The most popular categories thus far have been clinical reference and utility apps.  Some of the largest download numbers have been for apps that provid... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103339 Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:00:33 +0100 5103339 Standing Up With Multiple Sclerosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086380&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fstanding-up-with-multiple-sclerosis%2F It’s not uncommon for me to use alliterations and metaphor when I write about MS. Today, however, I write about the actual difficulties of “standing up” when you have multiple sclerosis. Difficulties with the vertical posture come in many colors, shades, and tones for those of us on different places on the MS rainbow. When I was first diagnosed, and trying to keep my jet-set, full-time employment, my boss in Germany told me of a dear friend of his with MS. Your man had apparently had MS for years and the only way you might notice anything is that he couldn’t stand for very long at a cocktail party. If that is the “infrared” end of the MS standing spectrum, “ultraviolet” would be those who cannot stand at all. I recognize that there are many in our Life With MS Blog communit... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086380 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:00:32 +0100 5086380 Generations of Multiple Sclerosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077887&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fgenerations-of-multiple-sclerosis%2F A person who’s lived with MS for 30+ years has had a totally different experience than have I – a person living with the diagnosis of the disease for over 10 years. Likewise, a person diagnosed today, or within the past few years, has had and will have a very different life with the disease than I have had. MS service organizations are constantly trying to figure out to best serve the population of people living with this disease and are now beginning to understand that part of the answer is a generational approach as this generation of people living with multiple sclerosis is having a very different time of it. I often think that my aged group of MS is the most “uptight” about our condition. We’re still working (or trying to), often try to hide our disease, and fight it as muc... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077887 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:24:30 +0100 5077887 Patient Empowerment Has The Potential To Be Problematic http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077684&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpatient-empowerment-has-the-potential-to-be-problematic%2F2011.07.29 Let me say first that I am a practicing primary care doctor who is very much focused on patient centered care.  Though I cannot go back to being a patient who is unaware about what a doctor does, the terminology she uses, or what the importance of certain test results are, I can empathize with the overwhelming amounts of information, challenges, and stressors patients and families can have in navigating the healthcare system to get the right care.  This is the reason I wrote my book. However, over the past few months I’ve noticed a particularly disturbing trend.  Patients are not consulting doctors for advice, but rather demanding testing for diagnoses which are not even remote possibilities.  A little knowledge can be dangerous particularly in the context of little to no clinica... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077684 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:00:00 +0100 5077684 The Best Time To Be Treated For A DVT http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077690&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-best-time-to-be-treated-for-a-dvt%2F2011.07.28 You know I am a cancer survivor – 15 years down the road from a leukemia diagnosis and enjoying a 10 year remission. So whenever something seems weird about my health it’s cancer coming back, right? Wrong! Just how wrong was proven last night. I am writing this from my hospital bed in Seattle. The first symptom of a possible problem came three days ago when I had soreness in my right calf. A pulled muscle? Maybe. But I had not noticed straining it. Back at the gym the next day I had soreness again but thought it was no big deal. Last night it was worse. It hurt some to walk. I got home and, after my wife and son were asleep, got ready for bed. I had a slight fever and then noticed the right calf was not only sore, but swollen and warm. Very strange. I’d never seen that before. Trying... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077690 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:00:02 +0100 5077690 You Get to Choose Your Doctors http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077966&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fyou-get-to-choose-your-doctors%2F I write often about how it is important to work with doctors you like and can trust. I was reminded of this last week when I had my four-month oncologist appointment. I love my oncologist, Dr. Khan. He has a gentle spirit, he is always cheerful, and he is always happy to see me. I spend much of the appointment asking about the chances of cancer returning and reviewing the effects of all the treatment I had. He in turn spends much of the appointment reassuring me and reminding me that although he can never say that breast cancer is completely cured, he is convinced that I will be around for a long, long time. He can be so confident because even his patients who have had cancer return or metastasize tend to live a long time with the chronic condition. Dr. Khan is very aggressive in treating ... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077966 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:22:26 +0100 5077966 Which Generation Of Physicians Uses The Most Mobile Technology? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062240&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhich-generation-of-physicians-uses-the-most-mobile-technology%2F2011.07.25 Smartphones and tablets have reached 80% of physicians across all practice types, locations and years in practice, and 25% of users are “Super Mobile” physicians who use both types of mobile devices. This is far beyond the general population’s 50% adoption of smartphones and 5% adoption of tablets. QuantiaMd, a free, online learning collaborative, released survey results that showed 44% of physicians who do not yet have a mobile device intend to buy one this year. While younger physicians have higher adoption rates than older ones, current use of mobile devices by physicians longest in practice is above 60%, the survey showed. Among physicians with 30 years or more of practice, almost 20% already use a tablet device for work, and another 25% say they are extremely likely ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062240 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:00:00 +0100 5062240 4 Traps To Avoid In The Diagnosis And Treatment Of ADHD http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062376&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2F4-traps-to-avoid-in-the-diagnosis-and-treatment-of-adhd.php In the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, here are four traps that you should avoid so that your child can be treated successfully and without you losing your sanity in the process. The first trap to avoid is getting a diagnosis too soon. When you read about children of one being diagnosed and treated even with psychostimulants, you begin to wonder which planet we are on! A scandal in Florida recently showed that there were 23 infants on psychotic drugs and measures were taken to tighten up on prescription practices by medics there. The ideal age for an adequate diagnosis seems to be around five or six. The second trap to avoid in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD is to presume that your child has ADHD without looking at other possibilities. Make sure you ask the paediatrician if he has do... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062376 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5062376 Sallie Mae, Markel and Dewar Discriminate Against People with Mental Illness http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057763&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F23%2Fsallie-mae-markel-and-dewar-discriminate-against-people-with-mental-illness%2F Sometimes you just have to shake your head — the more things change, the more they stay the same. It can really be depressing to see how, 3 years after the federal mental health parity act was passed, the company known primarily for underwriting students loans — Sallie Mae — is discriminating against people with a mental illness. It’s doing so through one of its myriad of products called tuition refund insurance, something that allows you to reclaim up to 100 percent of your tuition if an illness strikes you while you’re in school. But not just any illness — it has to be a physical illness. If a mental illness strikes you, you will only get 75 percent of your tuition returned. There’s a silver lining on this cloud… suggesting change may be fo... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057763 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:42:04 +0100 5057763 How Do You Get Your ‘Juice’? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050956&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fhow-do-you-get-your-juice%2F A long, long time ago in a land far, far, FAR away… I was the Drum Major of my competitive high school marching band. Yes; your beloved writer of the Life With Multiple Sclerosis Blog was, indeed, the geekiest of Band Geeks! This time of year often takes me back, in the Cuisinart of my mind, to the blend of heatstroke and joy that was our preseason Band Camp; the place where we but music and marching together with a well choreographed field drill with color guard accents. During those long, heat-filled summer days on a dusty back field with chalk lines — faint, sometimes, as the Nazca lines — we would march and play and march some more… and then put the playing together with the marching. Mind you, the act of marching while putting hard metal mouthpieces to lips could be far more t... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050956 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:03:20 +0100 5050956 Cancer chances http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051120&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fcancer-chances.html Someone told me recently that I was an inspiration to people with cancer because I have lived with it so long. I don't feel like an inspiration. Its just a life. Also, sometimes I feel like a cheat. My cancers were early stage - Stage I and Stage IIA. But the Stage I would have been Stage III if I was older... a weird staging system. Maybe I'm proof that cancer doesn't have to be a killer. There are many people out there with cancer and living a long time.Betty Ford was one - she didn't die from her cancer. But in addition to famous people, normal people can get cancer and live. I have a friend who was diagnosed at Stage IV with breast cancer and now has been told, they can't find any signs of it. Can you undo stage IV? I have another friend who had Stage IV ovarian cancer, in 1980. She is... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051120 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:17:00 +0100 5051120 10 Years With MS and 6 Years With My Dog Sadie http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036432&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2F10-years-with-ms-6-years-with-my-dog-sadie%2F This past April I “celebrated” the 10th anniversary of my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis — a rather auspicious date to remember. Today, I am thinking back as well. This time, only 6 years… Six years ago today I received an e-mail from a most wonderful young woman in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. The short note informed me that my new puppy had been born (well, actually that 7 puppies had been born and three of them were bitches; which is what I was hoping for). It was July and I wouldn’t be going to Ireland to pick her up until October — which later got moved to November so that I could speak at an MS fundraising luncheon — but my dear Sadie had been born. The next 8-weeks, as I have chronicled here before helped me decide which of the three young ladies would be mine (or... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036432 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:19:44 +0100 5036432 The Best Evidence Says Mammograms Should Begin at Age Forty http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008550&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fthe-best-evidence-says-mammograms-should-begin-at-age-forty%2F There was much hoopla a few years ago over recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to limit mammography screening to women ages 50 to 74 every other year. But there is less fanfare over new findings coming out of a study in Sweden, which suggests that regular mammograms in women ages 40 to 49 (the age group excluded by the new task force guidelines) prevented up to 30 percent of deaths from breast cancer. People, this is significant! The task force ignored studies like these ongoing in Sweden and Canada for their model, which was based on statistical data. The Swedish mammogram study spanned 29 years and included over 130,000 women. The task force’s answer to recent studies has been to recommend a baseline mammogram for women in their forties to look at breast density,... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008550 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:39:24 +0100 5008550 Asperger’s, Autism and the New DSM http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008529&cid=t_92646_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspiewebnet%2F%7E3%2FNXkxgLdfj84%2F The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), is the psychologist’s bible for diagnosing mental illnesses. Used by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors to determine the mental condition of a patient, the DSM has been an excellent tool for categorizing illnesses. The current manual in service is the DSM IV, which has been in [...] (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008529 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:32:22 +0100 5008529 Why Do Physicians Conduct Complete Physical Exams When You Have A Localized Complaint? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4997519&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhy-do-physicians-conduct-complete-physical-exams-when-you-have-a-localized-complaint%2F2011.07.04 One June 20, 2011, NPR aired a great story about how a person may not “see” a person getting beat up on the side of a jogging path when they are focused on a task (pursuing another jogger)… even if they pass RIGHT BY THE FIGHT!!! In fact, only a third of the subjects reported seeing this mock fight when the experiment was conducted at night. Even more surprisingly, broad daylight didn’t improve the statistics (only 40% noticed the fight). Though the situation and circumstances do not exactly correspond, there is a lesson to be learned here that applies to a medical visit. As an ENT, I often see patients for a very specific complaint… “My right ear hurts.” “I have a bad cough.” No matter what the complaint, unless it is for a specific ta... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997519 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4997519 Mass General sanctions Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens:violating hospital ethics guidelines for non-disclosure of pharma income http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992955&cid=t_92646_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fmass-general-sanctions-joseph-biederman.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992955 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:26:00 +0100 4992955 Dental Diagnosis: Begin at Hello http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984581&cid=t_92646_125_f&fid=38161&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dentalheroes.com%2Fdental-diagnosis-begin-at-hello%2F Mark Wilhelm, DMD MSD There are many cosmetic dentists who believe that diagnosing a patient must begin with a close examination of test results and x-rays. It Starts with “Hello” With over 20 years of experience to call upon, I beg to differ. While many situations will require clinical research, you might be surprised at how much it’s possible to tell from your first “Hello” with a patient. Simple Case Study I recently had a patient visit me to get a second opinion. She was 63 years old and had a lot of dentistry already completed. She had an issue with her front teeth. At a previous provider she was told that she needed a full-mouth reconstruction and went into the details as to what was proposed. After listening I asked her these five basic questions regardi... Dental Heroes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984581 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:16:37 +0100 4984581 How MS Treatments (And Our Expectations) Have Changed http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984585&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fhow-ms-treatments-and-our-expectations-have-changed%2F The old adage is that “Nothing is more constant than change” and there is little truer to someone living with MS. Symptoms change, doctor change, medications change…MS changes. A person living with MS 20 years ago, stranded on an island and newly returned to their home, wouldn’t even recognize the face of Multiple Sclerosis in the world today. Where once there were no meds (or maybe a very competitive lottery to get into a drug trial) there are now 6 approved therapies and scores in the final testing phases. Those once told to “go home and get your affairs in order” are now assisted in living a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Exercise — once the terror of MS docs — is now not only recommended, it is encouraged. Woman who were once counseled to really think about having... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984585 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:04:54 +0100 4984585 Women and ADHD – The Challenge of Diagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968700&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fwomen-and-adhd-%25e2%2580%2593-the-challenge-of-diagnosis.php It wasn’t all that long ago that women with ADHD were almost completely ignored. The educational and medical community were convinced that ADHD was a childhood condition that affected mainly boys leaving millions of girls and women to deal with their symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and restlessness on their own. While the story of women and ADHD has improved somewhat much of the male leaning diagnostic criteria has yet to be modified sufficiently to help girls and women receive the kind of help they need. Even if a women has done her research before hand and feels confident she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder few medical professionals have the tools and diagnostic experience to confirm her suspicions and provide a comprehensive treatment plan. Because there are no ... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968700 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4968700 Progressing With Progressive MS http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968706&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fprogressing-with-progressive-ms%2F Most of us with MS know terms like RRMS (relapsing remitting), SPMS (secondary progressive), and PPMS (primary progressive) when it comes to our disease. Less often heard variations are “chronic progressive” or “worsening progressive,” and I even heard someone refer to their MS as “acute, progressive chronic MS.” Not sure where he had heard that one. While we all want to find a “normal” group of people with MS to which we can identify and belong, it really isn’t all that important as to which group we fall (save for those of us whose doctors are sticklers for medications). What is important is that, as our disease may move from a relapsing-remitting phase – which is often medically described as “inflammatory disease” – to a stage of slow (or not), stea... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968706 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:04:58 +0100 4968706 4 Ways to Manage Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952987&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F20%2F4-ways-to-manage-oppositional-defiant-disorder-in-children%2F Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a childhood disorder that affects anywhere from 6 to 10 percent of children. It is characterized by a negative set of behaviors in a child directed toward the adults in their life, and can sometimes be mistaken for disorders that share some characteristics, such as conduct disorder and even attention deficit disorder. The diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is given by mental health professionals to describe a set of behaviors a child is exhibiting that include: Often loses temper Argues with adults and authority figures Refuses to comply with adult requests Blames others for his mistakes Deliberately annoys people Is easily annoyed by others Is angry/resentful and spiteful/vindictive. Sound like a child you may know? If a child exhibits fou... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952987 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:12:36 +0100 4952987 I am ready for convalescence http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953303&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fi-am-ready-for-convalescence.html But first the latest in breast cancer detection is a sheep. Yes, really. Read more here.So after cancer, there is depression and anger and all sorts of other emotions. The Victorians did one thing right, aside from introducing extreme modesty to piano legs (that's why everything was draped - so legs didn't show), after a significant illness they sent everyone off to convalescent clinics in the Swiss alps or the Adirondacks or some other remote place. This allowed emotional recovery from the illness as well as physical.Now they say 25-40% of those of us lucky enough to get cancer suffer from depression. Who would have thunk? I mean you get the biggest shock of your life, deal with surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and all sorts of nasty tests and procedures, and you get depressed? I mean ... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953303 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:59:00 +0100 4953303 On how many levels is this wrong? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953304&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fon-how-many-levels-is-this-wrong.html A woman was diagnosed with cancer and a relatively bad diagnosis. Her husband asked his boss for flexibility so he could attend treatments with her and offered to work nights and weekends. He was terminated as a result. How wrong is this?Now, as the article says it may not be illegal but it certainly is not moral or ethical.A long term employee made a request and it was declined. They now have to replace him and will bear a burden of hiring and training a new person. I bet the transition will cost more over time than keeping someone who is working odd hours. Never mind what this will do to company morale. Maybe others will leave as a result as well. I mean what if one of their family members got sick and they wanted some flexibility to take care of them? They would have gotten their answer... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953304 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:54:00 +0100 4953304 I did a good thing this weekend http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953306&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fi-did-good-thing-this-weekend.html I spent the weekend volunteering at Casting for Recovery. CFR is an organization based in Vermont which provides fly fishing retreats for women with breast cancer - no matter what stage or how long since their diagnosis. Its a great weekend to meet other women with the same disease and learn a new skill. You get to go once as a participant. If you haven't signed up, do so at www.castingforrecovery.org and you will have an amazing weekend.I went in 2008 as a participant. Then I went back in 2009 and this year as a volunteer. Its almost as good as being a participant. Its a way of giving back for me. I enjoy it.We were at St George's School outside of Newport RI on a beautiful campus. We could see the beach - down a big hill. We ate in a dining hall that looks like it was the model for Hogwa... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953306 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:31:00 +0100 4953306 Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD Homework For Parents http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934581&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fdiagnosis-and-treatment-of-adhd-homework-for-parents.php Here is some homework for parents before they seek a diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. If your child has some of the symptoms of ADHD such as distractability, forgetting things, inattention when you try to engage them in conversation and maybe non-stop fidgeting, Google first on other medical conditions that have similar symptoms and see if they could possibly be one of the reasons for his symptoms. Your list could be quite long including a parasite, liver dysfunction or low blood glucose levels. Make a note of these and make sure that when you do go for a diagnosis, that you mention these and that they have all been excluded. Correct diagnosis is important as ADHD, if left untreated can lead to teenagers being involved in road accidents, low academic achievement and risk of substance abuse... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934581 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4934581 Fasd Diagnosis Hidden By Adhd Symptoms http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902562&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Ffasd-diagnosis-hidden-by-adhd-symptoms.php Jon Bennett has often written about the huge problem of giving the wrong findings on ADD/ADHD. This concern brings to mind of the old proverb that says: ‘If you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail!’ Modern medicine have become fixated on giving a diagnoses of ADD to children that it becomes the quick and easy final decision on for (This despite the fact that there is no objective barometer used to assess the medical signs!).The consequence of this comes to the fact that a determination of ADD/ADHD can can basically be just what our grandparents called having ‘ants in the pants’! On the other hand, it becomes more common that an ADD/ADHD verdict hinders the medical professionals from discovering the true conditions.Research in the last few years are revea... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902562 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4902562 Does Your Doctor Have Time To Think About You? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893456&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoes-your-doctor-have-time-to-think-about-you%2F2011.06.02 At the New York Times’ City Room Blog, Joel Cohen writes: my wife and I are convinced that all medical students should have to pass Overbooking 101 before they can become doctors.Again and again, we arrive at a doctor’s aptly named waiting room on or before the scheduled time, only to learn that three or four others sitting there have been given the same appointment. He says doctors need to understand the impact of this on their patients.  I agree, but not just because it’s annoying. A typical doctor sees thirty patients a day.  Some see even more. Reflect on that math.  If your doctor sees 30 patients a day, that’s 150 a week, 600 a month, maybe 7,000 a year. It means that if it’s been even two months since you last saw your doctor, he has probably seen more than a thousand p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893456 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:00:57 +0100 4893456 Is There Really an MS-Stress Connection? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893705&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fis-there-really-an-ms-stress-connection%2F I’ll have to admit to you that I’ve never understood the underlying connection that we all seem to make between times of high stress and multiple sclerosis flares. I know that my diagnosing attack came at one of the highest stress times of my life, but I wouldn’t say that I remember any of the next six major attacks as having taken place during stressful times. In fact, if you start to consider the autoimmune theory of MS, it begins to make less sense to me. Stress seems to lower immune activity (stressful time = getting sick with whatever bug is going around), so how is it that we can equate our multiple sclerosis disease activity — or at least its symptomatic expression — with times of great stress? Many of us have made mention in the pages of Life With MS Blog that a s... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893705 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:26:50 +0100 4893705 When Mental Illness Stigma Turns Inward http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872165&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F26%2Fwhen-mental-illness-stigma-turns-inward%2F This study shows in some cases, it might even be increasing.) We see stigma everywhere. Every time violence is automatically connected to mental illness in an article or news report, we see it.* We see it in movies and other forms of media. We see it at work where stereotypes might be perpetuated, where employees are afraid to “come out” with their diagnosis. We see it with our families or friends, who might say versions of “just snap out of it” or “get over it already” or offer “advice” like sleep more, eat less, look on the bright side and try harder. There’s also just pure ignorance, especially when it comes to serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. As E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., wrote in Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872165 Thu, 26 May 2011 12:00:16 +0100 4872165 Do You Know How To Recognize Deadly Bacterial Meningitis? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872098&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-you-know-how-to-recognize-deadly-bacterial-meningitis%2F2011.05.26 One of the most feared infectious diseases for outdoor travelers—particularly children and young adults—meningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). The infection can appear in outbreaks, most commonly abroad, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and China. The infection is spread in the respiratory secretions of humans. The disease appears in many forms, the most common of which are meningitis, pneumonia, and disseminated bacterial infection. The typical presentation of meningitis is fever, headache, and a stiff neck. If the cause is meningococcus, the victim may develop a skin rash, which consists of red dots or bumps, or a flat, more patchy dark red discoloration. If the dark red dots begin to enlarge and coalesce into large purplish bruise-like... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872098 Thu, 26 May 2011 11:00:00 +0100 4872098 New Study Published on Tysabri-Induced PML Gives Us New Letters To Think About: IRIS http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862765&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fnew-study-published-on-tysabri-induced-pml-gives-us-new-letters-to-think-about-iris%2F As if the threat of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) weren’t enough to think about, now there are another set of letters to think about for people taking Tysabri for their multiple sclerosis. A new study from France reports on something called IRIS (immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome), a post-PML condition which occurs often as the immune system is re-activated after treatment for PML. While researchers think that as many as half of the deaths in MS patients experiencing PML were actually caused by IRIS after their blood was “cleansed” to remove Tysabri from the system, almost all PML patients contracted IRIS. The new report looked at survival rates of people diagnosed with PML following the 2006 re-release of Tysabri; most of the world had taken it off the s... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862765 Mon, 23 May 2011 22:18:49 +0100 4862765 10 Things You Should Know About Male Depression http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852937&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F23%2F10-things-you-should-know-about-male-depression%2F What looks and feels like depression to a woman may not to a man, which is why so many men in America are misdiagnosed or missed altogether. However, considering that the rates of completed suicide of men are three to four times that of women, we need to educate ourselves about male depression and its unique symptoms. The following are 10 things you should know about male depression, compiled from Johns Hopkins Depression and Anxiety Bulletin and other sources. 1. Depression affects about 6 million American men and 12 million American women each year. But these numbers don’t tell the story of men, and older men, in particular. 2. Suicide in men peaks in the 20s and again in the 60s and 70s. 3. Many men experience “depression without sadness,” which makes it more challenging for prima... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852937 Mon, 23 May 2011 16:45:23 +0100 4852937 Breast Cancer Patient Not Welcomed by Airline http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4853114&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbreast-cancer-patient-not-welcomed-by-airline%2F Outrage was my initial response to the story of the woman who was turned away from a Korean Airlines flight last week because of stage 4 breast cancer. Crystal Kim wanted to fly from Seattle to her homeland of Korea after being diagnosed with terminal stage 4 breast cancer. Despite her doctor’s notes to the contrary, Korean Airlines decided she was too frail to travel and denied her boarding. The airline was following International Air Transport Association guidelines, which recommend that terminally ill passengers be evaluated by airline medical personnel before being allowed to fly. These, however, are only guidelines — and another carrier, Delta, who allowed Ms. Kim to board one of their flights, indicated that medical recommendations from doctors who knew her were enough for th... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4853114 Mon, 23 May 2011 13:44:45 +0100 4853114 Making Sure You Have The Right Diagnosis: Tips From An Internet-Savvy Patient http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841476&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmaking-sure-you-have-the-right-diagnosis-tips-from-an-internet-savvy-patient%2F2011.05.19 People generally have a sense there might be information on the Web that can help them when they are worried about their health. They also have a sense there is a LOT of information and some of it may be wrong. All of that is true. What is a strategy to find the good and avoid the bad? This morning, I chatted with Mike Collins, host of “Charlotte Talks” on WFAE, public radio in Charlotte, North Carolina about The Web-Savvy Patient and some of my “Insider Tips” within. We talked at length about how you can get started looking for health information on the Web. First of all, if you’re worried about your health, make sure you get an accurate diagnosis, and make sure that diagnosis is specific to you. Don’t be satisfied if your health care team tells you that you have a “thyroid ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841476 Thu, 19 May 2011 17:00:27 +0100 4841476 Yesterday was a bad day so apparently I am crabby http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841903&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fyesterday-was-bad-day-so-apparently-i.html I had a bad day yesterday. It was long, eventful, stressful, and tiring. My husband keeps telling the cat to avoid me because I am being crabby - even though I fed the cat and made lunch for my husband. Yesterday morning I woke up starving, wanting breakfast, and couldn't eat, even have coffee because I had a fasting blood test before my 830 doctor appointment. I got up, fed the cat and made lunch for my husband, and was starving. I finally took a shower before getting dressed. My big toe on my left foot has been bugging me for a few days so I took a look at it after getting out of the shower. It was infected. I mean there was (yucky) pus next to my toe nail. I don't consider that something one wants to see. Crap.I went to the hospital for my blood test and grabbed coffee and a banana (as ... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841903 Thu, 19 May 2011 10:06:00 +0100 4841903 Suzy’s back http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841906&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fsuzys-back%2F Suzy is something of a regular on this blog. She wrote movingly about young women and infertility , and then came back to tell us about her experience of surviving ovarian cancer. Suzy is continuing to raise awareness of ovarian cancer, and has written an article for the Mail Online about her experience, in the light of the recent NICE guideline that every woman who has symptoms that could be ovarian cancer should be given a simple blood test. Ovarian cancer is often misdiagnosed as IBS by GPs, or the symptoms (pelvic pain, bloating, weight gain) are ignored by women who think they are part of the normal round of menstrual symptoms, and for these reasons, late diagnosis is common. This makes for a staggeringly high mortality rate. 6,537 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008, an... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841906 Wed, 18 May 2011 08:31:31 +0100 4841906 Judge Rules That Mom With Breast Cancer Can’t Parent http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4829216&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fjudge-rules-that-mom-with-breast-cancer-cant-parent%2F I have been following the story of Alaina Giordano, the North Carolina woman whose two children (ages 5 and 11) have been removed from her care and placed in the custody of their father because she has stage 4 breast cancer. It doesn’t matter that Giordano’s cancer is under control; it doesn’t seem to concern Judge Nancy Gordon that the children’s father lives in Chicago and that she is relocating the children far from their home. It only matters that this judge feels they will do better by being with the non-ill parent. Is Judge Gordon surmising that women with breast cancer can no longer parent? Since when did breast cancer take away our ability to be a loving, caring, and responsible parent? I wanted to write about this when I first heard about it from my editor last week.... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4829216 Mon, 16 May 2011 18:18:14 +0100 4829216 Cancer causes PTSD for patients and family members http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803452&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fcancer-causes-ptsd-for-patients-and.html There are not enough rocket scientist cancer people out there who could deny this one but it took a study about parents of children with cancer and a referral to a study of stress on breast cancer patients to paint the big picture. A cancer diagnosis is stressful - well DOH! - whether its you or a family member. I think the issue of the stress level of family members is finally getting more attention. A cancer diagnosis does a number on everyone in the family. I have seen more emotional people talking about their family member's cancer and fewer emotions from the patients themselves. A cancer diagnosis is hard to cope with - facing the unknown. If you are the patient in treatment, you get a whole group of people to help you - doctor, nurses, social workers, etc - who are on call 24/7 for e... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803452 Mon, 09 May 2011 10:17:00 +0100 4803452 Adhd Assessment and Diagnosis Getting it Right http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803330&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-medication%2Fadhd-assessment-and-diagnosis-getting-it-right.php Your absolute first step with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) before considering medication and ADHD treatment is to ensure a proper assessment and diagnosis. Why is this so important? There are a number of variances within ADHD and other medical conditions that share symptoms. It is extremely important to know exactly what you’re dealing with before you seek treatment. It’s like treating the common cold with antibiotics – they don’t have any effect and the cold won’t go away, likewise you’ll be putting things in your body that you simply don’t need. However, with ADHD an inaccurate diagnosis and mistreatment has much more significant risks because ADHD doesn’t go away like the common cold. ... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803330 Sun, 08 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4803330 All in the Family With MS: Happy Mother’s Day http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794955&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fall-in-the-family-with-ms-happy-mothers-day%2F To say that the past decade has seen changes in the way that everyone looks at Multiple Sclerosis wouldn’t do justice to the tectonic shifts in MS thinking. The number of MS medications, the acknowledgement that pain is an MS symptom, the understanding that multiple sclerosis has a “genetic element” have all been new developments seen since my Dx in 2001. Multiple sclerosis doesn’t “run” in families. There is, however, some kind of a genetic connection to MS. Several years ago it was found that an identical twin have a 30x higher chance of developing MS if their sibling has MS verses the risk of fraternal twins. Even one of the latest research papers about CCSVI shows some family connections to this possible MS link. One of the darkest questions lingering in the back of the he... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794955 Fri, 06 May 2011 19:23:31 +0100 4794955 Should You Tell Your Boss that You Have ADHD? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789333&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F05%2Fshould-you-tell-your-boss-that-you-have-adhd%2F When you have any mental health condition, it can be hard to know if you should disclose your diagnosis at work, particularly to your boss. It’s a thorny topic. For instance, you might be worried that others will judge you negatively because of the pervasive stigma in our society. Yet, you might need certain accommodations that you’d like to ask for. Also, many people are relieved to get their diagnosis — finally having a name for their disruptive symptoms — and want to share it with others. So what can you do? ADDitude Magazine has an excellent article on this topic by Wilma Fellman. I interviewed Fellman a few years ago for an article about succeeding in the workplace when you have ADHD. Her take? She advised readers against telling supervisors about their ADHD. ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789333 Thu, 05 May 2011 12:13:11 +0100 4789333 New Alzheimer’s Guidelines Emphasize Early Detection, Frightening Some http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775393&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fnew-alzheimer%25e2%2580%2599s-guidelines-emphasize-early-detection-frighten-some%2F2011.05.02 For the first time in 30 years, an expert panel has updated guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The long overdue facelift should favorably impact care for millions and accelerate badly needed research on the disease. The guidelines were produced by representatives from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association. They portray Alzheimer’s for the first time as a three-stage disease. In addition to ‘Stage 3,’—the full-blown clinical syndrome that had been described in earlier versions of the guidelines—the new guidelines describe an earlier ‘Stage 2,’ of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s, and a ‘Stage 1, or preclinical’ phase of the disease. The latter can only be detected with biochemical marker tests and brain scans.Th... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775393 Mon, 02 May 2011 11:00:06 +0100 4775393 More on helping if you know someone with cancer http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775564&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fmore-on-helping-if-you-know-someone.html As a follow up to yesterday's post on helping people with cancer. What can you do to help? How can you help? While a cancer or other diagnosis doesn't mean life is over, it can make things difficult.I assume everyone has the best intentions and wants to bring over a meal or something to help but with cancer, a casserole may not be appreciated. If the person cooks for their large family, casseroles may be appreciated but if a smaller family or someone else cooks, I would definitely ask. And as a reality check, how many casseroles can one use at a given time? While in chemo, food can lose its appeal. I don't like shrimp any more. While in chemo, scallions made me nauseous. I think the best thing to do is ask them, their spouse or other family member how you can help. Maybe they don't need fo... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775564 Mon, 02 May 2011 10:37:00 +0100 4775564 Cancer news http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4771319&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fcancer-news.html Why is it when a celebrity gets cancer it becomes international news? But when a regular person gets cancer, people run away and hide? I mean the latest celebrity to get cancer is the man who was just recruited by the NFL, shouldn't he be allowed to cope with his diagnosis and treatment with a little privacy? The last thing a chemo patient wants is a camera following them around as they lose their hair and try to keep down their food. The lack of sensitivity in the media is awful these days. Reporters are aggressive for stories and have to get the scoop. Stories get blown out of proportion and what is little news becomes big news. Media hype causes a lot of problems but that's not my topic.My topic is cancer diagnosis and privacy. Well not just privacy but managing of privacy. A regular pe... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4771319 Sun, 01 May 2011 10:42:00 +0100 4771319 Journal of the American Medical Association 2011 (Vol. 305 No. 8) http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758706&cid=t_92646_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fjournal-of-the-american-medical-association-2011-vol-305-no-8%2F This study examines the accuracy and outcomes of mammography screening in women with a personal history of breast cancer (PHBC) relative to screening of similar women without PHBC. The article concludes that mammography screening in PHBC women detects early-stage second breast cancers but has lower sensitivity and higher interval cancer rate, despite more evaluation and higher underlying cancer rate, relative to that in non-PHBC women. An NHS Athens password is required to access this article online, alternatively contact the Library for a copy of this article. Filed under: Athens Password, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Breast Cancer, Breast Neoplasms, Early Diagnosis, Mammography (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758706 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:04:13 +0100 4758706 A Decade Living With Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis… http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753841&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fa-decade-living-with-multiple-sclerosis-diagnosis%2F There is a generation of Americans who can tell you exactly where they were when they heard of JFK’s assassination. The next generation has space shuttle Challenger to hold as a common cultural experience. And 9/11 is etched into every living psyche the way December 7th, 1941 lives in the hearts of the “Greatest Generation.” We all have personal dates which we cannot shake as well; dates of births and deaths and, in the case of many of us with multiple sclerosis, there are dates of diagnosis. Today is the 10 year anniversary of my Dx. When I look back, like many of us can, before I heard the words “you have MS”, I know that I’d lived with this disease for many years prior. In fact, a reexamination of mysterious symptoms I experienced in high school lead me (along with my medic... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753841 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:17:34 +0100 4753841 Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747653&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34752&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPsychsplash%2F%7E3%2FHvGYjMfFee4%2F URL: http://www.samhsa.gov/SAMHSA was established in 1992 and directed by Congress to target effectively substance abuse and mental health services to the people most in need and to translate research in these areas more effectively and more rapidly into the general health care system. For: Anyone, Consumers, AnyoneTopics: Behaviour Management, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Cognitive Fitness, Cognitive Training, Common Factors, Depression, General Psychology, Health Promotion, Health Psychology, Health and Social Services, Life, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Mental Health Promotion, Quality of Life, Addiction, Attachment, Behaviour Management, Diagnosis, Emotional Health, Health Promotion, Health Psychology, Health and Social Services, Mental Health, Mental Health Promotion, Self-help, Social S... PsychSplash blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747653 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:00:46 +0100 4747653 Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4744840&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34752&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPsychsplash%2F%7E3%2FEbcqXrugPxg%2F URL: http://www.minddisorders.com/The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders contains medical articles on mental disorders and conditions. Over 150 mental disorders are organized alphabetically. For: AnyoneTopics: Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Common Factors, Diagnosis, Educational Psychology, General Psychology, Health Psychology, History of Psychology, Mental Health, OCR Level-A Psychology, Pediatric Depression, Psychodynamic, Social PsychologyFeatures: Articles, Databases, Glossary, e-learning The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders contains medical articles on mental disorders and conditions. Over 150 mental disorders are organized alphabetically. Here are examples of topics of articles on our website: Learning Disorders Magnetic resonance imaging Manic episode Multisyst... PsychSplash blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4744840 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 17:00:19 +0100 4744840 Why doctors should refer patients to other patients ! http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742480&cid=t_92646_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fwhy-doctors-should-refer-patients-to.html When doctors are stumped with a difficult patient, they will often refer the patient to a specialist, in order to help them with the diagnosis and management.However, while specialists can be very skilled at making the right diagnosis, they are often not very interested in helping the patient to learn to live with his disease. This is not an area which is of much interest to them, and not their core competence either.However, after the diagnosis has been made, the patient's life still carries on - and he is often unsure where to turn for help.For example, let's look at a young woman who goes to her family physician with the problem of blurring of vision. The physician dutifully refers her to an ophthalmologist, who then sends her on to a neurologist, who makes the diagnosis of multiple scl... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742480 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:01:00 +0100 4742480 MS Didn’t Give Us Nuttin’ — We Took It! http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734378&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fms-didnt-give-us-nuttin-we-took-it%2F The funeral mass for the first person I ever knew to have multiple sclerosis took place today. She lived a good life, a happy life, a full life. She’s remembered today for her love of family, of friends, and of travel. Goldine’s life with MS taught me much — likely far more than she would have ever known. Her love of travel in particular (oft with one of her daughters to help) made me look at my life with MS differently from the start. And today, in her honor, I state plainly that MS didn’t “give” us anything. If there is goodness in our life after MS that wasn’t there before; we took it! MS is a sly and evil thief. I’ll never give it the power of saying ‘MS gave me…’ and I think that if we do say something like that, we give too much credit to the disease... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734378 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:25:56 +0100 4734378 The Hug That May Have Saved A Life http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734102&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-hug-that-may-have-saved-a-life%2F2011.04.20 Every once in a while we physicians make an astute (or perhaps lucky) observation that becomes a turning point in a patient’s life. I’ll never forget the time that I placed a hand on an elderly woman’s belly after she said that she felt a little bit dizzy – the pulsatile abdominal mass that I discovered set in motion a cascade of events that resulted in life-saving surgery for an disecting abdominal  aortic aneurysm (AAA). It was incredibly gratifying to be involved in saving her life – and now anyone who so much as swoons in my vicinity gets a tummy rub! (Yes, Dr. Groopman I know that’s not necessarily a rational response to one lucky “exam finding.”) Last week I made a fortunate “catch” on the order of the AAA discovery from ye... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734102 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:00:32 +0100 4734102 Putting cancer in its place http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734503&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fputting-cancer-in-its-place.html Recently, Sidney Harman, the 92 year old executive chairman of Newsweek, died of Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML. Prior to his death he wrote a column on his cancer. He requested that it go stay in the corner as he was too busy to deal with it.Many people let their cancer diagnosis dominate their lives while they are in treatment. Mr. Harman suggests this is wrong. He was too busy living to have time to let it get in the way of his life.I think he has a good point. I was told a breast cancer diagnosis is a year out of your life and then you go back to 'normal' (whatever that is) and get on with your life. Many people drop everything in their lives and deal with their cancer and its treatment. Why do we do this? Is this the fight or flight mentality? If you have any other medical issue, do yo... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734503 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:13:00 +0100 4734503 PGD - CGH - is it of any use ? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734247&cid=t_92646_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fpgd-cgh-is-it-of-any-use.html The newest IVF technology uses a fancy new technique which marries IVF and genetics. This is called PGD ( preimplantation genetic diagnosis) with CGH ( comparative genomic hybridisation) and there are lots of press releases and articles touting this as the newest breakthrough !Doctors , like all big boys, love to play with new toys - and the newer the better ! This is especially true when they have expensive new technological tools, which no other competitor has. Doctors can be very competitive - and are always trying to be one-up on each other. An easy way of being different is to use the newest technology - but the trouble is that never is not always better ( though newer is always more expensive !)Because these new tools are so expensive , doctors need to use them extensively, to justif... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734247 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 02:45:00 +0100 4734247 Catherine Zeta Jones: Bipolar II Is Not Diet Coke http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723941&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F18%2Fcatherine-zeta-jones-bipolar-ii-is-not-diet-coke%2F Dear readers, I owe you all an apology. I was wrong in my post about Catherine Zeta Jones’s diagnosis of bipolar II to compare bipolar II to Diet Coke. It was flip, inappropriate, and a lame attempt at humor. I hereby admit that I was wrong. So there is no need to further bash me. I was wrong because it suggests that bipolar II is not as serious, not as painful, not as debilitating as bipolar I. But, as a person diagnosed with bipolar II myself, I certainly know that isn’t the case. I realize that the depressive cycle for someone with bipolar II can actually be more severe than the depressive cycles of folks with bipolar I. And sometimes the depression can be psychotic. I was there myself, although I’m not sure if it was the illness that made me psychotic or the drug cocktail of abo... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723941 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:00:17 +0100 4723941 Do-It-Yourself Health Care: A New Form Of Outsourcing? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714746&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-it-yourself-health-care-a-new-form-of-outsourcing%2F2011.04.14 The outsourcing of work by businesses to the cheapest available workers has received a lot of attention in recent years.  It has largely escaped notice, however, that the new labor force isn’t necessarily located in Southeast Asia, but is often found here at home and is virtually free.  It is us, using our laptops and smart phones to perform more and more functions once carried out by knowledgeable salespeople and service reps. This was particularly salient to me this week: I spent an hour online browsing, comparing prices, reading customer reviews and filling out the required billing and shipping information to get a great deal on a new lamp.  An airline would charge me 99 cents to talk to a person but provides information for free online.  Calls to Amtrak to make train reservations... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714746 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:00:54 +0100 4714746 Stress and Cancer and Families http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714977&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fstress-and-cancer-and-families.html Cancer is stressful. In fact, its considered that people after diagnosis are often suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I can believe it. Cancer is more than stressful, its take your world and turn it upside down and shake out all the little problems in your life. Any outstanding issues in your life come out to be dealt with - remember your former friend but then somehow your friendship ended but always meant to make up with, well now that you might DIE you have to deal with that. If you are going to DIE its time to write your will and make your final arrangements so that those left behind don't have be stressed themselves. And if you are going to DIE you need a bucket list and to rush around and take care of all the items. And what about a living will, hospice arrangements, etc ... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714977 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:57:00 +0100 4714977 Beating Breast Cancer Is Like Taking on a Pit Bull — You Don’t Know You Can Do It Until You Do http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709356&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbeating-breast-cancer-is-like-taking-on-a-pitbull-you-dont-know-you-can-do-it-until-you-do%2F The other night my dog Dixie and I went for our usual walk around the neighborhood. We look ridiculous, since Dixie generally walks me while I hold on to her with all my might. To say she’s not well trained on a leash — after 10 years — is an understatement; however, she has me well-trained. Generally, we feel quite safe and arrive home without incident. This night was the exception. Half way through our trek, we were confronted by a pit bull loose in the neighborhood and obviously without an owner. My reaction was not what I would have expected. I quickly swooped up my little Dixie — a Jack Russell terrier — in my arms and yelled at the pit bull to go home while lunging at it aggressively. Initially, the pit bull repeatedly turned away and turned back — at least until Dixie de... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709356 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:22:02 +0100 4709356 6 Tips for Living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in College http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704713&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F12%2F6-tips-for-living-with-an-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-college%2F As Autism Awareness month continues, April is a time of transition for many high school seniors, as they learn what colleges and universities they got into. So it seems like an ideal time to talk about autism and college, and some tips to help with the transition. The excerpt below is from the book, Living Well on the Spectrum by author Valerie L. Gaus, Ph.D. The book is a self-help book that helps a person with an autism spectrum disorder identify life goals and the steps needed to achieve them. Read on for the excerpt… April is the month when most high school seniors receive their college acceptance letters and begin to plan the next phase of their lives. The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for people on the spectrum. All too often I am referred a youn... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704713 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:05:05 +0100 4704713 8 Tips to Tell Your Child They Have ADHD http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704717&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F11%2F8-tips-to-tell-your-child-they-have-adhd%2F Regardless of your child’s age, it can be hard to tell them that they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Fortunately, today, people are more familiar with ADHD. “The good news at this point in time is that ADHD is pretty well known and many kids (or at least teens) know someone or have a friend who they know has ADHD,” according to Ari Tuckman, PsyD, a clinical psychologist who specializes in ADHD and author of More Attention, Less Deficit: Successful Strategies for Adults with ADHD. Below are some ideas to help you talk to your child. 1. Come to terms with the diagnosis yourself. If you haven’t accepted the diagnosis, it’ll be much harder to talk to your child. According to psychologist Carol Brady, Ph.D, on ADDitude magazine, the best time to talk to you... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704717 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:44:49 +0100 4704717 Should You Tell Your Employer You Have Autism? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684431&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F06%2Fshould-you-tell-your-employer-you-have-autism%2F April is Autism Awareness Month, and in helping to promote awareness of autism, I’m pleased to provide an excerpt from the book, Living Well on the Spectrum by author Valerie L. Gaus, Ph.D. The book is a self-help book that helps a person with an autism spectrum disorder identify life goals and the steps needed to achieve them. One of the concerns I often hear from people with an autism spectrum disorder is about work and their career. In fact, just last evening while hosting our weekly Q&A on mental health issues here at Psych Central, the question came up whether a person should tell a potential employer about their Asperger’s (the mildest form of autism). While I am not a lawyer, my suggestion was that it probably wasn’t relevant for many jobs and not something tha... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684431 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:16:41 +0100 4684431 Did Cancer Make Me Sick? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684685&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fdid-cancer-make-me-sick.html I have always had more medical ups and downs since my first cancer diagnosis at age 19. In my 20's I had a benign lumpectomy and a burst ovarian cyst. In my 30's, I had another burst ovarian cyst and knee surgery after a bad day of skiing. In my 40's, I have had fibroids that died off and created a massive internal infection which resulted in a hysterectomy, a second cancer diagnosis, another benign lumpectomy, my gall bladder removed, degenerating disks in my spine, sprained ankle, possible high blood pressure, another knee injury (on my formerly good knee), and tennis elbow. I also have a few pesky after effects of cancer including lymphedema, early menopause as a result of chemo killing off my remaining ovary, and shoulder issues from breast cancer surgery. Also, a lifetime on synthetic... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684685 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:30:00 +0100 4684685 Not Writing Much Longer — I Hope http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4677040&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fnot-writing-much-longer-i-hope%2F I only learned tonight that Ann Romney, the wife of Mitt Romney, a presidential candidate wannabe, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. I didn’t know that until now, but I was happy to learn that she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer — ductal carcinoma in situ DCIS. Technically, carcinoma in situ is a pre-cancer. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in situ when she was 60; she survived that and then survived lung cancer later. Women diagnosed at that early age are often considered cancer-free after a lumpectomy to remove the tiny tumor. I was not so lucky. When I was diagnosed, the cancer was invasive and had spread to several lymph nodes. That was over six years ago. I survived and I have been writing about it for five years. I never figured that I would sti... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4677040 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:52:09 +0100 4677040 Crowd-Sourcing For Medical Diagnoses http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4664180&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcrowd-sourcing-for-medical-diagnoses%2F2011.03.31 The Times ran an intriguing experiment on its Well blog yesterday: a medical problem-solving contest. The challenge, based on the story of a real girl who lives near Philadelphia, drew 1379 posted comments and closed this morning with publication of the answer. Dr. Lisa Sanders, who moderated the piece, says today that the first submitted correct response came from a California physician; the second came from a Minnesota woman who is not a physician. Evidently she recognized the condition’s manifestations from her experience working with people who have it. The public contest – and even the concept of using the word “contest” – to solve a real person’s medical condition interests me a lot. This kind of puzzle is, as far as I know, unprecedented apart from the somewhat removed d... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4664180 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:00:56 +0100 4664180 Dr. Lisa Sanders: Medical Detective http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642594&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdr-lisa-sanders-medical-detective%2F2011.03.27 If you follow me regularly, you know I enjoy watching the Fox television drama House M.D. on Monday nights (although I often watch the recording later in the week). Doctor Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is a sorry character but a terrific diagnostician.  In almost every episode someone is on the brink of death from an elusive illness when House’s “light bulb” goes on and, in a flash, he saves the patient’s life by proving himself to being the world’s best medical detective. Doc Hollywood??? Dr. Lisa Sanders is watching 3,000 miles away in New Haven, Connecticut where she teaches first and second year med students at Yale how to learn to be House-type medical detectives – but much more respectful ones. She is like that herself. She’s so good at it she writes a medical column fo... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642594 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:00:53 +0100 4642594 Life With MS Means Living With Multiple Sclerosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615277&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Flife-with-ms-means-living-with-multiple-sclerosis%2F When I wrote our first blog over five years ago, Rose posted it under the heading “Life With MS”. How very prescient of her. Whether we’ve written about drugs for MS, the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, disease progression, or the joys of service animals this blog has really been about the living of “Life” as part of our lives with Multiple Sclerosis! The past couple of days were one of those postcard Pacific Northwest weekends. Bright blue skies were streaked by only the highest and wispiest of stratus clouds, and ornamental cherry trees shed their bud casings to show their furry pink selves. Sweet grass, covered with thick morning dew, wetted and stained my tattered old denim as I began the spring planting ritual. Gardening – vegetable gardening, as I’ve never really had mu... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615277 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:38:07 +0100 4615277 MS Awareness Week Day 5: Brought to You by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610901&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fms-awareness-week-day-5-brought-to-you-by-the-national-multiple-sclerosis-society%2F This week has been National MS Awareness Week. Many of you have been spreading the word and color orange around you daily routine all week. Some cities have stepped up by lighting buildings in the color of our cause. National news has taken notice of MS this week and even Rockefeller Center saw its share of MS “awareness.” People all over the country have been speaking out about Multiple Sclerosis and even many of you chimed in with what MS= to you. All of this was done on our behalf by the National MS Society (NMSS) as a way to bring MS into the public’s consciousness. I think it’s a fitting time, with only the weekend left in MS Awareness Week, to talk about The National MS Society. As most of our regular readers will know, I am a volunteer for The Society at both my chapter ... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610901 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:54:10 +0100 4610901 10 Reasons Why Therapy May Not Be Working http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600579&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F16%2F10-reasons-why-someone-in-therapy-may-not-be-getting-better%2F A few months ago I was called to be an expert witness at the county court. Not my favorite thing to do. What makes it hard is the tendency lawyers have to ask complex questions and expect a “Yes” or “No” answer. I have learned to slow myself down, detach myself from the process, and be absolutely truthful while remaining as unprovoked as possible. Otherwise it is an exhausting exercise. One question did get me going, though. It revolved around whether or not a person can change and what causes a person in therapy to improve or not improve. The conversation below is a dramatic re-enactment of real events… Lawyer: Under what circumstances does a person in therapy not get well? Me: Are you assuming the therapist is perfect? Because one reason a person does not i... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600579 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:35:35 +0100 4600579 MS Awareness Week, Day 3: Care Partners http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600684&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fms-awareness-week-day-3-care-partners%2F Multiple sclerosis is a family disease. Even if you are the only one in your family living with a diagnosis of MS — like I was for the first decade after my diagnosis — your family lives with MS as well. Some people live well with MS, some struggle and suffer (in their own ways). The same holds true for family members and friends of people with MS. Today, as part of our week-long series dedicated to MS Awareness Week, I’d like to call out our care partners. It’s not easy to live with someone with MS. It’s not possible to read our minds. It’s not always pleasant to be around us when we require (and sometimes don’t ask for) extra help, but our care partners do it. Some care partners are friends we pay — nursing assistants, home health aides, and the like. Others are friends o... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600684 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:15:23 +0100 4600684 What’s the Diagnosis #13 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600543&cid=t_92646_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F03%2Fwhats-the-diagnosis-13%2F A breast cancer patient presents with painful rash to her hands and feet for the past 24 hours. The palms and soles were warm and she had a horrible “burning” sensation that didn’t improve with pain medications. Putting ice on her hands and feet seemed to provide her with temporary relief. She started several new medications recently including an an ACE inhibitor, prednisone, pyridoxine, and Vicodin. She had finished one round of chemotherapy and did not have a satisfactory response. Her oncologist had therefore started her on a different regimen several days prior to her emergency department visit. Vital signs were stable. The rash stopped at the wrist creases and the ankles and was nowhere else on her body. CBC and basic chemistries were normal. She had mild relief with... WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600543 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:37:26 +0100 4600543 Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, Day 2: MS = http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592548&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fmultiple-sclerosis-awareness-week-day-2-ms%2F It’s Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week in the United States. There are television adverts for the National MS Society, billboards, Facebook pages are bubbling with chat, and people are wearing orange and taking part in awareness activities across the country. I’ve decided to try to post a little something every day this week, starting out year six at a sprint! Today, I’m focusing on MS =. The National MS Society has created this page so that all of us who live with MS — patients, families, friends, co-workers, etc — can go there and type a headline (no more than 60 characters) explaining what MS equals to them. I’ve been reading many of them, and no one emotion is left out of my reaction. I wrote “MS=An end to old dreams…but living new dreams built on hope” ... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592548 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:14:02 +0100 4592548 Nursing Times 2011 (Vol. 107 No. 7) http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600491&cid=t_92646_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F15%2Fnursing-times-2011-vol-107-no-7%2F This article describes how a collaborative project at Leicestershire Partnership Trust is addressing the needs of patients with dual diagnosis. The aims of the project, as well as the successes and challenges are outlined. Guidance is provided on setting up a collaborative service. Contact the Library for a copy of this article. Filed under: Current Awareness, Journals Tagged: Dual Diagnosis, Integrated Care, Mental Health, Substance Abuse (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600491 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:38:16 +0100 4600491 Don’t Be Bullied Into Treatment You’re Not Comfortable With http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592638&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fdont-be-bullied-into-treatment-youre-not-comfortable-with%2F .If you have ever been bullied, you know that you don’t realize it at first. Initially, people tend to blame themselves for how others treat them. I was bullied as a child by a group of girls, and I can tell you that your first instinct is to think it is your fault. As a new student in a new school, I was ostracized for the first few months. At eight years old, school was my whole life, so you can imagine how much the rejection of the other students affected me. It took me well into adulthood to find it easy to make new friends. Of course I am over it now, but it had a long-lasting effect. As adults we don’t call it bullying, we call it intimidating. Often we admire people who can intimidate others, regardless of the outcome. Perhaps that is why bullying has becoming epidemic among chi... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592638 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:35:31 +0100 4592638 Life With MS Blog: Five Years Old Today http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592549&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Flife-with-ms-blog-five-years-old-today%2F The Life with MS blog may not be the oldest running blog about Multiple Sclerosis, but in an experiment I conducted this weekend, I found that it’s pretty damned popular! When I searched (with various search engines) “MS Blog,” “Multiple Sclerosis Blog,” and “Life with MS” our little community was the number one result, every time. (Ok, once MS Magazine’s blog and once an advert for Microsoft’s blog came on top of ours…but still!) If you would have searched those keywords five years ago, who knows what you would have found. I know that if you had searched my name back in 2005, the only thing you would have found on the web was an old work e-mail address and the testimony I once gave at city hall in the small Washington city where I lived at the time. (I would not recomm... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592549 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:04:36 +0100 4592549 Guest Blogger: Krista Peterson ‘Helping to Prevent Misdiagnosis’ http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4581049&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fguest-blogger-krista-peterson-helping-to-prevent-misdiagnosis%2F One of the most important aspects involving cancer is the long term side effects that can occur when a patient is misdiagnosed. With many types of cancer, symptoms are increasingly common. Mesothelioma symptoms for example, are common with a high number of other diseases such as lung cancer and pneumonia, while also mimicking typical respiratory illnesses, even the common cold.  With misdiagnosis occurring, here are a couple ways in which the patient can help to ensure a proper diagnosis. Within the diagnosis process, it is very important for to be up front and open about both medical history, as well as work experience. In being up front with one’s own medical history, previous instances of medical problems can be of great assistance to the doctor and help to give them the proper detai... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4581049 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 07:34:00 +0100 4581049 A New Safe Blood Test to Diagnose Down Syndrome http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4580882&cid=t_92646_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F14%2Fa-new-safe-blood-test-to-diagnose-down-syndrome%2F The established method to prenatally diagnose chromosomal gross abnormalities is to obtain fetal cells from the womb with a fine needle, either by Amniocentesis (a sample of the fluid surrounding the foetus in the womb)  or by Chorionic villus sampling (CVS, a sample of the placenta taken via the vaginal route). The procedures are not to be sneezed [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4580882 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:48:55 +0100 4580882 Your Charlie Sheen-Free Zone: How’s Your MS Today? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566233&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fyour-charlie-sheen-free-zone-how%25e2%2580%2599s-your-ms-today%2F The response to my recent Facebook/Twitter chirpings about having had enough of Charlie Sheen prompted the addition to our monthly title. Let the Life With MS Blog be 100 percent Charlie-Free! We try to take the first Wednesday’s post each month to ask this question, but last week’s slot was taken by breaking news about the FDA’s rejection of the oral MS med, Clabridine. Now, let’s get back on track… MS changes our lives and it changes much of our day-to-day as well. These monthly check-ins give some reference and insight for us and for other members of the community. In our ”Frustrations” blog last week, one comment from Susan in Knucklehead Ranch, Texas (and who couldn’t love Susan for that nom de plume?) asked, “To what end do you compare the today you to the year... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566233 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:11:47 +0100 4566233 Keep Copies of Your Medical Records http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566298&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fkeep-copies-of-your-medical-records%2F I have a huge file with all the test results and pathology reports that pertain to my breast cancer. It was helpful for a while, especially when I met with the genetics counselor and the surgeons who did my reconstructive surgery. I even had my bone scans and x-rays for a while, when I carried them with me to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to discuss prophylactic mastectomy and DIEP flap surgery. It was my oncologist’s secretary who carefully copied every test and made sure to give it to me as I left each office visit. She suggested I keep it nearby since it could prove helpful to have. Now it is just a huge file taking up room in my file cabinet. I seldom if ever look at it anymore, and it seems almost obsolete since losing both of my breasts. Truthfully though, just knowing that I have acc... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566298 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:26:17 +0100 4566298 Youth Alcohol use Disorders http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4552149&cid=t_92646_151_f&fid=35805&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwelvestepfacilitation.com%2Fyouth-alcohol-use-disorders%2F Diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in youthsDescriptionThis clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in adults and in young people aged 10–17 years.This is one of three pieces of UK NICE guidance addressing alcohol-related problems and should be read along with:Alcohol-use disorders: preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking. NICE public health guidance 24 (2010) – public health guidance on the price, advertising and availability of alcohol, how best to detect alcohol misuse in and outside primary care, and brief interventions to manage it in these settings.Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis and clinical management of alcohol-re... Twelve Step Facilitation.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4552149 Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:18:00 +0100 4552149 Thinking About Breast Cancer at Dollywood http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549905&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fthinking-about-breast-cancer-at-dollywood%2F I had a great week vacationing in the mountains of Tennessee. It was the first time I had been to this state, and I am in love with it. When we left for Tennessee, there was still snow in the mountains and our hope was to get some skiing in. By the time we arrived, rainstorms had washed away much of that snow, along with our goal to ski in the Smoky Mountains. But it turned out that not being able to ski didn’t detract from a wonderful time and one of our best vacations. We stayed in Gatlinburg and the surrounding area. Much of our time was spent in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which not only provided some of the most beautiful mountaintop views, but housed some wonderful historical sites. We were really close to Dollywood, too — that’s Dolly Parton’s theme park. The... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549905 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:39:29 +0100 4549905 New Multiple Sclerosis Pill Shot Down by FDA http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540656&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fnew-multiple-sclerosis-pill-shot-down-by-fda%2F The multiple sclerosis pill Cladribine has been dealt another blow by FDA pharmaceutical regulators. FDA’s Euro-Zone sister agency rejected Cladribine just over a month ago based on its unacceptable risk-benefit ratio for patients in drug trials. In its letter to Merck, FDA cited the same concerns. The agency didn’t question the drug’s efficacy in reducing multiple sclerosis relapse and progression. In fact, Merck officials claim encouragement in that the response letter verified the claims about Cladribine on those fronts. This leaves Cladribine (its planned brand name is “Movectro”) in the arsenal of people living with MS in Russia and Australia — the only two major nations to approve its use for multiple sclerosis. The manufacturer is not willing to let Cladribine di... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540656 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:20:19 +0100 4540656 How Experienced Is The Radiologist Who Reads Your Mammogram? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532213&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-experienced-is-the-radiologist-who-reads-your-mammogram%2F2011.02.28 There’s a new study out on mammography with important implications for breast cancer screening. The main result is that when radiologists review more mammograms per year, the rate of false positives declines. The stated purpose of the research*, published in the journal Radiology, was to see how radiologists’ interpretive volume — essentially the number of mammograms read per year — affects their performance in breast cancer screening. The investigators collected data from six registries participating in the NCI’s Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, involving 120 radiologists who interpreted 783,965 screening mammograms from 2002 to 2006. So it was a big study, at least in terms of the number of images and outcomes assessed. First — and before reaching any concl... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532213 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:00:57 +0100 4532213 J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr. On Getting a Second Opinion http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4527773&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F27%2Fj-raymond-depaulo-jr-on-getting-a-second-opinion%2F The following passage from J. Raymond DePaulo Jr.’s book, Understanding Depression, was helpful to me in knowing what to look for in a doctor, and when to go for a second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, and sixth, and seventh) opinion. My comments on his advice are in parantheses. The best patient care requires three components: A well-trained, dependable clinician who knows what to do and is accessible to the patient; A well-informed patient who actively participates in his or her care plan and follows it; and A trusting alliance between doctor, patient, and family. If you don’t understand or agree with a doctor’s diagnosis, you should ask for an explanation of how he or she came to the conclusion. What factors weight in favor of the diagnosis? What factors argue i... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4527773 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 12:08:06 +0100 4527773 On the Day After There’s a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis, I Will… http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522194&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fon-the-day-after-theres-a-cure-for-multiple-sclerosis-i-will%2F Nearing my one-decade mark post-diagnosis, I lay awake last night planning a fairly busy schedule (by my “new normal” standards) for today. I became keenly aware of the modifications which have become mundane and the extraordinary which has become every day. As I walked through today in my mind, I found myself stepping over MS at every turn, which got me to thinking about the day after a cure. Some with early stages of RRMS will say that most of their days are sans MS, so such a day is nearly routine. Many people with MS say they are experiencing such a day directly after being treated for CCSVI. There seemed, in my waning minutes of consciousness, to be far too many changes to list, but it became something of a distraction from my stiff and cramped legs. I thought I would start and w... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522194 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:38:46 +0100 4522194 EMR And The Pathologist: A Winning Combo http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522108&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Femr-and-the-pathologist-a-winning-combo%2F2011.02.25 A pathologist uses the EMR to find out just a little more about the patient whose cerebro-spinal fluid she has under her microscope — and changes her diagnosis: This patient had a diagnosis of plasma cell myeloma with recent acute mental status changes. So the lone plasma cell or two I was seeing, among the lymphs and monos, could indicate leptomeningeal spread of the patient’s disease process. I reversed the tech diagnosis to atypical and added a lengthy comment – unfortunately there weren’t enough cells to attempt flow cytometry to assess for clonality of the plasma cells to cinch the diagnosis. But with the information in the EMR I was able to get a more holistic picture on a couple of cells and provide better care for the patient. I cringe to wonder if I might have blown th... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522108 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:00:13 +0100 4522108 What’s the Diagnosis #12 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512399&cid=t_92646_88_f&fid=38959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epmonthly.com%2Fwhitecoat%2F2011%2F02%2Fwhats-the-diagnosis-12%2F A 15 year old girl goes to a pharmacy chain’s walk in clinic with a nonproductive cough and nasal congestion. She is diagnosed with “bronchitis” and is of course given antibiotics. Two days later, she presents with joint pains and the rash below. What’s the diagnosis? What is/are the likely cause(s)? What is the treatment? What two clinical findings are most likely to predict an increased risk of death from this disease? Answers in the comments section in a couple of days. (Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room) WhiteCoat's Call Room blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512399 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 03:50:17 +0100 4512399 Doctors Are “Sponges?” http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512394&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoctors-are-sponges%2F2011.02.23 I am a doctor. Go ahead, call me what you may. Group me into a neatly, prejudged category: “All you doctors.” Just don’t label me a sponge. That’s right. Recently in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Andy Kessler, famous author and former hedge fund manager smart enough to turn $100 million into $1 billion, grouped doctors into a sub-category of the service economy which he labeled as “sponges.” We could have done worse: His other categories included “sloppers” (DMV workers), “slimers” (financial planners), and “thieves” (cable companies). It seems that doctors — along with cosmetologists, lawyers, and real estate brokers — offend him because of the tests and licenses that we deem necessary: Sponges are those who earned t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512394 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:00:37 +0100 4512394 Before it begins http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512584&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fbefore-it-begins%2F Last week at the hospital really reinforced for me just how scary the diagnosis stage of breast cancer is – even if the lump turns out to be a thing of nothing, the bit that gets you to there can be horrible. Also, in the last couple of weeks, I’ve had several email exchanges and conversations with people going through diagnosis, and this too has made me think about how, once you are in the realms of Actual Cancer, it’s easy to forget about how difficult the stage before was. So today, I’m going to offer you some advice if you are in possession of a lump that you’re not sure about. I hope it helps. The first thing is the most important. If you find a lump, go to your GP. Now. Cancer is like toothache or cleaning out the fridge or doing your tax return: leaving... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512584 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:15:03 +0100 4512584 The C-word, part 1 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501772&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fthe-c-word%2F At the hospital on Tuesday, I waited for mammogram and ultrasound in a special waiting area with other gowned women having the same tests. There were usually 5 of us, although the individuals changed as we were called for one test then another. Everyone – including me, I suspect – looked nervous and a little bit agitated. We chatted, about the gowns and the tests and the hospital and the weather. At one point, a brave soul said the unsayable and talked about feeling anxious; everyone else piled in. Hands twisted in laps. There was a tear or two. I thought: they all think that they are going to die. They all think that a diagnosis is going to be the end of them. So I did what, really, I’m here to do now: I identified myself as someone who had had a breast cancer and lived ... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501772 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 07:11:59 +0100 4501772 Preventing Lymphedema Prior to Treatment http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495383&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fpreventing-lymphedema-prior-to-treatment%2F I am worried about lymphedema. This is a condition that can develop with breast cancer treatment and involves swelling in the arm or chest after lymph nodes are removed, which clogs the flow of lymph fluid from that area. It’s something that I have been concerned about every now and then, and as I wrote earlier this week, I am aware of things I can do to prevent it. Lately though, when reading about lymphedema, it appears that it’s something we should be thinking about when we first start discussing breast cancer treatment. Surgery and radiation therapy can cause lymphedema by removing or destroying lymph nodes and vessels draining lymph fluid from the arm and chest. Lumpectomies and mapping of lymph nodes are among the techniques that doctors are using to reduce the risk of t... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495383 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:47:08 +0100 4495383 Getting Behind the Wheel With MS: Multiple Sclerosis and Driving http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489833&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fgetting-behind-the-wheel-with-ms-multiple-sclerosis-driving%2F Ah, for the days when getting into the driver’s seat simply meant pushing it back, adjusting the mirrors, and turning the engine over… Nowadays, before I even grab the keys – from their designated resting place where I’d lose them were they not returned each and every time they are not in my pocket – there is a whole other checklist I must complete. Is my clutch leg strong enough today? Is there any sign of an impending migraine? Reflexes seem to be normal? Vision okay? Bladder empty? Lhermitte’s sign acting up? Any “cog-fog” today? Mobile phone… “just in case”? We’ve talked about driving with MS before, but, hell, we’ve been writing about living with MS for nearly five years… we’ll re-cover things from time to time… Many of us have been driving ever since ... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489833 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:55:41 +0100 4489833 Pink Wristbands to Remember a Life http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489923&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fpink-wristbands-to-remember-a-life%2F My son, the Big Guy, has a new girlfriend. She is adorable and not just because she only comes up to his waist. She is beautiful with big dark eyes and is refreshingly direct and witty. We had the opportunity to meet her at Christmas when the Big Guy brought her by for a visit. Since then we’ve got to know her a little bit and are as taken with her as he is. When I met her, the one thing I noticed right away was the pink band she wore around her wrist. She explained that it was in memory of her dance teacher. A woman who had been a big part of her life had not only been diagnosed with breast cancer, but had died from it. It had impacted this special young woman and gave her a reason to become part of the fight against the disease. I am always surprised by people’s connection to breast... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489923 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:04:37 +0100 4489923 Bruised http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482944&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fbruised%2F Alan and I packed our books and headed off to the RVI (Royal Victoria Infirmary) in Newcastle yesterday afternoon, for my first visit to the breast clinic since we moved. (Previous care, Bah! newbies, was at St. George’s Hospital in Tooting.) We arrived at the shiny new Victoria Wing at 2.50 for a 3pm appointment, and by 3.10 I was sitting in clean, tidy consulting room (RVI 1, St George’s nil), going through my medical history with a clean, tidy and thorough consultant (RVI 2, St. George’s 1). Then came the examination – chaperoned by a lovely nurse (RVI 3, St George’s 2), although the chances of a man who examines breasts all day long being suddenly overcome by the sight of mine seemed a long way less than likely. I was given a sheet to cover myself with so ... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482944 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:38:52 +0100 4482944 In The ER With Abdominal Pain? Lower Your Diagnosis Expectations http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477760&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fin-the-er-with-abdominal-pain-lower-your-diagnosis-expectations%2F2011.02.15 Abdominal pain is the bane of many emergency physicians. Recently, I wrote how CT scans are on the rise in the ER. Much of those scans look for potential causes of abdominal pain. In an essay from Time, Dr. Zachary Meisel discusses why abdominal pain, in his words, is the doctor’s “booby prize.” And when you consider that there are 7 million visits annually by people who report abdominal pain, that’s a lot of proverbial prizes. One reason is the myriad of causes that lead bring a patient to the hospital clutching his abdomen. It can range from something as relatively benign as viral gastroenteritis where a patient be safely discharged home, to any number of “acute” abdominal problems necessitating surgery. But more importantly, we need to consider how limited doctors actually a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477760 Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:00:19 +0100 4477760 A New Way to Help Protect Breast Cancer Survivors http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464661&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fa-new-way-to-help-protect-breast-cancer-survivors%2F During one of my classes, the instructor showed a slide of a woman’s arm afflicted with lymphedema. Until then I had never seen a picture of it. The slide showed the affected arm beside the woman’s unaffected arm, and it was pretty apparent that lymphedema had swollen the arm to more than twice its size. It was the first time I had really seen what lymphedema could do. It jolted me and rekindled my fears about this condition. Having had lymph nodes removed during my mastectomy makes me a candidate for lymphedema. I make sure I tell nurses and doctors to measure my blood pressure using my other arm. When I get fatigued, I notice that my arm feels a little numb, and it reminds me that something else has been affected by breast cancer. I asked my doctor if I should get a medical alert bra... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464661 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:18:31 +0100 4464661 Strategy and support is needed to quit smoking http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464445&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2F_yeiH7ClVa8%2Fstrategy-support-needed-quit-smoking.html by Erin Marcus, MDTobacco is the single biggest cause of preventable death and disability in the United States. But nicotine is highly addictive, and quitting the cigarette habit can be extremely tough.L.J., a 55 year old man who gave up smoking after 35 years, proves that it can be done. In L.J.’s words, he was “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” But he didn’t do it alone; his success depended on the help of a counselor, smoking cessation classes, nicotine replacement patches and the support of a friend. Here are some things that helped L.J., as well as tips from Dr. Mary Mites-Campbell, a nurse with years of experience helping people quit.(...)Read the rest of Strategy and support is needed to quit smokingNo comment | Tags: Drugs, Patient | Category: Diagno... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464445 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:00:55 +0100 4464445 Does screening and treating high cholesterol save money? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459904&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2F5HNysZ_yHsA%2Fscreening-treating-high-cholesterol-save-money.html by Richard Young, MDA commenter (I believe a physician) on one of my posts wrote the following: “I can prevent heart attacks and strokes (caused by atherosclerosis – “blockage”) in people (minimal cost) who have no symptoms. If I wait for their heart attack or stroke – it costs a whole lot more.”The implication is that screening and treating high cholesterol saves money in the long run. Unfortunately, the truth is the opposite. This is an extremely common misconception among most people in healthcare, physicians included. Therefore the American people believe the same thing.(...)Read the rest of Does screening and treating high cholesterol save money?No comment | Tags: Drugs, Heart, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical ... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459904 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:00:33 +0100 4459904 How anchoring leads to misdiagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459909&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2F6KWcCRl7duc%2Fanchoring-leads-misdiagnosis.html by Jerome Groopman, MD and Pamela Hartzband, MDAnchoring refers to the tendency to latch on, or anchor, to the first symptom or bit of data and fail to consider the full spectrum of information, leading to misdiagnosis. Recently, we have received several cases where an anchoring error was triggered by a mistake in translating the patient’s words into clinical terms.Case study #1Henry Solomon, FACP, currently the medical director of Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, was for many years a cardiologist on staff at New York Hospital. He told us about the case of a 65-year-old man from Quito, Ecuador, who came to see him yearly for an “annual physical examination.” The patient, Dr. Solomon said, “was always asymptomatic, and had mild hypertension, mild dyslipidemia, was over... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459909 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:00:48 +0100 4459909 My New Challenge, Thanks to Breast Cancer http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455438&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fmy-new-challenge-thanks-to-breast-cancer%2F My blog has been neglected by the fact that I am in over my head. Here I am in the middle of my pursuit of a second bachelor’s degree in nursing, wondering if I can weather it through. This is tough stuff. It helps to remind myself, though, that if it was easy there wouldn’t be a nursing shortage. There is a lot of stuff to learn, but I think a nurse needs to know all of it. So I am stuck in the middle of the program feeling a little bit challenged. I felt in over my head during breast cancer treatment too. Starting with two surgeries and then 6 months of chemotherapy, there were times I wondered if I could tough it out. The truth is we have no choice, we have to go on. One thing that we must do after we have been diagnosed with breast cancer is to resolve that we will get through it. ... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455438 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:03:55 +0100 4455438 Closed loop bowel obstruction in your surgical partner http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450239&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2F2EQH3eoePkg%2Fclosed-loop-bowel-obstruction-surgical-partner.html by Sid Schwab, MD“Musta been the ham sandwich,” he said as he leaned onto the operating table and belched a couple of times. We were half-way through a thyroid operation and Doug, my partner, didn’t look all that good. I’d been in practice for all of a year, and Doug, ten years my senior, was my guardian angel, my guide through the vagaries of the world of private practice, and the best surgeon I’d ever seen. Suddenly, he was definitely off his game.We managed to get through the operation. Doug had an appendectomy teed up to follow, but instead of showing up to get it going, he’d gone to the ER, from which I got a call telling me Doug was down there being evaluated, and requesting that I do his case. Introducing myself to the patient, explaining the stra... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450239 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:00:34 +0100 4450239 Do stroke centers improve patient outcomes? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450242&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FLOyLWhhE_0g%2Fstroke-centers-improve-patient-outcomes.html by Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SMAnother good paper for a journal club recently appeared in JAMA. What makes this one worth discussing is the research question the investigators posed and how they addressed it. Although this is not focused on cardiac care, the issues are germane to literature in our field and cardiac care certification is also spreading.The article, titled “Association Between Stroke Center Hospitalization for Acute Ischemic Stroke and Mortality,” focuses on the New York State Stroke Center Designation program — a collaboration among the New York State Department of Health, the American Heart Association (AHA), and the New York State Quality Improvement Organization. Starting in 2004, the program allowed New York hospitals to apply for certification as a “stroke cente... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450242 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:00:38 +0100 4450242 WebMD vs. Mayo Clinic: Who Do You Trust for Diagnosis on the Web? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445859&cid=t_92646_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FBkNc6-LkxOM%2F Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine featured a column, “Prescription for Fear,” that in one fell swoop dismissed WebMD as a “Big Pharma Shilling” website whose name has become a “byword among laysurfers for ‘hypochondria time suck,’” while praising the Mayo Clinic’s website as an heroic alternative, thanks to its “good medicine” and “good ideas.” The author, Virginia Heffernan, paints the “medical Web” as a landscape rife with pharmaceutical reps posing as medical experts, and posts written specifically to prey on the desperation of headache-sufferers and neurotic hypochondriacs. But not everyone sees it this way. TIME’s Maia Szalavitz, for one, isn’t convinced: “The NYT Magazine s... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445859 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:49:39 +0100 4445859 The AIDS crisis in Zambia http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445738&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FSYEyLoE4FPQ%2Faids-crisis-zambia.html by Chris Nickson, MB ChBWednesday, December 1st was World AIDS Day — a day to raise awareness for the ongoing AIDS pandemic around the world and to remember the past. As a trainee intern I spent 3 months in Zambia, a time that really opened my eyes up to what AIDS was doing to the world.  Much has changed since then, antivirals have arrived in Zambia for instance, yet the disaster continues: 1 in 8 Zambians are HIV positive and the burden of AIDS has now persisted for 3 decades.This is what I wrote about my experience and views on the AIDS crisis in Zambia back in 2002.(...)Read the rest of The AIDS crisis in Zambia1 comment | Tags: Patient, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog) Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445738 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:00:15 +0100 4445738 Skeptical on being overdiagnosed http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445987&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fskeptical-on-being-overdiagnosed.html Or should I say on being a skeptic. Here's another book to read 'Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health'. I think for normal people, there is the risk of being over diagnosed in today's medical system. If you are like me have cancer or something else that is icky, you can skip this part. We are part of the group 'with your medical history, we have to be sure, blah, blah, blah'. I think normal people run the risk of being over diagnosed. Take the annual screening tests like mammograms, blood tests, etc. If you are abnormal, do you get prescriptions and other visits and more fun 'procedures' to take care of what might be wrong with you? For instance, if you go to the doctor for your annual physical and your blood pressure is off the charts, what next? A stress test? A vis... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445987 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:23:00 +0100 4445987 Stressful life events in suicide attempts and completed suicides http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4438876&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FNt-0Gf1C0Zg%2Fstressful-life-events-suicide-attempts-completed-suicides.html by William R. Yates, MDThe role of stressful life events in suicide attempts and completed suicides has been a key area of study in the epidemiology of mental disorders.  Although suicidal behavior often occurs in the context of acute and chronic stressor, this does not prove a causal link.  We all could probably report serious life stressors throughout out lives and these could be interpreted as a reason for suicidal behavior.  So these associations could simply be a coincidence and not have anything to do with suicidal behavior.(...)Read the rest of Stressful life events in suicide attempts and completed suicides1 comment | Tags: Patient, Specialist | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog) Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4438876 Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:00:08 +0100 4438876 Finding out the cost of lab tests is a real challenge for patients http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436705&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FXYPOs7JyzCA%2Ffinding-cost-lab-tests-real-challenge-patients.html by Brad WrightIn the spring of 2005, the sinus infection returned. I awoke severely congested with a pounding forehead and pain around my eyes that grew worse when I bent to tie my shoes. The feeling was familiar. Two years earlier, I had similar symptoms, but was uninsured and endured a miserable week with nothing but over-the-counter medication. Now they were back.Fortunately, when I started graduate school, my father insisted that I have health insurance. As a healthy 24 year old, I didn’t see the need, but he agreed to foot the bill for a high-deductible insurance policy to cover me in the event of catastrophic illness. Except for four physician office visits subject only to a $35 co-payment, my policy offered no benefits until I spent $3,000 out of my own pocket. With my sinuses thr... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436705 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:00:21 +0100 4436705 8 years, a gift of bronze http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436896&cid=t_92646_134_f&fid=35187&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDiabetesDaily%2F%7E3%2FApzHahW17bg%2F8-years-a-gift-of-bronze.php Did you know that the traditional anniversary gift for eight years is bronze? Tonight shortly before midnight marks exactly 8 years since I was diagnosed, in the emergency room near my college, with diabetes.8 years.It seems like it’s been forever, but at the same time it feels like no time at all. When I think about it hard enough, I can remember my life before diabetes. The constant routine of (at first) shots, (then) reservoir refills, site changes, supply orders, multiple daily blood glucose tests, CGMS calibrations, and bolusing for every bite of food has robbed me of much of that memory though.For a little over half the time that I have had diabetes I have also been a blogger. Not a diabetes blogger, just a blogger. My first post was apparently an update on my first few months livin... Diabetes Daily blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436896 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:05:04 +0100 4436896 Finances and cancer http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436907&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Ffinances-and-cancer.html You get cancer and then you have to pay for it. Financially - not just emotionally or physically. In addition to nasty treatments that leave you physically drained, you are expected to keep your regular work schedule so you have an income. I was reminded of this by a friend yesterday who referred me to an online discussion of the financial toll of cancer. Insurance doesn't cover everything. Co-pays and prescriptions start to add up and you have to miss work due to surgery and chemo therapy.My story is a little different but I think the point is there. I was laid off from my job two weeks before my breast cancer diagnosis. I was trying to look for a job through surgeries and chemo. Ha, it didn't work. I did get requests for interviews and accepted them - thinking I could drag myself there w... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436907 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:18:00 +0100 4436907 Kids with allergies can die in school http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433043&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FfU5KfqAbV-g%2Fkids-allergies-die-school-responding-criticism.html by Gina, RNLike many other parents of kids with allergies, I was very dismayed to see this article, titled, Allergic boy, 7, suffers two heart attacks after teacher hands him chocolate nut in class, last week.   It seems a boy of 7 was accidentally given a chocolate candy containing a hazelnut, to which he is allergic.  After biting into the candy, he realized immediately that he shouldn’t have it and spit it out.  Despite quick treatment with an EpiPen after symptoms started, he ended up in pretty bad shape on life support after suffering a couple of cardiac arrests.I read with interest the comments that the public left on that article.  As I’ve seen before with other peanut allergy articles (namely those that discuss banning peanuts on airplanes), this issue was very pol... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433043 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:00:12 +0100 4433043 Haiti trip update http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433268&cid=t_92646_134_f&fid=35187&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDiabetesDaily%2F%7E3%2FAnqF8PCHBAA%2Fhaiti-trip-update.php Last year it seemed that the days leading up to my trip to Haiti crawled by. There was so much back-and-forth about whether or not we would even be able to go that each day seemed to drag on. This year, the time has flown by and I can't believe that I am leaving in just about a month.My to do list of preparations this year is thankfully much shorter than last year, now that I know a little more what to expect. I have a few immunizations that I need to get "boosted". There are some diabetes supplies (Frio cases, glucose tablets, granola bars) that I need to be sure to stockpile. As a team we are also continuing to work on ways to fundraise for the trip.We are planning for a garage sale in a few weeks and one thing I have learned about garage sales, is that the shoppers are CRAZY! I hope to ... Diabetes Daily blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433268 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:05:30 +0100 4433268 Risk of Death Doubles For Early Stage Ovarian Cancer Patients Who Are Not Checked For Lymph Node Metastases http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433290&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F02%2Frisk-of-death-doubles-for-early-stage-ovarian-cancer-patients-who-are-not-checked-for-lymph-node-metastases%2F University of California Davis Cancer Center and California Cancer Registry researchers determined that the risk of death doubles for those women with apparent early stage ovarian cancer who are not checked for lymph node metastases. A team of University of California (UC) Davis Cancer Center and California Cancer Registry researchers determined that more than a quarter of women [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433290 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:40:46 +0100 4433290 “e-Patient” Goes Mainstream http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424233&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fe-patient-goes-mainstream%2F2011.02.01 I have a Google alert for “e-patient,” and sometimes I’m surprised what it catches. [Recently] it was this: 3 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be The Ultimate e-Patient Steve Jobs’ medical leave sets the stage for the upcoming revolution in the production and delivery of medical information at time of diagnosis. 3 things you need to know. So I’m thinking: “Oh, wow: Is the term ‘e-patient’ going mainstream?” That would be a hoot, because indeed the Society for Participatory Medicine is engaged in spreading the word. *This blog post was originally published at e-Patients.net* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424233 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:00:04 +0100 4424233 Treating a patient in a small town versus a big city http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424178&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FSTGm0Fbx9Eo%2Ftreating-patient-small-town-big-city.html by StorytellERdoc, MDI usually work two or three shifts a month at a small, rural hospital about two hours from where I live. Why? Mainly, the small hospital is less than ten miles from my childhood home, where my widowed father still resides, and thus provides me an opportunity to catch up with Dad as well as four of my siblings and their families, all who live within five miles of Dad.I also thoroughly enjoy the different ER setting that working in a small hospital provides when compared to the trauma center I have been a part of for fourteen years. People are more appreciative, it seems, and less demanding. People are respectful. There seems to be a more heartfelt connection between the small town folks and the ER staff versus the big city dwellers who demand everything on their terms w... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424178 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:00:19 +0100 4424178 Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease and a complex case or chronic cough http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424180&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FxNwMervHG4k%2Flaryngopharyngeal-reflux-disease-complex-case-chronic-cough.html by Steven Y. Park, MDChronic cough is a common condition that’s seen by many doctors, and in most cases, after a thorough history and exam, an answer can usually be found. However, just because a physician followed all the accepted guidelines and evidence based medicine principles to successfully address and treat a condition, it doesn’t mean that it was the right thing to do. Let me explain.A 49 year old healthy woman presented to me with a 4 month history of chronic cough only at night. She wasn’t bothered by it, but her husband was. She had tried all the routine allergy and cough suppressing medications, with no improvement. I examined her and found that the posterior portion of her larynx was inflamed and erythematous. She had classic laryngopharyngeal reflux disease,... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424180 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:00:52 +0100 4424180 People often injure themselves in new surroundings http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424181&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FKC00s4y6eOk%2Fpeople-injure-surroundings.html by Yann Meunier, MDYear: 1986 Place: Lome, Togo Position: Consultant in tropical diseases, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in ParisI have been sent to West Africa by a French multinational drug company to share information from recent clinical trials about a new anti-emetic compound.It is late November and I am in Togo, midway through a tour that includes Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon and Congo. The day I land in Lome, I take a much-needed break by hitting the tennis courts with a local physician. We have to settle an old score. He beat me the last time I was in town and it cannot be my last showing. Next to us, two French architects are intensely competing as well. They reached the Togolese capital that same morning for an international congress and are enjoying the summer-like weather... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424181 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:00:49 +0100 4424181 The Latest News on Multiple Sclerosis and CCSVI Research http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419297&cid=t_92646_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fthe-latest-news-on-multiple-sclerosis-and-ccsvi-research%2F This study’s control groups will include family members, such as identical twins of MS patients who have not developed MS United States: Aaron Field MD, PhD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison: Using alternative imaging methods, in addition to ultrasound, to conduct a controlled study of the CCSVI hypothesis in people with MS. Robert J. Fox, M.D., Cleveland Clinic Foundation: Seeking to reproduce earlier CCSVI test results in 90 people with MS and 80 control subjects without MS, as well as examining vein tissues obtained via autopsy. Houston, Texas: Testing imaging methods in an attempt to validate a diagnostic approach to CCSVI We will, of course, keep a close eye on the researchers’ progress and report back on these and other CCSVI resear... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419297 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:50:18 +0100 4419297 Be Tough Enough to Take Care of Yourself Through Breast Cancer http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419375&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbe-tough-enough-to-take-care-of-yourself-through-breast-cancer%2F There was a lot of hoopla about Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler last week. During the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, Cutler hurt his knee. This game was to determine which team was going to the Super Bowl, and when Cutler seemed to check out, the victory ultimately went to Green Bay. The uproar that erupted was caused by sportswriters, fans, and even Cutler’s own teammates, who questioned his toughness and commitment to the team and wondered whether he even had an injury. Ultimately, an MRI showed that indeed Cutler had suffered a serious knee injury. This weekend, instead of apologizing, the accusers seemed to think he should have been tough enough to play the duration of the game with an injury. You are probably wondering what this story has to do with br... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419375 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:08:56 +0100 4419375 Focus advance care planning on outcomes http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419060&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FiFTc6DUkv8A%2Ffocus-advance-care-planning-outcomes.html by Drew Rosielle, MDThe Annals of Internal Medicine recently had a timely discussion of advance care planning, trying to focus the discussion away from helping patients specify what what they’d want, and more towards laying the groundwork for appropriate decision making by loved ones whenever that time comes.  Good one for the teaching file.That is, instead of thinking of ACP as patients pre-specifying “if X happens, then I want Y,” thinking about it more as helping patients and their loved ones prepare for the decisions they’ll be faced when the time comes — helping them think about end of life decision-making or about what are acceptable outcomes of therapy.  My own drastic condensation of what they propose is focusing the planning on outcomes as oppose... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419060 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:00:39 +0100 4419060 Help your doctor formulate an accurate differential diagnosis http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419062&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FZ5ymgwyxnew%2Fdoctor-formulate-accurate-differential-diagnosis.html by Stewart Segal, MDLast night, I turned on “House,” a TV show about a physician who is in charge of a team of highly specialized diagnosticians.  Every week the team solves a difficult to diagnose medical case by working through an exhaustive differential (DD) diagnosis list.  While the show is absurd to the extreme (as the team of physicians almost kills the patient each week), eventually the correct diagnosis is made and the patient recovers.The differential diagnosis (DD) is one of the cornerstones of modern medicine.(...)Read the rest of Help your doctor formulate an accurate differential diagnosis1 comment | Tags: Patient, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog) Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419062 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:00:39 +0100 4419062 Where an extremely premature baby immediately receives care matters http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411473&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FVUdrLDJl36I%2Fextremely-premature-baby-immediately-receives-care-matters.html by Jennifer Gunter, MDWhen you think about giving a premature baby the best possible start in life, it is important to consider the hospital where they are born. The care an extremely premature baby receives immediately after birth makes a big difference in outcomes.A premature baby who is less than 32 weeks gestation or weighs less than 1500 g at birth should be cared for in a level III NICU. These babies also do much better when they are born in the hospital where they will receive their neonatal care.(...)Read the rest of Where an extremely premature baby immediately receives care mattersNo comment | Tags: Hospital, Specialist | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog) Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411473 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:00:57 +0100 4411473 Integrity, discipline, respect: Using kung fu to control your eating http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411474&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FlTGkYjZ9UR0%2Fintegrity-discipline-respect-kung-fu-control-eating.html by Melanie Lane, MDAbout seven months ago, I began training kung fu with my family.  Our classes are intense and require the students to really pull out our personal best. Periodically our instructor will remind us by shouting out, “Train like a black belt!” when she catches us being sloppy or less than enthusiastic.  Her exclamation inspires me to squat a little lower in my horse stance, amps up my intensity, and focuses me on the intention I have set for my training.  After class one day, it came to me: what would it be like to eat like a black belt?When I look at the master instructor, head instructor, instructors, and black belts at our school, I think of many things, but three qualities stand out – integrity, discipline, and respect.  I decided to apply all three... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411474 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:00:02 +0100 4411474 The Tdap vaccine and the rise in whooping cough http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411475&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FfDHYDtnYVhw%2Ftdap-vaccine-rise-whooping-cough.html by Linda Pourmassina, MDI recently went to the American College of Physicians Chapter Meeting in Seattle and came away with a lot of great information, including a significant change in immunization of adults against pertussis (whooping cough).When patients need a booster of tetanus immunization, we often give it in combination with a vaccine to protect against pertussis. As you may know, tetanus is a life-threatening infection by a bacteria that can cause severe muscle spasms and lockjaw. Immunization boosters for tetanus (Td) are given every 10 years to prevent the life-threating tetanus infection that can causes severe muscle spasms and lockjaw.(...)Read the rest of The Tdap vaccine and the rise in whooping cough1 comment | Tags: Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source:... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411475 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:00:01 +0100 4411475 Best of Our Blogs: January 28, 2011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411563&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F28%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-january-28-2011%2F There is a ton of things that can touch us in a week. In one day alone, I can easily get lost in every day activities and not only in what happens to us and around us, but what happens within us. One of my greatest fears is that I will allow too much outside noise to silence the most important one. My own. As I reflect on another week past, I recall the President’s State of the Union address, a conversation with a friend, a dream I had beckoning me in the morning, an episode of The View where Michael Jackson’s sister Rebbie Jackson talks about her daughter’s bipolar disorder diagnosis. It’s so much to digest that I can easily lose sight of the way I’m feeling right now. I can too easily forget what I’m doing, how I’m interacting with those around m... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411563 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:05:27 +0100 4411563 Should obesity be classified as a brain disease? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4389164&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FaxVEdmOcOHQ%2Fobesity-classified-brain-disease.html by Michele R. Berman, MDMany of our most popular stories are about diets and weight management.Did you know that some psychologists and psychiatrists would like to classify obesity as a brain disease? The reason for this is that there is mounting evidence that food, or certain types of food, can trigger the same addictive effects in the brain as drugs like heroin and cocaine. There is also substantial evidence that some people lose control over their food consumption and exhibit other behaviors (e.g. tolerance, withdrawal)  that may meet diagnostic criteria (see below) for substance dependence.(...)Read the rest of Should obesity be classified as a brain disease?5 comments | Tags: Patient, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog) Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4389164 Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:00:17 +0100 4389164 Menopause and cancer: What women should know http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382713&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FMS0zgyJ4VUQ%2Fmenopause-cancer-women.html by Therese Bevers, MDMenopause often brings more than physical changes. It also may bring uncertainty about cancer risks and cancer prevention.Below, I’ve compiled some of the questions I frequently hear from patients about menopause and cancer. I hope these answers will help other women start informed conversations with their doctors about menopause-related concerns.How does menopause affect a woman’s cancer risk? Menopause does not cause cancer. But your risk of developing cancer increases as you age. So women going through menopause have a greater chance of developing cancer because they’re older.(...)Read the rest of Menopause and cancer: What women should know2 comments | Tags: Cancer, Patient, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and treatment (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblo... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382713 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:00:57 +0100 4382713 Mental illness in the college student http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382714&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FfONSMfY0Qzg%2Fmental-illness-college-student.html by Emily Gibson, MDAlong with millions of Americans, I’ve tried to comprehend the tragic shootings in Tucson, reaching deep within myself to find compassion for a young man who has forever changed the world for himself and so many others through his actions.For those of us who assess, diagnose and treat college students struggling with mental illness while trying to succeed in their academic pursuits, the events leading up to his impulsive killings were chilling indeed.  As a college health physician, I and my colleagues all have known progressively destabilizing students like Jared, have tried valiantly to keep them in school while coordinating complex therapy and medical treatment and we all have, at times, failed to turn things around.(...)Read the rest of Mental illness in the c... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382714 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:00:20 +0100 4382714 Not a pox http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377755&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fnot-a-pox%2F In the flurry of new administration that comes with having a new GP, I have been invited to undergo that most slimy and uncomfortable of feminine health rituals, the smear test. Being a good girl, I called and made an appointment for next week. As I put the phone down, I realised that I see screening for cervical cancer as both unnecessary and irrelevant. Why? Why, because I’ve had breast cancer, of course. Yes, friends, somewhere along the line I have got the idea that cancer is like swine flu, or chicken pox, or lightning. Once, and you’ve done it, and you’ll never have to do it again. And while I do admit to the possibility that I might be prone to getting a breast cancer again at some point  - cancer elsewhere? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m sorry to say that a... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377755 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:09:42 +0100 4377755 How Good Is Your Doctor At Diagnosing You? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372044&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-good-is-your-doctor-at-diagnosing-you%2F2011.01.19 We’ve all been there. It often starts with some kind of recurring pain or dull ache. We don’t know what’s causing the pain or ache. During the light of day we tell ourselves that it’s nothing. But at 3:00am when the pain wakes you, worry sets in: “Maybe I have cancer or heart disease or some other life-ending ailment.” The next day you make an appointment to see your doctor. So now you’re sitting in the exam room explaining this scenario to your doctor. Based on your previous experience, what’s the first thing your doctor would do? A. Order a battery of tests and schedule a follow-up appointment. B. Put you in a patient gown and conduct a thorough physical examination, including asking you detailed questions about your complaint before ordering any test... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372044 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:00:07 +0100 4372044 “Simple Blood Test” For Cancer: Breakthrough Or Nightmare? http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372046&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsimple-blood-test-for-cancer-breakthrough-or-nightmare%2F2011.01.19 That’s the question Dartmouth’s Dr. Gil Welch asks in a column on the CNN website. He reflects on [recent] news about a test in development that might find a single cancer cell among a billion healthy ones — as so many news stories framed it. Welch analyzes: “But it’s not that simple. The test could just as easily start a cancer epidemic. … Most assume there are no downsides to looking for things to be wrong. But the truth is that early diagnosis is a double-edged sword. While it has the potential to help some, it always has a hidden side-effect: overdiagnosis, the detection of abnormalities that are not destined to ever bother people in their lifetime. Becoming a patient unnecessarily has real human costs. There’s the anxiety of being told you ar... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372046 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:00:29 +0100 4372046 Long term gain http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372217&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2011%2F01%2Flong-term-gain%2F The fault was mine to begin with. In the upheaval of the move, and the ‘waiting to tell people that we’d moved once we were actually in the new house rather than still camped out at Mum and Dad’s’, and the fact that I wasn’t having any hospital treatment at the time, I didn’t let St. George’s Hospital in Tooting know that I’d shimmied north and would need care from a different hospital. In fact, the whole thing slipped my mind, until I got a letter redirected from the old London address, saying I’d missed my appointment in November but it had been re-booked. I felt bad – I consider that I have some responsibility towards other patients, as well as to the permanently skint NHS not to waste their resources – so I called the nu... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372217 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:39:53 +0100 4372217 Breast Cancer and Oral Contraception http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361253&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fbreast-cancer-and-oral-contraception%2F I was diagnosed with breast cancer just eight months after I married and moved to Michigan. My husband and I agreed that raising my two boys from a previous marriage was fulfilling enough and we didn’t need — or want — to have any more children. My decision to take the birth control pill was discussed with my doctor, and of course any concerns I had about it causing breast cancer were taken into consideration. Only 20 months before my diagnosis, I had a mammogram and follow-up ultrasound that showed no signs of a tumor. You can imagine how distraught I was at being diagnosed with breast cancer but even more perplexed at how a tumor of over 2 centimeters had developed so rapidly in my right breast. My new doctor and I had no reason to suspect that the birth control pill and its increa... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361253 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:53:21 +0100 4361253 A historical perspective of alternative medicine http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360907&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2FZY4qxPKz2yg%2Fhistorical-perspective-alternative-medicine.html by Roberta BivinsAs a historian who writes about the controversial topic of ‘alternative medicine’, I get a lot of questions about whether this or that therapy ‘works’. Sometimes, these questions are a test of my objectivity as a researcher. My questioners want to know whether I am ‘believer’, or a fan of alternative medicine, or have any stake in promoting or disdaining a given medical system. Other people are asking simply for advice: is it worth trying acupuncture, say, or homeopathy for a particular condition? From either angle, such questions ask me to take a stand on whether homeopathy is quackery, or whether I believe in acupuncture channels, or chiropractic manipulation.(...)Read the rest of A historical perspective of alternative medicine2 comments | Tags: Patient | Ca... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360907 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:00:13 +0100 4360907 Your blood test and the need for better designed results http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360911&cid=t_92646_85_f&fid=34587&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FKevinMd-MedicalWeblog%2F%7E3%2Fis6DoqOD2To%2Fblood-test-designed-results.html by Lukas Zinnagl, MDEither as a patient or as a physician there’s a very high chance that you’ve ever got your hands on a simple blood test.These range from very basic ones to complex ones with multiple pages and are substantial to any cinlical evaluation. Blood tests are probably one of the most performed tests in a clinical environment with direct patient contact. Also, if you’ve ever seen a typical blood test from the hospital’s laboratory then you’ll notice that they more look like a movie script than an informative medical report. Since the computer arrived in nowadays healthcare the form and design of these reports hardly changed.(...)Read the rest of Your blood test and the need for better designed results2 comments | Tags: Patient, Primary care | Category: Diagnosis and t... Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360911 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:00:02 +0100 4360911 I, Too, Have a Dream — About Mental Health http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361069&cid=t_92646_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F17%2Fi-too-have-a-dream-about-mental-health%2F Some of you may recognize my dream, but I like to repost it every now and then to keep it alive and give it legs. In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.: I have a dream that one day I won’t hold my breath every time I tell a person that I suffer from bipolar disorder, that I won’t feel shameful in confessing my mental illness. I have a dream that people won’t feel the need to applaud me for my courage on writing and speaking publicly about my disease, because the diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder would be understood no differently than that of diabetes, arthritis, or dementia. I have a dream that the research into genetics of mood disorders will continue to pinpoint specific genes that may predispose individuals and families to depression and bipolar disord... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361069 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:15:06 +0100 4361069 Psychiatric Diagnosis And The DSM-5 Controversy http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355718&cid=t_92646_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpsychiatric-diagnosis-and-the-dsm-5-controversy%2F2011.01.16 I’ve followed in bits and pieces — sometimes for Shrink Rap, sometimes because the issues fill my email inbox, sometimes because there’s no escape. Oh, and lots of the players have familiar names. In the December 27th issue of Wired magazine, Gary Greenberg writes a comprehensive article on the debates around the revision of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) upcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) entitled “Inside the Battle to Define Mental Illness.” Do read it. Here’s an excerpt: I recently asked a former president of the APA how he used the DSM in his daily work. He told me his secretary had just asked him for a diagnosis on a patient he’d been seeing for a couple of months so that she could bill the insur... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355718 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0100 4355718 Caris Life Sciences Launches Molecular Profiling Service For Ovarian Cancer Patients http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4349659&cid=t_92646_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F14%2Fcaris-life-sciences-launches-molecular-profiling-service-for-ovarian-cancer-patients%2F Caris Life Sciences announces the launch of a new molecular profiling service for ovarian cancer patients Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (Caris), a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, announced the launch of a new, Caris Target Now™ molecular profile [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4349659 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:11:53 +0100 4349659