Did you know that May 20th is International Clinical Trials Day. It commemorates the first “clinical trial” by James Lind, a Scottish surgeon in 1747. In trying to figure out what caused scurvy, a disease characterized by loss of teeth, bleeding gums and hemorrhaging, he conducted experiments. Twelve men with scurvy were divided into...
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Hearing this refrain, “I’m fine, I’m fine, really, I’m fine” at the end of a telephone line from a dear family member who had cancer nearly drove me crazy. I knew that she wasn’t fine. Reflecting back, I realize that I may have been asking the wrong question or saying the wrong things. It is tough to know what to say...
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In a previous post, Why do we sleep? we puzzled through the purpose of sleep for our bodies. In a recent TED talk, neuroscientist Lisa Genova (see her talk below) connects the dots explaining how good sleep clears out the toxic amyloids that are associated with Alzheimer’s. (learn more about Alzheimer’s here) “In slow-wave deep sleep, our...
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We are adding to the list of respite opportunities that are available for adults with cancer. In addition to a couple of programs like the ones featured in Free Vacations for Adults affected by Cancer, there are a few foundations for adults with cancer that are much like the well-known Make-A-Wish Foundation (for children) which provide support for...
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On August 23, 2014, Sara Khatib checked off another achievement on her life list of hopes and wishes. She spoke at a TEDx in Beirut, Lebanon. The theme of the TEDx was ‘how would you fill a time capsule?’ So Sara brought along four items related to the lessons she learned while “battling cancer.” “Sometimes giving up...
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Learning about “the birds and the bees” may be the way your parents described getting pregnant but it’s a lot more complicated than you think. And for many couples, trying to have a baby is a result of science and technology that has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. In 2015, 3,978,497 babies were born in the US and...
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If you have had chicken pox, you might get shingles later in life. Shingles is caused by the herpes zoster virus (also called the varicella zoster virus). After you have had chicken pox, the zoster virus stays in your body and lying dormant. For 1 in 3 people in the US, the virus activates and causes shingles. The symptoms of shingles are pain,...
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Did you know that before the year 2000, poor pain management was called a major medical problem and was synonymous with poor medical care in the US? On January 1, 2001, Congress declared 2001 to 2010 the Decade of Pain Control and Research. Assuring that effective pain management occurred in hospitals, in 2003, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of...
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Someone next to you in the elevator is coughing, sneezing and hacking away. Meanwhile, inside your body, your spleen is busily producing the lymphocytes (white blood cells) that create antibodies to attack the viruses and bacteria to which you are being exposed. This organ is between four and five inches long (about the size of a fist) and located on the...
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Two blood cancers with such similar names, Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin Lymphoma, is bound to cause confusion. The Dana Farber Cancer Institute has created a great infographic to help clear up any...
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What does it mean to have a calling? You’ve probably heard people say that they were “called” to become a pastor, social worker, nurse or doctor. What does that mean? Researchers have tried to define it and seem to have settled on three components to the definition. First, there is a caller: something external that could be defined by...
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In July 2015, Medivizor introduced us to a project being conducted by the Broad Institute in conjunction with Dana Farber Cancer Institute called The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project or MBC Project. In October of 2015, after two years of work involving patient input and partnership, the MBC Project website went live. One of the reasons why this project is...
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