In 2013, Angelina Jolie described her experience of being diagnosed with one of the BRCA mutations in her New York Times OpEd and prophylactic surgeries. But, five years before AJ’s “coming out,” Karen Malkin Lazarovitz @karenBRCAMTL learned she had one of the BRCA mutations. BRCA1 & BRCA2 Genes There are genes in our cells that...
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According to the movies, a heart attack is dramatic and obvious. Pain in the left arm and severe chest pain tells you it’s time to call 911. But the reality can be quite different. Nausea can be a symptom in both men and women. Shortness of breath, without doing anything, is a sign. Women may experience dizziness, feel pain in their upper back, or...
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Radiation and chemotherapy saved Stephanie Zimmerman’s life when she had Ewing’s Sarcoma in 1978. But years later, she almost lost her life again to long-term side effects of her treatment. Her heart died but she lives today because of the gift of organ donation. Here is the next part of her story. Losing Heart-Gaining Life How did the long term...
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How does stress affect the body? Newly published research may provide clues to the impact of emotional stress on different parts of the body. In their study, the researchers wanted to learn if there was a connection between a specific part of the brain, called the amygdala, and cardiovascular health. The Amygdala There are actually two amygdalae, one on...
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It’s tough when you have a disorder people aren’t comfortable talking about. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is one of those conditions. So let’s get comfortable with it. What is BPH? Okay. The name of this condition is a clue to what it means and why it’s not discussed…benign means that it is not cancer, prostatic means...
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Dawn Goo is a waitress, former comedian, breast cancer survivor and is now under treatment for Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. She lives in El Paso, Texas. This is a post from her Facebook page which is gathering momentum in social media among people who have experienced cancer, especially those who are dealing with Stage 4 disease. DAMN IT DAWN! WE ONLY WANT...
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First published in 1962, Light A Single Candle tells the story of a 14-year-old who loses her sight to glaucoma. Written by Beverly Butler, who is herself blind, it is memorable in its descriptions of the losses that accompanied losing sight. A book written for the adolescent audience, it stayed with this reader decades after first reading. If...
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Below is an infographic from Mount Sinai Hospital which provides a comprehensive description of the types, treatments as well as the signs of a stroke. Knowing the signs of a stroke can get people to the hospital promptly and reduce the severity and/or risk of disability. Having atrial fibrillation is one of the risk factors for stroke. Check out 5...
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It’s getting difficult to ignore the research…there’s a world of bacteria, archaea*, eukaryotes** and viruses partying away on and in your body. Actually, this microbiome, as it is called in the scientific community, is involved in our health in ways we never dreamed of before. Commensalism and Symbiosis In fact, the tissues where these...
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Did you eat a few too many cookies or sufganiyots over the holidays? New Year’s Resolutions If you are like most people, you gained a few pounds. So, right before 2017 rolls in, you’re dreading the New Year’s resolutions you’ll have to make. A study in the journal Obesity can give you some direction in how to go about this...
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We’re at the solstice, winter in the Northern Hemisphere, summer in the Southern Hemisphere. And we’re mid-holiday season. To celebrate the solstice and the holidays, we’re sharing 3 pins we’ve created for Pinterest. Courage Pin Light Pin Hope Pin Happy...
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Remember the character “Rocky,”the boxer in those movies. He was the “comeback kid.” Now, think about your liver… Did You Know that…? …if 75% of your liver were removed and 25% left, that 25% could regenerate a full size liver in 8 to 15 days? Your new liver would reorganize itself over the course of a few...
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