In two previous posts, What Do You Think About Clinical Trials? and What Do You Think? Medivizor’s Clinical Trials Perception Survey Results, we learned your perceptions of clinical trials. As a follow-up, we have a short, very useful explainer video produced by the European Patients’ Academy (EUPATI) describing some of the key features of...
Read MoreVitamin D A-Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Though this title might seem flippant, there is evidence that Vitamin D supplements may help you get fewer pesky colds and flu. In a recent article published in The BMJ, researchers conducted a meta-analysis on randomized control trials. Backing up, to do a meta-analysis, researchers find already published articles that fit a specific criteria, in this...
Read MoreNever Done Yoga? Give These 9 Seated Yoga Poses A Try
You’ve probably heard of yoga. Some people are “into” it. Others, not so much. Yoga is over 5000 years old, originating in India. One of the oldest texts in existence is the Yoga Sutra. Written 2000 years ago, it is the basis of the yoga practiced today. Possible health benefits from practicing yoga include stress management, balance...
Read MoreTattoos, Pain, Libido: Breast Reconstruction Is Not a “Boob Job”
In Before Angelina Jolie: Karen Malkin Lazarovitz’s BRCA Journey (Part 1) Karen explained her experience of learning she had the BRCA mutation. This mutation significantly increased her risk of getting breast cancer (87% risk) and ovarian cancer (54% risk). Here is the rest of her interview. Why Karen Had A Double Mastectomy Waking up everyday thinking...
Read MoreBefore Angelina Jolie: Karen Malkin Lazarovitz’s BRCA Journey (Part 1)
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...
Read MoreHeart Attacks Aren’t Always Like the Movies
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...
Read MoreThe Gift of Organ Donation: Honoring Donors and Their Families
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...
Read MoreThe Heart-Brain Connection: New Findings on Stress and Heart Attack
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...
Read More5 Facts About A Condition That’s Just Not Discussed: BPH
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...
Read MoreGuest Post: Cancer On Facebook–A Patient’s Perspective
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...
Read MoreSight Thief: Glaucoma Awareness
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...
Read MoreStroke Types & Treatment: Infographic
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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