Endo Awareness
March is endometriosis awareness month. According the CDC, endometriosis occurs “when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows somewhere else”. In other words your uterine lining can grow on ovaries, it can wrap around your intestines and in some cases on parts of the body nowhere near the female reproductive organs, like in a few rare cases the lungs. As serious as this sounds, unfortunately, many people have heard more about ovarian cancer (which is very serious) than endometriosis. I, however, have known about this disease and the havoc it can wreak for my entire life.
Growing up I used to pra...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - March 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Advocacy Women's Health Source Type: blogs
When Size Affects Your Odds
Oncologists are on board in the fight against obesity. And they’ve made it official by issuing their first-ever Position Statement on Obesity and Cancer through the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
That’s especially great news for women—who are twice as likely as men to be affected by the nearly half a million new cases of obesity-related cancers worldwide each year. Not surprisingly, the greatest proportion of them are in North America. (http://ow.ly/FacZg http://ow.ly/Fadcm)
Despite the fact that more American men than women are overweight or obese, U.S. women are disproportionately affected by the obe...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - January 28, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Cancer Consumer Health Care Policy Publc Health Source Type: blogs
Gynecologic cancer: Being a part of these women’s stories
Mrs. C was used to my quiet knock every morning at 6 a.m. She smiled as I turned on the overhead lights, but began to grimace when she realized that today was dressing-change day. The rustling packages of bandages in my overstuffed coat pockets had given it away. Mrs. C had stage four metastatic endometrial cancer; a malignancy of her uterus that was not responding well to chemotherapy and had now spread into her colon. She had just undergone another tumor debulking surgery that involved a bowel resection and had left her with a temporary colostomy.
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Your patients are rating you online: How to respond....
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 19, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Sharlay Butler Tags: Education Cancer Medical school OB/GYN Source Type: blogs
Why hysterectomy for many endometrial hyperplasias is often overkill
A recent case that I saw in consultation at the patient’s request highlights the pervasive problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of endometrial hyperplasia. This 46-year-old woman was diagnosed with simple hyperplasia without atypia within an excised endometrial polyp, for which both her gynecologist and pathologist recommended hysterectomy. The basis for this recommendation was a perceived increased risk of endometrial cancer, either currently lurking within her uterus or to be developed in the future, even though the cancer risk for this lesion has never been shown to be above the 2 to 3 percent overall lifetime r...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 21, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Roger Reichert, MD, PhD Tags: Conditions OB/GYN Source Type: blogs
The RUC. "an Independent Group of Physicians?" - But It Includes Executives and Board Members of For-Profit Health Care Corporations and Large Hospital Systems
Introduction We just discussed how a major story in Politico has once again drawn attention to the opaque RUC (Resource Based Relative Value System Update Committee) and its important role in determining what physicians are paid for different kinds of services, and hence the incentives that have helped make the US health care system so procedurally oriented. (See the end of our last post for a summary of the complex issues that swirl around the RUC.)The Politico article covered most of the bases, but notably omitted how the RUC may be tied to various large health care organizations, especially for-profit, and how the...
Source: Health Care Renewal - August 28, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: AMA boards of directors conflicts of interest health care prices healthcare executive hospital systems perverse incentives regulatory capture RUC Source Type: blogs
More Sitting, More Cancer
One of the more interesting results from the study of health and lifestyle choices in recent years is the finding that time spent sitting correlates with increased mortality and a shorter life expectancy regardless of whether or not individuals also exercised. As for all such statistical investigations, there is a lot of room to speculate as to the web of related associations and which of them are actually contributing meaningfully to differences in health. This metastudy expands on the picture by looking specifically at cancer risk:
Sedentary behavior is emerging as an independent risk factor for chronic disease and mor...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 19, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Collateral damage after cancer surgery
Dr. Robert’s office felt right to me, with a musical birdsong soundtrack, soft lighting and fresh green tea, and I had my best friend in tow: piece of cake. In this serene atmosphere, I was sure that I’d find out what to do next to finish treating my endometrial cancer.
“It’s probably gone now, since my hysterectomy two weeks back,” I thought. “But let’s play it safe; he’s the gynecological-cancer guru.”
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Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 11, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Brenda Tags: Patient Cancer Source Type: blogs
A Patient’s Story–How Much Can or Should– Your Doctor Tell You About Potential Risks?
Below a non-fiction story from Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine, “an online magazine of personal experience in health.” Pulse is both a magazine and an online community that provides a chance for patients, doctors, nurses, social workers to come together, and share their experiences.
The magazine’s founders write: “Despite the large numbers of health magazines and medical journals, few openly describe the emotional and practical realties of health care. We at Pulse believe that our stories and poems have the power to bring us together and promote compassionate health care. “ Pulse was launched by th...
Source: Health Beat - May 18, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: endometrial cancer malpractice suit Pulse: voices from the heart of medicine shared decision making follow-up surgery lymlymphectomy/omentectomy lymph-vessel blockage lymphedema Source Type: blogs
Our IVF success story - a test of determination, love and professional support
It was the 3rd year of our marriage -2011. We lost our first baby girl at full term due to meconium aspiration. Just 2 days before this fatal day I had lost my mother to another doctors’ negligence. As a precaution, I had insisted our ob-gynaecologist on the next day of my moms’ death to perform C-section on my wife and then I could also break the news to my wife. She ignored my request despite my in-laws visiting her on the same day with my request to her clinic. All along she kept telling us that it was a precious pregnancy , a successful IUI outcome after diagnosis of mild endometriosis. A well planned c-section was...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - December 25, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Source Type: blogs
The expert IVF patient
I saw an interesting patient today. She had been diagnosed
with early endometrial adenocarcinoma , and was concerned about her fertility,
which is why her cancer specialist had referred her to me. She wanted to know what her chances of having
her own baby were. This newly married 24-year old woman had been having heavy
periods because of her polycystic ovarian disease . She had a diagnostic hysteroscopy
done, which showed she had early ( preinvasive) localized cancer.
She wanted to know if it was possible to preserve her uterus
, as she wanted to have a baby eventually. Most doctors would advise her to remov...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - September 13, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Source Type: blogs
New Book on Birth Control Overlooks Evidence
The new book “Sweetening the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control” by Holly Grigg-Spall has generated a lot of discussion and critical response — with good reason.
Grigg-Spall argues that the birth control pill is actually making us sick, and feminists don’t want you to know this.
As a feminist women’s health organization that puts a premium on evidence-based information, we disagree.
As noted in the most recent edition of “Our Bodies, Ourselves,” modern oral contraceptives, which are among the most intensely researched pills in history, are safe for most users. T...
Source: Our Bodies Our Blog - September 11, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Rachel Tags: Birth Control & Family Planning Books Source Type: blogs
Prostate Cancer: What It Is and Who It Affects
By Amy Campbell
First, the bad news. Research tells us that Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast, endometrial, colorectal, liver, and pancreatic cancer. Knowledge of the link between cancer and diabetes is actually nothing new. Back in 1910, a biostatistician made the connection between diabetes and cancer. More recently, studies have shown that diabetes does indeed increase cancer risk, likely, in part, due to the incidence of overweight and obesity, not-so-healthy food choices, and lack of sufficient physical activity (all modifiable risk factors, by the way).
Now, for the somewh...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - June 24, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Diabetes and Cancer
By Quinn Phillips
Two weeks ago, actress Angelina Jolie announced that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy, a choice she made after finding out she carries a rare gene that raises a woman's risk of developing breast cancer to about 65%. This revelation sparked a flurry of media coverage, which touched on everything from the cost of genetic testing to cultural factors that may influence whether a woman chooses to undergo a mastectomy. Suddenly, it seemed, breast cancer was on everyone's mind. So it seemed like an opportune time for Diabetes Flashpoints to discuss the link between diabetes and breast cancer, as ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - May 29, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
ICG Europe starts w/ "Omics & the future of man" & sticks to men the rest of the time
Fun. Another day. Another YAMMGM (yet another mostly male genomics meeting). This one is the International Conference on Genomics Europe 2013. I have copied the program as it is now here and then highlighted the men and women as far as I can tell. And, well, it is not very balanced. It starts off, ironically, with "Omics and the future of man" and then stays on both omics and alas, men, for most of the meeting. The first woman does not talk until 5 pm on the first day. Nothing against BGI per se. But they seem to be repeat offenders in having meetings with mostly male s...
Source: The Tree of Life - May 14, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs
Birth Control May Increase Type 2 Diabetes Risk
By Diane Fennell
Obese women taking certain forms of hormonal birth control may be at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to obese women using nonhormonal contraception, according to a new study from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
The metabolic effects of progestin-only, long-acting contraception, such as the progestin-releasing IUD (a small, T-shaped device that is placed in the uterus) and a progestin-releasing device implanted under the skin, have been studied in normal-weight women. To determine the metabolic effects of these contraceptives in healthy obese, r...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 22, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
