Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects an estimated 37 million people in the United States. Often, it begins and progresses silently, causing no obvious symptoms until kidney function is severely impaired. During early stages, up to nine in 10 people aren’t aware that they have it. If kidney disease is caught early and treated properly, serious …
Younger adults with kidney disease struggle with health disparities Read More »
“The horse has left the barn.” Those six words, said by my husband’s oncologist, changed our lives forever, although the sense of impending loss had begun weeks earlier with a blood test. There would be more tests, exams, and visits to specialists. As George and I waited for a definitive diagnosis, we bargained with ourselves …
Weight stigma, as defined in a recent BioMed Central article, is the “social rejection and devaluation that accrues to those who do not comply with prevailing social norms of adequate body weight and shape.” Put simply, weight stigma is a form of discrimination based on a person’s body weight. The authors of this article assert …
A forest fire in northern California and a mile-long glacier breaking apart appear in your news feed. The stark reminders of climate change are constant, and may cause additional stress to your daily tasks. For example, in surveying your shopping cart filled with wipes, sandwich bags, and packets of baby food, you may question your …
If climate change keeps you up at night, here’s how to cope Read More »
Editor’s note: in honor of Pride Month, we’re re-publishing a 2019 post by Dr. Cecil Webster. Generally speaking, discussing what happens in our bedrooms outside of the bedroom can be anxiety-provoking. Let’s try to make your doctor’s office an exception. Why is this important? People in the LGBTQ+ community contend not only with a full …
Talking to your doctor about your LGBTQ+ sex life Read More »
Let’s not kid ourselves: the pandemic is still with us, despite how it may sometimes seem. Increasingly, people are going back to work in person. Schools reopened this spring. And mask mandates are history in most parts of the US. In many places, case rates are falling and deaths due to COVID-19 have become uncommon. …
Year three of the pandemic is underway: Now what? Read More »
As of June 2022, 37 US states have passed medical cannabis laws and 19 states have legalized recreational cannabis. Cannabis has proven beneficial for a range of conditions such as childhood seizure disorders, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite in people with HIV/AIDs. In the meantime, a new generation of cannabis products has exploded onto …
Cognitive effects in midlife of long-term cannabis use Read More »
At one time, replacement parts for the eyes must have seemed unimaginable. Nowadays, if the inner lens of the eye becomes clouded by a cataract, a routine surgery to swap it out with a new artificial lens restores vision. But what happens if the outer lens of the eye (the cornea) becomes damaged or diseased? …
If you’re in your 80s or 70s and you’ve noticed that you’re having some memory loss, it might be reasonable to be concerned that you could be developing Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. But what if you’re in your 60s, 50s, or 40s… surely those ages would be too young for Alzheimer’s disease …
I’m too young to have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, right? Read More »
As a cisgender woman with long hair and a closet full of dresses, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been misgendered by being called “he” or “sir.” Cisgender means I was assigned female at birth and identify as a woman. For people who are transgender and/or nonbinary (TNB), with a …