I am a registered nurse, medical writer and the lucky owner of two healthy breasts. I have had at least 15 mammograms, all as clean as a recently Swiffered floor. And yet, when I learned that, in Feb. 2019, Congress passed a national breast density not… Continue reading
Medicine has made remarkable progress in battling many diseases that were once a certain death sentence. Conditions like HIV, heart disease and many types of cancer are now treated as chronic conditions — with patients living 20 or 30 years, or longer,… Continue reading
Medicine has made remarkable progress in battling many diseases that were once a certain death sentence. Conditions like HIV, heart disease and many types of cancer are now treated as chronic conditions — with patients living 20 or 30 years, or longer,… Continue reading
The day my mother gave me a journal to help me cope with my grandmother’s suicide undoubtedly changed my life forever. That seemingly benign gesture, when I was 10, laid the groundwork for my life as a writer. Following this continuum, and after a seri… Continue reading
When you’re facing down cancer, heart disease isn’t top of mind. Yet, it turns out many cancer patients face a greater risk from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than from their cancer. Researchers have known for several decades that many lifesaving cancer… Continue reading
At 74, my father found out he had stage 3 lung cancer. The prognosis was grim. That was six years ago. Last month, Dad celebrated his 80th birthday. Even though his disease is terminal, our lives have gone on and we’ve learned a lot along the way throu… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) As you age, your body’s heart, kidney, lungs and other organ functions deteriorate. Under normal conditions, this is nothing to worry about. But when faced with intens… Continue reading
One day during the first week of March 2017, I noticed on my Facebook newsfeed that ballet dancer Misty Copeland was going to be appearing at the Union Square Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City on March 21 to discuss her recently published b… Continue reading
Some 85% of people over 60 use prescription drugs, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Yet, older people are not well represented in clinical trials, the gold standard for testing the safety and efficacy of medications, the N… Continue reading
Prostate cancer grows so slowly in some men that doctors often recommend active surveillance or watchful waiting instead of more aggressive treatment. In fact, one study from the Johns Hopkins Active Surveillance Program found that less than 1% of men … Continue reading