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
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
Each day, an estimated 6,000 women reach menopause. It begins with a significant transition around age 45 called perimenopause, which can last upwards of 14 years. And with a growing number of women 45+ in today’s labor markets, that translates to poss… Continue reading
Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t happen overnight. Symptoms appear gradually, starting with a condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). People with MCI may have a cluster of mild problems but can still function on their own. They might forget appoin… Continue reading
I’m indebted to the team of psychologists at UC Berkeley who just released a study that poor sleep in middle age raises your risk of developing dementia. I was running out of things to be alarmed about when I’m still wide awake at 2:47 a.m. Which is pr… Continue reading
Each year when I visit my primary care physician for my annual physical, the first stop is his office, where we sit opposite one another for a few minutes. We begin with some small talk, which eases us into the next phase of the visit, which I dub “the… Continue reading
Women are less likely than men to receive a mechanical heart pump that is becoming the norm for people with advanced heart failure, according to new research. The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure, to… Continue reading
Imani Woody’s father left her his home in Washington, D.C. — the one she grew up in — when he died in 2010. Faced with the decision of what to do with the house, Woody, a lifelong activist for women, people of color and the LGBGQ community, chose to r… Continue reading
Darcey Steinke’s personal flash count diary filled three black and white composition-style notebooks. In them were recorded the extreme hot flashes she experienced over a two-year period when menopause hit her hard five years ago, at age 52. There coul… Continue reading
For years, menopause was a taboo subject. “Most women did not openly discuss it,” nor were they likely to discuss the problems commonly associated with menopause, like hot flashes, night sweats and disrupted sleep, says Dr. JoAnn Manson, professor of m… Continue reading