Author: Lance Garrison

When you find out that your partner has prostate cancer, both of you probably have a lot of questions about what comes next. There will be plenty you need to talk about. But what do you say — and what shouldn’t you say — as you face the disease together?Before you choose your words, focus on the “together” part of this. Your partner will benefit greatly by you being at his side. Go to his appointments with him and be supportive.“If the man has a partner, I always encourage that partner to be there,” says urologist Jesse Mills, MD, director…

The biggest cultural news of the month is that a lot of people are kind of “meh” about Taylor Swift’s latest album (or albums, if you prefer to treat the 31-song release as a twofer). After spending the past few years illustrating how internet-era culture encourages a singular kind of superstardom, to the point where Swift has sometimes felt like the only celebrity singer in the world — or maybe that’s just how it feels when you’re driving a minivan with tween-age daughters making song requests — we’ve maybe, maybe finally hit a point of overextension and oversaturation.Two takes on…

April 26, 2024 – Before there was Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound, there were cost-friendly, safe, and effective weight loss drugs. FDA-approved obesity medication like orlistat (brand name: Xenical), phentermine/topiramate (Qsymia), and naltrexone/bupropion extended release (Contrave) have been on the market for decades.“Some older obesity medications go all the way back to the ’50s and ’60s – like phentermine, which is still one of the most widely prescribed medications in the world,” said Anthony Auriemma, MD, medical director of Ascension Illinois Weight Loss Solutions.While newer GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) often lead to greater degrees of weight loss, the benefits of more established drugs…

They don’t tell you beforehand that it will be a choice between having a career in science or starting a family. But that’s the message I heard loud and clear 17 years ago, in my first job after completing my Ph.D. in evolutionary biology. During a routine departmental meeting, a senior academic announced that pregnant women were a financial drain on the department. I was sitting visibly pregnant in the front row. No one said anything.I took a leave of absence when that child, my daughter, was born. Two years later, I had a son. That second pregnancy was a…

Many of the things that make rural living appealing to some – the remoteness, the absence of crowds, the simplicity – can make health care more difficult. Choices for doctors may be limited and health care facilities can be miles away. For some care, you may need to plan days or more in advance.So while it’s always a good idea to look ahead for your health care needs, it can be especially important in a rural community.“It’s better to establish care before you need it,” says Kevin Bennett, director for the Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare, University of South…

To the Editor:Re “Split Court Hints at Some Immunity for Ex-Presidents” (front page, April 26):Incredibly, though perhaps not surprisingly, it is patently clear that the conservative justices on the Supreme Court, based on their questions and statements made during argument, are breaking ground for the demise of our democracy.These justices have left no doubt that they disagree with the holding of the lower courts and will find that Donald Trump enjoys at least some degree of immunity from criminal prosecution for acts while he was president.Further, it is apparent that they will send the case back to the trial court…

Maybe you know a smoker who never exercises and is living happily into old age. Or perhaps you read about a veggie-loving marathon runner who had a heart attack in middle age.These kinds of stories can’t help but make you think: If your health is simply written into your genes, what’s the point of all that exercise and healthy eating? Why not just do what you want?But, says Laura Zimmermann, MD, medical director of the Rush University Prevention Center, these stories stick with us because they are unusual. They are examples of what scientists call “outliers.”The reality is that, for…

Listen to and follow ‘Matter of Opinion’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicHow worried should we really be about the threat of political violence? On this week’s episode of “Matter of Opinion,” columnist Jamelle Bouie joins the hosts to set the record straight on whether we’re actually living through an unusually violent era, and they discuss whether the new movie, “Civil War,” could come true.Plus, Keanu Reeves in his most beautiful form yet.(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)Recommended in this episode:“Oath and Honor: A Memoir and…

You may see them on your drive to work, while walking your dog at the park, or at intersections with crumpled signs requesting help. They are people without homes, sometimes even without shelter for the night.There are more than half a million people homeless in the U.S. in any 12-month period, and almost 200,000 of them sleep without shelter on any given night.“I think COVID made people more aware of the issue of homelessness,” says Steve Berg, vice president for programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington, DC. “Everyone was told to stay home during…

In 1968, protests against the Vietnam War reached a climax in Chicago outside the Democratic National Convention, where the police beat and arrested demonstrators — and most likely contributed to Hubert Humphrey’s loss in the general election that November. In this audio essay, the columnist Charles Blow draws a parallel between those events and this year’s convention, which will also take place in Chicago and where protesters are again planning demonstrations. Blow warns the Biden campaign that the growing campus protest movement signals what could come and that the campaign ignores history at its peril.(A full transcript of this audio…