Author: Lance Garrison

April 24, 2024 – The urgent need to pee, a strangled flow, and the feeling that you didn’t get it all out. Those are symptoms of male lower urinary tract problems, and more than 72% of men experience at least one of them. But European researchers believe they may have a new way to manage these symptoms: A smartphone app that combines pelvic floor training and behavioral changes. It may sound too good to be true. But research presented this month at a major urology conference in Paris showed that digitally accessible behavioral and physiotherapy strategies might be as effective as medication…

When you find out that you have breast cancer, your pathology report is a key document in your health records.A pathology report explains what a doctor called a pathologist found when examining a piece of your tissue from a biopsy or surgery. Typically, it takes a week or two after your biopsy to get a pathology report.The report provides some details – but not all – about your cancer.If you see your pathology report in your patient portal before you’ve had a chance to talk to your doctor, it can be easy to misunderstand or take things out of context.Your…

Women should continue to get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer and not turn to thermography, the FDA and other breast cancer experts say, because thermography hasn’t been shown to be effective at detecting breast cancer.Some health spas, homeopathic clinics, and others have touted the use of thermography as an alternative to mammography. The FDA and cancer experts say there is no proof that it can spot or detect breast cancer. In fact, the FDA has issued warnings and fines to health care providers who make misleading claims about thermography.The biggest risk is that if you get a test…

People of all genders can get breast cancer, so it’s important for trans men and trans women to consider that as part of their health care.“Anyone who has breast tissue could potentially or theoretically develop breast cancer,” says Fan Liang, MD, medical director of the Center for Transgender Health at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.Many things influence your breast cancer risk, including your own medical history, any family history of breast cancer, whether you have certain genes that make breast cancer more likely, and whether you get gender-affirming treatment.There aren’t yet official breast cancer screening guidelines that are specific to…

Every day, we encounter hundreds of chemicals from a wide variety of sources — the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the personal products we use, and other items we touch and use at work, school, and in our homes. Some of these common chemicals may contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer, researchers say. But it’s hard to know exactly how much of a difference they make in your risk. No chemicals in personal care products that are currently on the market have been proven to cause breast cancer. But some people, including researchers, are…

By Edi Mesa, as told to Hallie LevineI was diagnosed with COPD about 6 years ago at the age of 22. I battled sarcoma lung cancer in my teens, which damaged my lungs. But finding out I had COPD was more shattering. I could hide cancer, but I couldn’t hide my COPD.I always saw myself sky diving and hiking, but the reality is that something as simple as a long car ride can take a toll on me and lead to bedrest for several days. But I’ve also found that certain lifestyle changes can give me relief from some of…

At the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, anti-Vietnam War protesters clashed with police officers — whose brutal role in the confrontation was later described by a federal commission as a “police riot” — hijacking the focus of the convention.Those young demonstrators had come of age seeing continual — and effective — protests during the civil rights movement and national mourning after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who a year earlier had staked out his opposition to the war, saying that while he wasn’t attempting “to…

If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you’re probably no stranger to flares. These are sudden attacks where breathing and coughing symptoms get worse and stay that way. You could end up in the hospital if you don’t get treatment. If they’re not treated, they can lead to hospitalization and possibly death.But if you take steps to address symptoms early and find ways to minimize triggers, you can dramatically lower your risk of flares, says David Mannino, MD, chair of the Department of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health  at the University of Kentucky.Follow these tips:Learn the symptoms. Some signs…

By Jean Rommes, as told to Kendall MorganI knew in 1985 that I probably had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). I first came across the condition in an article, looked it up, and discovered I had all the classic symptoms. But I didn’t do anything about it until 2000, when I finally went to my primary care doctor about it. I always knew I was more short of breath than other people. A spirometry test, which measures how much you can breathe in and out, showed my lungs were only working at 37%. I had a definitive diagnosis of COPD,…

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be easy to miss when it starts. That’s because you might not have any symptoms. But over time, you may start to cough a lot or feel short of breath when you’re active. Mild COPD might not seem like a big deal. But it’s important to act early.“If we think about overall management goals, we’re trying to both minimize symptoms but also prevent disease progression,” says Carolyn Rochester, MD, medical director of the Yale COPD Program. “This is of particular importance for people with mild COPD.”There’s no cure, but lifestyle changes and treatments can…