Gynecologic cancers & women’s health It was only in retrospect that Rebecca Reynolds recognized something was wrong. Sure, she felt bloated and had gained a few pounds, but wasn’t that just part and parcel of middle age? Sure, her stomach was a mess, with indigestion, gas, diarrhea and constipation, but she’d had such symptoms on […]
Category: National Women’s Health Report
Women, chronic stress & resilience Talk about a stressful life. Between the books she writes, the research she conducts, talks, business-related travel–not to mention her responsibilities at home–stress researcher Esther M. Sternberg, MD, knows her topic well. But it took a time when the stress finally got to her, when she became so exhausted that […]
Commonly asked questions about reconstructive surgery Maurice Nahabedian Q I’m scheduled for a mastectomy. When is the best time to have reconstructive surgery? A When to have reconstructive surgery depends on your own situation. Most women can have immediate reconstructive surgery and wake up with a breast, because we’re catching tumors at such an early […]
Providing culturally sensitive health care Today, 11 percent of people living in America were born in another country. (16) By 2050, according to some estimates, ethnic minorities will account for 47 percent of the nation’s population. (17) ********** No wonder then, that in some areas of the country, hospital signs are written in five or […]
Common questions about health literacy Q How can I tell if one of my patients has a reading or other health literacy problem? A You certainly can’t evaluate your patients’ health literacy based on how they look or talk. Anyone can have trouble understanding what’s going on in their health care setting regardless of how […]
Health literacy & older patients Health literacy affects older adults in disproportionate numbers. Experts estimate that two out of three adults age 60 and over have either inadequate or marginal literacy skills. (2) ********** One study of 3,260 new Medicare enrollees found that overall, nearly 34 percent of English-speaking and nearly 54 percent of Spanish-speaking […]
Exercise & Fitness for women over 40 Pamela Peeke For most of her adult life, Phyllis Ingram of Barto, PA, was too busy raising her two children to even think about her own health. Consequently, by the time she turned 52, she carted an unhealthy 225 pounds around on her 5’6″ frame. Just walking up […]
Women & blood donation It was supposed to be the perfect pregnancy and delivery. After all, Lauren Larsen was a healthy, 38-year-old marathoner who had had a perfectly normal pregnancy–not even a smidge of morning sickness. But in her 37th week, she developed preeclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy, resulting in an emergency cesarean section […]
Sex & your teen: what parents & health care professionals should know – Lifestyle Corner Pamela Peeke Today, nearly 70 percent of all high school seniors engage in sexual intercourse before graduating, one in eight contracts a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year and more than 80 percent of all STD cases occur among those […]
Sexually transmitted diseases & women’s health When Karen Engle,* then 25, went for a Pap smear in 1999, it had been two years since she’d had the routine test. The Seattle woman figured she didn’t need one, since she hadn’t been sexually active during that time. Now, after meeting the man she would eventually marry, […]