Prevention « Surviving American Medicine

23 Dec

Get Ready for 2014: Protect Your Healthcare with These Steps

carypresant Affordable Care Act, Doctors, Health Insurance, Prevention 0 0

2014 will make big changes in how we get our healthcare. These changes are not only in our insurance, but also in our doctors, our hospitals, and our medications. How will you succeed health-wise in 2014?

To help give you some tips, check out my recent blog on the Huffington Post http://huff.to/19JxecW and you will have emote confidence in the coming year. Beware of not doing your homework now. You could be looking at gaps in…

05 Aug

What is the Latest Advice on Screening for Colon Cancer

carypresant Cancer, Medical Tips, Prevention, Uncategorized 0 0

We are all told that after age 50 we should have a screening colonoscopy. This reduces the risk of death from colon cancer by finding and removing polyps that can cause cancer later. But the difficult preparation for having a colonoscopy prevents many people from agreeing to have periodic colonoscopies, and many older patients have a dangerously high risk from repeated colonoscopy examinations.

A recent article examined what options a person has and what are…

30 Jun

Your Chances of Surviving Cancer are Improving

carypresant Cancer, Medical Tips, Prevention 0 0

We are all afraid of getting cancer. and everyone is feeling that cancer is becoming much more common. 1 of every 6 men and 1 of every 8 women will get cancer at sometime in their lives.

But now we have a progress report from the American Association for Cancer Research http://bit.ly/mYEfwr that shows great progress in the fight against the second leading cause of death in Americans. Between 1990 and 2008, the death…

16 May

Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy and YOU: Tips for Your Health

carypresant Breast Cancer, Celebrities, Prevention 0 0

Everyone has heard the news: one of our favorite stars, Angelina Jolie, knew that her mother had died of breast cancer. So she had her blood checked and news reports told us that she tested positive for a gene mutation that causes a very high risk of breast cancer, the BRCA gene mutation. So she made a life-changing decision: she would undergo a bilateral mastectomy and breast reconstruction. What does this story mean you have…

13 May

Preventing Falls Can Save Lives

carypresant elderly patients, geriatrics, Prevention 0 0

As people age, there is a loss of mobility and an increased tendency to falls. This can result in concussions (e.g. Hillary Clinton), brain bleeding, fractures, and even death. Because this is such a problem in aging, you need to be aware of how to prevent falls and preserve maximum mobility.

In institutions (hospitals, nursing homes) as well as in private homes where you are taking care of elderly family members, at least 20% of…

06 May

Using Aspirin to Control Prostate Cancer

carypresant Prevention, prostate cancer 0 0

Many men in America are now prostate cancer survivors. But there remains a risk that the cancer can reappear and spread, causing pain and death.

Aspirin can help prevent recurrences of prostate cancer. In patients with an intermediate to high risk of cancer recurrence, aspirin prevented 50% to 80% of prostate cancer reappearance http://nyti.ms/16qtxFg. Aspirin is more frequently being recognized as a preventive of many forms of cancer.

Here are my tips for…

04 Mar

You Can Prevent Oral and Throat Cancer

carypresant Cancer, Medical Tips, Prevention 0 0

Oral and throat cancers are serious and life-threatening, and adequate treatment often produces disfiguring scarring, loss of teeth (due to radiation side effects), and dramatic reduction in quality of life.

Prevention of these terrible conditions is effective. Since the disease is caused by smoking and excess drinking, as well as HPV (human papilloma virus, the same virus that causes cervix cancer, vaginal cancer and penis cancer), you can reduce your risk of these serious cancers….

27 Feb

Health Awards at the “Oscars”

carypresant academy awards, Celebrities, illness, Prevention 0 0

In a spectacular 2013 Academy Awards show, many health and disease issues were in the background. Here are my nominees for my Award for Most Important Performance by an illness or an individual.

Amour, for the portrayal of stroke, cerebrovascular disease, and caregivers Silver Linings Playbook, for the portrayals of mental illnesses and adjustment to illness Michael Douglas, for demonstration of outstanding survivorship after throat cancer and its treatment Robin Roberts, for her appearance on…

15 Jan

How Amy, Hillary, Olivia, Arnie, Lance, Mary Tyler and Michael Help Our Healthcare System

carypresant Cancer, Celebrities, Drug Side Effects, Medical Tips, Prevention, Uncategorized 0 0

Celebrities get diseases all the time. The news reports announce them as sensational events. But each celebrity who allows the media to report their illness and treatment actually helps each of us to improve our own health care. And we should never let their crisis and their lessons go unheeded by us personally.

Let’s go down the list and see the tips that their stories tell us:

Amy Weinhouse died of alcohol intoxication, possibly due…

11 Jan

Hillary’s Blood Clot: a Lesson for You

carypresant Prevention 0 0

Hillary Clinton had a blood clot in her leg in 1998. Recently, she developed an unusual blood clot outside of her brain, and she is again on anticoagulants (blood thinners). Because she has now had two blood clots, Hillary should be evaluated for a possible hypercoagulable state, a genetic tendency towards recurrent blood clots.

Many patients get blood clots and they can be life-threatening. Because of this, knowing if…

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