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American Medicine

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 to an excessive binge drinking episode. Binge drinking is epidemic’ if you, a family member or friend repeatedly get drunk, consider obtaining the advice of a doctor concerning modifying alcohol abuse. This is especially important if you see indication of your child’s alcohol intake, a clue to binge drinking and future alcohol addiction.

Hillary Clinton has had two episodes of blood clots. Abnormal clotting is a serious cause of life-threatening illness and there are tests that can discover if you have a high risk of thrombosis. Treatment can prevent premature death. So ask you doctor to evaluate you if you have a history of clots in your family or in you.

Olivia Newton John (and Suzanne Sommers and Sheryl Crow) are all breast cancer survivors. So ask your doctor to be sure your are up to date in your screening mammograms and examinations, and evaluate your risk of breast cancer to see if you should be on preventive medicines.

Arnie Palmer (and Jerry Brown) have survived prostate cancer, so ask your doctor to discuss screening you for prostate cancer.

Lance Armstrong shows us that even stage-four cancer can be survived with good quality of life and achievement. Mary Tyler Moore demonstrates that good medical care can overcome juvenile diabetes and allow a long and productive life. Michael J Fox shows us that Parkinson’s disease can be fought with good enjoyment and quality of life. Michael Jackson  warn us about the side effects of drugs, so ask your doctor about the medication you are taking and drug interactions.

So when the next celebrity has an illness, ask your doctor if you are at risk of that illness, how to determine if your risk is high, and how to prevent and screen for the condition. Let your heroes be a signal to think about your own health care.

For more tips on how to ask your doctor about your risks of illnesses and preventing disease, see Chapter 9 “Preventing Illness” in my book Surviving American Medicine.