September 12th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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This is a thoughtful “sounding board” piece in the New England Journal of Medicine this week: Lessons from the Mammography Wars.
It is so important to keep this discussion alive. The miscommunication that took place last November of what the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force tried to convey, and the complicity of some news organizations in adding to that confusion, provide lessons from which we simply must learn to do better.
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
September 10th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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The Telegraph reports that the number of screening pap smears performed in the UK has declined after an 8 percent blip upwards in 2009 when publicity surrounding the death of Jade Goody from cervical cancer may have led more women to have this important screening test:
NHS laboratories processed 415,497 tests in 2009-2010, about 35,000 fewer than the previous year when 450,522. Miss Goody’s death in March last year prompted a 20 percent increase in the number of Scottish women taking tests. More than 122,000 were processed between April and June last year, the statistics revealed.
The irony of course, is that British reality TV star Jade Goody did have pap smears, but chose to ignore her doctor’s recommendations for treatment when her pap smears came back abnormal.
Nonetheless, the decline in pap smears has led NHS of Scotland to initiate a campaign to reach the up to 25 percent of young women who do not respond to invitations to have pap smears. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
August 22nd, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
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Many women will tell you that large breasts are an impediment to exercise, both in terms of discomfort and embarrassment. According to a study of 20 women with C+ breasts in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE), sports bras which provide breast encapsulation, compression, and elevation (whereas traditional sports bras only provide compression and encapsulation) are more comfortable during physical activity.
Breast motion tracking was done via “infrared light-emitting diodes (2-mm diameter)…placed directly on both nipples under each bra using double-sided surgical tape, as the nipples have been found to be the best indicator of vertical breast displacement.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
August 22nd, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
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About 15 to 20 percent of women who know they are pregnant will have a miscarriage. The loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks is considered a miscarriage. Many women suffer grief and shock after a miscarriage and fear there is something wrong with them or that they did something to cause it. But the reasons for miscarriage are usually not known. Women are often told to wait “a few months” to get pregnant again to let their bodies recover.
A new study published in the British Medical Journal looked at over 30,000 women who had a miscarriage in their first recorded pregnancy and subsequently became pregnant again. They found that women who conceived again within six months were less likely to have another miscarriage or problem pregnancy. They were even less likely to have a cesarean section, preterm delivery or infant of low birth weight. These women were more likely to have an induced labor.
The researchers wrote: “Women wanting to become pregnant soon after a miscarriage should not be discouraged.” These women had the best reproductive outcomes.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
August 21st, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
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I really didn’t expect to like Eat, Pray, Love. In fact, since its publication in 2006, I’d been avoiding it like the plague. “Typical new-agey, Oprah-y, girly-book,” I thought. Nothing in it to speak to me.
Then I saw the trailer for the movie, and I was hooked –- probably because I, like mostly everyone, love Julia Roberts. I immediately downloaded the book on my iPhone using the Kindle App and began to read.
First, let me say that Elizabeth Gilbert writes exceptionally well, and the book is actually a joy to read. I, of course, loved the Italy eating part. But more surprising to me, I wasn’t turned off by the whole yoga, Guru, find-yourself stuff. This is because Gilbert writes it all with a reporter’s curiosity and a skeptic’s eye, and frames it not as a belief system, but as a tool for self-discovery and peace. (Plus, I’m really good at skimming if I get bored.)
Too bad Gilbert’s curiosity and skepticism does not extend to the healthcare she receives while in Bali. She accepts the curative powers of a warm leaf placed on an oozing, infected cut without even wondering what leaf it might be or how it might have worked. Was it the heat (most likely) or something else (possibly)? I was dying to know.
She Xeroxes pages and pages of traditional medical treatments without sharing a single one with us in any meaningful way. While I’m pretty sure 99 percent of what was in there was bunk, there might be a few gems that would serve medical science. Unless Lizzie made a second copy, we’ll never know, will we?
But it was the UTI that really got to me. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
