Recently by Heather Graham
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, a mastectomy is not the overwhelming first choice of treatment, according to a survey October 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers developed the survey to determine if the perception that women are being overprescribed mastectomies is true. Turn outs, it really isn't. Instead, about 75 percent of the nearly 2,000 women polled initially opted for breast-conserving treatments, like lumpectomy. (Some patients with later stage cancer did end up having a mastectomy after the first treatment was not successful.)
Though only 20 percent of patients sought a second opinion, the research shows that the recommended treatment didn't tend to change after another opinion.
Learn more about breast cancer:
Catching a pass is important in football, but catching breast cancer in its early stages can be a lifesaver. Tanya Snyder, a breast cancer survivor and the wife of Redskins owner Dan Snyder, talked to the TODAY show about pro football's commitment to take on a fierce opponent.
- Check out some of the players involved with "A Crucial Catch"--the NFL's campaign to promote breast cancer screening
- Find out how to lower your risk of breast cancer
- Get more information, news, and tips about breast cancer
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As another week winds to an end, take a look at some of the top stories and commentary in health this week.
Surgery tweets: New way to keep family in loop
CDC: Swine flu deaths higher in older kids
Seizure makes women believe she's a man
FDA confirms frog or toad was in Florida man's diet Pepsi can
Addicted to the Internet? There's rehab for that
Have something to say about what you've read? Share your thoughts on one of the YourTotalHealth message boards.
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Every few months the tabloids feature stories about gorgeous celebs who snapped back to their pre-pregnancy bodies in just 4, 6 or 8 weeks. In real life it takes closer to a year for the average women to fit into her old clothes again. Sure, it would probably take no time at all if we lived like movie stars with personal trainers, nutritionists and nannies. And we'd get a heck of a lot more sleep, too.
Sleep, says a new study from Kaiser Permanente, is as essential as diet and exercise when it comes to weight loss for new mothers. If you aren't getting enough sleep after your baby turns six months old, you may have a problem losing that leftover baby weight. Moms who are sleeping less than five hours at a clip are three times as likely to hold onto those postpartum pounds as those who get at least seven hours of shuteye. Research has shown that lack of sleep can play havoc with the hormones that control your appetite. You feel hungry, yet nothing seems to satisfy you. (That is a bad diet combo!) What's worse, not going back to your pre-pregnancy weight within a year of childbirth could end up leading to longer-term weight gain.
Try these tips to get some sleep:
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The drugs companies are at it again trying to find a weight-loss panacea. Have they finally done it? According to Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., its new obesity-fighting drug Contrave will be the next big thing to whittle our waistlines. Orexigen says clinical trials showed a significantly higher weight loss for people on Contrave than those taking a placebo. Other benefits are supposed to include smaller waist circumference, lower triglycerides, increased "good" HDL cholesterol and lower blood sugar for people with diabetes. So far the most common side effects being reported are headache, nausea and constipation.
Orexigen claims that what will make Contrave the strongest contender in the fight against obesity is its ability to diminish food cravings. If we don't have a taste for high-calorie diet busters, maybe we can actually maintain healthy eating plans. So far, nothing has cleared the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which means that while this sounds good, it won't be available until 2010 at the earliest.
Orexigen rivals Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Vivus Inc. are also trying to develop weight-loss drugs to bring to market.
More about weight loss:
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Stubbed toes, paper cuts, a burn from a hot pan--all things commonly followed up with a few four-letter words. More intense events, like giving birth, usually elicit a lengthy torrent of language often attributed to longshoreman and truck drivers.
After hitting his finger with a hammer--and expressing a few expletives--Richard Stephens, PhD, a psychology teacher at Keele University in the United Kingdom, started to wonder if letting loose some nasty words had any bearing on one's tolerance of pain.
"A midwife said that swearing was very common on the delivery ward," says Dr. Stephens who witnessed Mrs. Stephens utter a few cuss words while in labor. "This really got me thinking about whether swearing affects pain directly and lead to this research."
He did a little poking around and found that no one had really established a link between swearing and the actual feeling of pain. So he and two colleagues, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston, decided to find out if using profanity would mitigate pain.
Their findings, published in July 2009 in NeuroReport, reports that yes, swearing does have a pain-lessening effect. Why is a little less clear. Perhaps because swearing actually taps in to the emotional brain center (right brain), instead of the left side where language production takes place. However it happens, it seems a few of F-bombs take the sting out of getting hurt.
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The recession has led a lot of us to think creatively about making an extra dollar here and there. Evidently, one idea is popping up in the minds of many: Becoming a sperm or egg donor. (It's not really a donation because you get paid). Clinics and referral services across the country have seen a significant increase in people wanting to sell their genetic material.
A few things to think about:
- Generally, you have to be 21-32 years old to donate eggs (guys can be 20-39 to donate sperm)
- There is a whole process to make sure you are mentally and physically fit
- Not everyone is accepted
- An egg donation can fetch $5,000 (or more in some places)
- Sperm donors get about $100 per "collection" but they can visit the clinic twice a week
This trend could be a boon for those who want to use in vitro fertilization (IVF), but would-be parents are postponing the expensive procedure in this down economy. Still, I doubt anyone qualified to become a donor will be turned away.
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The next time a nosey relative or family friend asks why I'm not married yet, I can tell them because I'm trying to lose 10lbs.
Natalie The and Penny Gordon-Larsen (nutrition epidemiologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) followed nearly 7,000 people to see how their romantic lives affected their waistlines. The news isn't good: You're more likely to wave the white flag in the battle of the bulge once you've reach the alter. What's worse is that women are at a 63% higher risk of losing their girlish figures as soon as cohabitation starts, even if vows are yet to be exchanged.
The study's authors theorize that behaviors tends to be a family affair, so if one of you is eating Chinese take-out in front of the TV, the other is likely to join. On the flip side, if one of you eats healthy and makes time for some type of physical activity, the other probably will too.
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Until the toxicology results are back and the autopsy is completed, we won't know the real cause of Michael Jackson's death. At the moment, the only thing that is being confirmed is that he went into "cardiac arrest," which basically means his heart stopped. Okay... but, why?
As details trickle in and nameless sources talk to the press, it seems apparent that Jackson's fate was most likely sealed by a decades-long addiction to drugs.
As far back as 1993 he admitted to an ongoing painkiller addiction in a videotape that leaked to the press. In a 2007 legal deposition he admits that he was often incapacitated by painkillers throughout much of 2003.
Now, unnamed sources have told PEOPLE magazine that his family was so concerned about his drug use they staged an intervention. According to TMZ.com, a family member says that in the days leading up to Jackson's death he was taking a daily injection of Demerol, a synthetic narcotic similar to morphine.
Shortly after Jackson's death, Brian Oxman, the family's attorney, admitted to CNN that Jackson's "use of medications had gotten in the way of doing rehearsals."
Addiction is devastating to everyone--families, friends, colleagues. A 50-year-old, single dad of three is dead. The grief that his family feels must be all consuming. Parents burying a son, children losing a father, siblings missing a brother. It's so sad that Jackson never found his way into a 12-Step program or some other type of treatment. Perhaps a family wouldn't be short one member and the world wouldn't be grieving one of the greatest pop stars of all time.
Michelle Obama emailed me yesterday (and anyone else who signed up for White House email alerts) to remind me that this weekend, Saturday June 27, is National Health Care Day of Service and that there are opportunities for service across the country.
Health care reform was a hot topic during the presidential campaign and President Obama continues to push the issue. What exactly health care reform means--and how it will happen--is still being hammered out and it's sure to take time. Changing a bureaucracy is like doing the seating arrangement at a wedding full of step-families, feuds, and a vegetarian who can't stand the site of red meat. It's complicated.
In the meantime, the Obamas are asking people to get involved in their own communities. I think it's that whole trickle up theory--change starts within your community, then at the state level and then the federal government catches on.
Anyway, you can go to the Organizing for America web site, type in your zip code and get a list of what's going on in your area.
I tried it myself and found 81 events within 75 miles of my house. Since I live in NYC, I wanted to see what's going on in smaller cities, so I plugged in my hometown's zip and still found 12 options. While some events are more political in flavor, focused on the need for health care reform, others are community-oriented, like helping to organize a local blood drive or bringing nonperishable food items to a women's shelter. If you can't get out of the house, you can still sign up for events online!
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One in five Americans smoke. Thousands of kids under 18 get addicted to cigarettes every day. We spend $100 billion a year on healthcare costs for smoking-related diseases. And up until today, the federal government has had limited power to step in and regulate the tobacco industry.
President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act this afternoon, giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to start running the tobacco show. Changes that are expected to take place:
- The amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes will be lowered (it's the addictive element of tobacco)
- Graphic warnings on cigarette packaging (maybe like those horrible anti-smoking commercials?)
- No more flavored smokes (like cherry and other flavors marketed toward kids)
- Tobacco companies will have to disclose ingredients (there's more than tobacco in most cigarettes)
- Advertising will be restricted (no more adorable characters like Joe Camel)
Get help to quit smoking!
5 reasons you should quit now
How much are you spending on cigarettes?
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I remember when Aunt T was pregnant with her first baby and my great-grandmother insisted we dangle a threaded needle over her swollen belly to find out if it'd be a girl or a boy. I'm pretty sure it correctly predicted a girl. (Could be because it was a girl and it was 25 years ago). There were all kinds of supposed gender indicators, like how someone was carrying (high=girl, low=boy), heartburn and even the severity of morning sickness. That was back when people found out the sex of their baby in the delivery room.
Nowadays high-definition ultrasounds can usually tell if you're carrying a John or Jane after 18 weeks. Though not always--we thought my niece was my nephew until she arrived. In truth, the most accurate tests are amniocentesis and CVS, which use amniotic fluid to test for genetic disorders and chromosomal abnormalities. Doctors won't usually perform these invasive tests unless there is reason, like if the mother is over 35 (when risk increases) or there's a family history of certain conditions, so it's basically ultrasound or bust. Until now.
Your skin isn't the only body part that needs to be shielded from the harsh rays of the summer sun.
Protect Your Eyes from Sun Damage
Good question. Beating your girlfriend or wife so severely that she needs medical attention isn't exactly an act of love. Attacking women for rejecting unwanted sexual advances isn't really the most seductive mating call either. (True story: A complete stranger broke my friend's nose because she rebuffed his catcalls.) Unfortunately, the punishment meted out to these maniacs is usually much less severe than the crimes themselves. Think about it, if Chris Brown beat another man on the street the way he attacked his girlfriend, he'd be in a state-issued jumpsuit for the next several years. Yet, I'll bet dollars to donuts he gets probation.
So, yeah, the New York State National Organization for Women (NOW) is thinking violence against women, including domestic violence, should be considered a hate crime and prosecuted as such.
On the other hand, to get hate crime status, you have to prove that the perpetrator targeted the victim based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality and even political affiliation. That could be tough when we're talking about two people in a consensual relationship, no matter how volatile it is.
What do you think? iVillagers are already talking about it on the message boards. Add your thoughts and opinions, too.
--Heather M. GrahamThe weather in the Northeast is warming up, promising a great weekend to be out-of-doors. Before you pack your picnic, take a look at what's been hot on the web this week:
Child Advocates Sour Over Apple's Baby Shaker App
Does Your Waistline Have Anything to Do With Your Health?
Speaking of Weight Loss, Blogging and Twitter May Be the Newest Fad Diet
Autism: Holly Robinson Peete Says Doctors Are Finally Catching On
Talk about what you read on one of the YourTotalHealth message boards
Heather M. Graham
We all know vitamin D is essential for building strong bones and preventing osteoporosis as we age. But did you know that getting enough D can also prevent other conditions? Study after study has come out saying that a vitamin D deficiency has been linked to heart disease, colon cancer and depression. Vitamin D also boosts your immune system and, best of all, you can get it for free!
Here's what you do: Go outside a few days a week with some skin exposed (legs, hands, arms), but don't use sunscreen. Stay outside for about 10-15 minutes to soak up some rays. You can run errands, take your dog for a walk, do some gardening or read your morning paper. The point is, while you're out there, your body is synthesizing that sunlight into vitamin D. You don't want to sizzle, though, so in the dog days of summer, don't go out at high noon and lay directly under the sun. Instead, opt for the early morning hours or go out late in the afternoon.
If you can't be out in the sun for a few minutes a week because of health concerns (or any reason, really) you can turn to supplements. In general, about 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day should be good.
Sound good? Keep reading:
Expose yourself to vitamin D
Find out how vitamin D may help prevent skin cancer
--Heather Graham
Bad fat, good fat, trans fat... brown fat? Yep, those are the two words on everyone's lips today. Researchers are reporting an exciting new discovery about brown fat, fat cells that are so good for the body they could inspire treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Not to be confused with white fat, which stores energy and is made up mostly of body fat, brown fat puts energy to use and helps burn fat.
Since experts had been working under the assumption that humans shed their brown fat cells in childhood, this could be a big turning point in understanding health conditions related to metabolism. Today Show Diet and Nutrition Editor Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
examines the findings and discusses what they could mean.
--Heather M. Graham
Health Journal with Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
Check out Dr. Nancy Synderman on the Today show talking about brown fat:
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