Category Archives for Wellness
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Although I don’t treat lung cancer, I wanted to bring attention to this disease. You see, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, among both men and women. Lung cancer claims more lives each year than do colon, prostate, ovarian and breast cancers combined. My grandmother died of lung […]
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Teds Fight Against Lung Cancer
November is Lung Cancer Awareness. I sat down with survivor Ted Balthazor and his wife Jennifer to talk about Ted’s lung cancer journey and to help educate and spread awareness.
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Giving Thanks
November is a month to give thanks for all that we have. I turned fifty this November and had the opportunity to reflect on my life, my experiences, and the people I share those with. Through Facebook and social media, we get the opportunity to see how many people that we impact. I was astounded […]
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Lifestyle Approaches to Breast Cancer
One of the most common questions I get when treating a breast cancer patient (or any other cancer patient for that matter) is “What can I do to treat this?”. It is also the question that we physicians may not have time for after explaining the diagnosis and treatment options. However, this is an important question. […]
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Breast Cancer Prevention
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many factors are risks for developing breast cancer such as age, family history, age of first menstrual cycle and age of first childbirth. These factors are out of our control. My patients often ask me what they can do to prevent breast cancer. The Mayo Clinic lists seven things that […]
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What is a Previvor?
While I treat breast cancer every day, discuss genetic testing and make recommendations regarding preventative surgery, the term “Previvor” was quite new to me. I received a Facebook post from a friend who had just gone through a prophylactic double mastectomy. In her post, she stated, “I am now a previvor!”. Seeing your healthy friend go […]
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Surgeon & Her Sister Mad Over a Mammogram
It’s normal to get frustrated with your siblings but I never thought I would get mad at my sister over a mammogram. A couple months ago I called her and she was angry telling me she received a notice in the mail that she was due for a mammogram. She didn’t want to go and […]
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Self-Care Struggles: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient
I think many of us struggle with self-care. We are great at taking care of others but not really good at taking care of ourselves. Eventually this catches up to us. I was recently reminded of how important it is to care for ourselves or we are no good to anyone. After the pain in my […]
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Teach and You Will Learn
“In learning you will teach. In teaching you will learn.” – Phil CollinsLast week, my aunt passed away. We had the funeral on Saturday and my uncle gave the Eulogy as a reflection of the gospel, the Parable of the Talents. This story is about a master who entrusts his property to his servants as […]
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Operating from Memories: Life, Love, & Loss
This week I am writing about me and for me. This blog is written as kind of a catharsis, a release of things I have been holding in and compartmentalizing in my brain. I had been feeling off for the last week or so. I was procrastinating, not too organized and just feeling not […]
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