Stories

I’ve been getting lots of mail lately and not the kind I like, which is generally gifts or Amazon packages I’ve ordered. For months, letters and postcards have been arriving in my mailbox reminding me to sign up for Medicare and extolling the virtues of Medicare Advantage plans. The trick with having an upcoming “big”…

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to reflect on prevention, early detection and treatment of breast cancers. Approximately 1 in 8 women (13%) in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Advances in screening and treatment have increased cure rates dramatically; however, the overall number of people…

I am trained as an osteopathic family physician and care for my patients in diverse ways. After visiting with them, I often see their faces express positive astonishment that says, “I’ve never had a doctor treat me like that!” Two types of medical schools exist in the United States. Allopathic schools train MDs (medical doctors),…

When I appear before my patients in scrubs in clinic after spending the night at the hospital delivering a baby, I commonly hear them say, “I had no idea you did all of those things!” Specializing in family medicine means I have been trained in a wide range of medical management inside and outside of…

In 1985, then-president Ronald Reagan underwent a life-saving surgery to remove a cancerous polyp in his large intestine. The polyp was discovered during a colonoscopy, which was the only screening test at that time that detected and prevented colon cancer. The attention created by President Reagan’s test and surgery led to the first screening recommendations…