Shellee Cohen defines “stratified reproduction” as the practice in which society assigns value to offspring and, therefore reproductive capacity of different groups of people. While commonly race or socioeconomically based, this can be base…
Category: Conditions
Breast cancer’s silver lining
In many ways, this woman was similar to other patients I have seen after a diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Her hair was growing back, and I immediately noticed that she was comfortable enough to not be wearing a wig or head covering for our Z…
Why it’s important to take charge of your own health
Little did I know that after October 2, 2020, my life would completely change forever. I want to start by saying I am a pharmacist by profession, and I now finally understand the saying, “take charge of your health.” My brother and I had taken my dad t…
Looking at the studies behind masks
With the recent onset of the Delta variant rendering havoc on an already strained economy and weary population post- the rabid COVID-19 surge, there is much debate on effective policies that negate the harmful outcomes of viral acquisition. The B.1.617…
A COVID long-hauler shares her story
According to the WHO, 10 to 20 percent of COVID-19 patients experience lingering symptoms for several months following infection. What we know as long COVID is now termed post-COVID condition as of October 6. Post COVID-19 condition occurs in individua…
Domestic violence: May the circle be broken
My youngest daughter just got married to a fine young man. She was beautiful and radiant. As I gave my daughter away when the minister told me to, I sat down next to a picture of my deceased husband. He passed away four years ago. Lisa was our last chi…
Ode to a little bile bag
Surgery to remove the gallbladder is a relatively late intervention. The first laparotomy was performed in 1807 in Danville, Kentucky, and surgeons like Billroth and Kocher, were removing thyroids and even parts of the esophagus as early as the 1870s;…
3 ways your rehabilitation doctor advocates for you
If you’ve ever been in a serious accident or traumatic event leaving you with one or multiple injuries, you’ve probably met the rehab doctors a few times. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R, also called physiatry) is a branch of medicine ge…
How to preserve empathy in medicine
An excerpt from The Empathy Effect: Seven Neuroscience-Based Keys for Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Work, and Connect Across Differences. “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” What picture do you see when yo…
“We are not that great.” Gain-of-function research highlights our hubris
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has made believers out of us. The statements “I believe in science” and “follow the science” express our collective assurance that scientific innovation will continue to serve humanity and sustain us through our pandemic wearine…
