An excerpt from Sugar Free. “What do you want to do?” Ginny said. “Chinese jump rope.” “Tilly, you always want to play Chinese jump rope,” Renée said. “So?” Tilly said. Renée didn’t have an answer t…
Category: Conditions
Health care in turmoil: costs, shortages, and pandemic strains
Health care in the United States is in a state of turmoil. Many Americans are struggling to pay for health care. Even if they have health insurance, many have to pay high out-of-pocket copayments and, in the end, feel that what they do pay for is not w…
Mental health treatment plan goals: Setting providers and patients up for success
Treatment plans are crucial to a behavioral health practice as they can help improve client outcomes. Setting mental health treatment plan goals and objectives is a crucial aspect of the process, and providers and their clients need to work together in…
Virtual rehabilitation of central sensitization syndromes
Modern medicine often fails to effectively manage complex chronic conditions. Physicians are often constrained by tightly packed clinic schedules, leaving only brief windows of time for each patient encounter. While this setup may allow for basic diagn…
Science supports it and patients want it: Bringing whole-person care to cancer treatment
Patients, as the primary stakeholders in their own well-being, are increasingly showing a profound interest in holistic approaches to cancer care that extend beyond traditional medical treatments. Growing evidence supports this interest, showing that s…
Empowering patients to discuss sexual health
I’m sure you can picture it. You’re sitting in an exam room wearing a paper gown, waiting for your health care provider to walk in the room. There are a few colorful posters on the wall about flu season, health screenings, and a discount pr…
From doctor to patient: my Sjogren’s journey and a challenge to colleagues
As physicians, we are trained to dissect symptoms and to hunt for a diagnosis. But my own journey with Sjogren’s, like my patients’, wasn’t a textbook case. It was a puzzle with pieces scattered over decades, ignored or dismissed at e…
Alzheimer’s agony: a son’s vow to never endure
An excerpt from Winter’s End: Dementia and Dying Well. Are there really fates worse than death? Like most people, Dan Winter was uncertain. That is until he visited his father at a memory care unit in Lawrence, Kansas. Dan’s father had been…
Navigating COVID: a journey from academic intensity to healing
Springtime. Blooming trees. Green grass. Cool winds. Sunny skies. COVID. That is where my mind wanders every year since 2020, when the season turns. I flash back to the drive between the hospital and my home. Every evening after fighting a losing battl…
I had a (incorrect) memory screening. Have you even had one?
Although it’s hard for me to comprehend and even harder to admit, I’m “of age” to be on Medicare. Recently, I visited my primary care physician (PCP) for a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, a one-hour appointment that requires the…
