She’s the reason I pee when I sneeze. She’s the reason I fart when I walk. And yet, I would give birth to my daughter again, a thousand times over. And that, I think, is the crux of the cross we bear as mothers — bearing children and, speci…
Category: Conditions
Lessons learned in psychiatry: How experience shapes your career
I am now in the twilight of my psychiatric career. Yes, I can write that without wincing now, almost, well, maybe just a little. I have made decisions in the last twelve months that have changed my daily schedule, my work life, and my relationships pro…
Incurable psychiatric disorders: Should we offer palliative care or medical aid in dying?
The application of palliative care to intractable psychiatric disorders has been debated at least since 2010, when a journal article reported that a patient with severe anorexia nervosa died in hospice after being referred there by her psychiatrist. Th…
Don’t wait until you’re old: Diseases hitting younger generations now
The news is rife with articles about younger people getting cancer, heart attacks, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and arthritis. We used to think of these as diseases of aging, but now we are finding high blood pressure and atherosclerosis i…
Hemophilia treatment: new hope with gene therapy and other advancements
Hemophilia and other bleeding disorders are rare genetic conditions that affect the body’s ability to properly form blood clots. People with these conditions often face challenges in accessing appropriate care and treatment. This is true not only…
Why my doctor never mentioned pelvic floor dysfunction (and why it matters)
I was 31 when I learned I had a pelvic floor: the set of muscles, ligaments, and tissues that stretch like a hammock across the pelvis. Like many women, my pelvic awakening came far too late in life. The phrase was never uttered in high school sex ed, …
Lung cancer in Asian American women: Don’t be a statistic (never smoked)
May is AANHPI Heritage Month so it’s a good time to share again my journey from nonsmoker to lung cancer survivor. It is such an important issue to bring awareness to this little-known and potentially deadly health disparity because, according to…
Why preventive care is the cure for our failing health care system
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison Mr. Edison, if he is watching over us, must be sadly…
Grandpa’s remains are helping push up daisies
“Rejoin the natural cycle: to know that the last gesture you’ll make will be gentle and beneficial just feels like the right thing to do.” – Recompose founder Katrina Spade I love gardening and watching things grow, so I found t…
Left in the dark: the censorship of health literature in prisons
Kwaneta Harris had hot flashes and lapses of memory. She didn’t feel right and didn’t know why. “It felt like my body was completely betraying me,” she wrote. “I felt like I was losing my mind.” The cause wasn’…
