After she developed a serious complication, she wanted to know the facts plainly stated. I told her the treatment would change her quality of life; it would be hard but doable. To this, she replied, “Now, don’t bullsh*t me, I don’t li…
Category: Conditions
Essential caregiver roles and self-care tips
An excerpt from A Caregiver’s Love Story. Many people will become caregivers in their lifetime, or on the other hand, may need one. A “caregiver” is anyone who gives basic assistance and cares for someone who might be ill, disabled, o…
Fruit and sugar: Debunking the myths
On many occasions, patients have asked me whether it’s OK to eat fruit. They’re worried about whether they should be eating foods high in sugar. Is fruit in that category? No, it is not. Does anyone really believe that fruit is what’s…
COVID vaccines and weight loss medications: a tale of 2 needles
I am perplexed by two different needles which, when viewed together, illustrate the irrational themes which dominate our shared humanity. They inform me that, despite being a doctor for more than twenty years, I honestly feel dumber each day about huma…
I’m a neurosurgeon. Social media may change your kid’s brain.
A 2023 study of middle school-aged children laid out some alarming findings. Scientists recruited more than one hundred and fifty children, all aged twelve, from rural North Carolina public schools. The children were surveyed regarding their social med…
Will Kaiser Permanente see a spike in medical malpractice from the strike?
The Kaiser Permanente strike, with over 75,000 impacted employees, is the largest health care strike in the history of the United States. CNN reported that the affected workers are represented by a coalition of unions across California, Colorado, Orego…
Don’t put off medical care: X-ray for minor knee pain finds tumor
My fiancée had been complaining on and off about minor knee pain and swelling for months. She kept putting off doing anything about it, because she’s a former college basketball player who had already had two surgeries on that knee, and she assum…
The role of institutions in medical misconduct
There are no words more devastating than, “Our hands are tied” to a survivor reporting abuse and seeking some semblance of accountability from a larger institution. “The institution admitted no fault” is a close second. Picture …
Pioneering space race research: G-forces and human physiology
An excerpt from Life at High G-Force: The Quest of Mayo Clinic Researcher Dr. Earl H Wood. Tensions were high in the Aero Medical Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in the fall of 1959. The space race with the Soviet Union to send a human into outer space and e…
What is the physician’s role in the food is medicine movement?
In the early 1990s, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) began its rise with the development of the National Institutes of Health’s CAM center. However, scientists and clinicians struggled with the decision of whether or not to allow indi…
