The Oxford dictionary defines insidious as “proceeding in a gradual, subtle way but with harmful effects.” Most people associate this term with clever criminals. I am writing this to ask you to think about it in another way. Perhaps the gre…
Category: Conditions
Not listening carefully to a vulnerable patient can become a matter of life or death
Paula came to my office on a Monday afternoon, a few months after burying her husband. She and John had been inseparable. They were both my patients, so I knew John had spent the last six months battling lung cancer. They had been married forty-five ye…
Say “I love you” often and mean it
I normally start October off by changing my Facebook profile picture to a pink survivor ribbon and celebrating my breast cancer survivorship, but this October was different. I slept on October 1st because I had spent 48 hours at Gulf Coast Medical Cent…
My daughter and COVID: a tale of 3 doctors
It was the best of medical encounters; it was the worst of medical encounters. But it is indeed a story of how two physicians viewed the same situation very differently, and how one brought trauma to a young patient, and one (two) brought healing to th…
Why body type standards are wrong in measuring health
When you visit your doctor for your regular check-up, just like every human being, your body and health are judged by three main scientific standards to determine if you are healthy and “normal.” Standard 1 is the Standard Scientific Human …
A doctor’s foray into online therapy
I’ve had my share of therapy. My mother was a clinical psychologist, and I grew up around the concepts of consciousness and the unconscious, growth and awareness, and “authenticity” before “authenticity” was even a buzzwor…
Why adopt a lifestyle pyramid for rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1.5 million people only in the United States. The most common symptoms that will bring patients to the doctor are: pain swelling and stiffness in multiple joints. most of the t…
So what if cry with my patients?
Ashley, one of my colleagues, and I discussed whether or not a doctor, nurse, or other providers of care should cry or show emotion with a patient or client. We’re not speaking of meltdowns or becoming so emotionally involved that it impairs our …
How you’re being tricked into buying lotions, potions, and wrinkle cream
An excerpt from The Skincare Hoax: How You’re Being Tricked into Buying Lotions, Potions & Wrinkle Cream. Why do accomplished, intelligent women spend so much money on skincare products that don’t work? Why do they put so much energy into loo…
We need to stop treating diabetes (without a prevention plan)
The recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics on declining U.S. life expectancy painted a bleak picture, fueled in large part by the impact of Covid-19, but not exclusively. Many of the contributing factors are deeply systemic – pove…
