Candy Sagon

Biography: Candy Sagon writes about health topics for AARP. She previously was a reporter with the Washington Post and has written numerous articles on food, health and nutrition for national magazines.

Subscribe to this topic via: RSS Email

Candy Sagon 'sPosts

Just Listen: Teaching Doctors to Pay Attention

Posted on 04/29/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health“There is a bias in medicine against talking to people,” a frustrated health care provider tells the Washington Post. Or, as a recent story in the Wall Street Journal put it, “Doctors are rude. Doctors don’t listen. Doctors have no time. Doctors don’t explain things in terms patients can understand.” And then there’s the poignant explanation that a 78-year-old Medicare patient tells the Post: “In a doctor’s office, a lot of people, especially older people, feel pressure to get out …

Need to Remember Something? Try Making a Fist

Posted on 04/25/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthThe next time you see someone make a fist, he may not be threatening you — he may be just trying to jog his memory. In a fascinating little study titled “Getting a Grip on Memory,” psychologist Ruth Propper, Ph.D., of Montclair State University in New Jersey writes how clenching your right hand for 90 seconds will help you memorize facts, whereas clenching your left hand for the same amount of time will help you recall them. The study was …

This Saturday: Take-Back Day for Old Drugs

Posted on 04/25/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Home & Family | Personal HealthAmerica, it’s time to clean out your medicine cabinet. Those old, expired, dangerous prescription drugs that you no longer need and are wondering how to get rid of safely — and anonymously — and for free? Mark your calendars for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, for National Prescription Take-Back Day. Collection sites and times are posted at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback. This is the sixth time in three years that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has offered this event. Last year Americans …

Bypass or Stents: Which Is Best for Older Patients?

Posted on 04/24/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIf you’re a Medicare patient facing either heart bypass surgery or having stents inserted in your blocked arteries, the deciding factor may have a lot to do with the rest of your health, a new study suggests. Overall, the average patient did slightly better with bypass surgery, living about 19 days longer over the course of five years, according to a team of Stanford University researchers. However, when researchers separated out the patients who were otherwise healthy (no diabetes or …

From Cosmetics to Cans, When to Throw Stuff Out

Posted on 04/23/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Personal HealthDo you have canned food that dates from the Reagan years? When was the last time you replaced your mascara? Or your contact lens case? Are you storing leftovers in Tupperware that’s older than a kindergartner? Do you know where to take those old cans of paint in your garage? These are just some of the potential health hazards we detail in our slide show “9 Nasty Things to Throw Away Today.” Find out why old plastic containers (including Tupperware made before …

Mammogram Advice: Older Women Aren’t Convinced

Posted on 04/22/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthMore than three years after a federally appointed panel of experts said most women don’t need annual mammograms, a new study of mammogram rates shows that older women have pretty much ignored the advice. According to an analysis of data from nearly 28,000 women, women over 40 continue to get the yearly screening, apparently unconvinced they should do it less often. In fact, mammogram rates slightly increased overall, from 51.9 percent in 2008 to 53.6 percent in 2011, even though …