Conditions

Tackling Concussions

Posted on 10/27/2011 by | Before I Forget | Comments

Personal HealthGood news for football moms…and football dads…and football grandparents…and anyone who watches football…and, well, anyone who cares about human life and scientific research. (There must be a category you fit into.) NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, at first in denial about the link between player’s repeated concussions and degenerative cognitive function or Alzheimer’s later in life, has made a laudable 180-degree turnaround. He is now a vocal champion for the safety of his players: “There is no issue of greater importance …

What Does This Symptom Mean?

Posted on 10/24/2011 by | Health | Comments

Personal HealthI am not the hypochondriac sort; I don’t assume that every symptom means something is desperately wrong. That said, I am a Google-er of symptoms both big and small; it’s good to have all the info on your bod, right? AARP Symptom Checker to the rescue. From swollen ankles to palpitations, from itchy eyes to tingly fingertips, enter in all of your symptoms to see what might be going on with you, inside and out. So go on, click here …

Reduce Your Risk for Breast Cancer: Get FIT

Posted on 10/14/2011 by | Fat to Fit | Comments

Personal HealthDespite medical advances, one out of every eight women in the United States will face breast cancer. Early detection, for example, using tomosynthesis, an innovative technology that provides three-dimensional detailed imaging of the breast, and effective treatments have improved the survival rate of breast cancer patients. When breast cancer is detected early and confined to the breast, the five-year survival rate is 97 percent. Only 5 to 10 percent of cases can be blamed on genetics; the majority appear to …

Why is fighting Alzheimer’s important? Exclusive Q&A with George Vradenburg

Posted on 10/13/2011 by | Before I Forget | Comments

Personal HealthEvery other Thursday, we have Trish Vradenburg as our special guest blogger covering Alzheimer’s issues. Trish is a playwright, author, television writer, and Alzheimer’s disease advocate. She and her husband, George, founded UsAgainstAlzheimer’s with the goal of finding a cure or treatment for Alzheimer’s by the year 2020. She brings her legendary humor and wit to the devastating realities of Alzheimer’s, and we’re excited to have her share with us here. Earlier this month, George Vradenburg participated in his first …

Memory, Reality

Posted on 09/29/2011 by | Before I Forget | Comments

Personal HealthThis college essay for admission to Cornell University was written by my daughter, Alissa, at the age of 17. Memory: The music blares. The lights come up. Two figures appear on the state. The audience erupts into thunderous applause. The act begins. Five, six, seven, eight… Some of the greatest footwork ever seen. Absolutely unbelievable. What talent. To the crowd’s dismay, the performance is over all too soon. Reality: The stage – an old cardboard box dug out from the …

His Nana

Posted on 09/15/2011 by | Before I Forget | Comments

Personal HealthYou know how one of your kids surprises you — in a pleasant sort of way? And it gives you a warm smile inside for days, years… okay, decades. Growing up, my son, Tyler, was a typical boy.  Classically non-verbal, on top of his emotions, not a kid who enjoyed having his mom kiss him goodbye and yell out, “I love you, baby,” as he was exiting carpool.  Go figure. Not a big conversationalist: one year he said, “Yup”; the next …

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