Health News

Features

Celebrating Black History Month with a look at local African-Americans in medicine

ALEX ALEXANDER Registered Nurse Bartow Regional Medical Center As a black registered nurse from North Carolina, 56-year-old Alex Alexander has had his run-ins with prejudice. But he’s learned to remember who he is, treat others like his brothers and sisters, forgive, and … not believe everything he hears. “You earn things by your merit and…
Heart disease warnings for women

| Don’t believe you’re not at risk; do believe you can improve your odds | WOMEN HAVE A MEASURE of built-in protection against heart disease — as long as their ovaries are producing estrogen. Although estrogen may delay the onset of heart disease until the sixties or seventies, women’s risk eventually is the same as…
Pop Quiz: Are you feeding your feelings?

| Stop the snacking and learn to recognize when it’s emotional or physical hunger | EMOTIONAL HUNGER is an issue that many of us deal with, much to the chagrin of our waistlines! It’s especially prevalent during the holidays, as both stress and food are available in large helpings. However, we all have to eat,…

Publisher’s Note: The importance of relay for life

There’s no doubt about it: when fighting a disease as devastating and life-threatening as cancer, it can wreak havoc on your daily life. At the diagnosis and throughout the painful surgery and treatment process, the patient’s stress level (as well as his or her friend’s and family’s) can go through the roof. I’ve personally lost…
Editor’s Dose: Lookin’ out for new moms with my tips for the baby blues

If you’re a lucky woman who has just recently had a new baby, you might be suffering from severe mood swings commonly known as the “baby blues.” These extreme fluctuations (highs and lows) in temperament are very real… don’t fall for that trick that “it’s just you imagination!” As a mom of four children who are all…
PCMA Letter: Zooming in on your mental health

Mental illness, be it depression or any other behavioral disorder, effects millions of Americans daily. It is real, and if not addressed in the early stages, these health ailments can be devastating to a person’s physical health in addition to being detrimental to their state of mind. Because of their nature, the conditions of the mind…