Women and men share many of the same health problems, but with more focus on women in medical research, we now know that some problems, such as heart disease, may affect women differently from men. While often taking care of families and spouses, women need to make sure they are addressing their own health and prevention measures.
It's been a confusing week for women.
The new mammogram recommendations out earlier this week caused quite an uproar. Now comes another change in screening tests for women -- this one for cervical cancer.
Young women should have their first Pap test no sooner than age 21, regardless of when they become sexually active, say new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Earlier screening for cervical cancer may lead to unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments for an increasingly rare cancer, according to ACOG, the leading U.S. professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists.
A government task force says women in their 40s don't need annual mammograms, but Sara Fought would beg to differ: She says she's alive today because a routine mammogram found cancer when she was 42.
Breast cancer surgeons, cancer organizations and even the White House are expressing concern about new screening recommendations issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force.
A vacation to Washington nearly a decade ago led to a life-changing revelation for Kathi Cordsen. Passing by a breast cancer awareness event, her mother blurted it out: Her doctor had just confirmed that she had breast cancer.
Almost half of women who have breast cancer surgery still have pain or numbness two to three years later, according to a new study. Women younger than 40 who receive lumpectomies are at the greatest risk.
Shortly before last Mother's Day, 28-year-old Lauren Meehan-Machos broke down in front of her startled husband. "This is more than I can handle," she sobbed.
If only your body were a little more honest, figuring out what's wrong when you don't feel right would be so much easier. But often a symptom -- maybe it's a sore back, cracked lips, tingling in your legs -- has an odd or unexpected explanation.
Nancy Brizendine's slow-paced life in California's Antelope Valley has become something of a slick race track.
By the time you hear your child's early-morning stirrings, you've probably already worked out for 90 minutes, meditated for 30, and enjoyed a healthy, balanced breakfast, which of course included a low-fat pomegranate smoothie. Why, there's nothing left to do besides jog happily over to your beloved offspring's room, sweep him out of bed, and shower him with all the joyous light, wonder, and oneness you're feeling with the universe.
My son is not a hugger. He's almost 2 years old, and I can count on one hand the times he's squeezed his chubby arms around my neck (they all involve my husband running the vacuum). I'm okay with this because on the rare occasion when I do get a hug, I get very emotional. I imagine most moms experience these my-heart-might-burst moments when a seconds-long embrace makes them feel like the luckiest person in the world. But for me, it's a little different. A little sweeter. And I am a lot luckier. See, I wasn't supposed to have a baby. I'm a cancer patient. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a slow-moving form of blood cancer. I'm in remission, thanks to a medication I take every day that states right smack on the bottle: Do not get pregnant while taking this drug. But I did. Then I stopped my lifesaving medication and endured nine long months of what-ifs: What if the brief exposure to the drug affects the baby? What if my cancer comes back? What if I leave my child motherless? I took a big risk, but it paid off even bigger. Now I want to do it again.
Ashley Price felt terrible. She was tired, dizzy spells came and went, dark splotches popped up on her chest for no reason, and she'd gained 50 pounds in two years. Some days she was starving; other days she could barely eat. Her doc suggested that her problems would go away if Price just ate less and exercised more, even though she was dieting and working out regularly. Price demanded thyroid tests, only to have them come back normal.
Hannah Powell-Auslam of La Mirada, California, had surgery this month to check her lymph nodes, just in case the breast cancer had spread.
Less than an hour before her mastectomy was scheduled to begin, Eve Wallinga's surgeon gave her the bad news: Because of unforeseen complications, doctors wouldn't be able to reconstruct a new breast for her immediately after removing her cancerous breast as planned. She was told she'd have to wait another day for the plastic surgery.
Less than an hour before her mastectomy was scheduled to begin, Eve Wallinga's surgeon gave her the bad news: Because of unforeseen complications, doctors wouldn't be able to reconstruct a new breast for her immediately after removing her cancerous breast as planned. She was told she'd have to wait another day for the plastic surgery.
We've had nearly every meal together for the past 14 years. We've been kayaking on the California coast. We've ridden airplanes, boats, horses, bikes, and an Israeli camel together.
Jeff Szabo was by his wife's side when she gave birth to their son Gabriel seven years ago, and he was right there holding Joy's hand when their younger sons Michael and Daniel were born, too.
I was 18 when I first felt a lump in my breast. Of course, I was convinced that I was going to die. This was three decades ago -- back when we knew far less about breast cancer. A general surgeon removed the lump, which, thank goodness, wasn't malignant.
When a marriage is rocky, it can make both partners feel depressed.
During his dermatology rotation as a medical student, a professor proclaimed to Dr. Paul Konowitz that there were two dermatologic problems you especially never wanted to develop. Konowitz can't remember the name of the first one, but the second one was pemphigus vulgaris, an autoimmune disorder where painful blisters appear on mucous membranes throughout the body.
When 48-year-old Erin Peiffer, of Eldersburg, Maryland, learned that she had high cholesterol in her 20s, she never thought it would pose a problem.
After actress Mackenzie Phillips spoke about her sexual relationship with her musician father, online and telephone calls to an anti-sexual assault hot line surged.
What makes a woman want to have sex? Is it physical attraction? Love? Loneliness? Jealousy? Boredom? Painful menstrual cramps?
Women who develop a mild case of gestational diabetes during pregnancy tend to have fewer complications and healthier babies if the diabetes is treated, according to the first large-scale randomized trial in the U.S. to address whether such treatment leads to health benefits for mother and child.
A freelance cameraman's appendix ruptured and by the time he was admitted to surgery, it was too late. A self-employed mother of two is found dead in bed from undiagnosed heart disease. A 26-year-old aspiring fashion designer collapsed in her bathroom after feeling unusually fatigued for days.
Need a reason to look on the bright side? A new study suggests that optimists' glass-half-full approach to life may actually offer some health benefits. Women 50 or older who are optimistic are less likely to get heart disease and die of any cause in a given time period compared to women their age who are more pessimistic, according to a study published recently in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
It's a fact of life: Everyone gets sick at times. The scary thing is that illness or medical bills cause nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies, according to a study from Harvard Medical School. And in 78 percent of cases, the person goes bankrupt despite having health insurance.
When Josephine Hathcock of Newark, Delaware, went in for gallbladder surgery, she never dreamed she'd wake up an ovarian cancer patient. Neither did her doctors, who found the cancer accidentally while she was on the operating table. To make matters worse, the cancer was stage 3, aggressive and had spread to her abdomen.
Do you sometimes feel as if going to a doctor's office is like going through a revolving door: in, swoosh-blur, out? You fight traffic to get there, wait a while in the waiting room, wait a while in the exam room, get seen, get dressed and get out. But once you've gone, you realize you're missing something -- maybe a small piece of helpful information. Below, some insider tips from medical specialists who tell you what your doctor doesn't have time to tell you in that all-too-brief appointment.
It's Saturday night. Three young women are dressed to the nines at a trendy bistro on Rush Street in downtown Chicago. They're having drinks outside on the kind of summer night that makes you fall in love with the city.
Barbara Simone of Glen Burnie, Maryland, considers herself terribly flawed. She refuses to show her ankles and she'd never allow them to be photographed. She barely wants to talk about them; in fact, when asked about her legs, she mumbles under her breath that she hates them.
Beverly Hunt is a mover and a shaker. A public relations executive who runs her own business in Laurel, Maryland, Hunt believes in looking good. She keeps active and stays in shape.
One in four American girls ages 13 to 17 have been given at least one shot of Gardasil, the human papillomavirus vaccine that is heavily marketed as a way to prevent cervical cancer.
When Raffi Darrow brought in her two daughters, Wendy and Alice, for their annual back-to-school checkups this week, for the first time in her career as a mom, Darrow decided to be a rebel.
Occupational therapist Cathy Kleinman-Barnett works with breast cancer patients, but she has never encouraged women with lymphedema, a breast cancer-related swelling of the arm, to lift weights.
Women with a family history of breast cancer may have a new weapon against the disease: breast-feeding. In a new study of more than 60,000 women, nursing a baby for at least three months cut the risk of breast cancer in half for those who had a family history of the disease.
When Lana Phillip, now 45, decided to breast-feed her baby, she never imagined she would continue for three whole years.
If movies and soap operas are anything to go by, sex can be dangerous for people with heart conditions.
When Holly Betten, 28, came home from the hospital after a rough delivery, she had one day to adjust to her new life as a mom before her husband went back to working 12-hour days as a computer-software architect.
Fallen out of love with your birth control? Maybe you're put off by the side effects -- cramps from hell, unpredictable bleeding. Or maybe remembering to pop a pill just isn't your strong suit. Problem is, going without isn't a good choice, even as you get older: Nearly 40 percent of pregnancies among women in their 40s, for instance, are unplanned.
Women who use hormone therapy after menopause may be at a higher risk of ovarian cancer, and the risk remains elevated for up to two years after women stop taking estrogen, a new study says.
Christina Pearson was half-bald at age 13. She just couldn't stop pulling her hair, and ended up taking out every lock from the tops of her ears to the crown of her head.
President Obama announced Monday his choice for surgeon general -- Dr. Regina Benjamin, a 52-year-old family practice doctor who has spent most of her career tending to the needs of poor patients in a Gulf Coast clinic in Alabama.
Pamela Hampton stands at the kitchen sink, her gaze trained out of the window of her family's small hillside home. The disaster site is not visible from where she stands, but she knows it is there, down the hill, around a short stretch of highway, less than a mile away.
The news that one of America's TV icons is suffering from cancer brought sadness. Learning the type of cancer she had made some squeamish.
Middle-aged and older women who have migraines with auras -- the flashing lights, a certain smell, or other sights or sounds that can signal oncoming pain -- appear to have a higher risk of strokes and heart attacks than their migraine-free peers, a new study suggests.
Two federal agencies warned consumers Friday not to eat raw Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.
Five years from now, there's an excellent chance you won't have the same health insurance you have (or don't have) right now. That's because members of Congress are gearing up to reform the U.S. health care system, and unlike in 1993 when then-first lady Hillary Clinton tried her hand at changing the medical system, this time the important players -- doctors, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers -- seem to be on board. You heard a lot about health care reform this week, and you'll be hearing even more in the months to come. It's an incredibly confusing, complex issue, so in this week's Empowered Patient, we break it down for you with 10 frequently asked questions about health care reform.
Your period comes at the same time every month ... except when it doesn't. Suddenly, without warning, you're early or late, or your flow is heavy, light, or nonexistent (and you know you're not pregnant!). You and millions of women understandably wonder, Is this normal or is something terribly wrong?
If home is where the heart is, a new survey suggests that most people aren't sure exactly where they live. More than half of people cannot pinpoint the exact location of the human heart on a diagram, and nearly 70 percent can't correctly identify the shape of the lungs, according to the survey.
Henry Joseph Madden was a good student and track team member in high school, but he had a secret: He sometimes wore his mother's pantyhose and underwear under his clothes.
Your desk is a mess, and you can forget about completing your to-do list -- you don't even have one. Your mind darts from one thought to the next. And that handbag you've been madly searching for on your way out the door? Yes, it's already on your shoulder.
The death rate due to cancer has declined in the United States in recent years, largely due to better prevention and treatment. In fact, 650,000 lives were spared from cancer between 1990 to 2005, according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society.
Diana Adam, 35, and her husband wanted to have a second child this year. The timing just seemed right. She had a job as a software engineer at a big market research company near San Francisco, California, and it had good benefits -- including paid maternity leave. He was looking for a faculty position after finishing his Ph.D. in sociology but had a steady job as a lecturer at a state university. Their first child, a boy, was three.
Women with breast cancer in the United States have an average age of 63 when they are diagnosed, and the disease is more common in older women than younger.
This Mother's Day, skip the flowers and forget the chocolate (unless it's dark)! Give your mom something she really needs -- the gift of good health.
Amber Mori drives a forklift in a warehouse in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As a working mom, she's on the go 24/7. But twice a week, Amber transforms into "Cykosis," a fishnet-wearing, skatin' diva, who bumps and jabs her way around a roller rink.
Myriad Genetics, a Utah-based company, vowed Wednesday to "vigorously defend" itself against a legal challenge to its patents on two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers, its attorney told CNN.
I was scrolling through family photos on my computer, admiring my two beautiful babies, when I spotted a disturbing trend: My laptop was open in almost all of the pictures. There's my daughter, at 8 months, playing at my feet while I typed away on the couch. There's me and my son, a year later, with the laptop at my side as I held him in my arms.
Variations within women's genes could predict risk for ovarian cancer, a new study has found.
Nursing school seemed like a good idea to Tracy Kidd, but not just because she was interested in medicine.
When Julian Asher listens to an orchestra, he doesn't just hear music; he also sees it. The sounds of a violin make him see a rich burgundy color, shiny and fluid like a red wine, while a cello's music flows like honey in a golden yellow hue.
Attention, single dudes: Women want you to make them laugh.
It may seem obvious that men perceive women in sexy bathing suits as objects, but now there's science to back it up.
A middle-of-the-night fight, a surprise pullout from the Grammy Awards, leaked photos, a police investigation -- new pieces of the puzzle of the alleged assault of pop singer Rihanna by her boyfriend Chris Brown have been emerging since early February.
Twins? Triplets? Octuplets? Sounds like a lot of stress to handle more than one baby at once.
This week, Giyen Kim, 34, reached a personal milestone: She has lost 10 pounds since the beginning of the year.
Not everyone wishes others well in fulfilling their New Year's resolutions.
Barbara Rademacher said she had the "best day I can imagine" two weeks ago when two co-workers independently approached her to ask whether she had lost weight. They told her she looked good.
Doctors don't have to tell 18-year-old "Rose" (who doesn't want to reveal her real name) the importance of using a condom every time she has sex.
"Snack on four almonds and a third of a cup of nonfat cottage cheese for a nutritious afternoon boost that will have you cruising the house with your nine-month-old!"
A blow to the head that at first seems minor and does not result in immediate pain or other symptoms can in fact turn out to be a life-threatening brain injury, experts tell CNN.
Eighty-year-old Margie Graf is a health care success story, representing the kind of disease-preventing, cost-saving treatment the Obama administration envisions as it seeks to expand Americans' access to doctors.
The average cost of medical care for a premature or low birth-weight baby for its first year of life is about $49,000, according to a new report from the March of Dimes Foundation.
After his sister nagged him for eight years to go to the doctor, Kurt Berger finally had a physical late last year. Then in January, he received a phone call from his doctor: Tests showed he had prostate cancer.
Just days after giving birth to her second child, Dr. Jane Dimer drove herself home from the hospital to find her then-husband in bed with another woman. He threw Dimer down the stairs, and she never saw him again until court.
A 28-year-old man from Michigan decided to donate a kidney to a total stranger, setting into motion a kidney swap that over many months has resulted in 10 people getting a donor organ--and the process is still ongoing.
Attention red wine drinkers: Drinking moderate amounts of any kind of alcohol (including wine, beer, and liquor) is associated with a slightly increased breast cancer risk -- and the rosy-hued beverage is no exception.
Headaches, big and small, are among the most common health complaints. Almost 90 percent of women and about 70 percent of men get tension headaches, the Mayo Clinic says. Yet doctors still don't know much about what causes them.
Your saliva is doing all kinds of useful things for you all the time -- for instance, helping you chew and taste food. It's also home to more than 600 species of bacteria, which are harmlessly enjoying the moisture of your mouth.
Attention, libation lovers: Middle-aged women who indulge in just a few alcohol-containing drinks each day may have a higher risk of cancer than those who drink less often, according to a report released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Jane Miller remembers the first -- and the last -- time she implanted four embryos into a patient getting in-vitro fertilization.
One morning a couple of months ago at Westchester Medical Center, Dawn Verdick gave Daniel Flood one of her kidneys.
The woman who received the first-ever near-total face transplant in the United States told her doctor she has regained her self-confidence, said Dr. Maria Siemionow, head of plastic surgery research at the Cleveland Clinic and leader of the transplant team.
Anita Dunham's first heart attack started with a mysterious pain in her arm -- and, suddenly, the 34-year-old felt as if she couldn't breathe. After she got dressed, she could barely speak because the pain was so great in her arms and chest.
U.S. breast cancer cases have dropped in women aged 50 to 69 in recent years because many women have stopped taking hormone therapy, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine.
When Maria Rubeo closed her arm, she felt something "very big -- like a lemon."
Ever wonder how your fingers can tell that silk feels different from paper, which feels different from wood?
In what is being heralded as a "first-ever procedure," surgeons removed a healthy kidney through a donor's vagina, the Johns Hopkins Medical Center has announced.
As more details of the mother who gave birth to octuplets come to light, ethicists are debating the moral quandaries involved.
After the birth of octuplets this week, some doctors are questioning the ethics and medical practice that contribute to extreme multiple births.
Dr. Joann Manson, author of Hot Flashes, Hormones, and Your Health, suggests asking yourself three questions before going to the doctor.
Five days after giving birth to her daughter, Rhonda Monroe laid Dominique back in her crib after nursing, sat down and had a heart attack.
Barbara Rademacher of Rogers, Arkansas, has found that she loves to document events on camera. Now, she's turning the camera around and focusing on improving herself for 2009.
Only about one in 10 workers who lose their job opt to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance through the safety-net program COBRA, most likely because the premiums are too expensive, according to an analysis released Friday by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health care issues.
People with a stable mood and better capacity to handle stressful situations without anxiety have a reduced risk of developing dementia, according to a study published this week in the journal Neurology.
At 90, Melvin Seeman's daily objective is to enjoy every moment of life to its fullest.
"Sometimes you can forget about the preciousness of life," hospital spokesman Allen Poston thumbed onto his Blackberry after peering into an operating room where a team of 15 doctors and medical staff separated conjoined twins in six hours in surgery.
Seven states and two organizations have sued the Bush administration in an attempt to block a federal regulation that would further protect health care workers who refuse to perform abortions or other medical procedures because of religious or moral reasons.
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