In the aftermath of the killing of 19 children and two adults in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, there is a lot of discussion — and argument — about what we should do to prevent shootings like this from happening. In the midst of all the back and forth between banning guns and arming […]

As of June 2022, 37 US states have passed medical cannabis laws and 19 states have legalized recreational cannabis. Cannabis has proven beneficial for a range of conditions such as childhood seizure disorders, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite in people with HIV/AIDs. In the meantime, a new generation of cannabis products has exploded onto […]

Weight stigma, as defined in a recent BioMed Central article, is the “social rejection and devaluation that accrues to those who do not comply with prevailing social norms of adequate body weight and shape.” Put simply, weight stigma is a form of discrimination based on a person’s body weight. The authors of this article assert […]

Prostate cancer can progress over long durations, and if a man’s tumor has features that predict slow growth, he can opt for active surveillance instead of immediate treatment. Men on active surveillance get routine PSA blood tests and prostate biopsies, and are treated only if the cancer advances or shows evidence of increasing activity. But […]

Editor’s note: in honor of Pride Month, we’re re-publishing a 2019 post by Dr. Cecil Webster. Generally speaking, discussing what happens in our bedrooms outside of the bedroom can be anxiety-provoking. Let’s try to make your doctor’s office an exception. Why is this important? People in the LGBTQ+ community contend not only with a full […]

“The horse has left the barn.” Those six words, said by my husband’s oncologist, changed our lives forever, although the sense of impending loss had begun weeks earlier with a blood test. There would be more tests, exams, and visits to specialists. As George and I waited for a definitive diagnosis, we bargained with ourselves […]

It’s happened to so many people who menstruate: you’re going about your life until you realize that you just got your period. The ungainly scramble to find a restroom and the fervent prayer that you packed a menstrual product leaves you feeling anxious, vulnerable, and exposed. This is compounded by the fact that our society […]

As a cisgender woman with long hair and a closet full of dresses, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been misgendered by being called “he” or “sir.” Cisgender means I was assigned female at birth and identify as a woman. For people who are transgender and/or nonbinary (TNB), with a […]

By now, you’ve probably heard that there is a monkeypox outbreak traveling around the globe. Cases have spread far and wide, including in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It’s the largest outbreak ever recorded outside of western and central Africa, where monkeypox is common. But controlling this outbreak demands preventive measures, such as avoiding […]

Active surveillance for prostate cancer has its tradeoffs. Available to men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, the process entails monitoring a man’s tumor with periodic biopsies and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests, and treating only when — or if — the disease shows signs of progression. Active surveillance allows men to avoid (at least for […]