mementomori
Posts by this author
Eating plenty of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- such as tuna and salmon -- may reduce the risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration [known as neovascular AMD], a new study says.
The study findings are published in the May issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
Fish, fish,…
"A baby aspirin a day is healthy; but more than that can be dangerous"
"High Doses Of Aspirin May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk"
Far be it from me to raise the irksome voice of cynicism so often heard emanating from cable television squawkfests these days, but do I detect a contradiction in these…
I've been thinking a lot about Ms. Melanson, the woman from Alberta who died after receiving the correct dose of infusional fluorouracil chemotherapy in an fatally incorrect short time. Cancer care professionals take their responsibilities seriously and are not known to be infiltrated with…
Yesterday the results of two separate investigations into the death of a Canadian cancer patient were released. Both reports documented the mistakes made in the programming of a chemotherapy pump that was supposed to deliver a controlled infusion of fluorouracil over 96 hours:
On Tuesday, the…
Something unusual happened to the season today, to this season which has been dragging its cold, wet feet across the month of May. The day started inauspiciously. After parting the curtains only to see another morning cloaked in gray, lethargy enveloped us like the fog outside our bedroom window…
This has been a sad week in St. Louis. On April 29th at 12:30 AM Josh Hancock, a player for the Cardinals, was killed when his Ford Explorer struck a tow truck in the left hand lane of the highway. The truck was in front of a disabled car and had its emergency lights flashing when Hancock's…
[Editor's Note: Today we pay tribute to the dual congruencies of American cinema and psychiatric disorders. For those readers who don't recall the source of the patients' quotes, the answers are below the fold.]
Psychiatrist: "Come in and have a seat on the couch. Now, let's begin by telling me…
Answer: they are the top two producing areas in the world of a foodstuff that is getting lots of attention lately for its health benefits.
What is this item? Well...
...it originated in the Holy Land and was a favorite of the Queen of Sheba.
...it was first imported to the United States in the…
Ever wonder how the art and science of medicine made it from medieval times to today without self-destructing, à; la alchemy? Meet Leonard of Bertapalia (1380?-1460), a prominent surgeon in Padua and Venice who was not only a dedicated anatomist but a visionary in the surgical arts. He authored…
A physician survey published in The New England Journal of Medicine this week reveals that 94% of the respondents from six different specialties (anesthesiology, cardiology, family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, and pediatrics) "reported some type of relationship with the…
I know we doctors can be absent-minded, but I must be really out of it - I had no idea Vice President Cheney was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremity in early March. He had a checkup yesterday which included a check of his INR (measuring the "thinness" of his blood…
A brief message to all those who are living with a serious disease:
When you awakened today something was in the room with you. It sat patiently by the window, waiting for you to arise. It dearly wants to harm you. Are you aware of the danger?
If it sees you smile it slaps you in the face, to…
I saw a patient of mine last week who is now around four months out from her last cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy. "It didn't go so hot" would be an understatement for this lovely woman - she suffered through most of the noxious side effects listed in the chemotherapy pamphlets.
Although she was…
1981, Columbus, Ohio: Third year medical student Bryan Sasser begins his radiology rotation at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He is assigned to Dr. Lloyd Vanderspiegle, Professor of Radiology, who has been working alone the past four years studying a new type of x-ray called "CT…
"Doc, my knees hurt all the time."
"I can't hardly climb up the stairs my hip bothers me so much."
"I've had a bad back for years."
Even in my profession I encounter the sorrows of OA (osteoarthritis) all the time. Over 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis and the biggest risk factor…
Alfred Edward Housman, born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England, March 26, 1859, is almost the prototype of the sensitive poet. He was 'small and frail,' had six siblings and suffered the death of his mother when he was twelve. On his way to becoming a brilliant if not the preeminent classics…
1851, London: Arthur Leared presents a model of a "double" or biaural stethoscope (one using both ears) at the Great Exhibition. Three weeks later a prominent surgeon, Sir Norwood Holsapple, purchases a similar stethoscope from Leared and discovers that the tubing connecting the diaphragm with…
In an interview with Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto, the former Tennessee senator, 64, said a doctor conducting a physical in 2004 found a bump on his neck, which turned out to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He said the disease is in remission with no illness or symptoms...
Cancer is getting quite a…
"The superiority of chocolate (hot chocolate), both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain..."
-Thomas Jefferson (1785)
Talk about prescience! How did Mr. Jefferson know the truth back then, and when did he tell Mom…
[Editor's Note: As promised in the mission statement of this blog we strive to bring our readers the brightest and the best in contemporary medical writing. Our latest entry (and painstakingly researched we might add) is the first of a series about the history of the healing arts.]
1889: Dr.…
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said Wednesday it would spend $500 million over the next five years to combat an "epidemic" of childhood obesity.
This can only be interpreted as good news for those of us who are saddened by the fattening of America's children. Where is the money going?
To halt…
A patient came to see me recently after finishing a "rigorous" (read: brutal) series of treatments against a cancer known to be curable. She suffered of course, as all patients suffer from the side effects of combination chemotherapy, but did make it through without disaster. Her celebration of…
Frederick Louis MacNeice, CBE was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1906, educated at Oxford and then lived in London not only as a poet but also playwright, college lecturer, novelist, translator, and writer and producer for the BBC. He is considered to be a major contributor to Irish poetry, possibly…
Things you don't want to hear in the Operating Room:
1. "My wife made this incredible cabbage and baked bean casserole last night."
2. "Doctor, why is there an "X" on the patient's other leg?"
3. "Nurse, would you bring me a double Jack-and-water please?"
4. "Stop arguing and turn up the power…
Obesity boosts prostate cancer mortality
Hmm...rather unusual choice of words in this headline...why would anyone want obesity to "boost" such an unpleasant outcome? Probably would have been better to phrase it thusly: "Obesity decreases survival rate of prostate cancer," or "Portly prostate…
In accordance with the shoddy standards of medical communication upheld in this country, here is a clarification on White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's condition. Yesterday it was implied that he had a liver metastasis removed. I assumed this required a hepatic lobe resection, which as fellow…
I just got back from a relaxing holiday and heard the shocking news that another political figure has suffered a relapse of cancer. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow apparently is recovering from an hepatic resection where a small ("tip of the finger-sized", if one believes these idiotic news…
Tomorrow is a travel day for me, so I guess I had better take every precaution that I don't succumb to a deep vein thrombosis stimulated by air travel. Maybe this will help:
Chocoholics were given further reason to rejoice on Saturday when a small clinical study showed that dark chocolate improves…
[Editor's Note: "Please enjoy this little blurb on the famous German Romantic poet Novalis, and send money, but quickly." This message was found in a bottle off the coast of southern Florida. We presume it is from the C. O., still off on his relaxing holiday. Here is the remainder of his note…
[Editor's Note: We haven't heard from him, but we're sure the C. O. is having a jolly time on his spring break.]
The Sales Pitch, Part II - Please Release Me, Let Me Go
As we pick up the story, our main character had just found himself trapped in his office by a feisty pharmaceutical…