Access to Care
In a shifting healthcare landscape, where do you find the best and most practical care? And how in the world do you pay for it? Healthcare is a complicated business. And an expensive one. But never before has it been this complex. The intricacies of our healthcare ecology have extended into nearly every other aspect of our society. […]
Going for Seconds
Complex medical issues may require more input than your doctor can provide. We tend to think of our doctor as having all the answers. We expect that he or she will know what’s wrong with us and know how to fix it. We expect this of our doctor, after all. We sometimes forget that science […]
Their Kind of Town
National medical institutions are coming to Chicago The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, provides world-class healthcare, just a hop, skip and a jump away from the internationally respected institutions here at home. The resources at Mayo are often just what patients like Kevin Lue are looking for, and thousands of other Chicagoans make the pilgrimage […]
Have a Heart
When the heart fails, it’s time to consider a transplant Glenn Bovard didn’t realize he’d had a heart attack six years ago. The Valparaiso, Ind., resident had been having trouble breathing while lying down at night. He was fatigued, too, but he assumed it was from working long hours as a state trooper. There may […]
What’s the Score
-A response from our editor In the Spring 2011 issue of Chicago Health, we printed a story called, “Heartful,” which discussed the best-ranked Chicagoland hospitals in the field of cardiology. And we caught a little guff from a hospital that was not included. For this particular story, we cited rankings compiled by the Illinois Hospital Report Card and […]
Worth the Risk
Cancer trials come with uncertain outcomes that can lead to innovations When patients are diagnosed with cancer, they are hit with an emotional wallop. Trying an experimental, potentially risky drug might be the last thing they want to think about. But clinical trials of new drugs represent the cutting edge in cancer care, giving patients […]
It’s Not About STDs. It’s About Fighting Cancer.
How immunizing young girls—and boys—against the human papillomavirus can save lives. Odds are you’ve contracted, are carrying, or will be infected by the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection out there. “This is a very ancient virus,” explains Dr. Kenneth Alexander, professor of pediatrics and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Chicago’s […]
Skin Cancer Weapons
Dermatologists have a useful arsenal against skin cancer Whether you’re lying out on one of Chicago’s beaches this summer, riding your bike to and from work each day or just sitting in your backyard on a beautiful sunny afternoon, think about this sobering fact: According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma, the most serious type of […]
Undercover Skin Care
Three Chicago-area dermatologists have some important tips for Chicagoans who are spending time out in the sun this summer. “I see a lot of young people lying out in the sun, and they feel [that] if they don’t burn, they don’t need sunscreen, which is a myth,” says Dr. Diana Bolotin, board-certified dermatologist and fellowship-trained […]
Spider Veins
Can you get spider veins from crossing your legs? Or wearing high heels? Are they genetic? Well, no, not really. But genetics and your lifestyle can be partly to blame, should they show up. Spider veins often appear on the skin as fine, web-like lines on the thighs, ankles and feet. While both women and […]
Multiple Choice
Breakthrough technologies broaden options for hip and knee replacement hopefuls It had been months since Cheryl Risicato, 56, a retired cake decorator and avid dog lover, first came to Chicago’s Northwest Community Hospital (NCH) seeking partial knee replacement surgery. Risicato, like so many other Americans, suffered from osteoarthritis, a common yet potentially excruciating joint disorder […]
Triathlon Recovery
A lifetime runner gets a second chance with a total knee replacement Fear of immobility caused William Marty to postpone knee replacement surgery until it was almost too late. A professor at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago since 1980, Marty had been an avid lifelong runner. As a college student, he attended Biola University in Los […]
The Surgery Diet
Bariatric surgery is not a permanent fix to obesity, but there are newfound benefits Weight-loss surgery can be life changing when diet and exercise fall short. The field of bariatric surgery has undergone its own transformation in recent years, with new techniques and discoveries that not only help people shed pounds, but control, and even […]
Caught In The Web
Video game and Internet addictions can damage lives It’s a sign of our wired times; it seems that we’re all being increasingly sucked into cyberspace. But when online play turns pathological, it can harm a person’s family, school, work and psychological functioning. Too much time playing video games or surfing the Internet may seem harmless […]
For the Love of Lipitor
Lipitor’s hold on the cholesterol drug market keeps you from saving money, but not much According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. In 2008, the illness accounted for nearly 25 percent of all fatalities. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that one […]
Allergic Food Groups
Caring for a child with food allergies requires knowledge and avoidance of parental diagnosis Chicago mother Lourdes Craelius isn’t sure whether her 8-year-old son is lactose intolerant because she’s never had him tested. Her suspicions stem from hearing her son complain of bad stomachaches occasionally after consuming dairy products. And quite often, he refuses them […]
A Crash Course in Celiac Disease and Children
In children, the symptoms are many and varied: chronic diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, abdominal bloating, fatigue, growth problems and failure to thrive. Undiagnosed adults might have a completely different set of symptoms including iron-deficiency anemia, infertility or osteoporosis. Or the disease might be asymptomatic, but still dangerously harmful. Those varying symptoms, seemingly disparate, can all […]
The Great Debate
Opinions keep changing on when mammograms should be administered Television personality Giuliana Rancic, 37, a Chicagoan, shone light on a very important women’s health issue last winter with the announcement that she would undergo a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. While the typical breast cancer patient is older, contradicting recommendations from professionals […]
Health Mastery
HPV and Males: Moms and Dads, Let’s Talk Before my son left for his freshman year at college, I, the single mom, pushed myself to have the talk with him. Not that talk. This talk was about HPV (human papillomavirus), and its link to the increasing number of occurrences of head and neck cancer in […]
