The Art of Practicing Yourself
I couldn’t believe that my editor deleted the phrase “practice yourself” from my last column. She said readers wouldn’t understand the concept. I balked, then remembered that in 2009 when I offered a course called The Art of Practicing You, I received no responses. Nada! Zippo! So I ask: Do you know what it means to […]
Changing the Conversation About Mental Health
Our minds are one of the most powerful things about us. Everything from our physical health to our sense of belonging in the world is connected to our mental wellness. And yet, the conversation around mental health is too often surrounded in a cloak of silence. Talking about mental health is the first step in […]
Recognizing the Special Talents of People on the Autism Spectrum
Pictured above: Theater production of “Cats” by Artful Impact Rachel Gossan, a board-certified behavior analyst at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, has had some remarkable patients. She remembers an 8-year-old who could do lightning-fast calculations of large numbers in his head and come up with the correct answer. She recalls a teen who would ask people […]
The Healing Power of a Tesla
Urologists drive across America to raise men’s health awareness By Brett Dworski A white Tesla covered in decals rolled up in fashion to the corner of Dearborn and Grand avenues last Wednesday afternoon. Observers glanced, appearing perplexed, as if James Bond were parking the flashy vehicle. Two men in hospital scrubs came out instead. Sijo […]
No Such Thing as TMI
Information is essential when discussing alcohol abuse with teens It’s no secret that today’s teens are bombarded with glamorized messages of alcohol. They see images of bikini-clad women and Abercrombie–ad-worthy men with drinks in hand. Images of friends and family members hoisting a drink fill their Instagram and Snapchat feeds, painting a picture of blissful […]
Decoding the Drugstore Aisle
By Megy Karydes The drugstore aisle can be a confusing place to visit on days that you’re feeling well, let alone when you’re feeling ill. How does one know when to choose Tylenol over Aleve? Or Advil? And do we need to take a multivitamin daily and if so, which one? Chicago Health spoke with […]
Teen Dating Violence Victims Suffer Long-Term Health Effects
“They grab you, touch your butt and try to, like, touch you in the front, and run away, but it’s OK, I mean… I never think it’s a big thing because they do it to everyone.” This is how Patricia, 13, refers to boys in her school. During an interview for a study on sexual […]
When Good Food Gets a Bad Rap
By Megy Karydes We’ve been led to believe some foods are bad for our health because of what they contain: dairy, carbs or caffeine. Rene Ficek, registered dietitian and lead nutrition Expert at Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating, dispels the myths commonly associated with six foods that often get a bad rap. Eggs: In the early […]
Awareness Related to Colorectal Cancer Helps Reduce the Number of Deaths
By David Himmel March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and here’s what you need to know: Colorectal cancer is tricky. Complicated, really. For starters, it’s really two cancers. Colorectal cancer is the combined term used to reference colon cancer and rectal cancer, but there are many similarities in risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The […]
Managing Sports-Related Concussions
Tom Waddle, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears from 1989 to 1994, has suffered his share of concussions in what he calls an “occupational hazard.” “I look back in time, and I am amazed that we didn’t know more—not just the athletes, but the medical community,” Waddle says. “I played the fourth quarter of a […]
A Breast Cancer Q&A
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Terri Yablonsky Stat talked to Dr. Nora Hansen, surgical oncologist, Breast Surgery Division at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine about what every woman should know about preventing and treating breast cancer. TYS: What can women do to prevent breast cancer? Dr. Hansen: The biggest thing is being aware […]
Chemical Deal
Chemicals in Our Products are Wreaking Havoc on Our Health By Megy Karydes Most of us blindly buy products sold in major stores, certain that they have been tested for safety. Why would we think the soap we use to bathe our kids or the products we clean our homes with might be slowly killing […]
Sexuality, Aging and the Rise of Sexually Transmitted Infections
By Rhonda Alexander During teenage and young-adult years, sexually transmitted infections (STI)—and how to prevent them—is a regular topic of discussion, but what happens to the discussion after the age of 40? “There are no kid gloves in my office,” says Dr. Monique Jones, obstetrics and gynecology specialist in Hazel Crest. “We talk about it […]
The Pap Education
Are women demanding unnecessary tests? By Megy Karydes A cancer that starts the day after a negative Papanicolaou (Pap) test, under the new guidelines, may have three years to develop before the next Pap test detects it. An annual Pap test for a healthy, sexually active woman used to be the norm as a preventive […]
A Perfect Match
LifeSource teams up with Blackhawks for blood/marrow drive By Alex Lubischer LifeSource, Chicagoland’s Blood Center, teamed up with the Chicago Blackhawks for a blood drive and marrow registry in honor of 14-year-old leukemia patient and Blackhawks fan Emma Gomez on Saturday, March 23. A total of 640 life-saving units of blood were collected at the […]
Divided Attention
Kids with ADHD can become adults with ADHD and other problems By Nancy Maes A new study by researchers at Mayo Clinic reveals that there is no cutoff age for attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and describes the risks of this neurodevelopmental condition when it persists into adulthood. “In the past, we thought that ADHD was […]
Sitting at the Unpopular Table
Lesser-known cancers deserve far more attention By Nancy Maes Some cancers, such as breast, colon and lung, are well known. And like principal actors in a movie, they get a great deal of time in the media spotlight. Meanwhile the lesser-known cancers are like the character actors and, therefore, receive far less attention. But these […]
Health Mastery
Tenaciously Stubborn: How the good kind of stubbornness can actually save our lives By Kathleen Aharoni She kept returning to her gynecologist and insisting that she be checked again. Her doctor, though, kept telling her that her bloating and not feeling like her usual self were just symptoms of menopause. She persevered in her self-advocacy, […]
Sweet Technology
Living with and managing type 1 diabetes November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and with over 8 percent of the population living with diabetes (according to the American Diabetes Association), it makes sense to stress the education of this disease. And this year, Illinois will amp up its awareness by making November 14 Illinois Diabetes […]
Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Are You Aware?
Our writer admits ignorance and investigates to learn more What do you know about sickle cell disease? Or, what don’t you know? It could be a lot because there are many misconceptions and vagaries surrounding this disease. I certainly didn’t know much when I started researching it. One commonly made assumption (I made it) is […]
The Power of Pink
Chicago is home to a range of organizations raising breast cancer awareness and offering assistance to those affected by the disease It’s October, and that means it’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During these next few weeks, Chicago will be awash in a now-familiar pink hue—on display everywhere from the Bears’ team uniforms to the […]
