Clinical care for Obesity and Diet Related illnesses needs more attention to Societal Determinants of Health Article from NEJM website about how despite rates of obesity starting to level off overall, the lowest income and minority populations continue to show a sharp increase. A focus on those factors as contributory needs to be a part of the discussion.
Social stigma makes the opioid crisis hard to confront (7min) There are many reasons why the opioid crisis is so hard to confront. One of them is social stigma. It often extends beyond users themselves, to their families. People see addiction as a moral weakness, and by extension, the moral weakness of their families.
When drinking ruins your liver - should you qualify for a transplant? When patients develop alcohol liver disease, they are often forced to wait 6 months to prove they can abstain from alcohol before they will be considered for a transplant. Is that a fair amount of time? Is that a fair practice at all?
Withholding surgery: How gaps in policy fail people who inject drugs A recent New York Times article described a harrowing situation faced by some people who inject drugs and develop endocarditis, a life-threatening infection caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream and settle in the heart. The article described doctors in Tennessee deciding whether to perform repeat costly heart surgeries on patients who were re-infected with endocarditis as a result of ongoing illicit drug use—and at times declining to operate. There are policy failures that are to blame, too, for how and why resources are allocated this way. This looks at those failures and how our bias influences both the policies and how they are applied.
Injecting Drugs can ruin a heart - how many second chances should a user get? A life-threatening heart infection afflicts a growing number of people who inject opioids or meth. Costly surgery can fix it, but the addiction often goes unaddressed.
Wit by Margaret Edson A powerful investigation into the aspects of life that make it worth living, the nuances of relationships and how one’s approach to life and death can change throughout the process of “living out” one’s end.
Can Your Child’s Identity Shape Yours? by Andrew Solomon Listen to Andrew Soloman’s ideas about how one can find profound meaning in differences and how they can shape one’s identity. “As long as you experience your condition as an illness, it’s your prison. Once you experience it as an identity it’s the source of your freedom.”
In the Running by Diane Van Deren / Mark Phillips Interview Diane Van Deren is one of the best ultra-runners in the world, and it all started with a seizure.
The Day I Started Lying to Ruth by Peter B. Bach An oncologist’s account of losing his wife to cancer. An intimate look at how healthcare, relationships, personal desires, expectations, and promises all intersect and influence our lives.
Suleika Jaouad “Health is about adding life to years, not years to life.” A personal website discussing various events, interactions, struggles and celebrations living with cancer and surviving afterwards.
Life, Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad Cancer is not a gift, especially not at 22. But it can change you, prompting you to learn a few things along the way. A young woman’s blogging account of being diagnosed, treated and living with leukemia with her 20s.
Conundrum by Matthew Hirschtritt A third-year medical student’s narrative of wrestling with the discord between the patient he pictured when reading her medical record and the patient he met after walking into the exam room. A contemplation of chronic illness and hidden strengths.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder by Dr. Nancy Snyderman Photographer Rick Guidotti is a renowned fashion photographer who has worked in Milan, Paris and New York. Fifteen years ago, he saw the images of patients in medical textbooks and the experience changed his life.
The Pros and Cons of Living with a Terminal Illness by Ellen Diamond An interesting perspective describing ways that a chronic or terminal illness can have advantages as well as disadvantages.
Wit by Margaret Edson A powerful investigation into the aspects of life that make it worth living, the nuances of relationships and how one’s approach to life and death can change throughout the process of “living out” one’s end.
Can Your Child’s Identity Shape Yours? by Andrew Solomon Listen to Andrew Soloman’s ideas about how one can find profound meaning in differences and how they can shape one’s identity. “As long as you experience your condition as an illness, it’s your prison. Once you experience it as an identity it’s the source of your freedom.”
In the Running by Diane Van Deren / Mark Phillips Interview Diane Van Deren is one of the best ultra-runners in the world, and it all started with a seizure.
The Day I Started Lying to Ruth by Peter B. Bach An oncologist’s account of losing his wife to cancer. An intimate look at how healthcare, relationships, personal desires, expectations, and promises all intersect and influence our lives.
Suleika Jaouad “Health is about adding life to years, not years to life.” A personal website discussing various events, interactions, struggles and celebrations living with cancer and surviving afterwards.
Life, Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad Cancer is not a gift, especially not at 22. But it can change you, prompting you to learn a few things along the way. A young woman’s blogging account of being diagnosed, treated and living with leukemia with her 20s.
Conundrum by Matthew Hirschtritt A third-year medical student’s narrative of wrestling with the discord between the patient he pictured when reading her medical record and the patient he met after walking into the exam room. A contemplation of chronic illness and hidden strengths.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder by Dr. Nancy Snyderman Photographer Rick Guidotti is a renowned fashion photographer who has worked in Milan, Paris and New York. Fifteen years ago, he saw the images of patients in medical textbooks and the experience changed his life.