Sep 10, 2014 | Cancer, Men's Health, Patient Story, Prostate Cancer
Guest post featuring Caner Z. Dinlec, MD Physician-in-Charge, Division of Endourology and Stone Disease at Mount Sinai Beth Israel
Howard has always taken great care of himself. The 60-year-old is active, doesn’t smoke, eats a healthy diet and is diligent about seeing his doctor for annual wellness exams — through which his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels have been tested for years. About five years ago, Howard’s PSA levels started increasing. It wasn’t long before Howard’s PSA levels exceeded the 4 mg/mL mark, which is when levels are considered abnormal or high. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cancer, Diet and Nutrition, Health Tips
Did you know that eating a plant-based diet filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other plant foods can help lower your risk for many cancers? In addition to cancer-fighting minerals and vitamins, plant foods contain thousands of beneficial natural chemicals called phytonutrients.
Phytonutrients (also referred to as phytochemicals) serve various functions in plants, helping to protect the plant’s vitality. For example, some phytonutrients protect the plant from UV radiation while others protect it from insect attack. Not only do phytonutrients award benefit to plants, but they also provide benefits to people who enjoy plant foods. That’s because of their health-boosting properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and liver-health-promoting activities. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cancer, Health Tips, Sexual Health, Women's Health
Cervical cancer screening is probably the most successful cancer-screening program ever developed. One hundred years ago, cancer of the cervix was the leading cause of cancer for women in this country. Now it is not even in the top 10. This is largely because of the Pap smear, which was introduced in the 1950s.
Cervical cancer lends itself to a screening test, as the cervix can be directly visualized with simple equipment and its cells can be directly sampled with a relatively painless and risk-free procedure. In addition, cervical cancer is caused by the human Papilloma virus (HPV), which causes changes in the cervical cells that can be detected almost a decade before the onset of cancer. (more…)
Sep 4, 2013 | Cancer, Cardiology, Endovascular, Vascular Health
Pulmonary embolism is a common and dangerous condition that occurs when blood clots (deep venous thrombosis, or, DVT) break loose and travel from where the clots formed—mostly the leg veins (or, uncommonly, veins elsewhere)—to the pulmonary arteries, which conduct blood from the heart to the lungs. Sometimes these clots are small and may not cause clinical symptoms, because the surface area of the lungs, when opened out, would cover the surface of two tennis courts! However, occasionally, a pulmonary embolism can be massive and rapidly fatal. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cancer
Guest post by Mark S. Persky, MD, Chairman, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mount Sinai Beth Israel
When Anthony Palminteri began having pain when swallowing, he knew something was wrong.
“I started having difficulty swallowing, and the pain got progressively worse,” Anthony says. “It made it hard to eat.” After several doctors failed to diagnose and treat his symptoms, Anthony was left with more questions than answers.
(more…)
May 15, 2013 | Breast Cancer, Cancer, Women's Health
Guest post by Susan K. Boolbol, MD FACS, Chief of the Appel-Venet Comprehensive Breast Service at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Amanda Brandt, MS, Certified Genetic Counselor of the Mount Sinai Health System.
In an effort to raise public awareness about breast and ovarian cancer prevention, actress and director, Angelina Jolie, shared her personal story with the world. The New York Times letter revealed that a family history of ovarian cancer had prompted Jolie to seek genetic testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The testing revealed a heightened risk for both and she made the decision to undergo a preventative double-mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery, reducing her breast cancer risk to under 5%. (more…)
Howard has always taken great care of himself. The 60-year-old is active, doesn’t smoke, eats a healthy diet and is diligent about seeing his doctor for annual wellness exams — through which his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels have been tested for years. About five years ago, Howard’s PSA levels started increasing. It wasn’t long before Howard’s PSA levels exceeded the 4 mg/mL mark, which is when levels are considered abnormal or high. (more…)
