Medical Conditions

By the time you are in your mid-70s and there has been no major health crisis, you know you have been lucky. If you have a spouse (or partner) and ‘you’ means both of you, you know you have been doubly lucky. Now aged 79 and my husband aged 80…

For many Western women, the mention of the word menopause is associated with dread and fear – in a culture that relishes youth, it has come to be considered as part of the ageing process. Menopausal women have often been labelled “grumpy”…

Glaucoma is a very common eye condition, especially for older adults. When left untreated, glaucoma can do serious damage to your vision, so it’s important to get screened regularly to catch it early. Did you know Medicare offers regular glaucoma screenings?

As the type 2 diabetes epidemic continues to grow, the most emphasized treatment may surprise you. In the latest update to the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, the guidelines put forward by the American Diabetes Association…

Shortly after my then-85-year-old mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor, my brother and I accompanied her to meetings with several specialists. We were trying to determine what, if any, treatment would make the most sense for her…

It’s not so shocking to realize that there are women approaching or in their senior years who struggle with sex addiction. Take the true-life drama of former Real Housewives of New Jersey reality TV star, Danielle Staub, as just one well known example…

Cervical and vaginal cancers are very serious conditions that can be difficult to catch. In order to treat cervical cancers effectively, women should receive regular screenings – when caught early, doctors can treat cervical cancer and dramatically increase…

How many times have you gone to get your bone density tested? If you have done it even once, you know that the procedure involves radiation. Although many clinicians remind us that the radiation levels for many tests are low, I do know that women across…

Does a loss of hearing prevent you from listening to or playing a musical instrument? It’s a question I hear all the time. The answers can be quite surprising, but before we jump in too far, let’s examine the phenomenon of hearing loss…

On the fifth long day after my biopsy, my gynecologist finally phoned. “Barbara,” Dr. Freid said, “the pathology report indicates early endometrial cancer.” A blob of blood had shocked me one Saturday morning…