John J. Castellani

Two Reports Show Progress in Treatment Options for Chronic Disease

America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 465 new medicines that target the 10 leading chronic conditions affecting seniors, according to a new report and overview released today by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

With the population of Americans over 65 on the rise and life expectancy climbing, chronic diseases remain a principal threat to the health and productivity of older Americans, as well as to rising health care costs. Innovative medicines have led to major advances against many chronic diseases – and the robust discovery pipeline of new medicines portends continued progress for seniors and our health care system.

“Our ability to prevent, manage and treat chronic diseases has progressed dramatically in recent years, due in large part to the discovery and availability of new innovative medicines,” said PhRMA President and CEO John J. Castellani. “But we can’t rest on our laurels. The more than 400 medicines in the pipeline for diseases prevalent among older Americans have tremendous potential to improve and extend the lives of seniors, and reduce costly emergency room visits, hospitalizations and surgical procedures.”

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By Evan Falchuk, Vice Chairman, Best Doctors

“Shy” isn’t a word you associate with Americans, but when it comes to talking with our doctors, it seems like it’s the best word for what we are.  A 2012 study in Health Affairs found that patients were afraid to ask questions – and often regretted not being more assertive with their doctors about their concerns.

Now, we could dismiss this finding as an odd quirk of American culture, or maybe an example of how doctors sometimes are seen as intimidating.  But this isn’t what really matters. Published studies show that anywhere from 15-28% of patients in developed countries end up misdiagnosed in that office visit – causing needless suffering and wasted dollars.  Importantly, this same research shows that asking questions – the thing patients seem most reluctant to do – can have some of the greatest impact on getting a diagnosis right in the first place.

You can understand the dilemma facing a patient and his or her doctor.  Our healthcare system is designed in a way where doctors often see a hundred or more patients a week, and are able to spend just a few minutes with each.  Studies – and common sense – tell us in many cases that this isn’t enough time.  The sad irony is that doctors today are the best trained and educated that they have ever been, and yet our system values their insights so little they are unable to practice the medicine they were trained to do.

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Consider the Conversation, a documentary about unintended consequences, takes a hard look at how we treat people at the end of life.

Inspired by the Wisconsin Medical Society, the producers of Consider the Conversation, a documentary on a taboo subject, zero in on the doctor patient relationship.

The film will focus on the tension between patients wanting their doctor to inspire them to believe that they can beat the odds while also wanting their doctor to be honest that this may be the end and that they should consider thinking about how they want to live at the end of their life.

Watch the video below.

Watch MDTV Medical News Now to learn if you are at risk of Heart Disease. What can you do to detect and treat Heart Disease?

By P., Piero D.D.S.

Diabetes affects about 24 million Americans or about 8% of the population. It is a disease that is characterized by high levels of blood sugar caused by malfunctioning insulin production. An insulin resistant individual becomes diabetic when the pancreas can no longer put out sufficient insulin to lower the blood sugar and the organ becomes exhausted.

The pancreas is controlled by hormonal feedback mechanisms. Acute and chronic infections create hormonal chaos in the body. Periodontal disease is the most widespread infectious disease on the planet, consequently provokes a great deal of chaos.

The sugars found in the mouth aid in gum disease. The constant introduction and presence of sugar in the mouth (like a sippy cup with juice), feed the bacteria that leads to periodontal disease.

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Listen as these amazing moms with cancer talk about how the disease changed the way they parent. Click on the image below.

By Melanie Bowen

When nurses work well together with their patients, a positive relationship is cultivated and this benefits both the nurse and the patient.  It can be very trying for each party to be open and trusting towards one another because nurses are under a lot of stress and patients have their own worries and concerns.  Developing a positive and healthy nurse/patient relationship will be the best approach for the patient in recovering more efficiently and may help the nurse to do his or her job better.

Nurse and patient relationships can be highly therapeutic for the patient if the relationship is one that is built on care, honesty and trust.  Honesty may seem like an unusual term to use in regards to a nurse/patient relationship; however, this is one of the single most important aspects of this type of association.  If a nurse is not honest with a patient when a patient asks a question regarding his or her health care or treatment, the patient will lose trust and respect for the nurse.  In turn, the patient may not be honest about problems or concerns the patient is having.

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By Faith Franz

Mesothelioma – like any other cancer – has the potential to shorten a patient’s lifespan. However, with the right blend of innovative treatment and determination, patients can beat the odds and become a mesothelioma survivor.

For mesothelioma patients, this may seem like it is easier said than done. The disease is relatively rare, yet aggressive. The cancer typically remains asymptomatic until it has reached its later stages, and most patients receive a stage III or IV diagnosis. This generally limits the available treatment options, and most patients receive an average prognosis of one year from the time of their diagnosis.

Although mesothelioma statistics can be discouraging, patients must remember that the stats are only a prediction and that survivors are continually beating the odds. Some of these survivors beat their prognosis by months or years, with a number living more than a decade after their diagnosis.

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By Warren J. Potash

Concussion management for all athletes has changed in recent years. This information is meant to inform. Only a doctor can diagnose and advise on each individual case. All parents, coaches, and trainers of female (and male) athletes need to become familiar with the current research, State laws, and who makes decisions about return to play. Teachers need to be aware of a concussed athlete.

“Suppose your son or daughter has just been brought home from an athletic field with a concussion, complains of being tired and wants to go to sleep. Should you let that happen”?

“There was a time when it was considered life-threatening to let someone suffering from a concussion fall asleep,” said Chris Hummel, a certified athletic trainer and clinical associate professor in Ithaca College’s Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences. “But current research shows that sleeping is actually the best thing for a concussed player. Getting physical and mental rest helps an athlete recover from a concussion. But athletes should not be left alone the first night and should be seen by the sports medicine staff the next day.”

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By Michele Howe

When I read the statistic that upwards of 80% of all visits to a doctor are lifestyle related, and in up to 90% of these incidences stress plays a significant role, I was at first skeptical, then disheartened. Like most people, when I hear about an alarming new health trend, I check myself to see if I’m part of that unfortunate national shift.

I thought back to the last couple of years and reviewed why I had visited each of my doctors during that time period. I was relieved to see that almost every appointment was either a yearly well check-up or a post-surgery consultation to assess my healing progress. Then I asked myself I had truly beaten this trend, and more important, am I healthier for having done so?

The answer wasn’t so simple. Consider that “lifestyle-related” conditions are typically thought of those such as: high-blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and high cholesterol related. While I can happily say I don’t suffer from any of these illnesses, I am unhappily part of the majority of individuals who deal with chronic stress.

That dismal statistic alone got me thinking about stress in general and the different types of stress each of us is subject to on a daily basis. Our bodies are built to handle acute episodes of stress, those emergency occurrences when our adrenaline pumps fast and furious through our system to cope with whatever ER situation is facing us. But chronic stress is totally different. Chronic-anything even sounds bad, doesn’t it? Chronic stress that doesn’t let up and eats away at a person day in and day out takes a significant toll on the body, which then frequently tempts individuals to fall into unhealthy lifestyle habits. Too often we see people falling into the stress = poor lifestyle choices = more stress = unhealthy lifestyle habits = chronic health problems and compounded visits to the doctor syndrome.

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Karen Curtiss

Personal experiences motivated Karen Curtiss’ book on avoiding hospital hazards

Anyone facing a hospital stay has probably heard the advice: Take someone with you. After all, patients need a loved one to lend support, ask questions and serve as a care partner and advocate, right?

But without medical training or experience, how do those care partners know what to ask, how to ask or what precautions to take? Too often, they aren’t prepared.

Karen Curtiss certainly wasn’t prepared for the series of medical errors that struck her family. After a successful lung transplant at a top academic medical center, her father died from complications resulting from a fall that went untreated for 57 hours, which led to pneumonia, blood clots, a pulmonary embolism, MRSA and C diff. Her husband spent 18 months recovering from sepsis and a VRE infection, stemming from improper surgery preparation and care afterward. And her young son would have undergone an unnecessary operation had she not questioned a doctor and sought a second opinion.

Determined to help other families avoid similar fates, Curtiss, a consultant with more than 25 years of market research experience, started digging for answers. She slogged through nursing textbooks, talked to medical and patient safety experts, searched through healthcare studies and more. And she learned that there are actionable steps families can take to prevent every hospital hazard her family suffered, plus others. In fact, she learned that the medical community has a name for them: NEVER Events.

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Stephen Garrett Marcus

Often, it’s not cancer that kills; it’s the complications of cancer, says physician Stephen Garrett Marcus, a senior biotechnology research executive.

Complications are common and become more frequent and severe if cancer progresses or spreads, he says. Spotting them early and treating them quickly can lessen their impact and save lives.

“Patients and their families are the first line of defense; they need to know what to watch for and seek treatment immediately,” says Marcus, author of a comprehensive new reference, Complications of Cancer. “Many can be successfully treated if they’re addressed at the first signs of trouble.”

What to watch for? Marcus describes the symptoms of six common complications:

• Malignant spinal cord compression: Compression of the spinal cord is caused by a malignant tumor or by bones in the spine damaged by cancer. Symptoms may include pain in the neck or back and weakness in the arms or legs. This is a medical emergency and should be promptly treated, or patients risk paralysis. Cancers of the lung, breast, and prostate, commonly spread to the spine and are the most likely cancers to produce spinal cord compression.

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