Acupuncture: what is it?
Acupuncture is an essential component of traditional Chinese medicine and has been practiced in the Orient for over 2000 years. Although acupuncture was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it has only recently caught the attention of North American health ...
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Anemia
The facts Anemia is a condition where the number of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the blood is less than normal. RBCs transport oxygen throughout the body, so a shortage of these cells can be ...
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Anesthesiology: what to discuss
When considering epidural or spinal anesthesia, the following questions will help you communicate with your anesthesiologist before your surgery: Ask if an epidural or spinal would benefit you during or after the ...
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Biological (targeted) therapy
Biological therapies are medications that help to boost your immune system response and usually target a specific gene. In breast cancer, trastuzumab (Herceptin®) is a monoclonal antibody that has been developed in a laboratory to target the HER2/neu ...
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Biopsy
In most cases, doctors need to do a biopsy to make a diagnosis of cancer. For a biopsy, the doctor removes a sample of tissue and sends it to a lab. A pathologist looks at the tissue under a microscope. The sample may be removed in several ways.
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Botox in the treatment of pain
Can a little bit of something bad for you be good for you? If you thought Botox® was used only for cosmetic purposes, think again. During the past year, a number of reports have appeared describing the use of botulinum toxin type A - known commercially as Botox® - to treat migraine and tension headaches, upper and lower back pain, neck pain ...
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Breast cancer statistics: the "real" numbers
There's an old aphorism that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics, and another that "figures don't lie, but liars can figure" (something my accountant used to mutter a lot, by the way, although he didn't mention it the last time I saw him just after his ...
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Breast self-examination debate
This hasn't been a good year for women when it comes to health news. First, of course, there were those studies disputing the value of regular screening mammograms, a controversy that unfortunately promises to go on for quite some ...
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Bronchoscopy
Bronchoscopy: A procedure to look inside the trachea and large airways in the lung for abnormal areas. A bronchoscope (a thin, lighted tube) is inserted through the nose or mouth into the trachea and lungs. Tissue samples may be taken for biopsy.
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C. difficile: should I be worried?
What is C. difficile, and why are we hearing so much about it? C. difficile, or Clostridium difficile, is a kind of bacteria that upsets the normal balance of healthy bacteria in the digestive system, causing ...
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