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I started my cervical cancer journey April 12, 2001. I went in for a routine Pap—after not having had one for a few years for some pretty typical reasons: lack of insurance and body image ...

Getting Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer

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The early Romans revered Janus, the god with two faces—one facing forward, the other gazing behind. At the beginning of January, the month named to honor the Roman god, that image fits how most of ...

Setting Goals and Sticking to Them

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During his recent annual physical, my husband’s doctor informed him that he was extremely deficient in vitamin D. Two weeks later, my doctor reported that I’m in the same boat. Often called the ...

Are You Vitamin D Deficient?

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Researchers recently broke new ground in finding the genetic causes of mental illness, identifying a specific region in the genome associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and ...

Researchers Discover Genetic Mutations Associated with Schizophrenia and Biopolar Disorder

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In case you have gotten too busy with life to keep up with all the health news - it's impossible, after all, to hear and read everything - here are a few interesting, if not unrelated, tidbits ...

New Studies on CPR, Pets, Falls and Diets

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There was a time that I did not want to think of myself as a "cancer survivor." I was afraid it would "jinx" my recovery. I was afraid I was being presumptuous. I was afraid it would be ...

On Being a Survivor

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When most of us think of fertility treatment, we imagine sophisticated diagnostic testing, powerful medications, and high-tech procedures. Choosing certain foods and drinks as a way to influence ...

Fertility-Boosting Foods

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I'm all for social networking, especially when it leads to connecting with like-minded individuals and furthering your professional growth. But I'm still not sure how I feel about connecting with ...

Are Today's Technologies Affecting the Meaningfulness of Our Relationships?s

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I've been feeling a lot of stress and it's finally caught up with me. So, instead of curling up in a ball and crying (like I wanted to do today), I've been forced to reevaluate my coping ...

Coping with Stress: Get Back on Track

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What do those of us suffering from too much daily stress have in common with champion athletes and patients undergoing major surgery? We can all benefit from using the techniques of ...

Less Stress, Better Health: Imagine That

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Q: I'm finding that so many over-the-counter medications warn against taking them if you have high blood pressure. Can you tell me why and what medications I should avoid? A: It's funny, isn't ...

Over-the-Counter Meds to Avoid With Hypertension

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If you need inspiration to become more physically active, a push to get going or just want to have more fun, here are six of the best, easy-to-afford and effective pieces of exercise gear. Using ...

6 Affordable and Effective Exercise Essentials

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Overeating isn't just a holiday season worry. Although there are an abundance of occasions for eating celebratory meals and treats from Thanksgiving through New Year's, many of us face the same ...

Avoid Three Common Overeating Pitfalls

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You might be swimming laps, striding on an elliptical machine or even sleeping. Suddenly, you feel an intense, painful contraction in your calf or foot. You have a muscle cramp, and your exercise ...

Ouch! When Muscle Cramp Strikes

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If you are a woman of color, there are certain health conditions for which you have a higher risk. This chart describes the conditions, the risk differences for women like you compared with white ...

Health Conditions Women of Color Need to Know About

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When you join a gym, you expect it to be a positive environment — an enjoyable place to work out, help you sustain your physical activity goals and even relax. What you don't imagine is that ...

Avoid Unwanted Attention While Working Out

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What do those of us suffering from too much daily stress have in common with champion athletes and patients undergoing major surgery? We can all benefit from using the techniques of ...

Imagine This: Less Stress, Better Health

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Excessive menstrual bleeding is an important health issue for women. At least one in five women bleed so heavily during their periods they have to put their normal lives on hold. The medical term ...

Top 7 Questions to Ask About Excessive Menstrual Bleeding

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You probably had a long list of projects you planned to get done during your maternity leave. However, you now realize that you forgot one thing: This is not a vacation. Instead, it is a time to ...

Taking Care of Mom After Childbirth

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You've heard it time and again: water exercise is a great way to build fitness, flexibility and strength without straining your joints. But, let's face it, some of us feel a little self-conscious ...

Three Pool Exercise That Won’t Embarrass You

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(from the National Women's Health Resource Center's e-newsletter, HealthyWomen Take 10) You're sitting on the cold table in the medical examining room. You've been staring at the walls for what ...

It Takes Two to Tango: Become an Active Partner in Your Health Care

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(from the National Women's Health Resource Center's e-newsletter HealthyWomen Take 10) Those of us of a certain age can recall when everyone and her best friend were on the "protein diet," ...

The Power of Protein

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(from the Diabetes Health Center) If you don't have diabetes, why do you need to think about your blood sugar levels? It's simple: Blood sugar problems don't happen overnight. And, as your ...

How to Maintain a Healthy Blood Sugar

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(from the National Women's Health Resource Center's e-newsletter, HealthyWomen Take 10) To stay fit, we work on strengthening everything from our hearts to our calf muscles. Our hands often get ...

Easy Help for Hurting Hands

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(from the National Women's Health Resource Center's e-newsletter, HealthyWomen Take 10) Which is better for you - an organic tomato or one that's grown through conventional methods? The answer ...

A Fresh Look at Organic Produce

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(from the Sexual Health Center) Our partners can be remarkably out of touch with understanding what gets us in the mood. Instead of limiting seduction to fancy dinners and bottles of wine ...

Setting the Mood: Beyond Roses and Chocolates

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When you're headed for hysterectomy or other gynecologic surgery, you are probably worried about many things. Will you have any bad reactions to the anesthesia? Will the surgeon find any major ...

Hysterectomy and Surgical Adhesions

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Q: What is the difference between a Pap smear and an HPV test? Do I need both? A: A Pap smear is a test that evaluates a sample of cells from your cervix. This very quick, painless test is ...

What Is The Difference Between a Pap Smear and an HPV Test?

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Chesapeake, VA, gastroenterologist Patricia Raymond has a message for women: "Don't assume you can't get colon cancer because you're a woman." In fact, you're just as likely to develop the ...

Colon Cancer & Women

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Have you ever caught a glimpse of yourself in a full-length mirror or store window and seen your body slumped with poor posture? You might quickly pull your head and shoulders back, pull in ...

Simple Ways to Improve Posture

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It's been nearly 40 years since President Nixon declared the "War on Cancer." And while we've made great strides in screening, diagnosis and treatment, it is a rare cancer against which we've ...

Learn More About Cervical Cancer Prevention

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They're the workhorses of our bodies, but we give them so little respect. It's easy to take our feet for granted. They're just there, putting up with a host of challenges, from being jammed ...

Don't Fail Your Feet

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1. There will be an estimated 212,920 new cases of breast cancer and 61,980 deaths from the disease in 2006. The breast is the most common site of cancer in women, and breast cancer is the ...

Top 10 Facts You Should Know about Breast Cancer

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By Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, NWHRC medical advisor Whenever I see a woman with an autoimmune disease in my office, one of the first things I ask her is how she’s handling the stress in her life, ...

Lifestyle Corner: Autoimmune Diseases Demand a Low-Stress Lifestyle

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You've been coping with it every month since you were a young girl, but just how much do you know about your menstrual cycle? No, not the four or five days of bleeding you get every month, but the ...

Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle

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Can you eat your way out of pain? Possibly yes. There's evidence that certain types of chronic pain may be helped by consuming foods or supplements that are high in omega-3 essential fatty ...

Easing Pain with Omega-3s

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Both outdoor and indoor activities can produce noise damage, which is caused by the decibels of sound pressure and the amount of time you're exposed to a noise. Normal conversation delivers 60 ...

Listen Up: Healthy Hearing is a Blast

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It's a beautiful spring day, just right for getting outdoors and biking along the river or taking a long hike in the woods. After an hour or two, or maybe even more, you head home feeling ...

Soothing Muscle Soreness

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If you think acupuncture, music therapy and yoga are only for twentysomethings, think again. A 2006 survey of 1,559 people aged 50 and older conducted by the AARP and the National Center for ...

Older Women & Complementary & Alternative Medicine

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Think you're getting enough nutrients from the food you eat? Think again. While most Americans think they are getting enough nutrients from the foods they eat, they are actually not getting the ...

Nutrition, Multivitamins and You

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potentially serious medical condition that affects as many as 18 million Americans. Unfortunately, a recent survey of approximately 1,200 women found that more ...

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Overview

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Many of us love being outdoors for physical activities. But when the weather gets crummy—too cold, too hot, or too much precipitation of any sort—we stay on the sofa, maybe for months, until ...

Making the Most of Indoor Exercise

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If you're scared that you will one day hear the words, "You have breast cancer," you've got plenty of company. Breast cancer is the most feared cancer among women. Sometimes, it's not just the ...

Overcoming the Fear of Breast Cancer

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Foods aren't just fuel for your body. True, they provide the energy you need, yet some have benefits that go well beyond simple nourishment. Explore the recesses of your refrigerator and you ...

Eating to Give Your Brain a Boost

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Any birth control method is only as good as the person using it. So, for instance, don't expect your birth control pill to prevent pregnancy as well as it does in studies if you don't take it as ...

Which Birth Control Is the Most Effective?

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Trying to describe pain to someone is never easy. It's kind of like trying to describe the sound of a flute to someone who was born deaf. This can be particularly difficult when describing pelvic ...

Chronic Pelvic Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment

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If the words "posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)" bring to mind battle-scarred men returning from war, you're not alone. "Until the last 15 to 20 years, we thought of PTSD as battle fatigue," ...

Women and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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At some point in your treatment for endometriosis, your doctor will likely recommend surgery. What type of surgery, how the surgery is performed and, most importantly, the reason for the surgery ...

Surgery for Endometriosis: Pros and Cons

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We hope you've decided to at least try breastfeeding. Even if you only nurse your baby for a few days or weeks, that early milk, called colostrum, provides an important source of antibodies to ...

Breastfeeding: Keys to Success

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Walking may be the simplest and most popular physical activity. It's easy, great for your overall health and you can do it for free in a wide variety of locations. Even so, today you'll see all ...

Get In Gear for Walking