A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Some of these risk factors can be modified, while some can't be changed. For example, even though breast cancer does occur in males, being a woman is its biggest risk factor since breast cancer is about 100 times more…...

Last article we looked at several factors that increased a woman's risk of developing breast cancer but could not be changed. The purpose of this was to encourage women at increased risk to receive screening measures beyond those developed for women at average risk. Today we'll look at a number of factors that increase the…...

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence defines domestic violence as "the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another". Domestic violence can take on a number of forms including physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence,…...

Most people are aware that diabetes is a disease characterized by having high blood glucose (sugar).  Indeed, an antiquated term for diabetes was "sugar diabetes".  But under the umbrella of the disease that doctors refer to as "diabetes mellitus" are really two entities, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes was previously known…...

What is Shingles? Shingles, known in medical jargon as herpes zoster, is an outbreak on the skin that is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox — the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Following a bout of chickenpox, the virus retreats into nerve fibers and becomes dormant. Shingles occurs when the virus becomes reactivated. What causes…...

The importance of getting regular exercise is so well known that there is little reason to rehash all of its benefits. Likewise, most people are aware of the physical activity recommendations for overall cardiovascular health promoted by the American Heart Association (AHA) that encourages healthy adults to do: At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic…...

The retina is the light-sensing layer of tissue that lines the back of the globe of the eye. Images that are focused onto the retina by the lens of the eye are sent to the brain via the optic nerve. In the most common type of retinal detachment, a tear or break in the retina…...

During this time of the year, many eDoc clients write in to ask if their symptoms are more suggestive of a cold or with the flu.  While both are caused by viruses, influenza or "flu" generally causes more severe manifestations than the common cold.  Flu is characterized by the sudden onset of body aches, fever…...