The Up Side of Jello

At age 50 your life changes. It’s more than menopause. You suddenly begin to take some things more seriously. Certainly you start to pay more attention to your health.

Among the recommended screening tests, the American Cancer Society and doctors prescribe colonoscopies. No wonder. Colon cancer is among the most common types of cancer; but, when detected early, colon cancer has high cure rates. It’s on my mind since my colonoscopy is scheduled this week.

Many people ignore this diagnostic test. They are more concerned about the “prep” rather than the procedure itself. Don’t let this dissuade you. There’s nothing wrong with a little jello and some clear liquids for 24 hours. The prep may be inconvenient, but the outcome can be lifesaving.

Johns Hopkins has a long history of ground breaking discoveries targeting colon cancer. Kimmel Cancer Center researchers were the first to isolate a series of mistakes in human DNA, called genetic mutations, that lead to the development and progression of colon and rectum cancer. These findings have already been used to develop screening blood tests for people with a family history of certain types of hereditary colon and rectum cancers. Subsequent work has led to the development of stool tests for non-hereditary colon cancer. Hopkins scientists also were the first to decode the colon cancer genome. Several new anticancer agents are being studied for their ability to interfere with the genetic alterations and stop the initiation of cancer. As genetic causes continue to be uncovered, Hopkins researchers expect to improve broad-based screening tests to detect colon and rectum cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages. More information is available at http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cid/1258

So, my advice is simple. Schedule your colonoscopy and get some jello.

Leslie

Numbers

I always liked math—algebra withstanding. But with each year I come to better appreciate the importance of numbers. Although April 15 has just passed, remember that numbers have a pervasive impact on our health as well as our taxes. Whether we want to admit it or not, our increasing age impacts our health and our daily lives. More important, however, is our “medical age.”

Most of us know our shoe size or dress size, but do you know your HLD and LDL cholesterol, your glucose level or blood pressure? How many grams of fiber are you eating a day? What is your thyroid level? Yesterday I learned from a Johns Hopkins ophthalmologist that, on average, with each advancing decade the vitreous gel that fills your eye pulls away from your retina by 10 percent. I wondered what other changes are occurring in my body that can be captured by data.

We may not be doctors, but we need to become familiar with these numbers and know how they can impact our health.

Pain

Unfortunately my daughter recently had ankle surgery related to a fall down a circular staircase at school. The surgeon performed the ankle repair. The hospital provided detailed discharge instructions. Now as the mother, it is my responsibility to help my daughter recover in the aftermath of surgery. I can fluff the pillows, apply the ice packs, and fill the prescriptions. It’s managing her pain that leaves me uneasy.

Research shows that women suffer from pain conditions disproportionally compared to men. Johns Hopkins assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine and pain specialist Dr. Paul Christo tells me that women represent 72% of chronic pain sufferers. Migraine headaches and fibromyalgia are more common in women; women report more serious, more frequent, and longer lasting pain, and too many women are given antidepressants and tranquilizers when they report pain. Pain is often undertreated which results in needless suffering for millions of people.

Chronic pain affects a staggering 25% or more of the population and continues to cause distressing symptoms for many years. Very few patients with persistent pain have access to a pain specialist, and those who gain access report that treatments are underutilized and often fraught with barriers.

My daughter was fortunate. The pain was quickly controlled. For others, however, it’s good to know that there are pain specialists at Hopkins.

Leslie

Medical School Credentials

No, I didn’t go to medical school. I haven’t taken medical boards. Probably the last formal science courses I took were 9th biology and 10th grade chemistry. Graduate school focused on health care and research. Yet, because I manage the Johns Hopkins Medicine annual women’s health conference--A Woman's Journey--and am fortunate enough to interact with some of the world’s leading physicians, my family, friends and their friends call me for medical advice.

Weekly, I field telephone calls and emails: How should they treat a growing list of ailments? Which treatment option has better outcomes? Who is the best expert? How many international units of Vitamin D should they take? Should pathology reports be overread? or Does a patient need a second opinion? Many times I am able to confidently refer friends to the right specialist. Most times I remind them of the shortcomings of my “medical education.” And, always, I urge them to attend A Woman’s Journey so they can learn and personally question the real experts.

Before the conference in November, sign up for the Woman’s Journey monthly e-mail which contains reports of relevant medical advances from Hopkins. It’s a good way to learn about health care hopefully before we need it. Take it from me; this is good advice.

Leslie

Your Opinion Matters

This is the time of year I enjoy most. Not because of the snow, for sure. Rather I find it satisfying to identify the topics for the forthcoming A Woman's Journey and begin to interview faculty members about their specialties.

Each year women ask how we select the health topics offered at the Johns Hopkins Medicine women's health conference. The answer is simple. We survey women like you and ask you to identify the health issues that are of greatest concern to you. So I ask for your help.

If you haven't already, please go to the Woman's Journey website (www.hopkinsmedicine.org/awomansjourney) and take the brief survey. It takes just a few minutes to scan through the list of potential seminar topics and indicate those of interest to you. The results will guide our decisions as I outline the program for next winter.

Your opinion really does matter.

Thanks,
Leslie

Sunshine and Inspiration

After months of planning, the staff and I were finally departing for south Florida to bring A Woman's Journey to women in Palm Beach and Naples. When the captain informed us that we would sit on the tarmac for 30 minutes, I turned on my phone and found a message from Lillie Shockney, the scheduled keynote speaker for A Woman's Journey Palm Beach. Lillie had food poisoning and would not make the conference. I looked around at the other passengers and spotted some Hopkins colleagues. By the time we took off, we had invited the new president of the Johns Hopkins University to be a keynote speaker.

Ron Daniels, who had been installed in the fall as JHU's 14 president, was amazing. I am so grateful that he was willing to speak about the university and his self-described walk-abouts throughout Johns Hopkins. In particular, President Daniels described his tour of The Johns Hopkins Hospital operating rooms and the opportunity to witness a Whipple procedure. The Whipple is a surgical procedure that was developed to remove pancreatic and other GI tumors. According to President Daniels, when Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. John Cameron began his career, the mortality rate from the surgery was nearly 30 percent. Since then Dr. Cameron has worked to improve the Whipple procedure and reduce the mortality rate to nearly 1%. Just days after observing this procedure, President Daniels was diagnosed with a rare type of tumor in the intestine. As we all learned, the tumor was removed through a Whipple procedure. Fortunately, President Daniels' prognosis is excellent.

The presentation was a most inspiring conclusion to a terrific Woman's Journey in Palm Beach. Surely we will return next year. I hope those of you living in south Florida will join us.
Leslie

Giving Thanks for Four Scores and Then Some

Thanksgiving always has been a favorite holiday and time of year for me. I relish working in the kitchen all day as my family gathers together. This year we also marked a particular milestone as my mother celebrated her 85th birthday.

My sisters and I prepared a family brunch to note the occasion. In preparation, I did some research about the major social, political and literary events that have taken place during her lifetime. Late one night I placed the information on customized place cards. So much has happened during my mother's life time. It is another reminder of the pleasure we can derive from staying healthy and active and living a long life.

Leslie