News on the Breast Cancer Front

A month can’t go by without hearing about a friend, or a friend of a friend’s, breast cancer scare or diagnosis. My heart sinks every time. The anxiety of not knowing can drive you insane. “Staying calm is easier said than done,” a friend reminds me. We like to empower you with information so that [...]

A Welcome Sight in My Neighborhood #gettested #hiv #knowyourstatus

A welcome sight in my neighborhood.  My hope is that a lot of people got their free HIV test.  This is not a game.  We are dying here.  Don’t let Magic fool you.  You don’t have his health care or his doctors.  Get tested, know your status, and pass the message on to your loved [...]

Are You An Organ Donor?

It isn’t something I ever gave much thought to. While I’ve had my share of health issues, I’ve never had to rely on an organ donation to save my life. And I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to rely on someone else’s misfortune to save my life. It must be an unshakeable faith [...]

Largest Collaborative Study on Black Women and Breast Cancer Announced

On the eve of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I was pleased to read about a new collaborative study to look at black women and breast cancer. Compared to white women, black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age and at a later stage for reasons we have [...]

Grace and the Special Olympics

Today I went biking, a new complement to my workout routine. Having been away from it for a couple of weeks, I was huffing and puffing my way through the park trying to get in my (close to) 10 miles. My attitude wasn’t the best. I might have actually been cursing the road under my [...]

You Down With HIV?

I remember a comedian riffing off of Naughty by Nature’s song Other People’s Property (O.P.P.) Instead of the song’s hook, “You down with O.P.P.? Yeah, you know me,” the comedian would add his own words….”You down with HIV? Hell naw, not me!” That comes to mind on this 27th day of June, National HIV Testing [...]

National Women’s Health Week!

National Women’s Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. It brings together communities, businesses, government, health organizations, and other groups in an effort to promote women’s health. The theme for 2011 is “It’s Your Time.” National Women’s Health Week empowers women to [...]

Do Not Resuscitate Orders Taken Too Seriously?

Do you have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in your medical file? DNRs are legal forms instructing health care providers that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other measures should not be performed in the event that the patient’s heartbeat stops. Typically, DNRs are signed by individuals of advanced age or with chronic illness who don’t want [...]

After the Myomectomy (Part 2): How I’m Feeling and Lessons Learned

I feel great.  In fact, I feel better than I have in the last two years to be truthful. My energy levels are through the roof.  Prior to the surgery, I would usually wake up tired and be tired and ready for bed by 8 pm.  I now wake up rejuvenated and eager to start [...]

Six Weeks and Thirteen Fibroids Later (Part 1)

I think I was in my mid-twenties when I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids.  I hadn’t really heard the term before.  All I cared about at the moment was that it wasn’t cancer.  They were small and I couldn’t feel them.  Like many African American women diagnosed with fibroids, I decided to deal with the [...]

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