As the cooler temperatures arrive in Arizona, our relatives arrive as well. This is a wonderful time of year, when our loved ones join us for holiday celebrations and outdoor activities. For some families, this means seeking help for their elderly family members. They may not get around as well as they used to, or perhaps a job requires you to leave them alone for long periods during the day or even a few days at a time. Read more

There is hot debate about stem cell use, their ethics and potential for curing diseases. Although promising, the application to disease states should not be overblown. We may all feel bad for Christopher Reeve, but injecting him with stem cells is simply not going to make him miraculously walk. Some cold water needs to be thrown on the loudest proponents, since common sense dictates that all advancements in science don’t always happen out of sheer will and hope. Like all medical experiments, we ask the question: will it work and is it safe, and this applies equally to stem cells. Read more

“No Friend Left Behind” free presentation and breakfast to celebrate breast cancer awareness week at the Oakwood Club House in Sun Lakes. The purpose of the presentation is to educate our local community and to provide education and hope for breast cancer survival.
 
Denise Hooper, MD is one of our Sun Lakes residents who will present during this breakfast. She is a Board Certified Radiologist with fellowship training in Women’s Imaging.
 
Date & Time: Please join us on October 8, 2009 from 8 am to 10 am in the Bradford room Oakwood.
 
RSVP by October 5, 2009 by calling:  480-728-2008.

Blood in the urine is never normal, but it can be present for benign and not-so-benign reasons. “Microscopic hematuria” is when blood is only seen on a urine test (urinalysis), or “gross hematuria” where actual blood or clots are seen in the urine.

There are many urinary tract issues that can lead to both, but essentially, blood in the urine can come from the kidney, ureter, bladder or urethra. Often menstural blood, or if urine contacts labial skin/hair on the way out prior to hitting the cup, can both lead to false positives. Read more

“If you don’t you use it, you lose it” principle also applies to the muscles in the pelvis. Age, menopause and childbirth can cause weakness and looseness to the pelvic floor muscles known as the levator ani. They wrap around the anus, urethra and vagina in the female pelvis and support the organs in the pelvis: the bladder, vagina/uterus and rectum. When pelvic muscles and their connective tissue covering (fascia) weaken or tear, women may experience urine leak when coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising (stress incontinence), or have the sense that the bladder or other pelvic organs are dropping or pushing into the vagina. Overactive bladder symptoms can also occur with a dropped bladder, such as urgency , frequency and urine leak (the “I gotta go and I can’t hold it any longer” feeling). Read more