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Helping Women Soldiers Traumatized by Sexual Assault

By Sally Chew | June 17, 2008

In the past few years there has been a lot of attention paid to the problem of sexual assault in the U.S. military. Congressional hearings, military panels, and nonprofit organizations have looked at how to lower the incidence of assault, help women feel safe reporting it, and allow them to recover from the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that often follows it.

A new report from Australia recommends prolonged exposure therapy for preventing PTSD. The treatment involves reliving the traumatic experience with a therapist in order to face your fears and learn coping skills. Last year a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recommended the therapy specifically to treat women vets with PTSD—a condition they are more likely to report suffering from than men. Read More


Get Your Free Boobs Here!

By Anne Krueger | June 4, 2008

Boob jobs, as you probably know, are expensive—around $4,000 and up—and insurance companies typically won’t pay for augmentation that’s not linked to breast reconstruction after cancer or injury (it wasn’t until the passage of the federal Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act in 1998 that insurance companies even ponied up for that). Since women with silicone breast implants need follow-up MRIs to make sure that implants aren’t leaking (which can be symptomless), all that self-improvement—especially if it’s strictly cosmetic—can add up.

I guess that’s why some women are finding unusual ways to fund their bigger racks: a site called MyFreeImplants.com matches “ladies” who want bigger breasts with “gents” who are happy to pay for them. The benefactors donate from $5 to $500 at a time to help the women realize their cosmetic surgery dreams, says site founder Jason Grunstra. They can also send messages to the ladies of their choice at about $1.20 a pop (a buck goes into the woman’s bigger boob account and 20 cents goes to the site, which also accepts advertising). When a bigger-bust seeker “earns” enough by corresponding with these men (and most exchange breast-oriented photos and videos as well as chit-chat), a check is sent to the plastic surgeon of her choice. Read More


Insomnia at Menopause: Learning to Love My Inner Teenage Night Owl

By Sally Chew | June 3, 2008

I didn’t mind being an insomniac when I was in high school. Wandering around the house in the middle of the night was annoying, but so was everything else. Besides, like most teenagers (and owls and vampires), I slept fine during daylight hours. Now, as I approach menopause, I find myself returning to those restless teenage nights.

After decades of deep sleep, I’m wide awake again and not amused. Friends traveling with me recently threatened to hit me over the head if that’s what it took to put me out. Read More


When Cups Do Not Runneth Over: The Breast Implant Debate

By Anne Krueger | May 29, 2008

1984 was a good year for my girls. My boobs were still small enough that I could go braless, but big enough that no one would mistake me for a boy. It’s one of the few times I actually liked my breasts (aside from a brief stint as a cocktail waitress in 1977 and when I was breast-feeding, adventures best saved for future posts). The rest of my life has been filled with mammary dissatisfaction, and apparently I’m not alone. When we asked Health.com visitors what they would most like to change about their breasts, they responded:

Breast size: 47%
Breast shape: 31%
The fact they sit somewhere near my belly button: 22%

Unlike me, lots of women are doing more than just whining about the state of their bosom: In 2007 breast augmentation moved to the top spot on the list of the most popular cosmetic surgeries for women, up 6% from the year before. Nearly 400,000 women in the U.S. had a boob job last year at an average cost of $4,000 a pop—and the numbers are expected to keep pushing up.

Read More


I Need to Embrace Breast-Cancer Screening

By Lambeth Hochwald | February 1, 2008

BreastcancerscreeningI returned the other day to the NYU Clinical Cancer Center where I had my ovaries removed, this time for my biannual visit with my breast doctor.

Despite the relief I feel now in my day-to-day life from having put that surgery behind me, that packed waiting room floods me with sadness and frustration. I want to talk to the other women, to know their stories. But there’s never camaraderie or sharing. Each woman is isolated within her own angst.

I’ve become used to this routine since testing positive for the Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA-1) and BRCA-2 gene mutations in 2005. I stand when my name is called, I don a dark green gown, and I say “yes” when my doctor asks me to confirm that I’m BRCA-positive. I’m not sure why he needs to do this every single time. Perhaps because my BRCA status is my genetic rap sheet and he’s my parole officer, reminding me to keep up with my mammograms and MRIs.

Read More


Decoding the Genetics of Ovarian Cancer

By Lambeth Hochwald | January 25, 2008

Three years after finding out that I’m BRCA-positive—I carry the gene mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancer—I’ve developed an eagle eye for BRCA news. So imagine my surprise when I opened the New York Post the other morning and read that women who have ovarian cancer and carry the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene mutations live longer than those who get the disease but don’t have one of the mutations.

Huh? I was so confused that I passed the paper across the dining room table so that my husband could read it too.

Read More


Know Your Drugs And Your Pharmacist

By Lambeth Hochwald | January 18, 2008

The other day I stopped by my neighborhood pharmacy in lower Manhattan to pick up my monthly hormones, designed to compensate for the removal of my ovaries last fall. The first prescription, estradiol, looked fine. That’s my estrogen derivative—the stuff that’s supposed to keep me from turning into a hunchback. But the second label gave me pause. What’s medroxyprogesterone? I didn’t remember a “medroxy” in the label when I filled my progesterone prescription last month.

Since I’m new to this hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) game—and rarely took more than ibuprofen before the surgery—I decided to double-check with the pharmacist. She was busy, so I waited patiently in line until we could talk.

Read More


My Early Days as an Ovary-Free Lab Rat

By Lambeth Hochwald | January 11, 2008

Eight weeks after my oophorectomy, I expected to feel like myself again. The same old me—just not ovulating, menstruating, or PMS-ing (and with a cute incision under each hip). But so far, taking synthetic estrogen and progesterone every day to keep myself from zooming rapidly into menopause has worn me out.

My doctor says I’ll feel better when I find the right hormone cocktail. But how’s a girl to choose? Like chewing gum brands crowding the candy store, there is a vast array of options. Estrogen alone comes in pills, transdermal patches, topical creams, injections, and vaginal suppositories.

Read More


Mutant Ninja Mama

By Lambeth Hochwald | December 24, 2007

Lambet225In October I had my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed (that’s me on the left). I’m healthy as a horse at 39, but I was at risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer because I carry the dreaded Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA-1) and BRCA-2 gene mutations. All this bad genetic karma increased my risk of ovarian cancer from 2% to as high as 45% and increased my risk of breast cancer from 13% to as high as 80%.

Now my risk of ovarian cancer is next to nothing (less than 10%) and my breast cancer risk matches that of any other woman my age. (Turns out removing your ovaries before the age of 40 cuts a BRCA-positive woman’s risk of getting breast cancer in half.)

Read More



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