Harvard Women's Health Watch articles from July 2002

Harvard Women's Health Watch archives from July 2002

Recommended or not, we still want yearly physicals.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Major health organizations such as the American Medical Association and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) have agreed that healthy adults donit need yearly "head-to-toe" checkups. Such comprehensive exams, they say, simply donit...

Fainting Spells - Syncope: What is it and why does it happen?
July 1, 2002... Former United States Attorney General Janet Reno, who fainted while giving a speech in New York early this year, blamed it on the heat in the room. In January, President George W. Bush passed out while watching television after choking on an...

Joint Problems - Soft-tissue knee injuries in women.
July 1, 2002... Nearly every woman has knee pain at some point in her life. Indeed, the knee is vulnerable to injury at all ages. Just walking, it must withstand impacts of three to four times our body weight. And in certain sports, the stresses are far...

In Brief - Low heart risk after breast cancer radiation.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Radiation therapy is an integral part of early-stage breast cancer treatment. Itis meant to kill stray cancer cells that may have escaped surgical removal and is sometimes given after chemotherapy without surgery. But blanketing the breast...

In Brief - New alternative to tamoxifen.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In the past few months, several studies have shown that aromatase inhibitors have strong potential as a treatment for early breast cancer in postmenopausal women (see HWHW, April 2002). This class of medications showed promise as an...

By the Way, Doctor - Should I be vaccinated against smallpox?(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Q I was relieved to read that the United States will soon have enough smallpox vaccine for everyone. Should my family and I be vaccinated? A Since September 11 and the anthrax attacks, experts have been concerned that terrorists may...