Number One The number one cause of death in the US is cancer. Many of us go to doctors yearly. We nervously wait for the results of tests. Do I have the Big C – or don’t I? Now cancer is moving on to become the number one cause of death globally, according to the […]
Is Sleep Apnea Boring? (2/3/14)
Clinical Fascination Boredom can prove very personal. A few weeks ago I sat down in the hospital cafeteria. At my table was a polite, bright pulmonologist. He expressed sympathy for my work: “I find sleep apnea so boring.” For a doctor like him there’s isn’t much to do with sleep apnea. Somebody comes in. They […]
What Is the Product? (1/28/14)
Health Versus Health Care Art can imitate life. Better, it can educate life. Perhaps it might perform that role for the American “health care industry.” Whose main product is – more of itself. To reform it properly will require far more than the bizarre tinkering of the Affordable Care Act. We will need to get […]
Civilizational Obesity (1/20/14)
The Weight of Progress Life has improved for lots of people. Economic development and globalization has brought many out of poverty. Kenyan farmers shop and bank with their cell phones. Hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved from the impoverishment of the Cultural Revolution to high levels of education and ambitious middle class lives. As […]
How Drugs Change You Through Time (11/19/13)
Steroids Can a single dose change your body the rest of your life? My patient wasn’t thinking about that. He just wanted to have big muscles. Really big. He had been caught red handed with syringes in his back pack. His parents wanted to know what they were – and why. Nothing much, he told […]