I recently found out that a friend of my husband’s had a stroke a few weeks ago. That jolted me, big time. Although we are in this so-called midlife, after all - and I'm fully aware that health risks increase with age - I suppose I don't feel that we're "old enough" for something like this to happen. But that way of thinking is faulty, and this is proof. My husband is hoping to speak to his friend sometime this week, and I’m sure we’ll learn more then. Although his wife has been in touch and assures us that the stroke was “mild,” it’s still worrisome. And in thinking about it, I realized { Read More }
How to Hear Better When Your Hearing Goes South
Pop quiz: What, besides sex and sleep, change with age? “It’s not just sex and sleep that change with age,” wrote Frank Bruni in a recent New York Times article. “It’s supper.” If you’re over 50 there’s no doubt you understand perfectly well what he’s referring to here. Never mind the type of food you prefer. Forget about the popularity of the restaurant. Or its raving reviews. And how important, really, is the restaurant’s lighting, mood or ambience? If it's too noisy, all bets are off. Because there’s no greater appetite-killer than trying to enjoy a meal and a conversation in a { Read More }
Tips for a Better Colonoscopy
“Ooh, I love the way this colonoscopy prep tastes – bring it on!” said no one, ever. Let me reassure you. It’s so common to dread it. In fact, it’s the procedure before the procedure that causes most people – myself included – the most angst. It's hard to find an equivalent of unpleasantness. (All I can think of is going to the dentist times a zillion.) But it’s a necessary evil. A squeaky-clean colon is the best – and only – way to detect colon polyps and colon cancer early, when it’s easiest to treat. Any debris or particle left behind could be covering up or hiding something serious lurking { Read More }
Ten Things Every Woman Should Know About Colon Cancer
Colon cancer is not the most "glamorous" of cancers...if you can call cancer "glamourous." What I mean is that it hasn't been celebrated with pink bows and balloons and marches and merchandise. Rather, because it involves a less-than-appealing part of the body, many people run the other way when it comes to awareness and screening, using not-so-sophisticated but appropriate words like "ewwww," "gross," "revolting," and "I'd rather NOT." Okay, I get it. But we really need to grow up. True story: Years ago, I chatted with an acquaintance, Amy, as she approached her 50th birthday. When I { Read More }
5 Things to Expect When Your Eyes Start Changing
Until this so-called midlife, you probably didn’t think much about your eyes… beyond going for your annual eye exam and figuring out which eyeglass frame best suited your face or which contact lens was the most comfortable. (If you’re not needing glasses full-time yet– like my husband, lucky guy - it’s likely you’re at least using reading glasses, which most of us begin to need in our early to mid-40s.) But as I recently learned first-hand when I had a detached retina (you can read all about it here), we can’t take our eyes for granted. Our eyes, along with many other body parts, change with { Read More }
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 50
- Next Page »