Patti Neighmond

Another side effect of chemotherapy: 'chemo brain'

Patti Neighmond — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:26:24 +0000

It's well-known that chemotherapy often comes with side effects like fatigue, hair loss and extreme nausea. What's less well-known is how the cancer treatment affects crucial brain functions, like speech and cognition.

For Yolanda Hunter, a 41-year-old hospice nurse, mother of three and breast cancer patient, these cognitive side effects of chemotherapy were hard to miss.

"I could think of words I wanted to say," Hunter says. "I knew what I wanted to say. ... There was a disconnect from my brain to my mouth."

Before getting treated for cancer, Hunter led a busy, active lifestyle.

X-Ray Tests May Heighten Cancer Risk In Susceptible Women

Patti Neighmond — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:31:01 +0000

Researchers report that women with genetic mutations that put them at dramatically increased risk of developing breast cancer may also face a heightened risk from radiation used during medical screening and diagnosis.

The imaging tools that help doctors identify disease, injury or damage to the body have long been known to carry some risk of cancer, in large part because ionizing radiation can damage the genetic material in the body.

If the body is unable to repair that DNA damage, and if cells are changed permanently, they may go on to produce abnormal cells when they divide.

Why women suffer more migraines than men

Patti Neighmond — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:16:41 +0000

One in four women has had a migraine. And, it turns out, the debilitating headaches affect three times more women than men.

But why?

Decades ago, these headaches were attributed to women's inability to cope with stress, a sort of hysteria. Now experts are starting to figure out the factors that really make a difference.

Today scientists know a migraine is all in your head — but not in that old-fashioned sense. Migraines are biologically based, and they play themselves out as a wave of electrical activity traveling across the brain.

Dr.

NPR Science: Does Tylenol worsen asthma for kids?

Patti Neighmond — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:08:24 +0000

Parents and doctors around the world have been alarmed by the dramatic increase in childhood asthma.

One factor in the upswing is better detection by doctors, but at least one doctor thinks a common over-the-counter drug also has something to do with it.

Dr. John McBride sees lots of kids with asthma.

Why a teen who talks back may have a bright future

Patti Neighmond — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:26:42 +0000

If you're the parent of a teenager, you likely find yourself routinely embroiled in disputes with your child. Those disputes are the symbol of teen developmental separation from parents.

It's a vital part of growing up, but it can be extraordinarily wearing on parents.