Health Matters Blog

MRI Attractive For High Risk Breast Cancer Patients

Published October 28, 2011

By Marcy Rushford Earlier in October, I wrote about how the primary goal of National Breast Cancer Awareness month is to emphasize the need for women over age 40 to get a mammogram every year and how digital mammography remains the gold standard for detecting breast cancer. Last week, Dr. Rosen wrote about advances in biopsy procedures that make them quicker and less invasive. But the latest innovation in breast cancer detection has been the adaptation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology, which we will start offering at BMH early next month. Most people associate a MRI, as it is commonly known, with ligament or muscles injuries. A ...

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The Modern Breast Biopsy

Published October 21, 2011

A February 18, 2011 New York Times article entitled “Study of Breast Biopsies Finds Surgery Used Too Extensively” refers to a review of breast biopsies done in Florida from 2003-2008, noting that 30% were done with a scalpel, usually in the operating room. This number is too high. [caption id="attachment_543" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Joseph Rosen, MD"][/caption] In the modern era, most breast biopsies should be done with a minimally invasive needle sampling and not as a more invasive, open surgical procedure. This is a trend that has been steadily evolving over my 30 year history caring for women with breast disease. ...

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Regular Screening Still the Priority

Published October 14, 2011

by Marcy Rushford National Breast Cancer Awareness Month observes its 25th anniversary this year. While we haven’t eradicated breast cancer (it is still the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for American women), real strides have been made in the area of earlier detection, leading to more effective treatments and longer, more productive, lifetimes for breast cancer survivors. Until recently, different medical associations were recommending different time frames for when women should start getting screened for breast cancer on a yearly basis. Some were recommending age 40 while others suggested 50. Now the American College ...

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The Nuclear Option

Published October 11, 2011

By Marcy Rushford [caption id="attachment_2271" align="alignright" width="205" caption="Marcy Rushford"][/caption] Last month, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital invited the public to learn about the technology we use to evaluate the coronary arteries of the heart and their function, specifically in relation to nuclear cardiac stress tests. Most of the people who participated in the tour were pretty surprised to learn that, by and large, the same technology utilized by large hospitals is available to them right here in town. This includes a hybrid gamma SPECT/CT scanner to perform nuclear medicine tests, which BMH has had for a couple of yea...

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In Giving, Stories Make the Difference

Published

by Diane Bassett About a week and a half ago, the Ladies Golf Association of the Brattleboro Country Club held its end of season luncheon, during which we formally presented the funds from our annual charity golf tournament held in July. We’ve been holding the tournament for 10 years now, and even though our association membership hovers around 60 ladies, our tournament has been attracting over 100 participants in each of the past few years. Thanks to this incredible turnout, and the generous contributions of area businesses and organizations as tournament hole sponsors, we were able to raise over eight thousand dollars in charitable fun...

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Blueprint for Healthy Individuals Involves Entire Community

Published

By Wendy Cornwell This is part two of a column leading in up to BMH’s 20th Annual Health Fair, taking place in the BMH Parking Lot from 11:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday, September 24. [caption id="attachment_2264" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Wendy Cornwell"][/caption] Three years ago, we adopted the “Launch into Motion” theme for the annual Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Health Fair with the goal of introducing the community to all the different ways people of all ages and life spectrums can get exercise and eat in a healthy way. Whether they are a youth fitness program, an elderly care facility, or another organization...

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Play for Health

Published

by Wendy Cornwell This is first of a two-part column leading in up to BMH’s 20th Annual Health Fair, taking place in the BMH Parking Lot from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, September 24. Nickelodeon’s annual Worldwide Day of Play is in a couple of weeks. Since 2004, the network has stopped their afternoon programming on the last Saturday afternoon in September. Instead, from 12 noon to 3:00pm, each channel shows a message encouraging kids and parents to shut off their televisions and go play outdoors. Last year the message read: “Today is Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play! We're outside playing and you should be too! So, turn ...

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Idle Thoughts on Sustainability

Published

By Rob Prohaska Tomorrow’s Touch-a-Truck event is always great fun for young kids who like to climb inside, and all over, construction rigs, fire trucks, ambulances or other big, noisy vehicles. While your son or daughter is ooh-ing and ah-ing over the backhoes and tree-trimmers, take a minute and walk over to the Emergency Department side lot. You’ll see a couple of metal pillars that look like futuristic gas-pumps, which were installed last week. But instead of engine fuel these kiosks provide a power source for an emergency vehicle’s battery-operated systems. Truck stops provide anti-idling stations for tractor trailer drivers ...

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The Future of Aging

Published

By Dr. Richard Orlan The future of aging is now! [caption id="attachment_533" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Richard M. Orlan, MD"][/caption] Hollywood and fiction writers are producing some interesting television programs and movies with themes and story lines about aging and managing chronic disease these days. Some are compassionate, like The Big C, which follows a woman with terminal cancer as she goes through the trials and tribulations in her relationships while she’s fighting her disease. Some are chilling, like the movie Repo Men, set in a not-so-distant future where human organs can be bought on credit, but can also t...

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ATC Position at High School is Win-Win

Published

By Dr. William Vranos [caption id="attachment_553" align="alignright" width="200" caption="William Vranos, MD"][/caption] Classes start next Wednesday at Brattleboro Union High School, but the student athletes have already been on the practice fields and in the weight room for a couple of weeks preparing for the Fall 2011 season. It’s an exciting time of year to be an athlete or a coach. It is also when our sports medicine department has an influx of young patients suffering from various sports-related injuries. Football is the obvious number one cause. There are so many things that go on in football that lead to the boys getting b...

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