The days of poke and hope are over! For decades, prostate biopsies have been performed in a random, systematic fashion. An ultrasound probe is inserted into the patient’s rectum and an image of the shape of the prostate gland is obtained. Random, systematic cores are taken out at the apex level (bottom), the mid-gland level… Read more »

From the very start of medical school, the importance of a thorough physical exam is ingrained in students. Every year, and in every specialty, students are tested on how to perform a thorough exam. As such a basic and fundamental aspect of medicine, why does it so often get overlooked?  Some of the reasons include… Read more »

Our eyes are truly the windows to our souls. They also give important clues and are general indicators of our overall wellness. With many of us feeling stress at this time, it is important to note that even our eyes can be affected.  During stressful times, you may notice familiar symptoms with increasing frequency, or… Read more »

With COVID-19 playing a major role in all our lives today, many of us have started to look more closely at our bodies, our immune systems and what we can do to keep ourselves healthier.  It may surprise you to learn that your mouth plays a major role in the strength of your immune system,… Read more »

The world is now abuzz with news about coronavirus (COVID-19), the viral disease that has taken us all by storm. The global response has been extreme with most things cancelled or postponed and the disruption to everyday life is unprecedented.  Whether or not the current global response is an appropriate action or an overreaction is… Read more »

Wellness is finally getting the respect it deserves. Practices, products and places that balance our beings are in higher demand than ever before with millennials and boomers leading the way. The rise in chronic disease has more and more of us striving to stay, or get, well and the industries which benefit are listening –… Read more »

This year, Desert Regional’s Comprehensive Cancer Center celebrates 30 years of serving our community. In 2011, we interviewed the center’s management team for a story on integrative cancer care – the use of both medical and natural therapies – and wanted to see how things have evolved. We followed up with the manager of Oncology… Read more »

Capturing vital signs is a critical skill learned and practiced at the Palm Desert High School Health Academy to prepare students for their future careers. Health professionals must understand what vital signs are, what the monitoring procedures include and how to perform each in a proper manner. Vital signs allow physicians and nurses to check… Read more »

The popular TED conferences feature inspiring talks about technology, entertainment or design. This “TED Talk,” however, is focused on thyroid eye disease (TED) and expands upon my January/February article about how the small thyroid gland affects the entire body, including our precious eyes.  If someone with thyroid dysfunction is experiencing symptoms of eyelid swelling, eye… Read more »

What’s something both fishermen and sports medicine have in common? Believe it or not, they both utilize ultrasound to get the job done. While submarines and boats have been employing the use of ultrasound throughout the 20th century to locate fish and animals in the water, its use in medicine only became popularized in the… Read more »

Low back pain is the most common type of pain experienced by people in the United States. It contributes significantly toward growing health care costs and over utilization of the medical system through invasive surgeries and prescription pain medication. Patients with low back pain that is acute and chronic are routinely referred for extensive diagnostic… Read more »

Many people have fully embraced robotically-assisted surgery, but some fear the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. Maybe that’s due to sci-fi movies depicting computers capable of overtaking humans, or perhaps they simply don’t understand how it can help.  Off the big screen, artificial intelligence (AI) is simply programming machines to perform specific tasks as… Read more »

The easiest way to think about a hernia is as a hole in your abdominal wall. Whether at your groin, belly button or an old incision, a hernia is a hole. This allows intra-abdominal contents to protrude through the hole creating a bulge which may be accompanied by pain or discomfort. Hernias tend to be… Read more »

We men seldom talk about our health and are even more reluctant to seek medical assistance. In fact, studies show that 61 percent of men do not engage in regular health checkups, representing a missed opportunity for preventive health care discussions.1 Growing up on a dairy farm in Southeast Minnesota, for me, medical doctors were… Read more »

Cold sores and canker sores, although they may look similar and cause comparable discomfort, are actually completely different conditions. Each has different origins and therefore particular ways they can be treated or prevented.  One of the best ways to determine if a lesion is a canker or a cold sore is to see where it… Read more »

Music has the power to move us. It conjures up memories of days and moments gone by and can emit emotions that we may not even know we’re feeling until one particular song moves us to our core.  Music can also mend minds. Based out of Los Angeles, Music Mends Minds: Restoring the Rhythm of… Read more »

This editorial is offered in response to a November 2019 Desert Sun article regarding Phillip Bretz, MD, of La Quinta. In the article, we learned that the California Medical Board placed  Dr. Bretz on probation due to factors related to offering cryoablation or “tumor freezing” to women seeking an alternative to surgery for early stage… Read more »