Family Health Blog
Recent health news, buzzworthy medical blogs, and personal wellness advice curated by our PinnacleCare team and our CEO, Dr. Miles Varn.
Category: Disease Management
Diagnosed with prediabetes? How to prevent it from becoming diabetes
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 84 million people in the U.S. have prediabetes and the majority of them aren’t aware that their blood sugar levels are higher than they should be. Prediabetes means that your blood sugar levels are elevated but not yet high enough to be considered diabetes, but... Read More
Strategies for wellness during and after cancer treatment
The number of people in the U.S. who are cancer survivors continues to grow as new treatments and early detection increase. The American Cancer Society projects that by 2026, there will be 20 million cancer survivors in this country. And while treatment has advanced in both the number of options available and effectiveness, there still... Read More
Tips to help you manage the side effects of antidepressants
Living with the common side effects of antidepressants. If you’re one in eight Americans who take antidepressants, you may be living with the common side effects that these medications can cause, such as: weight gain nausea sleep problems sexual problems fatigue dry mouth constipation or diarrhea headaches anxiety The type of side effects you may... Read More
What you should know about testicular cancer
Although the number of men projected to be diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2019 is only 9,310 compared to a projected 174,650 new cases of prostate cancer, testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for boys and men between the ages of 15 and 44. This type of cancer is highly treatable, even when... Read More
Lower your risk of complications from chronic diseases
A growing number of Americans are being diagnosed with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, lung and kidney disease and many people are living with multiple chronic conditions. According to statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6 in 10 American adults have a chronic disease and 4 in 10... Read More
Strategies to help you get the right diagnosis for a rare disease
Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step towards finding the right treatment. But for people living with a rare or complex disease, getting that diagnosis can be a long, frustrating process that delays treatment. Depending on which disease you face, getting a definitive diagnosis can take from 7 to 10 years. And though approximately... Read More
New treatments offer options for difficult to treat skin cancer
While many types of skin cancer can be treated successfully, especially when diagnosed early, some can be more difficult to treat. But newly approved treatments and treatments in development for several different types of skin cancer, including advanced squamous cell carcinoma, drug-resistant basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma that affects the eye mean patients have more... Read More
What’s new in lung cancer treatment?
There are several newer treatment options that people who have been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of the disease, may want to discuss with their doctor. For people who have early stage lung cancer, surgery is the standard treatment recommendation. But those who are older or in poorer overall... Read More
Help managing “chemo brain”
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer and chemotherapy has been part of your treatment plan, during or after treatment you may notice that you’re more forgetful, have trouble concentrating, or just feel “foggy” mentally. Many cancer survivors call this chemo brain, while physicians often use the term cognitive dysfunction associated with chemotherapy, and up to... Read More
5 things you should know about the flu
You’ve probably seen the signs in your local pharmacy, doctor’s office, even the grocery store. They all have the same message—it’s time to get your annual flu shot. Although flu activity is still low in most states, the time to start getting ready is now, well before the number of people with the flu grows... Read More