Sadly, it’s become a routine occurrence as more and more well-known athletes reveal that they believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE, a brain disease, its discovery, and the fallout from those findings all tie back to Pittsburgh. If you have seen the critically acclaimed 2015 movie Concussion starring Will Smith, you know that pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu first discovered CTE here in Pittsburgh. Dr.
Read the Full Article →Most people would prefer to age in their own home or have their parent remain in their own home rather than being forced to move to a senior facility. Fortunately, there are many more options today to help keep you or your loved one living happily and safely at home. Services can range from performing light housekeeping to private duty nursing. With so many resources
Read the Full Article →If you pay any attention to the news, you know that the country, including Pittsburgh, is facing an epidemic of substance abuse and addiction. It seems that a day doesn’t go by without a horrendous report of parents overdosing in the presence of their distraught children, young people dying from an overdose, or of crimes being committed while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Read the Full Article →Diverse opinions, laws, and research, as well as the varying positions of politicians, physicians, advocates, activists, and governmental agencies, like a cloud of pot smoke in a college dorm room, have obscured what’s at the core of the medical marijuana issue, which is: Does marijuana ease the suffering of people with certain medical conditions? The problem is we don’t know for sure, and because of
Read the Full Article →When Diana Napper makes a promise, she keeps it. In 1990, her best friend Carol Jo Weiss Friedman lost her battle with breast cancer. Before Carol Jo succumbed to the disease, Diana promised her that she would pursue a lifelong dream of designing jewelry and opening a jewelry store, selling her designs that would fund a hospice in Carol Jo’s name. Diana honored that promise
Read the Full Article →In 1994, Diana Napper founded The Glimmer of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer. She began this foundation to honor a promise she made to her friend Carol Jo Weiss Friedman before she lost her battle with breast cancer. Initially, Diana had designed a small piece of jewelry, a Swarovksi teardrop pin capped with a pearl to symbolize hope over
Read the Full Article →In 2004, nearly a quarter million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Of them, approximately 15 percent were women of reproductive age. While the majority of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are older, the troubling part is that when younger women are diagnosed with the disease, it is usually found in a more advanced stage and the tumors are
Read the Full Article →Dr. Patricia George, a pulmonary hypertension specialist at UPMC, knows how little people know about this devastating illness. To raise awareness this year, Dr. George and Team PHenomenal Hope competed in The Pioneer, a seven-day race through New Zealand’s Southern Alps. What is Pulmonary Hypertension? PH is a disease of the lungs and often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed. It affects millions of people of all
Read the Full Article →Health and fitness experts agree that the key to losing weight is eating fewer calories than you burn. They also say that in order to burn more calories, people need to get up, get out, and start moving. When people participate in an exercise they enjoy, they are more inclined to stick with that activity. Pittsburgh has some fitness opportunities that you may never have
Read the Full Article →Sometimes you just need a little help. The thought of leaving your home, the place where you are comfortable, the place that is filled with memories, is something that most seniors avoid. With a little outside help, many seniors can choose to stay in their beloved home. That help can come from a family member or friend, but when that is not an option, that
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