In March 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent volunteer panel of experts in disease prevention, released new recommendations for lung cancer screenings were released. Drs. Viveka Boddipalli and Lekshmi Nair explain who qualifies for yearly scans to detect lung cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. While the biggest risk factors of developing breast cancer are your age and gender — other factors that can also increase your risk include genetic makeup, personal/family history, dense breast tissue and more.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical testing has been an important area of focus. Sifting through all the information available can be quite the task. Learn more about the different types of tests available to you.
You’ve followed your physician’s recommendation and had your yearly screening mammogram performed, but then you get called back for additional imaging. Naturally your initial reaction causes your blood pressure to spike…this is a test that detects breast cancer after all. However, only 10% of women called back for more tests are found to have breast cancer according to the American Cancer Society. Learn more about call-backs and why it might not necessarily be cancer.
Dual Energy X‑ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), also known as Bone Density testing, is used to diagnose osteoporosis and/or osteopenia. This scan utilizes very low dose radiation to examine the density of the bone tissue to determine the effects of osteoporosis and assess the risk for potential fractures.
Radiation Therapy, through the linear accelerator, combines imaging, beam delivery and sophisticated motion management to accurately and precisely target tumors with speed.
Your liver supports many of your essential bodily functions, including producing both the essential proteins that help with blood clotting and the digestive enzymes that help your body absorb vitamins and minerals. Your liver also works to remove waste and other toxins from your body. Maintaining your liver function is important to your overall health and there are many ways you can keep your liver healthy, including simple diet and lifestyle modifications.
When having radiation therapy, precision is key. Since targeting certain cells, and leaving others alone, is of upmost importance; surface guided radiation therapy is often used. Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) is a rapidly growing technique which uses stereo vision technology to track patients’ surface in 3D, for both setup and motion management during radiation therapy. This technique is also sometimes referred to Optical Surface Monitoring System (OSMS), Align RT, or Vision RT.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Did you know that sleep apnea affects more than 18 million Americans? It is just as common as type 2 diabetes. Apnea is the medical term for “to stop breathing.” Sleep apnea is an involuntary stopping of breathing while you are asleep. Untreated sleep apnea can cause you to stop breathing multiple times throughout the night. You are unlikely to be aware that this happening but may experience headaches, tiredness during the day and dry mouth when waking up. In addition, untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of stroke, heart arrhythmias and heart attack.
Water molecules are the most abundant molecules in the human body, so these are the very molecules the MRI machine uses to create an image. Water molecules consist of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, and the core of a hydrogen atom-its nucleus-is a single proton. Protons have a basic, inherent property called nuclear spin causing them to spin like a gyroscope or a top. Because the protons also have an electrical charge, the spin makes them act like tiny magnets. A magnetic field, which is measured in Tesla (T), will make these spinning protons wobble, like a spinning top that isn’t quite vertical. The stronger the magnetic field, the faster the wobble.