In The News
3 Ways to Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick
You’ve made a New Year’s resolution? Good for you! Don’t be deterred by the fact that only 19% of people stick to their resolutions. Those high failure rates can’t affect you! Right? Right! The key to sticking with your New Year’s resolutions is planning, accountability and setting realistic goals. You can lose weight. You can … Read More
Witnessing Trauma
It is OK to feel… Remember where you were when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded? Or when President Kennedy was assassinated? Or when the second plane hit the Twin Towers, making it clear that what you were seeing was no accident? Bearing witness to trauma leaves a psychological mark, and the players, coaches and teammates … Read More
Clinical Challenges: Treating Breast Cancer in the ‘Very Old’
Should a woman with breast cancer undergo aggressive treatment if she’s age 85, 90, or even older? Specialists say the answer may be yes, depending on the patient’s health status and personal wishes. “If she’s a well person, there’s no reason to hold back treating her cancer,” said Heather Macdonald, MD, medical director of the … Read More
Late-Stage Melanoma: Experimental Drug Combo Puts 50% of Patients Into Remission
Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer. While it has a 99% survival rate in its early stages, stage IV melanoma — when cancer has spread to organs such as the lungs — has a survival rate of 30%. Drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have improved the outlook for many people with melanoma. ICIs prevent … Read More
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas
Dear Neighbor, As the New Year approaches, I am filled with a sense of gratitude for the relationship Hoag holds with our community. Your trust in us pushes us to be better every day. Not just to adopt the most advanced technologies and procedures, but also to help create them. Your unwavering support during an … Read More
3 Holiday Travel Tips From a Travel Medicine Expert
The pictures on Instagram showcase your family in matching PJs. Snowy afternoon walks. Steaming cups of hot chocolate. The tree. The menorah. The joy. What those pictures don’t capture are those other holiday gatherings, the microscopic, germy icky ones: The influenza virus bopping around the crowded airport security line. The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) offering … Read More
3 Facts About Endometriosis That Amy Schumer Knows All Too Well
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock If there is anything hilarious about being doubled-over in pain and feeling ashamed for coming across as too “whiny” about a gynecological condition, then comedian Amy Schumer would have found it. So, Schumer’s revelation this week about her battles with endometriosis was all the more powerful for how straightforward and direct the … Read More
Hoag Launches Phase 1 Study That May Change the Face of Cancer Treatment
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, Orange County, California, will be the first in Southern California (and only one of a handful of trial sites worldwide) to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the efficacy of a new cancer treatment that may change the face of cancer treatment. Led by Dr. Gary … Read More
3 Biggest Myths About Sugar and Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is a complicated disease. Put simply, it is a chronic and potentially dangerous condition that develops when the body loses its ability to process glucose, or sugar. But what causes it, what can prevent it and what can be done to manage it? That’s where things can get confusing. “While it’s true … Read More
What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia?
If you notice a loved one becoming forgetful, you may worry that they have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. But these conditions are not the same, says Dr. Aaron Ritter, a dementia expert who directs the Memory & Cognitive Disorders Program at Hoag Hospital. “Alzheimer’s Disease is a disease that causes a group of symptoms that usually … Read More