Author: Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.

As a family physician, I explore the HEART of HEALTH in my work, recreation, community, and through writing. My blog, Watercress Words, informs and inspires us to live in health. I believe we can turn our health challenges into healthy opportunities. When we do, we can share the HEART of health with our families, communities, and the world. Come explore and share with me.

5 gems of women’s health

Only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are familial (someone in your family has it). That means 90 to 95 percent are spontaneous, with NO family history. So don’t let your lack of family history of cancer lull you into thinking you have no risk and no reason for screening.”

Some  health issues impact women exclusively or differently than men, so we should be aware of new and updated information .  The issues we women face vary with our age, stage of life, and current health status.

In this post I offer “gems” on women’s health issues from women who are “gems” themselves- women physicians who practice medicine as well as take time to write about important health issues. 

This information is current as of the date of original publication or update but may have changed by the time you read this. Do not use this information for diagnosis or treatment purposes. Before making health decisions, discuss with a qualified healthcare professional.

 I’m illustrating this post with photos of women from one of my affiliates, Lightstock, a stock photo site. You can help support this blog by purchasing from this link. Click now to get start a 14 day trial . According to Lightstock,

“Our library is large enough to cover all of your needs, but our faith-focused stock is one of a kind. No other company comes close to matching our quality and quantity.”

Cheesy free faith-focused stock photos
Lightstock.com

This post also has Amazon affiliate links.

Dr. Danielle Ofri offers
A Doctor’s Guide to a Good Appointment

Dr. Ofri explains how to find a doctor – online ratings sites are not always reliable. A good first step is -Check with your insurance to find a doctor who is in network.

Next she lists steps to prepare for the appointment. Establish goals for the visit, make a list, and gather any recent, pertinent medical records.

She goes to give some practical tips on what to do and say during the interview and physical exam. Read her post to learn more.

Dr. Ofri practices in New York City where she is also a professor at a medical school. She writes extensively and has spoken for TED Talks. You may want to read Dr. Ofri’s book, What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear. Here is my review . 

you cannot love without giving. Amy Carmichael

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBdoctormom explains
8 Things Your Doctor Wants You to Know About your Miscarriage

“Miscarriage is one of the hardest (and most common) challenges women face. If you have not had a miscarriage yourself, you most certainly have a best friend, sister, or daughter who has. There are many myths floating around the internet, however there are a few important truths everyone should know about miscarriage.”

woman sitting in a cemetery
photo from the Lightstock.com collection, an affiliate link

 

A psychiatrist, Dr. Melissa Welby lists and discusses
3 New Year’s Resolutions to Benefit Your Mental Health
  • Sleep better
  • Volunteer
  • Exercise

5 gems of women's health-Watercress Words.com

 

 

 

 

 Go Pink ,Secret Life of an OB/GYN

discussed breast cancer and mammograms,

“Only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are familial (someone in your family has it). That means 90 to 95 percent are spontaneous, with NO family history. So don’t let your lack of family history of cancer lull you into thinking you have no risk and no reason for screening.”

a middle aged woman and a young woman together
Breast cancer can strike women of any age, although happens more often in older women.

 

 

Dr. Barbara Bergin, an orthopedic surgeon, offers tips to prevent foot pain and injury in an interview for Massage magazine.
  • Buy healthy shoes(and wear them)
  • Wear the right socks
  • Stand on a floor pad
  • Keep your feet warm
an African American young woman smiling

 

 

And a bonus gem-

 

Dr.Diana, an allergist who blogs at WHITE COAT PINK APRON
White Coat, Pink Apron web site

offers this recipe for ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH GARLIC , a vegetable I love. But if they’re not your favorite vegetable (or your family’s) , here is one for ZA’ATAR ROASTED CARROTS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please review a previous post about women’s health

The “art” of women’s health- news from 2016

where I covered hormone therapy, the HPV vaccine, birth control pills, IUDs, hysterectomy, and osteoporosis.

The human heart tells us that we are more alike than we are unalike. quote Maya Angelou
graphic by Lightstock. quote by author Maya Angelou 

RoboForm Password Manager. (this is an affiliate link)

You’re likely reading this post on a computer, tablet, or mobile phone, so you visit sites that require a password. How do you remember them all? You don’t have to if you use RoboForm Password Manager.

My husband introduced me to RoboForm years ago and I am glad he did. I have used it continually to remember my passwords so I don’t have to. It syncs to both my computer and my phone so my passwords are always available. It will even generate passwords for me.

Go to this link to try RoboForm Free; if you like it you can upgrade to RoboForm Everywhere version with all the features I mentioned above. With Roboform, you will have one less thing to feel stressed about.

exploring the HEART of health

I appreciate your sharing  this post on your social media pages.

Thank you for  viewing  the advertisements and using the affiliate links  that fund this blog; with your  help, we can grow, reach more people, and support worthy causes that bring health and wholeness to people around the world.

Dr. Aletha

Called on account of COVID-19-the sports we won’t be watching this year

“Olympic competition has been canceled only three times in the 124-year history of the modern Games, and all three instances were because of global conflict (1916, World War I; 1940 and 1944, World War II)

Were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, we would soon be watching the 2020 Summer Olympic games on television or, for some of you, in person.

Dr. Aletha took the photos in this post at the United States Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2015.

By now you know that the the International Olympic Committee and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly announced the postponement of the 2020 Olympics . Now the games are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The Paralympic Games will occur from August 24 to September 5 ,2021.

“Olympic competition has been canceled only three times in the 124-year history of the modern Games, and all three instances were because of global conflict (1916, World War I; 1940 and 1944, World War II). But never before has a Games been pushed back a year, an enormous undertaking for a global event with more than 11,000 athletes from around the globe. “

espn.com

And in other sports..

Major league baseball started its shortened season late. Basketball players are practicing in a “bubble” at Walt Disney Resort (where despite quarantine several players have tested positive for COVID-19). The NFL introduced a “mouth shield” for possible use to protect players from infection. Pro soccer teams are playing to empty stadiums where the referees can hear every critical word the players and coaches mutter. No fans are following pro golfers around the greens.

I follow my local pro and amateur sports teams, although there will likely be fewer of those to watch this year also. I admire athletes’ dedication to their sports, and especially those who achieve special recognition by overcoming great odds to get there. 

bronze globe supported on the backs of 4 athletes
bronze globe supported on the backs of 4 athletes

Water wait 

Reading a recent issue of Sports Illustrated (a rare occurrence) I discovered open-water swimming which I didn’t know was a sport, much less in the Olympics. Ashley Twichell could swim before she could walk.

For thirteen years she has worked to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team and at 31 years old, she would have been the team’s oldest rookie Olympic swimmer  since 1908 , if this summer’s games had not been cancelled.  And next year, at 32, she will be the second oldest woman to ever swim on the U.S. Olympic team.

“I’ve always taken it year by year. And now I get even one more year than I was planning on.”

Ashley Twichell, swimmer

Standard of caring

Hayley Wickenheiser, retired ice hockey player, earned seven world championship golds.   She played for Canada in five Olympics. She won four Gold medals and one Silver medal. She was admitted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. She even played on a Finnish men’s hockey team. She deserves the unofficial title of history’s greatest female hockey player.

Haley sees the coronavirus pandemic from a different perspective; she will soon be Dr. Wickenheiser upon finishing her final year of medical school. She plans to practice emergency medicine.

Hayley serves on the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Athletes’ Commission, a peer-elected board that advises the Olympics’ governing body. In March 2020, she became increasingly concerned about the fate of this year’s Olympic games  as the world became engulfed in the COVID-19 nightmare.

So she took to Twitter demanding the IOC make a definitive plan to give direction to the thousands of athletes in limbo about the games. Her tweets prompted other organizations to make similar demands and by late March the games had been officially cancelled. 

Her concern came not just as an athlete. She said, 

“I couldn’t sit silently anymore, given  what I was seeing in the emergency rooms and hearing from my friends in hospitals across the country.” 

As a student she is not expected or allowed to provide direct care to coronavirus patients. But she stays busy studying, working out, giving hockey tips through Instagram, and using Twitter to encourage social distancing. 

“The calmer we stay, the more we isolate from each other…if we do our part at home and on the front lines, we have a chance to combat this as a mass group of humanity.” 

With Dr. Hayley and her generation of future physicians, I think the world’s health is in good hands.

TOKYO 2020

Fifty-seven years* after having organised the Olympic Games, the Japanese capital will be hosting a Summer edition for the second time. The Games in 1964 radically transformed the country. According to the organizers of the event in 2021, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad of the modern era will be

“the most innovative ever organised, and will rest on three fundamental principles to transform the world:

  • striving for your personal best (achieving your personal best);
  • accepting one another (unity in diversity); and
  • passing on a legacy for the future (connecting to tomorrow)”.
and while you’re here read this post about another historic Olympic event

Winning on the water-a book review of Boys in the Boat

In Boys in the Boat, the United States Olympic Rowing team of 1936 beat incredible odds to win the gold medal. But the meat of the book explores in detail how each man came to be in that boat, especially Joe Rantz.

one more thing

If the title of this post puzzles you, here is an explanation of “called on account of rain”-I didn’t know all of this either.

exploring the HEART of athletes

Thanks for joining me to meet these athletes. I hope you will explore them further and gain new inspiration for your own athletic journeys; we all have one, in one way or another.

Dr. Aletha

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find sports illustrated at barnes &noble