by yoursl | Jun 30, 2016 | Uncategorized |
I am on vacation this week. Please enjoy one of my favorite postings. XOXO I was that child who asked “Why is the sky blue?” until I was satisfied with the answer I was given. My mother quickly adapted to my questions; she bought my brother and me a set of encyclopedias and a “how science works” book series along with two dictionaries. She gave us both unlimited access to the public library and encouraged me to bestow some questions on the librarians. We were both encouraged to read anything we wanted, no matter how challenging the material or how questionable in nature the material was deemed by other mothers. Our mother never stifled our creativity, intelligence or curiosity. Perhaps this is why I still ask questions to this day. I want to know as much as I can about everything that interests me, which is one reason I spend more time reading and researching than watching television. The other day I was reading a book for some ideas for some Tweets and found information that excited me. I discovered a treasure trove of anatomy-related information about sex and reproduction. I want to share this information because it is just good stuff to know. The Italian anatomist Gabriel Fallopius was born in 1523 in Modena, Italy, and served as a canon of the cathedral of Modena before returning to the study of medicine. In 1549, Fallopius became a professor of anatomy at the University of Pisa. He performed multitudes of dissections using human cadavers and described his work in the book Observationes anatomicae, which was published in 1561. Fallopius...
by yoursl | Jun 16, 2016 | Uncategorized |
This week, I am not writing about sexual health, sexual issues or taboo topics. Every time I tried to write, I kept thinking about the 49 souls lost in the Orlando shooting. I kept thinking about people in general and our sense of community. I spent last weekend with Coolest. Mom. Ever. at an outdoor women’s survival event. The event is open to 110 women and is a collaboration between state Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, volunteer instructors and other volunteers who worked throughout the day and behind the scenes to give the attendees a great experience. This is the fourth year we attended and, as in previous years, we left the event feeling connected to others, like we were our own remote community, despite the lack of internet and stable phone service in the area where the event is held. I arrived back at my own house on Sunday to the news of the Orlando mass shooting. I was bewildered at the incredible and tragic loss of life. I thought about the victims; they were someone’s light and love in this life. And they were violently and abruptly killed. Actor Frank Langella said during his Tony speech on Sunday night, “When something bad happens, we have three choices: we let it define us, we let it destroy us or we let it strengthen us.” I agree that when bad things happen we should let them strengthen us. Remaining positive in any situation is a sign of strength. It typically only takes one person who is positive to turn the negativity of others into something more bearable. We...
by yoursl | Jun 2, 2016 | Cancers of Reproductive Systems, Sex and Science, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Women's Sexual Health |
Last weekend, Dutch and I attended our friends’ annual Indianapolis 500 race celebration and Memorial Day cookout. At this party, I met a woman who is a two-time cancer survivor whose family carries one of the genetic markers for breast cancer. She survived breast and uterine cancer and is now battling the after-effects of chemotherapy on her digestive tract. During our conversation, I discovered this particular cancer survivor was not consistent with undergoing annual preventative exams during much of her adult life. Preventative care is essential to our health and well-being and can help detect any potential health problems, especially cancer during its earliest stages when it is easier to treat. Uterine cancer and cervical cancer are mostly asymptomatic, meaning there are no symptoms that indicate the presence of the cancer. Ovarian cancer is asymptomatic in its early stages and will exhibit symptoms in the later stages of the disease. Dr. George Papanicolaou (1883-1962) was a Greek pioneer in cytopathology, or the study of cells to determine the cause or nature of disease. He was an expert on early cancer detection who, in 1928, invented the Papanicolaou test after having studied his wife’s cervical cells under a microscope for several months. His invention, now commonly referred to as a Pap test or Pap smear, is a sample of tissue collected from the neck of a woman’s cervix or uterus that is then examined under a microscope in order to look for potential cancers in the uterus or cervix. Very rarely will a Pap smear detect the presence of ovarian cancer cells. The Pap test has stood the test of...
