By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ Two weeks after celebrating his 9th birthday, Mike Natter, MD, woke up in a strange hospital bed where a warm and empathetic pediatric endocrinologist explained to him that he had been rushed to the emergency room and had Type 1 Diabetes. That was 28 birthdays ago. Now Natter, an endocrinologist
Category: Cancer
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ What’s it like to be young, healthy, and invincible, and suddenly diagnosed with thyroid cancer or another condition? While your doctor, nurse, or physician’s assistant can sympathize and understand from years of caring for patients, Mike Natter, MD, actually knows. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 9
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ What Is the Thyroid Cancer Survival Rate? When 26-year-old Vanessa Steil was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the one thing she heard when she told people was: “Well, at least you got the good cancer.” In terms of survival rates compared to some other cancers, and depending on the type of
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ What do you know about ovarian cancer? If you are a woman in your 20s, 30s, or early 40s probably not a lot. Maybe you’ve heard it’s something that postmenopausal women can get. True, but as Morgan Gaynor has learned just because its more common in people who are older
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ Why are millennials developing colorectal cancer when we live in a country with tests available to prevent it? Believe it or not, every day seemingly young and healthy people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s receive the life-changing news that they have colorectal cancer. In 2020, the most up-to-date data
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ When I checked in for my first colonoscopy at age 38, the health journalist in me couldn’t help but ask the nurse this as my first question: “Am I the youngest person you’ve seen in the waiting room today?” She nodded her head and responded, “Yes, you are.” My response:
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “colorectal cancer”? For some in their 20s, 30s, or early 40s, the response is: “that’s an old man’s disease.” Not anymore. Over the past three decades, colorectal cancer has continually become a millennial disease too. Not because
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ It’s often the unsung heroes in our lives that make our very existence possible. For millennials, this could not be truer. Although often unrecognized, it’s the efforts of millions of millennials every day providing essential services during the pandemic that has kept our country running. Much like millennials, while often
By: Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ Cancer and millennials. It’s a combination that can be hard to fathom. But for some millennials and their friends, it’s a reality. While millennials are known for appearing young and healthy on the outside, there are many among us who are either currently undergoing treatment or who already hold the
