Dear Doctor,
I know this isn’t what you were expecting today. You didn’t wake up and head into work thinking, “Today is the day I am going to have to tell a mother her baby has died.” Your day was supposed to be full of heartbeats and moving ultrasounds, of spreading goo over a laughing belly, of getting your Doppler kicked by unseen baby feet. Your day was supposed to be taking care of excited mothers. You should be congratulating not consoling.
Yet, here you are, trying with all of your might to find my baby’s heartbeat. You move your Doppler all around my swollen belly, but all you hear is the faint thumping of my heart, which is starting to beat faster because I’m beginning to figure out what’s about to happen. The lump in your throat is almost too big to let you form the words...
Lifestyle
Dear Steve Gleason,
I have reached out to you several times in the past but have never heard back. I have decided to write you again because I was touched by the recent story about you on HBO. If you go to my website, you will see that I have assembled an amazing team of sixty integrative medicine doctors, healers, and scientists. We will soon be publishing our first scientific research study. We are not working on a cure, but we are working on a very neglected area, namely how to be as well as possible with ALS.
Researchers know that ALS involves mitochondria dysfunction and that inflammation is harmful in ALS. There are more reasons for people with ALS to abstain from eating any sugar or starches, but based upon what is known about the relationship between sugar and the above...
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Dear Dr. Oz,
You got off easy.
Oh sure: you had the scrutiny. The congressional hearing. The media circus.
But the world has already moved onto the next outrage, and I'm still getting spam for "miracle" drugs with your name on them in my junk mail folder.
The trouble is that, while it was not wrong for you to be called out on your "flowery" endorsements of snake oil super foods, this whole PR event* missed out on the truly insidious and damaging nature of your message.
A few weeks ago, in a regular supermarket in the suburbs, among the usual Enquirer-esque rags filled with celebrity exploits and wrong-doings and more than enough women's health magazines to keep a woman cycling in and out of diets until she disappears, we found a copy of For Women First magazine, which...
2,437
Dear Dr. Huizenga,
I am the founder of BariatricPal, the world’s largest online community for weight loss surgery patients and potential patients.
I am writing to you today regarding your role as an expert on The Biggest Loser. I am asking you to please stop publicly portraying weight loss surgery in a negative light without any explanation. Most recently, during the Season 16 Finale, you stated that losing weight using methods used on the show were far healthier than turning to weight loss surgery. The implication was that bariatric surgery is under no circumstances the best choice for individuals struggling with obesity.
I am asking you to stop making comments like this. You and The Biggest Loser have a significant amount of influence on America. The season finale attracted 5.4...
2,649
Dear Interested Reader,
Thank you for your letter. I wish I could answer your questions personally and directly but I am legally gagged. I will make the following suggestions:
Just follow the basic information in these courses; forget the specifics at first. It will make a dramatic change in your health, and will change your life. I developed and used these programs myself for my own dramatic personal healing. The same routines and formulae in my clinic healed tens of thousands worldwide. These programs work on everybody and for everything. The results you will get on these programs will be a perfect reflection of the amount of time, dedication and energy you put into doing the programs themselves.
I know that we are all different, and our specific problems seem very unique, but...
2,820
Dear Colleague
As you may be aware, I have demonstrated for many years that my exclusive non-invasive technique called Direct Voice Rehabilitation (DVR) can achieve dramatic results with spasmodic dysphonia (SD). This includes not only improvement or recovery but also cures. I’m writing to bring these results to your attention in the hope that you may find this information useful in your own practice as an alternative to invasive approaches.
Current medical treatment for spasmodic dysphonia focuses on two invasive options: Botox injections or surgery. The research literature has reported mixed results with surgery, and concerns about long-term use of Botox are increasing. Mitchell S. Brin, M.D., one of the pioneers in the use of Botox for SD, suggested at a conference on SD in March...
4,956
Dear friends,
Some of you may have seen media coverage about my decision to step down from the board of directors of the David Suzuki Foundation. I am writing to tell you more about this and what it means.
After my children and grandchildren, my greatest pride is the David Suzuki Foundation.
I am fiercely proud of how the Foundation brings science and solutions to environment problems. I'm determined to ensure that the Foundation continues to have the ability to solve critical environmental issues and bring hope for the future.
But I have reached a point in my life where I would like to consider myself an elder. I want to speak freely without fear that my words will be deemed too political, and harm the organization of which I am so proud. I am keenly aware that some...
2,803
Dear Doctor and Staff,
We are pleased to announce that our Oncology Patient-Centered Medical Home® model of care for patients with cancer and blood disorders continues to be locally and nationally recognized (NCQA, ASCO) for creating a new value proposition for patients, referring physicians and payers. Timely coordinated inpatient and outpatient consultations with clearly defined responsibilities and expectations between our physician-led team and referring primary, surgical and specialty physicians and their staff are the hallmark of this innovative model. A referral to one of our three sites provides an entire system of support that snaps into place to ensure that each patient receives the evaluation and treatment that he/she needs via consistent: patient engagement, education,...
2,377
Dear Doctor,
The Alexander Technique can be described as a psycho-somatic, re-educative technique that does not set out to be curative but it may, in fact, have useful effects on musculoskeletal and psychological states.
Alexander's observations pointed out that the brain is designed to control the musculoskeletal system at a subconscious level, allowing the person to direct her/his attention to a variety of other stimuli. The problem for the upright human is that a variety of muscle strategies may become employed, in regard to being upright and in carrying out movements, that are inappropriate-for instance: overcontracted muscles around neck, shoulders, buttocks, thighs etc and undercontracted postural muscles such as in the lumbar region.
Such problems lay the basis for a range...
3,800
Dr. Leong,
I hope this letter finds you well and looking forward to your term as Chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. As you assume this role, I and many others are hoping that you can correct a serious error.
We are asking that in the early days of your term as Chairman, you reverse a previous decision of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority to deny Wai-Chi Tang and Wai-Man Tang access to Elaprase/idursulfase for the treatment of the rare disease Hunter Syndrome or Mucopolysaccharidosis II. You can view their personal plea on YouTube at the end of this letter.
TangbrothersBrothers and citizens of Hong Kong Wai-Chi Tang and Wai-Man Tang suffer from this ultra rare disease, a lysosomal storage disorder that normally causes progressive physical effects due to cellular waste...
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