After a recent presentation in League City, TX, an attendee asked if I work with Merck. I denied any association with the pharmaceutical and asked why. She said, ‘The way you talked about the importance of getting the HPV vaccine.’ She continued to tell me about another speaker she heard who believes the vaccine is harmful. In my presentation, I …
Medical Insurance Benefits for Dental Services
Years after my treatment for oral cancer, I was losing teeth. They say, ‘radiation is a gift, but it keeps on giving.’ At first I had a Maryland bridge. That worked for a while until an adjacent molar had to be extracted. My dental oncologist, Dr. Devin Okay in NY, wanted me to consider dental implants. Even though several dentists …
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No Tongue and Grateful
Good thing she bit her tongue. She was resistant to seeing a doctor, but when it didn’t heal, she went. A squamous cell carcinoma more than 1/2 of her tongue. Were there other symptoms? Did she ever have pain in her tongue? Pain is the most common sign of oral cancer. Despite having most of her tongue reconstructed from her …
Pathologist with a Passion: 20 Years as Deputy Director for NIH
It’s a special person who has the prestigious role leading the National Cancer Institute for several years and at the same time, help cancer patients who need advice at no charge. “Every evening he would be on the phone” talking to desperate patients, his son said about his father Dr. Alan Rabson. Every medical school except one rejected his application …
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Eva’s Keynote Speech Influenced My Career Path: Improve Dental Care For Cancer Patients
Dear Eva, In January of 2012, when I was in college, I volunteered in the oral oncology department of the British Columbia Cancer Agency. During this time I was exposed to dentistry and the challenges faced by those undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer, but I didn’t really connect the dots between cancer and dentistry at that time. I …