DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please help us. The problem is our 48-year-old son. We are in our 70s and have given him much money. He is addicted to gambling. Is there a pill for addiction? His doctor said there is. — B.B.

ANSWER: Addiction is the constant repetition of a behavior that has destructive consequences. The addicted person knows that this behavior is harmful but continues to pursue it because it provides pleasure, excitement or a lessening of anxiety. The addict is still in charge of his life. No one has a gun to his head, demanding he continue to live as he does. Addiction doesn’t remove personal responsibility for one’s choices.

No pill cures an addiction. Medicines can help control anxieties that arise when a person tries to free himself from entrenched habits. Medicines can help relieve depression, which often is a consequence of addiction. The person, however, must want to stop what he’s doing. Other medicines provide a boost in conquering addiction by regulating brain chemistry. Cure involves more than the taking of a pill.

I know this sounds harsh, but you and your husband ought not to provide money for his gambling and his debts. That only encourages continuance of this ruinous behavior that affects others (his parents) as well as him.

Help and cure are possible. You and your son should contact the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-522-4700 or on the Web at www.ncpgambling.org. The council will put him in touch with a local affiliate of Gamblers Anonymous, where he will find a structured program to break his difficult addiction.

I do feel for all addicts, including your son. I know, however, it is the addict who must take the steps necessary to free himself from addiction.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a mammogram that said I had “dense breasts.” Does this predispose me to cancer? Several times I had a milky substance come from one nipple. It happened twice. I read that it may denote a hormone imbalance. I have no pain, and I frequently check my breasts. There is no family history of cancer. My doctor is not concerned. I would appreciate your opinion. — A.A.

ANSWER: A dense breast is one where the tissues are so firmly compacted that it makes interpretation of a mammogram more difficult. It doesn’t make it impossible. If the radiologist who examined your mammogram was in any doubt, he or she would have stated it so that other investigations could be done. A dense breast is not a prelude to cancer.

A milky discharge from a breast can come from an overproduction of prolactin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland and sometimes by a tumor of the pituitary gland. You have had a discharge only two times. With a tumor, the discharge is more constant. A milky discharge also can come from stimulation of the breast. Stop checking your breasts so frequently. That might be the cause. A poorly fitting bra can do the same. So can a poorly functioning thyroid gland and Cushing’s disease. Other signs of those illnesses are prominent, and you have none of them.

The booklet on breast cancer explains this subject, which frightens all women. To obtain a copy, write to: Dr. Donohue — No. 1101, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a black male in my 70s. I have puffy bags under my eyes and they have gotten more noticeable in the past few years. What causes them? Can they be corrected? — J.D.

ANSWER: Those puffy bags are fat.

In younger years, a barrier of tough tissues keeps the fat in place. Like so many other parts of the body, the beneath-the-eye tissues sag with age and allow the fat to protrude.

The only certain way to get rid of them is surgical removal.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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