DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a dilemma. I’m a 68-year-old, sexually active woman just diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer (1.2 cm, tumor grade 1, ER and PR positive, HER2 negative, Ki67 at 5%-10%). I am planning to get a lumpectomy, no problem. No exam yet of lymph nodes. But I am very concerned about […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 83-year-old female with bladder problems. I get up two or three times a night and usually make it to the bathroom. I thought it would be good to see a doctor in case the problem got worse. An operation was mentioned, which I am not interested in, so they […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 67-year-old male in excellent physical health. The only issue I have is occasional bouts of vertigo. These episodes started when I was about 44 years old. My symptoms are varying degrees of dizziness and, with extreme episodes, nausea. The frequency has increased the past couple of years to about […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column, you made a point about antibiotic overuse that I hadn’t heard before: “The antibiotics will be more effective when you do choose to use them.” I thought the argument against overuse was strictly altruistic, that overuse increases the prevalence of drug resistant disease strains in the general population. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 78-year-old female who has suffered from acid reflux for many years and has been taking Prilosec (omeprazole) for at least 15 years. I have heard that it is not meant for longtime use. If I don’t take it, I have such heartburn I can’t sleep and am in misery […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I suffer from depression. It comes and goes, but I’ve been feeling sad, worried and angry at the world, as well as irritable, for the past four months or so. I force myself to function. My family doctor prescribed Effexor. He prescribed a 37.5 mg dose once a day to start and […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: You mentioned in a recent column that there is no single-dose measles vaccine. I understand that there are people who object to the MMR combo in the belief that it exposes the child to too many antigens at once. Here is a quote from the cdc.gov website: “Each vaccine in the childhood […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column, you said that using peroxide in the ear is a bad home remedy. Would you please expand on this subject? My children grew up with me using peroxide to clean excessive wax from their ears, and they now use the same remedy on my grandchildren. ANSWER: Most earwax […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband is 75. I am 68. Our family doctor says that our blood pressure average is fine at 140/80 with no medicine. We thought it should be 120/70, but he says the limit is higher for seniors in order to decrease falls. This is pretty confusing. Do you think it’s OK? […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 75-year-old male in excellent health who is sexually active. During my thirties, I was exposed to the herpes virus 2, but recurrences now are extremely rare and mild. Even so, I use a condom during sexual intercourse and also take acyclovir beforehand. How long before intercourse should acyclovir be […]