DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension after a long list of tests. I went to Boston and had the CPET (Cardio Pulmonary Exercise Test). Since being put on the drug Letairis and learning my exercise limits, I had been doing much better. This week, I have had four days of […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Forty-five years ago, I had ovarian cancer. I had surgery, followed by 30 radiation treatments. Twenty years later, I was diagnosed at first with venous insufficiency, then with lymphedema in my lower extremities. I was on spironolactone for 15 years before I was told that a diuretic does nothing for either condition, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Like most women, I was raised to avoid letting any part of my body touch the seat of a public toilet. As I age, I find it more and more difficult to maintain “the stance.” Just how dangerous is that toilet seat? What awful diseases are we chancing by giving in to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 67-year-old man, in excellent health, who takes no medications and is very proactive about maintaining good health: I do fitness three days a week, yoga three days a week and I fast on Saturdays. On Sundays, I take weight, blood pressure and blood sugar readings. I am writing to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My integrative medicine M.D. habitually takes a blood sample from the earlobe, puts it on a slide and looks at cell activity/quality using dark-field microscopy. The findings are seemingly impressive — inflammation? stress? mineral deficiencies? If this is of true value, why don’t more physicians do it? — B.A. ANSWER: Dark-field microscopy […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Would you tell me about the causes and treatment of COPD? I would like to know if medication is available, and whether the progression of the disease can be slowed or stopped. Is exercise appropriate? Also, I have seen ads for stem cell therapy; does this hold any promise? — S.F. ANSWER: […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like a clear reason why older women who are not infected with HPV are not offered the HPV vaccination. I am a 65-year-old woman who was married close to 40 years. My spouse died six years ago. He was my only partner my entire life, until his death. I verified […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Twenty years ago, after an EKG, my doctor ordered me to go to an emergency room immediately. I had atrial fibrillation, and for the next 14 years I survived daily Coumadin, monthly visits to get my INR checked and two blood clots. Six years ago, I participated in a trial of cryoablation, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I regularly see information and research for men with hormone issues (testosterone) and resulting problems with impotence, etc. I have not seen any interest in clinical testing for women who are refused hormone replacement therapy due to past breast cancer (and, in my case, also a complete hysterectomy several years ago). Not […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a loved one who is male, 57 and does not use alcohol or drugs. He has been having seizures for the past eight or nine years. In the early years, they were infrequent and very random. They lasted 30-45 seconds, during which he would stare off into space, and when […]