DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 86-year-old woman with three doctors battling over my vitamin D level for many years. I am 59 inches tall and weigh 95 pounds. I play nine holes of golf three times a week. I have always been a poor eater, so I get little nourishment from food. I drink […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: For quite some time now, I have been suffering from a persistent urinary tract infection, accompanied by an elevated PSA. This resulted in a biopsy, which was positive for early-stage cancer of the prostate gland. My urologist recommended a radical prostatectomy. Because of the high probability of impotence and incontinence associated with […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: When I was 60, my doctor told me to take a baby aspirin daily to prevent heart attack and stroke. So I did. When I was 70, a new doctor said the risk wasn’t worth the benefit, so I stopped. I heard and read a lot more about the benefits of aspirin. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 66-year-old woman with moderate osteoporosis, according to a bone density test done two months ago. My T-score in the lumbar spine was -0.6; in the left hip -0.3; and in the left femoral neck -1.2. My mother also had osteoporosis and, before she passed a year ago, had sustained […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have bulbar myasthenia gravis, which makes it difficult to eat. Can you tell me something about this disease and the odds of it spreading elsewhere in my body? — C.B. ANSWER: Myasthenia gravis is a disease of the neuromuscular junction, the point at which nerve cells communicate information to muscle cells. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently read that eight out of 10 cancer patients have malnutrition. My question is: Even if a person is very slim to begin with, if he or she follows an extremely healthful diet (i.e. lots of greens, other vegetables and fruit, and no “junk” food), can he or she still face […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I just read the column on exophytic cyst. The writer, B.W., has had this condition for eight years and is asking what the condition is. Your answer was fine, but it missed an important point: B.W. has been treated for eight years, presumably by the same doctor, and does not feel comfortable […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a question regarding peripheral neuropathy. My brother has been treated for this for the past 10 years. He will be 60 in October. After an MRI found a left parietal tumor, he was seen by a prominent neurosurgeon who felt that the tumor had been there since birth and is […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My good childhood friend recently passed away from a hemopericardial aortic dissection at the age of 45. He suffered for days and was in and out of the hospital during this period, complaining of abdominal pain with some rectal bleeding. They looked at his gallbladder and appendix, and sent him home twice […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Some years ago, I had surgery for a tumor on my pituitary gland, but not all of the tumor could be removed. Not too long after surgery, doctors discovered I had diabetes, requiring pills and insulin shots. My blood sugars are very erratic. Did the pituitary surgery cause my diabetes? Also, I […]