DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a friend in his early 50s who has always been healthy. He has just been diagnosed with cervical dystonia. His head bobbles. He has had Botox shots, but these did not help. It started with feeling a stiff neck. He has had numerous tests and an MRI, but no one […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like your opinion on the use of hyperbaric oxygen for cancer treatment. I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2011, treated with chemo and was in remission with a recurrence in 2012. I’ve completed chemo again, and I am now back in remission. I’ve been advised to try […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Can you tell me how the WPW syndrome is detected? My mother had the WPW syndrome, and I think I have it. Sometimes my heart beats fast and wobbly. My whole chest sometimes goes up and down. I went to a cardiologist. My stress test was good. My echocardiogram was good. Does […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Would you please say something about hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia? My fingers bleed constantly. One doctor told me just to keep a bandage over it. Others said they could not treat me. — H.L.M. ANSWER: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, also called Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome, is an uncommon but not rare syndrome of abnormal blood vessels. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 64-year-old woman who goes every year for an annual gynecologist visit, and I have always had a yearly Pap smear. When I turned 60, I was told by my doctor that since my Pap smears were always normal, I need a Pap smear only every three years. At my […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have celiac disease and have been put on a gluten-free diet. I have been reading labels of cake mixes and other products. They don’t say that they contain gluten. Other products say “gluten-free.” If it doesn’t say “gluten” in the ingredients, does that mean it’s gluten-free? — G.W. ANSWER: Celiac disease, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Regarding blood tests for ovarian cancer, there is a new test called OVA-1. I believe this new blood test is for ovarian cancer in its early stages. — P.J.G. ANSWER: Ovarian cancer is a difficult disease to diagnose and treat, because it may have no symptoms in its early stages and because […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m writing because I’ve never seen any mention of scabies in your column. I desperately need help to get rid of it. This has been on my skin for five months. I’ve been to two doctors, but they didn’t help at all. I’m very embarrassed about it. I’m not a dirty person. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My son had a febrile seizure when he was a toddler. Immediately after the seizure, he became limp and unresponsive. This was the worst moment of my life, holding what I thought was my dying child in my arms. The doctor at the hospital later assured me that the sleepy unresponsiveness after […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: What can you tell me about obsessive-compulsive disorder? My 60-year-old brother recently was diagnosed with such, but he won’t discuss it. — K.K. ANSWER: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is one of the most underdiagnosed psychiatric conditions. The average time from development of symptoms to diagnosis is seven years! When the syndrome is full-blown and […]