Dear Dr. Roach: My girlfriend had a routine gynecological exam and a colposcopy, and was positive for HPV 6 and had something called CIN1. She was told to come back in a year. Do I need to worry about this? — P.A.A. Answer: There are many different subtypes of the human papillomavirus, some of which […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m taking the blood thinner Eliquis. I wonder if I can stop taking it and go on something natural, like tea or something else. Thank you. — M.K. Answer: Please don’t. Long ago, farmers noticed that cows were dying from internal bleeding if they ate sweet clover hay that had stayed damp […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a woman, age 68. When I was 12 years old, I was 5 feet, 5 inches tall. Now I am 4 feet, 8 inches tall. I have scoliosis plus degenerative arthritis of the spine and walk bent over. While walking with a retired doctor, I mentioned that I am not […]

Dear Dr. Roach: Our family dog got sick and needed to be admitted to the veterinary hospital, where she was diagnosed with leptospirosis. The vet says she will pull through, but do I need to be concerned about my family? — E.V. Answer: A handful of diseases — called zoonoses — can be transmitted from […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a healthy 77-year-old male. I’m 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weigh 145 pounds, with difficult-to-control high blood pressure. For many years I had a blood pressure reading around 140/80 with no medicines. Last year I had a very severe headache, and I thought it might be a stroke or […]

Dear Dr. Roach: Each year when I receive results from my yearly bloodwork I notice that my GFR score keeps going down. This year is the first year that my score dropped below 60, with a score of 57. I am 66 years old, and there are no other scores in my bloodwork that would […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I had an MRI that showed three of my four rotator cuff tendons have complete tears. I can only lift my right arm midway. I cannot comb my hair, and I’m right-handed. I cannot lift a glass or coffee cup to put on a shelf in kitchen cabinets. I have some pain […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 74-year-old male. I had open heart surgery one year ago. I am currently taking several medicines, all for a year or more. About a month ago I started having very hard stools, and they had become like different size marbles. I have had no changes to my diet. Can […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I am now 78 years old. My mother’s two brothers died of heart attacks at 55 and 65, so when I was in my 50s, I had a calcium scan of my heart. Since then, I have been taking 10 mg of atorvastatin along with blood pressure medication. Last year, I had […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Sixteen years ago, at age 56, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 HR+ breast cancer. I was treated with a modified radical mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, then about seven years of oral anti-estrogen drugs. I also had a prophylactic simple mastectomy on the opposite side. My primary care […]