Health Expert PJ Hamel shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/78/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/78/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/78/index http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160957/buzz-consumption-survival Tue, 21 May 2013 08:40:31 -0400 PJ Hamel News from the cancer research community can become very confusing – especially when it’s delivered in a 15-second sound byte by your local news affiliate’s talking head. Now that the recent flurry of articles around alcohol and breast cancer have died down – what’s the real story?   OK, let’s take this particular bit of news one step at a time.   Seattle’s well-respected Fred Hutchinson... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160957/buzz-consumption-survival http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160856/angelina-jolie-mastectomy Tue, 14 May 2013 11:09:37 -0400 PJ Hamel Actress and social rights activist Angelina Jolie revealed to the media today that she’s recently completed multiple surgeries to remove both breasts, in order to reduce her risk of breast cancer. Is this drastic move something you should consider?   Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, 37, knew that she had a family history of breast cancer; her mother died of the disease at age 56, after having been diagnosed with it 10 years... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160856/angelina-jolie-mastectomy http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160745/breast-implants-tumors Mon, 06 May 2013 15:33:57 -0400 PJ Hamel Breast implants can obscure a cancerous tumor in your breast, making it difficult for it to be spotted via mammogram. The result? The possibility that cancer will be more widespread, and the prognosis poorer, by the time the tumor is eventually discovered.   Do you have a breast implant – maybe two?    Are you considering having implants?   Then you’ll want to think carefully about the results of a recent... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160745/breast-implants-tumors http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoporosis/c/78/160610/extra-weight-osteoporosis Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:32:29 -0400 PJ Hamel When you have osteoporosis, exercise can be a challenge. You’re afraid of making the wrong move – literally. Even a diagnosis of osteopenia can make you think twice about vigorous physical activity; the jogging, tennis, and step aerobics you used to engage in without a second thought now give you pause. Still, there are times when you simply want to drop a few pounds. What to do?   The good news is, women with osteoporosis are... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoporosis/c/78/160610/extra-weight-osteoporosis http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160609/extra-pounds-challenge Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:22:02 -0400 PJ Hamel The vast majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer will battle weight gain sometime during the treatment process. How to deal with your battle of the bulge: both physically, and emotionally. It’s just not fair, is it?   Here you are, dealing with burns from radiation, sores from chemo, a bald head, fatigue from work + running to the doctor’s + trying to keep things together at home – oh, and did I mention a... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160609/extra-pounds-challenge http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160412/genetic-researchers-offer Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:02:43 -0400 PJ Hamel  Step by step by step, researchers are making progress towards cancer becoming a treatable condition – rather than a death sentence.    What’s your risk of breast cancer – really?   Sure, most of us know our lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer is about 12%. One in 8 American women will experience breast cancer by the time they die.   But that’s lifetime risk – risk... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160412/genetic-researchers-offer http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160256/hrt-good-good-bad-bad Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:12:41 -0400 PJ Hamel Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is a godsend for women experiencing severe menopausal symptoms. Unfortunately, about 10 years ago researchers revealed a link between HRT use and an increased risk of breast cancer. Since then, HRT has been a bad idea; then maybe not so bad… but now seems to be heading back towards “don’t go there.”   If you’re a woman, there’ll come a time when you’ll go through... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160256/hrt-good-good-bad-bad http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoporosis/c/78/160085/bone-loss-banishing-fear Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:26:07 -0400 PJ Hamel Anytime we unexpectedly stray from the straight and narrow path of good health, we’re bound to experience some anxiety. A simple mental exercise can help you move beyond stress to positive action.   Here you are, a perfectly healthy woman – or so you thought – suddenly handed a diagnosis of osteopenia.    What?! I exercise, don’t smoke, eat healthy… how can this be?    Bone loss... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoporosis/c/78/160085/bone-loss-banishing-fear http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160083/breast-cancer-relieving Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:06:15 -0400 PJ Hamel When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, you quickly reach a whole new level of stress – probably one you never knew existed. By breaking that high anxiety you’re feeling into smaller, individual challenges, it’s easier to see solutions – and a path out of the darkness.   For most of us, breast cancer is the biggest health issue we’ve ever faced.    It’s certainly not a nagging cold.... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/160083/breast-cancer-relieving http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/159765/risks-fat-dairy-radiation Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:43:34 -0400 PJ Hamel Breast cancer research has been in the spotlight this week, with two new studies offering insight to survivors trying to lower their risk of death from cancer, and to protect themselves against long-term cardiac issues. Let’s cut to the chase – what do these studies mean to you?   You’re a survivor. You’ve walked the walk, and it’s a journey you don’t want to repeat.   You’ve undergone... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/159765/risks-fat-dairy-radiation