Anita Bennett MD

COVID cases are on the rise again, as are hospitalizations and deaths.  Let’s talk about what you need to know. What is responsible for the current rise in COVID-19 cases? The latest subvariant of the omicron COVID variant is called BA.5.  It is responsible for 65% of all new COVID…

Last week, the American Heart Association (AHA) published an update to its list of heart health essentials, adding sleep to the list.  Sleep is sometimes thought of as a luxury, but it is critical to maintaining good health, including good heart and cardiovascular health.  Poor sleep can start affecting your…

Today, we will wrap up our series on dementia with a discussion of the factors that may increase your risk of developing dementia and things that you can do to try to lower your risk of developing dementia over your lifetime. Here are some of the factors that may increase…

Last week, we talked about dementia in a general sense. Today, we will focus on the most common cause of dementia, which is Alzheimer’s disease. About 5.8 million people in the US age 65 and older are living with this progressively worsening dementia. What causes Alzheimer’s disease? Scientific researchers believe…

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. I thought we could start our series on this subject this week by talking about dementia in general. Next week we will talk more about the most common type of dementia, which is Alzheimer’s disease. What is dementia? Dementia refers to a group…

I’m sure that you have all been hearing about the recent outbreak of monkeypox in the US and other countries. As of 6/9/22, there have been 45 confirmed cases in the US. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, you are probably wondering just how worried you should be about this infection….

This week, we will continue our discussion about melanoma, which is the most serious form of skin cancer.  Let’s talk about some things you can do to decrease your risk of developing this type of cancer. What can you do to reduce your risk of developing melanoma (and other types…

The first Monday in May is known as Melanoma Monday, which kicks off Melanoma Awareness Month.  The goal is to make people more aware of the deadliest form of skin cancer.  Even though it is a serious cancer, it is treatable when caught early.  Let’s talk more about melanoma, including…

Esophageal cancer forms inside the esophagus, which is the muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.  Esophageal cancer is not as common as some other cancers, such as breast, lung, and prostate cancer.  But the number of people with one particular type of esophageal cancer, called…

Last week, we talked about sarcoidosis which is an inflammatory disease that can affect any organ in the body.  Let’s continue our discussion today focusing on diagnosis, treatment, and possible complications. How is the diagnosis of sarcoidosis made? Diagnosing sarcoidosis can be difficult.  The disease often causes few or vague…