Ok. It’s March. It ’s Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Let’s get into this shit…literally. The colon (also known as the large intestine) is about 5 feet long. That’s almost as long as me! You may remember from high school biology that the colon is the organ that absorbs water and some vitamins from waste as it moves through your body. And at the end of that long, noble journey? Poop. (And yes, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people say “poo” instead of “poop.”  I don’t kno

Ever since I became a doctor, people have asked me the same questions again and again: What can I do to prevent cancer? What tests can I take for early detection? Should I get full-body scans to look for a possible tumor? Can I do blood tests to screen for every type of cancer? Illustration of a human skeletal system highlighting disease-affected areas, with visible redness indicating inflammation or disease in the shoulder region. (Image created through AI) So let me ask you

As I shared last week, I recently had an abnormal mammogram. When the nurse called to tell me that I needed a diagnostic mammogram, I let out that  sigh—the deep, tired, “of course” kind of sigh. I’ve been blessed with dense breasts, and I’ve been considering a breast reduction, so this felt… inevitable. It wasn’t my first abnormal mammogram. But it still landed with weight. It’s not the mammogram itself that gets to me. The squishing? Fine—there’s plenty of tissue to work wi

Have you ever had an encounter with a doctor that left you in tears? What am I saying— of course , you have. A woman rests her head in her hand, visibly overwhelmed by stress, as thoughts swirl around her. I’ve heard so many stories from patients who didn’t feel heard. Whose symptoms were brushed off. Who walked back to their cars, shut the door, and cried. And as I reflect on my own career, I know—painfully—that sometimes I’ve been the cause of that pain (though, thankfully,