The Health Show on WAMC

I’ve often said to colleagues that if I want to get a lot of mail...and usually nasty mail...I need to a story on either vaccines or Lyme disease.  So today let’s go for broke.  You may not remember this, but there is a vaccine for Lyme disease.  The catch: no one makes it anymore.  On today’s Health Show the story of the vaccine your dog can get...but you can’t.

We’ll also hear about a report on drug laws in New York State...and how getting treatment for offenders continues to be a problem...and we’ll talk to a man who bid a melancholy farewell to his prostate.

Advances in medical technology have made it possible to screen children for a huge number of conditions by the time they are two.  That’s two DAYS.  On today’s Health Show we’ll talk to a clinical geneticist about the advances in newborn screening for disease.

We’ll also hear from the N-I-H about screening for cancer in children and adults...and how they must balance the pros and cons of these tests.  And we’ll hear commentary from a young woman about a brave young member of her family with terminal cancer.

Sakeenah Francis was living a comfortable, successful life. A college graduate with a career and a young family...until schizophrenia tore that life and that family apart.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk to Sakeenah and her daughter about life with her illness, the letter to her daughter...and the book they’ve written together.

We’ll also hear from a veteran national reporter about the state of parental leave opportunities for new parents in the US.  Here’s a hint: they’re not good.

The bombing of the Boston Marathon has a lot of people asking questions.  Questions like why.  Like who was involved.  Like is the danger over.  We’re asking questions, too.  Questions about the people injured in the bombing and what their lives will be like going forward.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk to a doctor who served in Iraq about the traumatic injuries, treatment and future of the people injured in the attack.

OK parents, I’m looking at you.  How old was your child when you first started adding solid food to the little bundle’s diet.  According to a new survey, if you’re like a lot of parents...you did it too soon.  On today’s Health Show we’ll talk to a researcher from the CDC about their new findings.

We’ll also hear from the NIH about another problem that seems to be coming from our diet: a lot of us are becoming frail.  And we’ll hear about age-related Macular Degeneration and how you can take some steps that may help save your sight.

About one in every 100 people in the US are living with epilepsy.  It is a condition that most people have heard of...but don’t really understand.  And the way it’s portrayed in the media often adds to the confusion.  On today’s Health Show, we have a program long conversation about epilepsy with a pair of doctors who specialize in the detection and treatment of people living with the condition.

It seems like you can’t turn on the radio or read a health blog anymore without finding something else that will eventually kill you.  Sunshine, artificial sweeteners, natural sweeteners...there’s no escaping it, they are all gunning for you.  But according to a new book...it’s even worse than we thought.  On today’s Health Show, a conversation with an author of the Encyclopedia Paranoiaca.

Think about what happens when someone has a traumatic health condition.  The condition is stabilized, treated...and then the patient goes through rehab.   It’s the same from car crashes to strokes.  But what about rehab for cancer patients?  On today’s Health Show we’ll talk about the growing field of cancer rehab,

We’ll also talk about how many US horses that were given drugs that are dangerous for humans are winding up in the European food supply.  And we’ll hear how the new farm bill is making it tough for some organic farmers.

In 1977, the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released with the tag line: “we are not alone”.  You know what, we really aren’t.  And it has nothing to do with aliens.  There are thousands of tiny organisms living in our bodies right now and we couldn’t live without them.  On today’s Health Show we’ll take a look at the Human Micro Biome.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t think the name “Superstorm Sandy” would stick.  But it has...and as the areas that were affected by Sandy continue to rebuild there is another consequence of the storm literally growing under people’s noses.  Mold.  On today’s Health Show we’ll talk with an expert in environmental medicine about what is being called Sandy’ second wave.