ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 70-year-old male who's active and healthy, and I eat a varied diet. I take the minimum dosages of levothyroxine and atorvastatin. Recently, I had a gastrointestinal bleed that was located in my ascending colon due to diverticulosis. There wasn't an infection or any pain at all. Just out of the blue, I had explosive, ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: For several years, I've been dealing with lower back pain (lumbar facet arthritis, disc degeneration and spinal stenosis, as well as right-sided lumbar radiculopathy) and feet pain (plantar fasciitis in both feet). In addition to physical therapy, I've received cortisone shots in my feet and epidurals in my back that have ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 66-year-old female who's in good health. I was experiencing some dizziness and was prevented from donating blood due to a failed finger prick test. I asked my doctor to check my iron levels. All my blood work was excellent, except that my ferritin level was 19 ng/mL with an iron saturation of 18%.

When I researched my ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read that genetic testing of cancers can lead to exceptional success rates with new therapies that precisely attack cancer for an individual. Should people with a new diagnosis of cancer get this testing? -- R.L.

ANSWER: The evidence supports genetic testing (next-generation sequencing, or NGS) on some cancers when there are...Read more

DEAR DR ROACH: Can you please explain to me what has changed over the years in regard to dehydration? I never remember my parents carrying bottles of water to work, and we definitely never had the ease of a disposable water bottle to carry with us wherever we went. I can't even imagine what consequences we'd have faced if we carried a cup of ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column on COVID shots. Why do you still recommend these terribly dangerous vaccines and the boosters, in light of the overwhelming evidence that they're causing heart attacks, strokes, miscarriages, cancers, blood clots and more? -- R.V.

ANSWER: People need to be very careful where they get their information...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: It's well-known that formaldehyde is toxic and can be a cause of cancer. Hiprex, which I've been taking for a few years, works by turning into an antiseptic called formaldehyde in the urinary tract to prevent bacteria from growing. Should I be concerned? I haven't read any studies saying that it's harmful to be taken for the ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Over the years, I've taken a variety of statins. It seems that eventually, I always get bad leg problems with many aches and pains. Various doctors just change the kind of statin I take, but the same things happen. I decided to help myself a little bit and cut the pills in half. For a while, it seemed to work, but then the leg ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm an 85-year-old woman. I took the Cologuard test a month ago, and it came back positive. My gastrointestinal doctor said that at my age, he wouldn't perform a colonoscopy. I asked for other alternatives, and he said that there's a virtual colonoscopy CT scan. I had soft tissue sarcoma a year ago and have been getting CT ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a sensitive issue I'd like to ask you about. I'm a 79-year-old woman who's dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety due to the recent suicide of my husband, the trauma of finding him, and all the trauma that followed. I'm in therapy, and I'm healthy and active. I don't take any prescribed medications.

I recently had my ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 22-year-old daughter gets sick often. She's a nursing student and in the hospitals often for her clinicals, but she always tries to wash her hands often and takes a multivitamin. Are there any supplements she can take or anything she can do to boost her immunity?

She also has about 10 gray hairs. I didn't start going gray ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 71-year-old female who's in fairly good health. I only take a statin for high cholesterol and have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. In April, I began experiencing a burning pain that circles my upper left leg. The pain is constant and never wavers. I had blood tests and a hip X-ray done, which didn't show a reason for...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Please explain why there are standard tests that we all know we should do as we age, such as a colonoscopy, a mammogram, a skin check, eye exams, etc. But nobody ever says that you should do at least one CT scan or MRI for the deadliest of them all -- pancreatic cancer! It's rarely diagnosed until stage 4!

My husband had ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently read an article about a woman who had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and died from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The article seemed to infer a connection between the two conditions. I have PCOS. Should I be concerned that my doctor isn't keeping an eye on my liver via a liver scan? How do I know if I'm at risk?...Read more