Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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WTTW
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Black Women Are 41% More Likely to Die from Breast Cancer Than White Women
Breast cancer is one of the most treatable types of cancer — when detected early. Despite that, it’s the leading cause of cancer deaths among Black women. According to the American Cancer Society, Black women are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer compared to White women. They are also less likely to be diagnosed and less likely to receive treatment. Dr. June McKoy, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says it begins with mammograms not being a pleasant procedure. “It is an uncomfortable procedure…,” she said. McKoy says that some myths about breast cancer came out of true concern, “about the additive overtime effect of radiation to the breast.” “If we can’t dispel this myth that mammography will lead to breast cancer then we’re going to lose more of our own women to breast cancer,” she added. McKoy, like Jones and Francois-Blue, believes that awareness early detection is key, but as a doctor, she calls for individualized care for every patient, “especially Black women who might be finding lesions early…” McKoy calls for policy changes as well, to ensure that insurance coverage is available for mammography even when they are not at the age recommended for the test. “Take us as individuals understanding that breast cancer is something really bad in our population,” McKoy said.
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Yahoo! News
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I am a Pharmacist and I think These Medications are Prescribed Too Often
Medicine saves lives, but it can also be abused. Drugs are over prescribed at an alarming rate in the U.S. according to a study that was presented at IDWeek 2018. “We found that nearly half the time, clinicians have either a bad reason for prescribing antibiotics, or don’t provide a reason at all,” Jeffrey A. Linder, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “When you consider about 80 percent of antibiotics are prescribed on an outpatient basis, that’s a concern.” Over prescribed drugs can be a problem for anyone, but especially for older Americans. Specifically, the prescriptions that are the most over prescribed include antimicrobials like antibiotics and antifungals, zolpidem (Ambien), corticosteroids, decongestant nasal sprays and proton pump inhibitors.
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New York Times
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Expert Tips for Curbing Bad Breath
Onions and garlic are common bad breath culprits because of their strong aromas — but other foods can lead to stinky breath, too. For instance, foods and drinks that can cause gastrointestinal reflux, such as alcohol, coffee, tomatoes, citrus fruits and onions, can incite bad breath because they cause you to burp up or even regurgitate small amounts of food, said Dr. Landon Duyka, health system clinician of otolaryngology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Tonsils are another little-known cause of bad breath, Dr. Duyka told me. Tonsils have crevices that harbor bacteria. Sometimes, the bacteria can mix with food debris and harden and become what are called tonsil stones, which look like little white bumps. You can’t prevent tonsil stones, Dr. Duyka said, but you can eliminate them by gently poking your tonsil with a blunt object or (clean) finger; by gargling with salt water; or by rinsing them with a water flosser.
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Chicago Tribune
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It’s been a month since new COVID-19 boosters arrived. About 10.5% of eligible Illinois residents have gotten them.
About 10.5% of people in Illinois eligible for new, updated COVID-19 boosters have received them in the month since they became available — a percentage that worries some doctors who fear a winter surge. “I think this is not top of mind for people anymore, but possibly when the fall and winter surge happens people will feel more urgency,” said Dr. Mercedes Carnethon, a professor and vice chair of preventative medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Part of the reason more people aren’t rushing to get the boosters may be because they’re not as worried about COVID-19 as they once were. When mitigation measures faded earlier this year, many people began to feel more relaxed about COVID-19, Carnethon said. “I think people think it’s not a big deal,” she said. “Much of that, really, is some false confidence because there are people who do get severely ill and there are people for whom you might not expect to have such a bad (illness) and they do.”
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ABC 7 Chicago
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Mammograms encouraged by doctors after many breast cancer screenings postponed due to COVID-19
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and doctors say it’s the perfect time to get a mammogram. Since many women postponed the screening during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors are encouraging patients to get back on track. Dr. Sonya Bhole, a radiologist and assistant professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said that women should get their first mammogram around 40-years old. “We know that women’s risk of breast cancer increases at the age of 40,” Dr. Bhole said. “One in six breast cancer diagnosis are in women in their 40s.” Bhole said that minorities are also more likely to be diagnosed prior to 50. As more screenings happen, Dr. Bhole is saying that they are seeing an increase in positive screenings. Bhole said that the procedure takes less than an hour which makes it tolerable for most patients.
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The Washington Post
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Fetterman’s use of captions is common in stroke recovery, experts say
During his first on-camera interview since having a stroke, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman stumbled over words and used closed captioning to read interview questions, prompting Republicans to raise new questions about his health. Disability advocates, however, say that response shows a lack of understanding about accommodations that are often made after a major health event such as a stroke. While neurological experts said they could not offer a specific diagnosis about Fetterman’s health, they noted that closed captions are a common tool for people with auditory processing or hearing issues, conditions which have nothing to do with overall intelligence. Issues with processing sounds can happen for several reasons. Hearing is an especially unique sense because unlike sight or smell, sound gets processed before it even reaches the brain. There are a number of areas where understanding can be impaired, even if someone has no hearing loss or intellectual disability, said Borna Bonakdarpour, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Yahoo! News
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If You Feel Burning Or Stinging During Sex, You Definitely Want to Let Your Doctor Know
Three out of four women experience some pain during intercourse at some point in their lifetime, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). But if you consistently have pain during or right after sex, it’s worth investigating what the cause is, says Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “You may have burning upon entry, not because of an inability to lubricate, but because lack of lubrication is the body’s defense mechanism in anticipation of pelvic pain. In addition to dryness, the muscles at the opening of the vagina contract to prevent painful penetration,” Dr. Streicher explains. Other reasons you may experience pain include yeast infection, vestibulodynia, vaginismus, inflammatory reaction or perimenopause or menopause.
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USA Today
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Lung disease tests are failing Black patients, studies show. Experts are calling for change.
Widely used lung function tests often fail to detect lung disease in Black patients, according to research — and experts are calling for new methods of testing. Spirometry, the most common lung function test used by medical professionals, measures how much air a patient breathes into their lungs and how much they can exhale quickly. But increasingly, research shows differences based on race don’t reflect biology, but instead structural racism’s effect on health.“ We’ve decided in the United States that it’s ‘normal’ for Black people to have lower lung function than white people,” said Dr. Ravi Kalhan, deputy division chief of pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University. “Race-specific equations result in us not diagnosing lung disease in Black people – despite quite high prevalence.” Dr. Gabrielle Liu, an instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s pulmonary and critical care division, along with Kalhan and others, studied spirometry tests and CT scans of more than 2,600 patients, who were Black and white adults. “Our study findings suggest that this practice is actually normalizing worse lung health,” Liu said of the research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine this summer.
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Fox 32 Chicago
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Covid-19 booster shots authorized for kids, Chicago hospital to offer them soon
The FDA and CDC have authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots for children as young as five years old. The updated vaccine adds omicron Ba.4 and Ba.5 spike protein components, targeting recent Omicron variants that are more transmissible. Dr. Bill Muller with Lurie Children’s Hospital and professor of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says especially as we approach winter, and children are spending more time indoors, the shot will offer added protection. “The other thing to remember is we’re starting to get into the season where people are spending much more time indoors and there’s a lot more circulation of respiratory viruses. Children are in school and now that masking requirements are in some cases completely absent and in some cases just relaxed, there’s gonna be more opportunities for the virus to circulate. So I think it makes sense to get vaccinated as soon as you can to get protection through the winter,” said Miller.
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WBEZ Chicago
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Why so many children are being hospitalized in Chicago this fall
Following years of a pandemic, we are facing a flu season projected to be the worst in years. Meanwhile, children are already increasingly hospitalized for multiple reasons. Anisha Kshetrapal, an assistant professor of pediatrics in emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, shares, “We’re seeing a lot of respiratory illness and young children with bronchiolitis, and it’s early for this year. Lurie Children’s is especially busy and calling across the city for patients to find beds. Masks, handwashing and immunizations are very important during this time of year to prevent illness. The flu shot decreases the severity, even if it doesn’t prevent you from getting it so doctors strongly recommend it. Dehydration and difficulty breathing are the main reasons to visit an ER if your child is sick.
