The Pulse – Health Insights from Methodist

A breast cancer diagnosis can turn life upside down in an instant.

Suddenly, you're learning a new vocabulary, meeting with specialists and making important decisions about treatment – which may include surgery and possibly breast reconstruction.

For many women, reconstruction can feel like a difficult topic to bring up. When you're focused on fighting cancer, questions about how you'll look, feel or move afterward can seem secondary, or even selfish. 

Today, we're pulling back the curtain on one of the most personal and often misunderstood aspects of breast cancer care – breast reconstruction – and why it’s not about vanity. 

Joining me today to talk about the options available, address the misconceptions that are out there and so much more … is Dr. Amanda Dawson, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon with Methodist Physicians Clinic - Women's Center.

Most of us know the classic signs of a heart attack from television and movies – someone  clutching their chest, collapsing to the ground and being rushed to the hospital.

But in real life, heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions aren't always that obvious.

Sometimes it's getting a little more winded while walking the dog. Other times it's unusual fatigue, a little flutter in your chest, occasional dizziness or simply not being able to do the things you used to as easily. Some of the most common heart conditions can hide in plain sight, developing quietly long before a person realizes something is wrong.

Today, we're talking about those overlooked warning signs, how heart-related symptoms can present differently in men and women, and what we can do to protect our heart health before problems ever arise.

Dr. Guneet Van De Graaf, a general cardiologist with Methodist Physicians Clinic, joins me today. 

We all know the big‑name cancers – breast, colon, skin, etc. They tend to get the billboards, the walks, the races, the T‑shirts and big fundraisers. But today we’re talking about a group of cancers that don’t always get the same attention… 

Head and neck cancers can involve your mouth, tongue, throat, nose, thyroid – basically all the parts you use to talk, eat, breathe and show up in the world. When something goes wrong up there, it can be life altering.

So, for our first episode, I brought in someone who knows this territory better than almost anyone: Dr. Andrew Coughlin, a head and neck surgical oncologist at Methodist. We’re going to talk about what these cancers really are, why rates are rising, and – something you’d never know if it never impacted you – but how Methodist leading the way regionally in terms of the type of care that’s helping people get their lives back after head and neck cancer.

And best of all – this care is available to us in our own backyard.