John Roberts

Snoring can certainly be annoying, but it doesn’t always indicate a serious medical problem. However, sometimes snoring can be due to sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to significant medical problems. Sleep apnea is a condition when people have pauses in their breathing while sleeping. Most people have pauses to some degree but people…

Someone recently asked me what lymphoma is. My knowledge of the subject was a bit dusty before I started doing some research for this column. Medical knowledge of non-Hodgkin lymphoma has rapidly evolved over the last decade or so. It is a very interesting disease and a type of cancer that is illustrative of recent…

It’s very common for people who are middle age or older person who have some lapses in memory to wonder if they might be developing Alzheimer’s. Encountering someone with Alzheimer’s dementia is becoming more common as the proportion of elderly individuals in our society increases. Forgetfulness is a normal part of aging and usually does…

This week I want to talk about screening for colorectal cancer (CRC). Fortunately, screening for this type of cancer has become more common due to increased public awareness aided by campaigns such as CDC’s Screen for Life Action Campaign www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/sfl/. There were approximately 148,000 cases of CRC in 2020 and 53,000 deaths, making it the…

I have seen many people who suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel is very common, often a result of repetitive injury at home or in the workplace. It is one of a number of repetitive strain injuries or “RSIs.” Carpal tunnel symptoms usually include numbness and/or pain in the hand and wrist that may…

I’ve had some questions recently about cancer of the ovaries so I’ll try and tackle this complex subject. Ovarian cancer is frightening because it is often very advanced before a woman receives a diagnosis. Most women present with stage III disease meaning the cancer has spread outside the ovary into the abdominal cavity and/or lymph…

Thanks to Jill who asked me to write about lupus. Lupus is the common name for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. It is an autoimmune disease first described by the physician Rogerius in the 12th Century. The origin of the name is uncertain, but one of the most popular is that many lupus sufferers have a rash…

I received a request from a reader to address sciatica. She has been suffering severe chronic pain from this condition. Rather than address just sciatica, I thought I would address the broader topic of neuropathic pain or “neuralgia.” Neuropathic pain is just that – pain that originates from the nerves themselves. This pain is usually…

Someone told me the other day that they thought “restless leg syndrome” (RLS) was a condition cooked up by pharmaceutical companies to sell medications. You may have seen commercials for Requip® and Mirapex®, both drugs used to treat this condition. People have described symptoms suggestive of restless legs since the 17th Century. The Swedish neurologist…

“All parts of the body if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed, and age slowly; but if unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth, and age quickly.” Hippocrates Few things benefit the body more than maintaining physical fitness…