A better, less invasive way to do spine surgery​​ 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in adults in the U.S., and accounts for about 5 percent of all U.S. adult cancer diagnoses, according to Kevin Moore, MD, a dermatologist and Mohs micrographic surgeon in Marstons Mills... 

Robotics comes to knee replacement surgery​
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Orthopedic surgeon Paul Dimond, MD has changed the way he does knee replacements, using a new robotic system called ROSA® Knee System.

​After 26 years performing knee replacement surgery using the traditional method... 

6 pieces of information to bring when you take a child to the ER​
​By Roberta Cannon, RN ​

Almost 30 million children go to hospital emergency rooms every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Reasons can range from worsening symptoms of an illness to a broken limb, a sudden injury from a fall, burns, choking, poisoning, or bicycle or car accident...

A better, less invasive way to do spine surgery​​ 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Larry Thayer has experienced chronic back pain for a number of years, but things took a turn for the worse when he woke up one morning last fall with agonizing pain shooting down his right leg... 

ER prescriptions at your fingertips​​ 
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Until recently, patients discharged from the Cape Cod Hospital emergency department during the hours when most retail pharmacies are closed had to wait to fill their prescriptions until the following day... 

Reflecting on a 37-year medical career​​ 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN ​

After a 37-year career in urologic medicine, Hyannis urologist Evangelos Geraniotis, MD, FACS reflected on the changes he has seen over those nearly four decades... 

Four strategies for losing weight and keeping it off​ 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Jennifer Farrington of Falmouth wanted to lose weight but had failed at her attempts in the past because of overwhelming expectations. She decided to participate in the shared medical appointment program... 

Couple endures simultaneous breast cancer diagnoses​ 
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

When Mark and Joanna Clausen moved to Dennis from Norton, MA, four years ago, they had visions of gardening, golfing and the quiet life of Cape Cod... ​

Is it a stroke or something else?​ 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN ​

​​Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) may sound like battles in a fantasy galaxy far, far away, but in our reality here on earth, they are physical symptoms that can be warning signs of a stroke, a more serious condition... 

Dealing with a heart arrythmia on her own became unsustainable for this woman 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Beth Howard sat in her car on the side of the road for 30 minutes one day in March 2024, waiting for her heart rate to slow down so she could continue driving... 

How to bring down your A1c score 
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Prediabetes is a significant health condition that occurs when you have higher than normal blood sugar levels that are not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three people in the United States has prediabetes... ​

James Van Der Beek raises awareness for colorectal cancer 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Actor James Van Der Beek, known for his roles in “Dawson’s Creek” and “Varsity Blues,” as well as many other TV shows and movies, recently announced he is in treatment for colorectal cancer. He told People magazine that “there’s reason for optimism and I’m feeling good...”

Should I have a coronary artery calcium test?
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

A friend who has diabetes and had a heart attack a few years ago recently told me she was going to ask her cardiologist if she could have a CAC (coronary artery calcium) CT (computed tomography) scan to check her arteries for calcium... 

What to know about over-the-counter Narcan
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Now that Narcan (Naloxone), a life-saving medication that immediately reverses the effects of an overdose from opioids, is available as an over-the-counter nasal spray, it may mean that more lives will be saved... ​

A primary care physician finds rewards with hospice care​ 
​​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Jorge Alfonso, MD, a primary care physician at Yarmouth Primary Care, has spent years caring for patients and treating them for various medical challenges and diseases. Along the way, he began educating and supporting patients about the end of life...

Anemia in the elderly can be complicated 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

An estimated 35 million Americans over the age of 65 have anemia, and that figure is predicted to double in the next 25 years, according to the American Society of Hematology... 
​

Vitamin D may help reduce the progression of disease​​
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” because the sun helps the body produce it when we’re exposed to it, has always been thought of as a nutrient that helps maintain the balance of calcium levels in our bodies... 

A primer on breast cancer staging and treatment
​​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

When I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a stage 0 breast cancer almost 25 years ago, it was a devastating diagnosis, particularly as a single parent with two junior high school-age children. Even though I am a nurse, this was not my area of practice and I did not know what to expect... 

Wade Boggs revealed his Gleason Score for prostate cancer. What does the score mean? 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Wade Boggs spent his long and illustrious Major League Baseball career counting hits and runs. But recently [he] revealed... 

How chronic diseases can affect cancer treatment​​
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

A cancer diagnosis can be devastating and turn your life upside down even without other health issues. For those with chronic diseases, it can add to an already long list of medications...

Partial breast radiation now common for some early-stage cancer patients
​​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

In November 2023, the American Society for Radiation Oncology updated its 2017 guidelines recommending partial breast irradiation (PBI) as an alternative... 

Cervical cancer is still a threat, and screening saves lives 
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Eileen Duffey-Lind MSN, RN, CPNP, a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner who lives in Falmouth, knows firsthand what it is like to lose a loved one to cancer. Her sister, Maureen Duffey Russo, died December 15, 2006, from cervical cancer... 

​​How to solve your toddler’s
​sleep issues
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Possibly one of the biggest challenges parents may face with toddlers is getting them to go to sleep at bedtime...

Looking back on 50 years of
​being a nurse
​​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

When I renewed my registered nurse’s license in March this year, it may have been for the last time. It’s not lost on me...

Health benefits start after walking as little as 2,500 steps a day
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Like many, I thought the maxim to walk 10,000 steps per day for the best health benefit was based on scientific evidence...

​A surprise diagnosis after heart attack
​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

​Robert Ullenbruch is grateful to be alive following a massive heart attack six years ago, followed by a lung cancer diagnosis a short time later...

Four years on, COVID-19 now
​considered more like other
respiratory diseases
​​​By Roberta Cannon, RN

In March 2020, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four years later, it feels like we are finally back to some semblance of normalcy...

​Is your heartburn just a nuisance, or a sign of something more?
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Approximately 15 million Americans have heartburn symptoms each day and more than 60 million experience it once a month...

Could the pain in your abdomen be a gallbladder attack?
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

We’ve all had some form of a stomachache or pain, either from eating spicy foods, constipation, or a stomach virus...

Would your 4-year-old be able to call 911 in an emergency?
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

It is often newsworthy when young children call 911 for help for a parent or grandparent who experiences a medical emergency...

Actresses Tia Mowry and Kerry Washington have this in common

By Roberta Cannon, RN

Their skin always looks perfect on TV, but what you may not know is that actresses Tia Mowry and Kerry Washington have suffered from a troublesome skin condition called eczema...

​At what age and how often should you have a mammogram?

By Roberta Cannon, RN

Just when you thought you knew the official recommendation on when you should be getting a mammogram, another update comes along...

Don’t toss your expired COVID-19 home test​

By Roberta Cannon, RN

Before tossing your expired COVID-19 home test kit in the trash, check the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) website to find out if the expiration date has been extended...

This patient credits her Maine Coon cat with saving her life
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

Virginia Voros-Carlsen of Eastham has a close bond with her Maine coon cat, Memphis, that began after a serious car accident several years ago when some glass penetrated Virginia’s skull...​

Survivors Day 2023
inspired and comforted
​By Roberta Cannon, RN

When I walked into the lobby of the Hyport Conference Center in Hyannis on the bright, sunny morning of Sunday, September 17, 2023 to attend the Ninth Annual Cape Cancer Survivors Day Celebration, I could feel that bit of angst that always crops up when anything related to my cancer journey appears in front of me...

Cancer survivorship isn’t what it used to be
By Roberta Cannon, RN

​​Brian Carey, who was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer nearly two years ago, considers himself a fighter rather than a survivor.
“If I’m a survivor, it almost makes me feel like I was a victim, and I wasn’t a victim; I was a fighter,” he said...

Do antibiotics work as well as surgery for appendicitis?​
​By Roberta Cannon, RN​

​If you have generalized abdominal pain around the belly button that worsens over a few hours or a day and moves to the lower right quadrant of your abdomen, then you are experiencing the textbook description of appendicitis...

My father's journey with polio
By Roberta Cannon, RN

​​My father, Robert Collins, contracted polio in 1955 during an epidemic that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Dad was a cable splicer for the telephone company, climbing telephone poles to connect and repair wires...

​
​Living with ALS, and making the best of it
By Roberta Cannon, RN

​I have many stories that inspired me and moved me over the past year, but one of my favorites was the story about David Garber of North Falmouth, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) seven years ago...
Copyright © 2025   Roberta Cannon Writes