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The diagnosis of a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a life-changing event that can cause anxiety, feelings of isolation and depression. RA is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. The good news is that treatments for RA have dramatically improved, and when started early they can reduce the long-term effects of the disease. It is important to work with your doctor and other members of the health care team to ensure that you are using the most appropriate treatment. Yet, it is just as important to consider some changes you can make to limit the impact of RA on your life. Here are some tips for you to consider...

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Pain is associated with many injuries and diseases, and is sometimes the disease itself. Persistent pain can interfere with your enjoyment of life. It can make it hard to sleep, work, socialize with friends and family, and accomplish everyday tasks. Chronic pain may be part of your life, but it is not who you are. Managing your pain is an important step toward taking back your life and ensuring that pain does not control you. Living with chronic pain requires changing the way you think about your health care and your life. Good communication with your healthcare providers is vital to getting the help you need to live well in spite of your pain. We hope these 10 Steps can help you move from patient to person.

STEP 1: Accept the Pain Learn all you can about your physical condition. Understand that there may be no current cure for your condition, but there are treatments and support programs to help you accept the fact of pain in your life ...

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A tough disease — with a high rate of treatment success

Depression is a disease that does not discriminate between race, gender, income or age. Depression is an illness and not merely a “feeling.” It can cause sorrow for individuals, families and society as a whole if it is left untreated. Doctors and healthcare professionals are learning more about depression every day, including how to recognize it and how to treat it.

Some types of depression run in families. Other times, someone may experience depression after a stressful situation or trauma, such as the loss of...

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Cancer is such a tough disease that the strength of the drugs needed to treat it can result in serious side effects. Chemotherapy (or “chemo,” as it is often called) is a method of cancer treatment that uses very strong drugs to eradicate, or kill, cancer cells. Chemo can be taken or administered in a variety of ways — through an injection into the muscle or an IV into the bloodstream, through a cream applied to the skin or through a pill, capsule or liquid that the patient swallows.

There are two main reasons why patients taking chemo suffer from side effects. The first reason is that chemo drugs are extremely strong. The second is that, though they are meant to kill cancer cells alone, chemo drugs travel throughout the body and affect healthy cells as well.

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When you are disabled or have an injury, the act of getting from one place to another can become troublesome. Mobility aids offer assistance with day-to-day movement and transportation needs.

They come in a variety of forms and are meant to aid the diverse needs of people with different types of injury or disability. They range from walkers, scooters, wheelchairs and ramps to stairway lifts, accessible vehicles, seating modifications, and adaptive driving tools. The last three in the list have to do with modified vehicles. These devices are described below. But before we get there, let’s consider a word about cost-saving opportunities.

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a chronic disease that can occur in infants, the elderly and individuals of any age in between. The causes and symptoms of GERD are specific to each patient. Working together with your physician is important for developing lifelong strategies that will address the pain and heal the damage that GERD can cause. With GERD, damage occurs to the mucous membranes of the esophagus due to a backflow, or reflux, of stomach acids. The esophagus is the tube that carries food to the stomach.

This backflow, or acid reflux, can cause a burning sensation in the chest or throat, which is also known as heartburn or acid indigestion. Occasional heartburn is common. But reflux that occurs more than two times a week is considered GERD, and because it can lead to serious health problems, it is important to stop it early...

To download this entire primer to share with your patients click here.