Medicine & Grapefruit

For more information go to

Why You Shouldn’t Take Some Medicines With Grapefruit Juice

Check Your Body for Skin Cancer with the ABCDEs of Melanoma

How to Spot Skin Cancer 

Everyone can be at risk of getting skin cancer, but catching it early can make it a lot more treatable. Performing regular skin checks with this method will help you spot trouble early on.

This infographic from the American Academy of Dermatology provides some helpful information about skin cancer and, more importantly, how to do checks on your own at home. The key is the ABCDEs of Melanoma when checking skin irregularities:

• Asymmetry
• Border
• Color
• Diameter
• Evolving

The graphic below explains what to look for with each letter and provides tips on how to check your body. Skin cancer is the most common form of all cancers, so make sure you check yourself thoroughly and regularly. If you’re not sure about a spot, always be safe and contact a doctor.

More information at LifeHacker

Surgeon Scorecard Finds Doctors With Low Complication Rates

Surgeon Scorecard

What are the chances that your upcoming surgery will end in an unforeseen complication? That depends (in part) on the procedure, on the surgeon, and on you. ProPublica’s Surgeon Scorecard helps to put a number on the doctor’s piece of that puzzle.

With the tool, you can search for surgeons in your area, and see how they rate on eight elective surgeries, including knee and hip replacements. ProPublica explains here how they calculated the ratings: the team used data from Medicare patients, and tried to only include complications that could reasonably be considered the surgeon’s responsibility.

But does this mean you should drop your surgeon if she has a high complication rate? First, make sure you’re considering the same procedure: the same person might be stellar at ACL repair but just okay at knee replacements (the only knee surgery on the scorecard). Also, as Dr. Jen Gunter explains, some excellent surgeons get a reputation for being able to handle difficult cases, which means they could have high complication rates but still be the best doctor for you.

In the end, the Surgeon Scorecard is just one more piece of information that can guide, but shouldn’t dictate, your decisions about surgery. Other important things to know are how many of this procedure your surgeon has done, and whether you are a high risk patient for your procedure.

Surgeon Scorecard

More at LifeHacker