WARM UP:

One Joke: 

• Patient: “Someone decided to graffiti my house last night!”

• Doctor: “So why are you telling me?” 

• Patient: “I can’t understand the writing. Was it you?”

One Fact: 

No matter how hard you get punched in the nose, the bones won’t break.  Because there are no bones.  It’s actually the cartilage in your nose that breaks!

One Quote:

Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there."  

– Will Smith

One Guess…Name That Disease: (Answer at bottom)

• Description:  Childhood cancer of the eye caused by a genetic mutation leading to uncontrolled growth in the back of the eye.  Typically occurs in one eye only.  Rare with an incidence of 3.3 cases per million.

• Signs and Symptoms:  Leukocoria, or white/pale colored eye pupil, can be seen in certain settings such as flash photography.  Affected children may have difficulty tracking, develop strabismus, eye pain, redness, enlargement of the eye, or infections.

• Diagnosis:  Red reflex test widely used to screen at birth and during pediatric visits.  Ultrasound, vision testing, genetic testing, and MRI can be helpful to confirm the presence and extent of the disease.

• Treatment:  May include chemotherapy, radiation, targeted laser treatment, or cryotherapy.  Surgical removal of the eye (enucleation) is generally avoided to prevent loss of vision but is done if there is a risk of spreading the disease.

• Prognosis:  The odds of avoiding loss of vision are best when diagnosed before 2 years of age.  Overall survival is 95%.  Survivors will need lifelong surveillance for new cancers.

HEALTHCARE HEADLINES:

** E-cigarette use fell among high school students from 14% to 10%, while vaping rose slightly in middle schoolers.  The use of traditional cigarettes in high schoolers is at an all time low of 2%.  

** Need a marriage therapist?  Medicare has you covered as it expands mental health options including family/marriage therapists and mental health counselors, who make up roughly 40% of all licensed mental health workers.

** With open enrollment upon us, it’s a good time to brush up on insurance basics.  Not sure what the difference is between Medicare Part A, B, D?  What’s a Medicare Advantage plan vs. traditional Medicare plan?  Take a listen on your next break..

TOGETHER WITH VERB:

Caffeinated Energy Bars

Skip the overpriced lattes. Organic Green Tea in a plant-based bar that’s perfectly pocket-sized and ready to unwrap anytime, anywhere. Over 3000 5-star reviews.

WATER COOLER WONDERS…the stuff we found interesting this week:

** Stat: How much do you think Super Bowl ads cost this year?  Try $7M per 30 second slot!  And they’re already sold out.

** Culture: Not sure what IJBOL means when your teenager send you a text?  Life was easier when LOL was still a thing.

** Listen: Check out the Beatles “new” song, “Now and Then.”

** Map: Before your next international trip, check out this helpful map of the 50 countries that the CDC says it’s okay to drink from the tap!

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS:

Check out this surprisingly good list of “100 Tips for a Better Life” by Conor Barnes (@Ideopunk).  We’ve included some of our favorites below:

1. If you want to find out about people’s opinions on a product, google <product> reddit. You’ll get real people arguing, as compared to the SEO’d Google results.

9. Steeping minutes: Green at 3, black at 4, herbal at 5. Good tea is that simple! 

17. Done is better than perfect. 

18. Keep your desk and workspace bare. Treat every object as an imposition upon your attention, because it is. A workspace is not a place for storing things. It is a place for accomplishing things. 

28. You can improve your communication skills with practice much more effectively than you can improve your intelligence with practice. If you’re not that smart but can communicate ideas clearly, you have a great advantage over everybody who can’t communicate clearly.

34. How you spend every day is how you spend your life. 

52. If you want to become funny, try just saying stupid shit (in the right company!) until something sticks. 

68. Think a little about why you enjoy what you enjoy. If you can explain what you love about Dune, you can now communicate not only with Dune fans, but with people who love those aspects in other books.

82. Call your parents when you think of them, tell your friends when you love them.

83. Compliment people more. Many people have trouble thinking of themselves as smart, or pretty, or kind, unless told by someone else. You can help them out. 

99. There’s some evidence that introverts and extroverts both benefit from being pushed to be more extroverted. Consider this the next time you aren’t sure if you feel like going out. 

100. Bad things happen dramatically (a pandemic). Good things happen gradually (malaria deaths dropping annually) and don’t feel like ‘news’. Endeavour to keep track of the good things to avoid an inaccurate and dismal view of the world. 

THANKS FOR READING!

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Disease Answer: Retinoblastoma