Cancergeek

Why do men die younger than women, despite having so many advantages in society?

Men currently live five years less than women on average in the United States, and this gap is even wider among certain racial and ethnic minorities. 📉

While there are some biological factors that may contribute to this gap, the most significant factor is the way that men are socialized to think about and behave about their health.

Traditional masculine ideals in the United States and other popular cultures across the world more often than not emphasize toughness, self-reliance, and stoicism. Men are also more likely than women to smoke and drink excessively, participate in crime, and die from motor vehicle-related deaths and su***de, although they’re less likely to see a doctor or seek psychological help.

For a closer look at this longevity gap, sign up for my newsletter in the bio 🔗

’sOkayNotToBeOkay

Movember
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Did you know that Movember has funded over 1,250 men's health projects around the world? 🌎
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Movember is a global movement that raises awareness and funds for men's health issues, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's mental health.
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This month, I'm joining in on the fun by focusing all of my content efforts on men's health.
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Swipe through for ways you can support the men in your life. 👇
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Together, we can make a difference in men's health. 💪
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Can AI algorithms that enforce fairness actually harm people? 💭
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A recent study by the brilliant minds at the Oxford Internet Institute paints a fascinating picture. They examined an AI system designed to gauge the risk of lung cancer. The study discovered that this system was more accurate for white patients compared to their black counterparts. This disparity prompted the researchers to introduce fairness algorithms, designed to level the playing field.
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But here's the twist: these well-intentioned adjustments came at a cost. The system's overall accuracy took a hit, resulting in more false positives – a scenario where patients were erroneously flagged as having cancer. Essentially, more black patients were subjected to unnecessary stress and medical procedures.
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Why does this matter? Well, it's a glaring reminder that sometimes, in our zealous pursuit of equal outcomes, we might inadvertently harm those who are already at a disadvantage.
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So, how can we find our way through this intricate web of challenges? 🎯
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The essence of AI lies in data, and it's time to ensure that our data is a true reflection of diversity and devoid of biases. Our AI is only as unbiased as we are.
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We also need to develop fairness algorithms that are more sophisticated than the ones that are currently available. These algorithms should be able to take into account the costs and benefits of different fairness interventions, and they should not simply aim to equalize performance between different groups.
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If this resonates with you, my monthly newsletter is free to sign up for. All I require is your email address, and in return, you’ll receive a monthly curated round-up of the month’s best thought-provoking N of 1 content. Link in my bio 🔗. Go on, I dare ya.
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FIND Act
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I recently met with Senator Tammy Baldwin to discuss the Facilitating Access to Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) Act, a federal bill that would improve patient access to cutting-edge diagnostic technologies.

📈 💼 “Innovative technologies such as diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are invaluable assets in the detection and treatment of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s," Senator Baldwin affirmed. "The FIND Act is a pivotal step towards ensuring that all individuals, irrespective of their income or insurance status, can avail themselves of the most advanced diagnostic tools."

🚀🔍Why is the FIND Act so critical?

🌐 Enhancing Access: It's all about equitably improving patient access to the latest diagnostic technologies.

💡 Advancing Innovation: By channeling resources into R&D, it's propelling diagnostic tech evolution.

🏢 Strengthening Healthcare Institutions: The technology access program reinforces healthcare facilities to deliver top-tier care.
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This legislation is not just pivotal; it's life-altering for individuals grappling with serious medical conditions.
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Words Build Worlds 🌎
Ever wondered why words wield such incredible influence in a medical setting? 🤔
Words transcend their dictionary definitions, shaping our understanding of the world. "Doctor" conjures an image of a licensed medical pro, while "chair" evokes a four-legged object.
But here's the twist: these words can be interchangeable! A chair can symbolize a committee chair, and a doctor might hold a doctorate in a non-medical field. 🪑👩‍⚕️
Through language, we forge connections with patients and fellow humans. It's crucial to grasp their words and adapt our language accordingly. Their world is unique, diverging from ours. Let's bridge this gap.
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Choose your words with intention: they shape the world we create. Is it the world we authentically desire? It will define our collective journey forward. 🌍🌱

🤖 Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic lately. It's got our imaginations running wild! From sipping Aperol on a sandy beach while robots handle everything, to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Terminator taking over, our minds have been in overdrive!
But let's set the record straight. The future of medicine will definitely involve some form of AI.
💡 Right now, we're already exploring virtual health assistants for accessible and convenient care. But here's the exciting part: virtual care could come in different shapes and sizes. Patient-centric care can't be a one-size-fits-all approach. Imagine a future where we get to choose how our care is delivered virtually! It's like science fiction, but it could become our reality.
🗣️ Communication is what makes us unique. It's influenced by society, technology, and our own personalities. We all have our own special way of connecting with others.
So, let's take a sneak peek into the possibilities of personalized virtual care. Swipe for some examples of what the future could hold (a CancerGeek can dream, right?). 👆

🎗️ Honoring the Fallen: Reflecting on the Profound Legacy of 🇺🇸

On this , let's not forget its true essence. Reflect, honor, and pledge never to take our freedoms for granted. Embrace the memories of those who fought to safeguard our way of life.
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Amidst the revelry, find a moment of stillness to remember the fallen. Carry their legacy within—a beacon of resilience and unity. Honor their sacrifice by creating a world of compassion, justice, and equality—a world they envisioned and fought for.
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On this sacred day, we bow our heads in gratitude, standing united in remembrance of our fallen heroes. 🙏🇺🇸

Happy Mother’s Day 2023
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On this Mother’s Day I want to thank my mother, the nurse, the administrator, my friend for teaching me through her life’s work in caring for others and a love of medicine, that I can make my own impact in this world, at the N of 1.
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👩‍⚕️ Happy Nurse’s Week 2023. 💗
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Nurses often act as the guardians of their patients' dignity, values, and preferences, especially during times of vulnerability. This year, let's not only celebrate our amazing nurses but also recognize their crucial role in guarding their patients' individuality. From listening to patients' concerns and needs to advocating for their rights, nurses play an essential role in providing holistic care that goes beyond just physical health. A person-centered approach to care can have a significant impact on patients' overall well-being and recovery.
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🎨 In honor of this year’s Nurses Week, the new artwork by celebrates our nurses; the frontline heroes. This stunning piece is a symbol of our gratitude for their unwavering dedication to patient-centered care.
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Let's use this week to celebrate, appreciate, and advocate for our nurses! 🎉
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To read more of my insights on patient-centered care, delivered directly once a month to your inbox, click link in my bio 👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾
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009: Thinking In The Clouds - Vday
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It’s ❤️day and as I am traveling it makes me think about the relationship between and .
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It’s similar to what we expect in our personal relationships. A relationship built on trust. We want to be seen, heard, understood, and supported.
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We often see a physician in our most vulnerable moments. In order to have a meaningful relationship we need to be open, honest, and have a level of intimacy that allows us to share those very things that we fear in a partner: judgement, bias, rejection, embarrassment.
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It’s in those moments of humanity that allows that relationship to provide value to both the patient and the physician.
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For the patient, they can have a partner that helps meet their expectations and gets them back to their daily normal activities in the safest and quickest manner. Feeling confident, supported, and in control.
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For the physician, to realize the fulfillment of being able to practice their art, in providing care. The opportunity to connect with another human and through the tools of sight, sound, touch, smell, intuition, and knowledge they can ensure they are creating a plan for that person. Knowing they have made an impact in a human life.
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It’s through this commitment, effort, and understanding that patients and physicians can arrive at a destination that delivers physical and emotional well-being.
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Relationships, like medicine, happen at the
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008: Thinking In The Clouds - Love & Life
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It’s been a while since I traveled for work. It’s exciting to be back in the swing, the hustle, the bustle, the pace, the cadence of being on the road and working.
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It reminds me how life can change in an instant.
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We can close our eyes and go to sleep only to open them and find that he world has changed.
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That change could be as simple as it raining outside to as life altering as losing a loved one. It could mean a love lost, a love not shared, or a love not experienced.
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Being in this world of medicine has taught me one constant and one truth: life is always changing and we can lose a loved one at a moments notice.
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It’s a reminder, to us all, that no matter the risk of rejection, loss, or reciprocation, that our life and our journey should be lived from a position of love, no matter the risk of 💔.
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Love is what connects us. Love is what transcends time and space. Love is the ripple through eternity.
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❤️, like medicine, occurs at the N of 1.
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Art
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When you hear that one of your favorite artists has made something what do you do?
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You go and find it, take a picture, and then of course a selfie to show your ❤️ and support!!
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This is appreciation at the
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Thank you for sharing your talents with us .sweetack
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Happy Father’s Day
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8 years have passed & it doesn’t get and easier.
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I always try to emulate, aspire, & conduct myself as you led…a man of conviction, honor, & respect.
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You always spoke your truth. You were direct, to the point, and told it “as it is.”
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You taught me that no one is better, as am I no better then anyone.
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You always made me ask myself, “Do you want to be the person on the inside looking out, or on the outside looking in?”
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While our styles are vastly different I try to be my best version, to be true to myself, and when given an opportunity to always leap, say yes, and focus on doing the most important things first before moving to the next.
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Your last gift to me before you passed was reminding me of my super power —> hearing the unheard. As everyone else pushed for more treatment, I listened and heard your wish…to make a choice and leave with dignity. To speak for those without a voice.
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Life is short & the “if’s” last an eternity. Thank you for being my biggest fan, my mentor, my teacher, and my inspiration.
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Happy Easter 🐣
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Saint Augustine said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
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It’s a reminder to all of us, in a world full of rings, dings, pings, and other things to focus on the human in front of us, and to truly listen & see them.
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For those of us working on this industry called it’s our opportunity to lead, in taking a pause, to see the human, the individual, and to care for the “Me in Medicine” during that window of time.
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We all have the ability to show we care at the
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On I want to remind everyone on the importance for caring for people in our communities & the they may become, to focus on so all have access to care at the

Glasses 🤓
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New year, new spectacles.
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It’s been a long time coming, so with a new year and change, came the perfect time to retire the old specs and update to some new ones.
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I figured the name is so I might as well go all in and embrace my and grow the
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Most have said “hate them” and I’m cool with that, sometimes it’s less about the banter and more about the whisper.
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But it makes me pause, is the dislike due to change, or something else?
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Change happens at the
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Sun and Smiles
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While it may be a brisk 7 degrees outside the sun is out, shining, and it feels good to be out and about.
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Recently read that one of the secrets from the worlds largest population of centenarians was to wake up each morning, move for 15 minutes, spend time with your community of people, and to smile, say hello, and greet others.
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No magic pills. No magic formula. No special doctors. No books. No expensive investment.
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It’s as simple as being human.
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Move your body. Be outside. Be kind to others. Accept that life is a constant change.
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Today, remember to smile and say hello, at the
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Melons
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I don’t always cover my melon, but when I do it’s with
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Wearing glasses and a hat usually gives me a headache but I have been wearing this all day long and loving it.
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Keeping me warm and stylish at the
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Empire State of Mind
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Humans have worried about building and maintaining empires since the beginning of time.
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Castles, statues, monuments, and other relics of power, wealth, fortune, and fame.
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Yet in an instant it can all crumble, topple, fall, burned to the ground and turn to dust.
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It is the mind. The state of mind. Our outlook on the world, the lens we use, our listening that determines the empire we build, and whether or not it withstands the test of time.
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Build your empire of the mind. The world you want. Then make it happen.
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Build your empire at the

Sunset
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As the day fades away it is always good to take a pause, reflect on the beauty of the day, and give 🙏🏾 for the gifts 🎁 of having one more day.
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Each day remember it is a new start, new decisions, and new opportunities to make forward progress.
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A Tribe Called Quest
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30 years ago today one of the most influential records in all of music was released: The Low End Theory.
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I remember the lyrical rollercoaster caused an explosion in my soul and solidified my love for words, cadence, arrangement, spontaneity, and expression of self.
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Q-tip, Ali, Jarobi, and the late-great five foot assassin Phife Dawg (who I wanted to emulate).
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This was the moment I realized coloring outside the lines is what sends ripped through time & changes the world. Thank you.
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A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) the greatest of all time. ❤️

9.11.2021
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I remember pushing a patient in a wheel chair out of the radiation therapy treatment room into the waiting room. Looking up, seeing the news, and the initial report of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.
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Shortly thereafter we all huddled in the waiting room and watched as the next Tower was hit by a plane.
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We stood there stunned, shocked, saddened, and scared. What did this mean? What will happen? What war will come?
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To the men, women, children, & families of those lost, those in the WTC, the the the first responders, and all of those in our military that served to ensure our freedom, our rights, and my ability to live life as I do, thank you 🙏🏾
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Thank you for your sacrifice, your courage, your belief in and for all you have given to us all.
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I promise to & to make sure my life acknowledges their sacrifice, at the
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