The Healthy Lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

The Healthy Lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams                Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He alone wrote the entire first draft a week or so before the two big votes on July 2 and July 4, 1776. Deliberations on this...

Do it again and again and again

The process of slow reflection on what is important and exciting is the manner in which progress occurs for many great researchers, inventers, artists, writers and social activists and ordinary people like you and me. It is the way people change the course of their...

Amenorrhea and combined oral contraceptive pills

2/1/2016 A. Nyuyen, MD Mentor: Gavin Jacobson, MD Editor: Paul Hillard, MD.  Approved 11/3/15 Combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) including combined oral contraceptives (COC) inhibit ovulation through hypothalamic-pituitary inhibition of gonadotropin secretion....

Colorectal Cancers are Falling

Colorectal Cancers are Falling Bob Hatcher April 9, 2016           In 2016 about 134,000 people in the United States will be found to have colorectal cancer and 49,000 will die from this type of cancer.             Adenomas of the colon are estimated to be present in...

Everyone loves the picture I posted of you…

Everyone loves the picture I posted of you Bob Hatcher August 10, 2015           On August 5th as I drove into Atlanta from Tiger, I read an over-the-highway notice telling me that on the highways of Georgia thus far this year the number of traffic deaths is right at...

Death with dignity

Death with dignity Bob Hatcher June 1, 2015, June 26, 2015           Physicians have been helping people to die with dignity by acts of omission or commission for centuries.           This week’s New England Journal of Medicine describes a new law in Canada...

Where do you stand on women’s rights?

How did you become an ardent feminist?      A:        This is how I became an ardent feminist. For 15 years I have given lectures to different classes of students from Georgia Tech (several a year).  Each class had 250 to 300 students.           I told them about the...

Texting can be a religious experience…

We live in the Bible Belt and many here in Georgia try to keep up a regular dialogue with Jesus. Throughout the day the conversation continues:           “Thank you Lord, I’m awake, I made it through the night. Help me today to make Christ-like decisions...

SUCH A BIG PROBLEM!

Such a big problem August 11, 2014             In 1985 Georgians were among the most overweight individuals in the country.  By 2005, the incidence of obesity had more than doubled. By 2005, 28% of all adults in Georgia and 26-28% of adults in Rabun County were...

So very differently

So very differently Bob Hatcher June 23, 2014                One day at a time people choose to live their lives so very differently. The differences sometimes amaze me. The patterns of living may be beautiful or repulsive; constructive or destructive; kind or mean;...

Numbers

Numbers June 2, 2014             Numbers have always fascinated me. I guess I inherited this from my parents.  After mom graduated from the University of Chicago in 1922 she worked for over a decade as an actuarial for Metropolitan Life.  Dad was a professor of...

If this isn’t nice, what is?

          If we keep our eyes open on most days there are blessings, bright moments or happy events.  But the quest for that which is good is up to each individual because whether you are looking at local, national or international news, good news is not what...

Information Technology

May 5, 2014            Are the incredible opportunities afforded us through information technology a blessing or a curse? For me they are both.  I love it when I can gain some degree of mastery over one technique. I have come to recognize the power and convenience my...

Treating and Preventing Loneliness

Treating and Preventing Loneliness Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH March 28, 2014      My column last week discussed some of the serious consequences of loneliness and its first cousin, depression. Problems ranging from suicide, heart disease, and decreased memory, to poor...

Loneliness

Loneliness March 24, 2014      When I asked a wise friend his thoughts about loneliness, the first words out of David Fore’s mouth were: “Being lonely is different than being alone.” David is a person who can be completely content when he is alone....