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When the doctor becomes the patient: A transformative experience

A colorful butterfly emerging from an injured heart, a transformation.

I grew up in India with my loving family, living in a 1,000-square-foot room. I was fearless and often experienced the bumps and bruises of an active boyhood. I always got up, dusted myself off, and walked again. I learned resilience and was a happy child.

Throughout my work as a physician, the importance of resilience has resonated. I lead research on the effects of consciousness, meditation, yoga, and spirituality on health. Little did I know my understanding of these issues was going to hit close to home.

Becoming a patient: A transformative day

It was an ordinary day. After long hours at work, I went home to enjoy dinner with my family. I did my daily exercise on the treadmill and relaxed, watching television with my son.

Suddenly, I experienced crushing pain. At first I didn’t want to take it seriously, but this pain was too much to bear and I fell on my knees. My wife quickly called 911, thinking it was a food allergy. When the EMTs arrived, I asked them to take me to the hospital where I work. There wasn’t time for that, they told me.

Those were the last words I heard.

Mindful awareness: Pain, but no suffering

I woke next to the squeaking sound of the bed wheels. I heard my best friend screaming, “I am here!” I felt a severe pain on my left shin. At that moment, I was simply aware of what was happening. The “watching myself” began. Was this a spiritual self-awareness, or the meta-awareness described by neuroscientists?

For the next few hours in the ICU, I had the range of disconcerting symptoms that accompanies a severe heart attack — the type of heart attack that only 5% of people survive. Yet it was like I was watching myself in a movie. While I was aware of profound discomforts that should have been terrifying, I felt no suffering. This experience stands out to me even today.

During my heart attack, I experienced a distance between myself, my body, and my mind. I was the witness of the event, not its victim. I believe that this is the result of a regular yoga and meditation practice that transformed my life forever. The type of yoga I practice emphasizes this distance between mind and body, but such benefits are not unique to any single type of yoga or method of meditation. My personal preference is Sadhguru yoga — you can try a simple Sadhguru meditation exercise here.

Bringing intention to illness

My experience is a powerful reminder that aligning spirituality with health not only can help you stay well, but can help you weather “dis-ease” with more intention.

Facing our own mortality can shake us into acknowledging that our time on this earth is indeed short. It serves up a strong reminder to prioritize the things that matter the most in your life. Before the heart attack, my life was driven primarily through intellectual knowledge. But now, I experientially know that there is much more to life than what my intellect perceives. I ask myself: Have I lived my life to the fullest? What impact have I had on the people around me, the city I live in, and the planet I walk on?

We have no control over what life throws at us. But we have a lot of say over what happens within us. I am grateful to the unbroken chain of resuscitation, science, and, I believe, my spiritual practices. As the new year begins, I’d encourage you to consider making spirituality — however you define it — a part of your health goals.

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If you have knee pain, telehealth may help

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Just about everyone experiences knee pain at some point in their lives. Most of the time, it follows an injury or strenuous exercise and resolves in a few days, but knee pain can last months or even years, depending on the cause. A new study suggests telehealth programs designed for people with knee osteoarthritis may help ease pain, improve ability to function, and possibly even lead to weight loss.

What is osteoarthritis of the knee?

Osteoarthritis (OA) — the age-related, “wear-and-tear” degeneration of the knee joint — is the number one cause of chronic knee pain, affecting nearly a quarter of people age 40 or older. It’s responsible for most of the 600,000 knee replacements in the US each year, and more than $27 billion in annual healthcare spending.

How is it treated?

No treatment for knee OA is ideal or works in every case. Standard approaches to treatment include pain management, exercise, and loss of excess weight.

For pain, people with knee OA may consider

  • anti-inflammatory drugs that are rubbed on the skin, such as diclofenac gel
  • anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen
  • pain relievers, such as acetaminophen
  • injections of corticosteroids.

Opiates, arthroscopic surgery, and other injected treatments are not routinely recommended due to risks, lack of proven benefit, or both. Knee replacement surgery has a high success rate for knee OA, but is generally considered a last resort because it’s major surgery that requires significant recovery time.

Virtual visits can help

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with knee OA regularly saw their healthcare providers to

  • monitor their pain and ability to function
  • consider changes in treatment
  • check for treatment side effects
  • determine if other problems are contributing to symptoms.

It turns out, much of this can be done virtually. The pandemic made it a necessity. And a new study suggests it works.

What did the study on knee osteoarthritis find?

The study demonstrated that telehealth visits are a good way to provide care to people with knee OA. The researchers enrolled nearly 400 participants who had knee OA and were overweight or obese. They were divided into three groups:

  • Group 1 was given access to a website that provided information about OA, including pain medications, exercise, weight loss, and pain management.
  • Group 2 received the same information as group 1, and also engaged in six exercise sessions with a physical therapist by videoconference. These sessions lasted 20 to 45 minutes and included advice about self-management, behavioral counseling, and education about choosing exercise equipment.
  • Group 3 followed the same format as group 2, and also had six consults by videoconference with a dietitian about weight loss, nutrition, and behavioral resources. These sessions also lasted 20 to 45 minutes.

After six months, participants in groups 2 and 3 reported pain relief compared to Group 1. On a pain scale of 1 to 10:

  • group 3 improved more than group 1 by 1.5 points
  • group 2 improved more than group 1 by about 1 point.

People in groups 2 and 3 also had better scores for function compared to group 1. All of these improvements were considered meaningful and held up for at least 12 months.

In addition, those assigned to group 3 lost about 20 pounds over the course of the study, while the other groups’ weights were nearly unchanged. That’s an important finding, because excess weight can worsen osteoarthritis of the knee. Losing excess weight can improve symptoms and help prevent the arthritis from getting worse.

Since there was no comparison with in-person care, it’s impossible to say whether these virtual visits were better, worse, or similar to an office visit. In addition, this study did not report the costs of these virtual sessions, the long-term impact of virtual visits, or whether repeated virtual visits could maintain the improvements people reported.

The bottom line

The pandemic is giving researchers an opportunity to seriously study the potential value and limitations of virtual care on a large scale. If these visits are as good as or better than in-person visits for certain conditions and the costs are no greater, that’s a big deal. A virtual visit can eliminate time spent in travel and the waiting room, and possible parking fees that can make a brief doctor’s visit an expensive undertaking that takes half the day. Virtual care also has the potential to reach patients who otherwise cannot get to their doctor’s office.

Of course, telehealth isn’t equally available to everyone due to language barriers, technical abilities, health insurance plans, or simply not having access to smartphones, computers, or data plans. Some states are letting emergency measures supporting telehealth services expire. And some insurers may resort to pre-pandemic rules about coverage or physician licensing that create uncertainty about the future of telehealth.

This study and others suggest that it may be a mistake to curb telehealth just when it’s catching on. More studies like the one described here may make the case to insurers, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, and patients that the future of medical care should rely on more, not less, virtual healthcare, and encourage approaches that overcome barriers to its use.

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Are poinsettias, mistletoe, or holly plants dangerous?

Last winter, my wife shooed the dog and visiting toddlers away from our poinsettia plants, saying "they’re poisonous, you know."

I did not know. But it turns out that the belief that poinsettias are deadly is widespread. The same could be said for mistletoe and holly. But are their reputations for danger well-deserved? Since these plants are especially popular to brighten up homes or give as gifts during the holidays, I decided to look into it.

The risks of poinsettia

Could a plant so common and so well-liked in the winter holidays also be so dangerous? If it is dangerous, what problems does it cause? Must it be eaten to cause problems, or is it harmful to just be nearby? And if it’s not dangerous, why does the myth live on?

The answers to these questions are not easy to find. In fact, the bad reputation may have started in 1919, when an army officer’s child reportedly died after eating part of a poinsettia plant. It is unclear if the plant was responsible, though: many other reports describe mild symptoms, such as nausea or vomiting, but no deaths.

Decades ago, a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine analyzed nearly 23,000 cases of people eating poinsettia and found

  • no fatalities
  • nearly all cases (96%) required no treatment outside the home
  • most cases (92%) developed no symptoms at all.

According to one estimate, a 50-pound child would have to eat more than 500 poinsettia leaves to approach a dose that could cause trouble. Similarly, pets may develop gastrointestinal symptoms after eating poinsettia, but these plants pose no major threat to animals.

The risks of mistletoe

The story is much the same for mistletoe. It’s not particularly dangerous, but may cause an upset stomach if eaten. In fact, mistletoe has been used for centuries as a remedy for arthritis, high blood pressure, infertility, and headache. The evidence isn’t high-quality for any of these uses, though.

Interest also centers on this plant’s potential as an anticancer treatment. Some extracts of mistletoe contain chemicals shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory and to stimulate human immune cells. For example, a substance called alkaloids has similar properties as certain chemotherapy drugs used in the past to fight leukemia and other forms of cancer. However, a two-part 2019 review found that adding mistletoe extracts to conventional cancer treatments did not improve survival or quality of life.

No one suggests it's a good idea to eat this plant, accidentally or otherwise. But eating one to three berries or one or two leaves is unlikely to cause serious illness, according to the authors of a 1986 review of multiple studies. And no significant symptoms or deaths were described in one report of more than 300 cases of eating mistletoe. However, some sources warn that serious problems or even death may occur if enough is ingested. The specific dose required to cause death is unknown but, fortunately, it appears to be so high that consuming enough to be lethal is extremely rare.

The risks of holly

This plant can be dangerous to people and pets. The berries of holly plants are poisonous. If eaten, they may cause crampy abdominal pain, drowsiness, vomiting, and diarrhea. While no one would recommend eating holly, it is unlikely to cause death. And for at least one type of holly, knowing the Latin name would be enough to discourage ingestion: the yaupon holly is also called Ilex vomitoria.

The bottom line

No one should eat poinsettias, mistletoe, and holly, but if small amounts are consumed, they are unlikely to cause serious illness. It seems to me that the dangers of these plants appear to be vastly overestimated.

Perhaps the most dangerous thing about mistletoe and poinsettias is the choking hazard the berries pose for young kids, although that risk is not unique to plants: any small object poses similar risks. Try to keep holiday plants out of the reach of small children and pets. And keep in mind that berries may fall from these plants and wind up on the floor.

If a child or pet eats leaves or berries from these holiday plants, or any other plants, check in with poison control, your pediatrician, or your veterinarian. But unless a particularly large "dose" is consumed, don’t be surprised if the recommendation is to simply watch and wait.

Still concerned even if you know the risks are low? You can always regift holiday plants you receive to friends with no children or pets, or find other ways to decorate your home for the holidays.

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Treatment with abiraterone significantly improves survival in advanced prostate cancer

illustration outline of a hand against a blue background with a blue ribbon on the palm symbolizing prostate cancer research

In December, researchers reported findings from a study showing that the drug abiraterone halves the risk of prostate cancer death among a specific group of patients who previously would not have been treated with it. Currently, abiraterone is approved only for men with prostate cancer that is spreading (metastasizing) in the body. But men enrolled in the study were treated at earlier stages, before their tumors had a chance to spread. Based on the findings, the investigators concluded that abiraterone should considered for treating aggressive prostate cancer that has not yet begun to spread to other sites, but likely will in the future.

Abiraterone was first approved in 2011, specifically for metastatic prostate cancer that no longer responds to chemotherapy or drugs that block testosterone (a hormone that fuels prostate tumor growth). Treatments that block testosterone production in the testicles and other glands are called androgen deprivation therapies, or ADT. Some tumors get around ADT by making their own testosterone, however, and that’s where abiraterone comes into the picture: it prevents cancer cells from making the hormone. Doctors give abiraterone together with prednisolone, a steroid that lessens treatment side effects. More recently, abiraterone’s approval was extended to men who still respond to ADT or have not yet been treated with chemotherapy.

During the newly published study, which is called STAMPEDE, researchers in the UK and Switzerland enrolled 1,974 men with high-risk cancer that was still confined to the prostate and nearby lymph nodes. The STAMPEDE clinical trial is testing multiple treatments for advanced prostate cancer, and this particular study was one of several conducted as part of that broader effort. The men in this case were 68 years old on average, and each of them was assigned to one of three different groups:

  • ADT by itself (the control group, which included 988 men) 
  • ADT in combination with abiraterone and prednisolone (459 men)
  • ADT in combination with abiraterone, prednisolone, and another drug called enzalutamide that is similar to abiraterone (527 men).

ADT in the control group lasted three years, while most of the men receiving combined therapies underwent two years of treatment.

The results

After six years of follow-up, 7% of the 986 men who received abiraterone as part of their treatment had died from prostate cancer. By contrast, 15% of the 988 men given ADT by itself had a prostate cancer death. Moreover, abiraterone significantly lengthened the time it took for metastases to appear.

Based on these findings, the investigators concluded that “patients treated with the combination therapy [that includes abiraterone] are more likely to live longer and die from another cause.” Side effects were more common among abiraterone-treated men, and included hypertension and increased liver enzymes. Adding enzalutamide had no added treatment benefits, making that drug’s use among nonmetastatic cancer patients “unjustified due to additional toxicity and cost,” the investigators wrote.

“This important study adds to the extraordinarily encouraging news regarding treatment advances in advanced and metastatic forms of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Marc Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, editor of the Harvard Health Publishing Annual Report on Prostate Diseases, and editor in chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org. “Giving abiraterone together with prednisolone is now a mainstay in the management of men with prostate cancer that has spread beyond the confines of the prostate gland and lymph nodes. This new study shows that the addition of abiraterone plus prednisolone to traditional ADT can benefit men who have not yet developed metastatic disease but would be likely to do so in the future. The investigators of the STAMPEDE program continue to make practice-changing discoveries that are meaningful and improve survival in this population, and we welcome these results.”

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Stretching studios: Do you need what they offer?

Trainer assisting older woman in a stretch

Boutique or specialty fitness studios offer all sorts of ways to exercise, such as strength training, indoor cycling, and kickboxing. Other popular options, like yoga and Pilates, are less likely to leave you sweaty and breathless, emphasizing flexibility and measured movement. Now a new trend has emerged: studios that focus solely on stretching. What are these studios offering, and will you benefit from this focus?

What are stretch studios offering?

These studios, which include StretchLab, StretchMed, LYMBYR, and others, provide assisted stretching sessions, either one-on-one or in small groups. The promised benefits range from reasonable goals of increasing flexibility and range of motion to more questionable assertions, such as preventing injuries and eliminating chronic pain.

“If you participate in certain sports that require flexibility, like dance or gymnastics, stretching may be important to maintain range of motion,” says Dr. Adam Tenforde, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, and sports medicine physician at Spaulding Rehabilitation and Mass General Brigham.

But if your focus is on improving your overall health, the evidence to support stretching is sorely lacking — especially compared with the wealth of evidence supporting the benefits of regular, moderate physical activity.

“Contrary to popular belief, there’s no consistent evidence that stretching helps prevent injuries,” says Dr. Tenforde. And if you have an existing injury, such as a muscle or joint sprain, aggressively stretching that tissue could actually make the injury worse, he adds.

The “stretch therapists” and “flexologists” at stretching studios may have certain certifications and training, but they’re probably not qualified to recognize and address health-related causes for pain or stiffness. If you have a previous or current musculoskeletal injury, you’re much better off going to a physical therapist who has the expertise and training to treat you correctly.

Feeling tight and stiff?

If you’re free from injuries but just feel tight and stiff, try a yoga class, which can provide added benefits like improving your balance and helping you relax and de-stress. Or consider tai chi, a gentle, meditative form of exercise that can help lower blood pressure and enhance balance. Another option is to get a massage.

If you decide to try assisted stretching offered at a studio, listen to your body, and make sure you communicate how you’re feeling with the therapist working on you, Dr. Tenforde advises.

But you’ll probably do more for your overall health by spending that time taking a brisk walk or some other type of exercise instead, he says. Most Americans don’t meet the federal recommended guidelines for physical activity, which call for 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise and muscle-strengthening activities twice weekly. “As doctors, we’re dealing more with diseases related to inactivity, not diseases of inflexibility, says Dr. Tenforde.

Want to do your stretching at home?

Three easy morning exercises — an A-B-C routine of arm sweeps, back bend, and chair pose — can help ease morning stiffness. This also works well during the day if you spend too much time sitting.

Stretching at home could save you money and time. These tips can help you get the most out of at-home morning stretches or other flexibility routines.

  • Warm up muscles first. Much like taffy, muscles stretch more easily when warm.
  • Feel no pain. Stretch only to the point of mild tension, never to the point of pain.
  • Pay attention to posture and good form. Posture counts whether you’re sitting, standing, or moving. Photos of stretches tell only part of the story, so read instructions carefully to get form right.
  • Focus on the muscle being stretched. One side of your body often is tighter than the other. Work on balancing this over time.
  • Breathe. Breathe comfortably while stretching rather than holding your breath.
  • Practice often. You’ll make the best flexibility gains if you stretch frequently — daily, or on as many days of the week as possible. At the very least, try to do stretches two or three times a week.

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Pandemic challenges may affect babies — possibly in long-lasting ways

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on so many people in so many ways. For babies born during this pandemic, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that the damage has potential to be lifelong.

The first three years of life are crucial for brain development. And it’s not just the health of babies that matters, but the interactions between babies and their caregivers. Babies need to be touched, held, spoken to, smiled at, played with. As they receive and respond to those interactions, in a “serve and return” kind of way, neural connections are built in the brain. When babies don’t have those interactions, or enough of them, their brains don’t develop as they should — and can even be literally smaller.

When you are a stressed or depressed parent or caregiver, it can be hard to find the time, let alone the energy or interest, to talk to and play with your infant. There are multiple studies showing that maternal depression, poverty, and other family stressors can change the development of a child forever.

How was the study done?

In this study, part of an ongoing study of mothers and babies, researchers from Columbia University looked at the development of three groups of 6-month-old babies. Two of the groups were born during the COVID-19 pandemic; the mothers of one group had COVID-19, while the mothers of the other did not. The third group was a historical cohort (a group of babies who were born before the pandemic).

Mothers participating in the study used an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) to record their babies’ development. The researchers noted no difference in the development of the two groups of babies born during the pandemic, suggesting that prenatal exposure to COVID-19 doesn’t affect development, which is great news. But the babies born during the pandemic scored lower in gross motor, fine motor, and social-emotional development than the babies born before the pandemic. Examples of developmental tasks for infants this age are rolling from back to tummy (gross motor), reaching for or grasping a toy with both hands (fine motor), and acting differently to strangers than to parents or familiar people (social-emotional development).

What does it suggest about infant development during the pandemic?

It’s just one study, and we need to do more research to better understand this, but the findings are not really surprising given what we know about infant development. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of stress — emotional, financial, and otherwise — for so many families. It has also markedly affected the number and kind of interactions we have with other people. Babies are on average interacting with fewer people (and seeing fewer faces because of masking) than they did before the pandemic.

Even though we need to do more research, this study should serve as an alarm bell for us as a society. The children of this pandemic may carry some scars forever if we don’t act now. We’ve been seeing the emotional and educational effects on children; we need to be aware of the developmental effects on babies, too. All of these could permanently change their lives.

What can we do to address these challenges?

We need to find ways to support families with young children, financially and emotionally. We need to be energetic and creative, and work every angle we can. While our government should play a role, communities and individuals can help too.

We need to refer families to and fund early intervention programs around the country that support the development of children from birth to 3 years of age. Because of the pandemic, many of these programs have moved to virtual visits, which can make them less effective. So we need to get creative here, too. We can’t just wait for the pandemic to be over.

And parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers need to know about this research — and ask for help. It’s understandable and natural for parents to think that babies are too small and unaware to be affected by the pandemic. But they are affected, in ways that could be long-lasting. Talk to your doctor about what you can do to help yourself, your family, and your baby’s future.

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

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Seeing red? 4 steps to try before responding

Angry red icons that look furious

Breathe. Count to 10. Take a walk. These strategies have long been advised to help you pause and rethink your reaction when you’re seeing red and an inch away from exploding. Under normal circumstances — maybe a little stress at home or at work — those strategies can be useful. But you may find they’re less effective in the pressure cooker we’ve been living in since the pandemic began. What can you do to avoid reaching your boiling point?

For insight, I turned to psychologist Stuart Ablon, founder and director of Think:Kids in the department of psychiatry at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. Ablon is an expert at defusing explosive behavior among kids and teens with severe developmental delays in problem solving, flexibility, and tolerance to frustration — the skills that keep us from melting down.

Pandemic stress blocks our coping abilities

Ablon says many adults are struggling with a lack of these skills right now — not because we haven’t developed them, but because pandemic stress is blocking them. “When we humans are chronically stressed, we lose access to the part of our brain that performs skills like flexibility and tolerance,” Ablon says.

Blocked skills can reduce our coping abilities to those of little children, like toddlers who scream when they don’t get their way.

Practice empathy

Ablon says it’s crucial to stay calm or “regulated” when you’re feeling mad or upset, so you can access the skills needed to maintain control. And the best way to remain calm, Ablon says, is by practicing empathy — trying to sense another person’s perspective or point of view.

“Empathy is the most powerful human regulator we have. It’s been proven to de-escalate people in the most challenging of prison settings, and it can also work on an airplane or in line at Starbucks,” Ablon says. “Think about it: when someone listens to you and tries to understand your point of view, it calms you. You can feel your heart rate drop.”

How does empathy help you?

Calming others is great, but how does being empathetic keep you from exploding? It has a domino effect.

  • Trying to understand someone else's point of view may change your mind about how you want to react. It will also give you something important to do, which will keep you focused so you can remain calm.
  • Being calm enables you to access coping skills like problem solving, flexibility, and tolerance to frustration.
  • Accessing your coping skills strengthens your ability to keep your cool.
  • Because you’re calm, you’ll keep someone else from exploding, which in turn helps you continue to stay calm.

Four steps to help you stop seeing red

To practice empathy, Ablon recommends the following steps.

  • Adopt a mindset that people are doing the best they can. “We’re all trying our best to handle what the world is throwing at us, with the skills we’re able to access at that moment. None of us wants to be losing it,” Ablon says. “Think to yourself, ‘This person I’m interacting with isn’t giving me what I want, but this person is doing the best they can right now.’ If you can exude that, you will help regulate them. It’s incredibly contagious — the same way a parent who stays calm can soothe a crying baby, or a kindergarten teacher with supreme calmness can regulate a whole class.”
  • Be curious, not furious. Ablon recommends asking questions without jumping to conclusions, so you can find out where people are coming from. What are their circumstances? What’s driven them to this moment? What do they need?
  • Practice active listening. “One of the most powerful things you can do to regulate someone is to repeat back to them what you’re hearing from them in your own words. It makes them feel heard,” Ablon says. “So ask questions, and when you get information, reflect back what you’ve heard. It’s called active listening.”
  • Offer reassurance. Remind the person you’re talking to that you’re trying to help. “Say, ‘I’m just trying to understand. I know you must have an important reason and I want to hear more. I’m not trying to get you upset. I want to work things out.’ That’s very calming and regulating,” Ablon says.

It may not be easy to remain empathetic in these challenging times. But the more you practice this skill, the more empathetic you’ll become. That can deliver significant results. “If you can stay calm and approach someone kindly and with understanding,” Ablon says, “it will head things off at the pass for both of you.”

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New study investigates treatment-associated regrets in prostate cancer

Men who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer have difficult choices to make about medical therapy, and the last thing any of them want is to regret their treatment decisions later. But unfortunately, treatment-related regrets are quite common, according to a new study.

After looking into the experiences of 2,072 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2011 and 2012, the investigators found that more than one in 10 were unhappy with their chosen treatment.

The men were all younger than 80, with an average age of 64. Nearly half of them had slow-growing cancers with a low risk of recurrence or spread after treatment. The rest were in intermediate- or higher-risk categories.

All the men were treated in one of three different ways: surgery to remove the prostate (a procedure called radical prostatectomy); radiation therapy; or active surveillance, which entails monitoring prostate tumors with routine PSA checks and imaging, and treating only when, or if, the cancer progresses. More than half the men chose surgery regardless of their cancer risk at the time of diagnosis. Most of the others chose radiation, and about 13% of the men — the majority of them in low- or intermediate-risk categories — chose active surveillance. Then, at periodic intervals afterwards, the men filled out questionnaires asking if they felt they might have been better off with a different approach, or if the treatment they had chosen was the wrong one.

What the results showed

Results showed that after five years, 279 of the men (13% of the entire group) had regrets about what they had chosen. The surgically-treated men were most likely to voice unhappiness with their decision; 183 of them (13%) felt they would have been better off with a different approach. By contrast, regrets were expressed by 76 (11%) of the radiation-treated men and 20 (7%) of men who chose active surveillance. Men in the low-to intermediate-risk categories were more likely to regret having chosen immediate treatment with surgery or radiation instead of active surveillance. The men with high-risk cancer, however, did not regret being treated immediately.

The study was led by Dr. Christopher Wallis, a urologic oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Wallis and his team didn’t explore which specific disease outcomes or complications led to the regrets associated with particular treatments. However, the study did find that sexual dysfunction was significantly associated with treatment regrets in general. “And patients on active surveillance may develop regret if their disease progresses and they then come to believe that they may have been better suited by getting treatment earlier,” Wallis wrote in an email.

The study’s key finding, according to the investigators, is that regrets arise from discrepancies between what men expect from a particular approach and their actual experiences over time. “That’s the important take-away,” Wallis said.

In an accompanying editorial, Randy Jones, PhD., RN, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, emphasized that improved treatment counseling at the time of diagnosis can help to minimize the likelihood of regret later. This communication, he wrote, should consider the patient’s personal values, stress shared decision-making between patients and doctors, and aim for an “understanding of realistic expectations and adverse effects that are possible during treatment.”

“This study underscores the importance of not rushing into a decision, and fully understanding the time course of side effects and what can be expected from them,” said Dr. Marc Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, editor of the Harvard Health Publishing Annual Report on Prostate Diseases, and editor in chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org. “Only when these consequences of treatment(s) or surveillance are fully understood is the patient able to make a truly informed decision.” All too often, newly diagnosed patients respond by “wanting to take care of this as soon as emergently possible.” But with prostate cancer, patients have the time to fully understand what is at stake. “I urge my patients to speak with members of prostate support groups and other prostate cancer patients about the issues they are likely to face, not necessarily in the immediate future, but years later. The fact that this study evaluated individuals 10+ years following their decision is an important feature in helping us better understand the time course during which regrets may be experienced.”

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How to address opposition in young children

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"No!"

It might have been endearing as your child’s first word, but dread often kicks in when that word starts to follow parental requests. Experiencing resistance to small or big asks? Stuck in arguments that seem to go in circles and leave you exasperated with unmet requests? The good news is that this pattern can be disrupted. First, you’ll need to identify reasons behind the opposition. Then you can apply relevant strategies to see more helpful behaviors instead.

Below are some examples of opposition drivers and tips to address them.

Difficulty with transitions

If you find that your child resists a request right after engaging in an activity, it might be that your child first needs time to transition. This can be a common experience when parents make requests while children are playing video games or another stimulating activity. One way to manage this is to give your child a five- or 10-minute heads-up (whichever they might need) that you will be asking for the game to stop. This gives your child time to find a place to pause if playing a video game and to transition.

Some families find it helpful to talk with their children before playtime begins to learn what game or activities will be taking place, and how much advance notice might be helpful before the activity would need to stop. This invites collaboration and shows that you respect that not all moments are ideal for stopping a game.

Independent streak

Children almost never are in control, and resistance can show up when that wears on them. Try to fold in elements of choice and control throughout the day for children (that are within a framework you determine) to create more of a balance with your requests. Perhaps you let a young child know that they will need to wear long sleeves and pants because of the weather, but they can pick which top and pair of pants to wear that day. Another idea is to invite your child to pick a side dish for a future dinner from a premade list of a few options.

It also helps to create opportunities for your child to practice being independent. This fosters mastery and offers experiences of feeling in control. This could look like your child preparing any parts of meals that are age-appropriate (for example, a three-year-old could pour cereal into a bowl; a five-year-old could measure ingredients for baking). The kitchen counter may be extra sticky as your child learns new skills. With time, your child will be more adept, and your counters will be cleaner.

Hunger and tiredness

We need both food and sleep to recharge our batteries. When we run low on either or both, it’s extra difficult to be our best selves. If you find that your child is crankier than usual, reflect on when your child last ate and how your child slept the night before (or napped if your child is of napping age). If it’s been a while since your child has eaten and/or your child did not sleep as much as usual, your child may need to recharge before being more receptive to requests. Have your child grab a healthy snack or meal if needed. If sleep is the issue, validate to yourself that this is frustrating that there is no quick fix. Acknowledge privately they are not their usual self at this moment and may be more receptive tomorrow.

Resistance also may crop up when children are coming down with a viral illness, so keep an eye out for any symptoms that may emerge.

Mental health challenges

Everyone has off days, but a persistent pattern of resistance to requests and distress following them may suggest that a child is experiencing mental health difficulties. For example, if a child appears oppositional every morning before school, it could be that they experience anxiety about going to school and are trying to avoid the distress they experience when there. In this case, it is important to ignore the "no" bait and focus on the emotion behind the refusal. Validate or acknowledge how your child is feeling to open the door to learn more. For example, you could say, "You seem really worried about going to school. What about school has been so tough lately?"

Use a similar approach for symptoms of depression, such as withdrawing from and refusing to engage in activities: validate your child’s feelings and invite your child to share more to help you understand their experiences. Discovering what is driving the resistance can allow you to develop a collaborative plan to support your child’s needs and get extra help if needed. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based treatment for children experiencing anxiety and/or depression. Your pediatrician can be a helpful resource for mental health treatment referrals. The Anxiety & Depression Association of America also provides treatment resources.

Sometimes, oppositional behavior is pervasive. It can include a frequent loss of temper, irritability, difficulty following the rules, defiance of authority figures, spitefulness, and more. If these behaviors occur at home and also show up in other settings, such as at school, a child may be experiencing symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder. Parent training programs such as parent management training, along with problem-solving skills training, are evidence-based treatments, and pediatricians also may be able to provide relevant referrals.

Your patience understandably can wear thin if you find yourself facing repeated resistance. That experience, though, does not have to continue. You can help shift these patterns once you discover what is driving the "no."

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HEALTHY-NUTRITION NATURAL-BEAUTY STRETCH

Exercise, metabolism, and weight: New research from The Biggest Loser

woman running outdoors in sunlight

The Biggest Loser was a popular reality television show that ran on NBC for over a decade starting in 2004. In it, participants with obesity competed with each other through intense physical challenges and ate a reduced-calorie diet to see who could lose the highest percentage of body weight.

Prior findings from studies of The Biggest Loser contestants showed not only that metabolism slows drastically following significant weight loss, but also that regaining the lost weight does not restore metabolism back to its pre-weight loss levels. This means people who have lost large amounts of weight must adhere to an extremely low-calorie intake in order to maintain that weight loss. One show contestant lost 239 pounds and achieved a weight of 191 pounds, yet six years later, after regaining 100 pounds of that lost weight, had to consume an 800-calorie-per-day diet to maintain his weight.

New research about physical activity and metabolic rate

A more recent study by the same researcher aims to explain and interpret the findings from The Biggest Loser in light of an energy conservation model. In what he calls the "constrained model of human energy expenditure," Dr. Kevin Hall theorizes that because the contestants engaged in large, sustained periods of intense physical activity, their metabolisms slowed substantially in order to reduce their metabolic rates and thereby minimize changes in total energy expenditure. In other words, their bodies made automatic compensatory changes to maintain energy balance.

Of particular interest is the fact that at the end of The Biggest Loser competition, the degree of metabolism reduction was not related to contestants’ subsequent weight regain, and in fact, the contestants that maintained the greatest weight loss six years after the competition actually had the greatest amount of metabolism adaptation. This suggests that metabolic adaptation is a response to the change in lifestyle, namely the dramatic increase in physical activity observed in those who maintained the most weight loss. Fortunately for those trying to maintain significant weight loss, the compensatory mechanisms do not completely counteract lifestyle changes, so it is possible to keep off substantial amounts of weight.

What have we learned about weight loss from studying The Biggest Loser contestants?

Taken together, what we’ve learned from these studies on The Biggest Loser contestants is that while short-term reductions in resting metabolic rate are related to the extreme calorie restriction at the time of active weight loss, the larger, persistent metabolic adaptation that takes place later is related to substantial sustained increases in physical activity.

Results from the National Weight Control Registry (established in 1993 to determine characteristics of individuals successful at keeping weight off) have long demonstrated that physical activity is a key component of successful weight maintenance. What we don’t yet know is how sustained increases in physical activity lead to improved maintenance of lost weight, despite the compensatory long-term reduction in resting metabolic rate. Dr. Hall theorizes this could potentially be because of the effect of physical activity on lowering appetite.

But as is always the case, additional studies are needed to fully clarify the relationship between body composition, physical activity, energy regulation, and weight maintenance. In the meantime, we should continue to follow the well-founded advice to eat healthy whole foods in moderation, avoid processed foods, and engage in regular physical activity to maintain a healthy body weight.