It’s no secret that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States with more than 600,000 deaths each year. February, also known as American Heart Month, gives us all an opportunity to examine our own heart health, factors which may impact our cardiovascular health status, and steps we can take to reduce the risk of developing ...
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), or the enlargement of the prostate, is a common urologic condition that affects men as they age. BPH can cause a variety of symptoms including problems with urination such as difficulty starting or stopping the flow, weak stream and frequent urination. Treatment options for BPH include medications, minimally invasive procedures and traditional surgery. Aquablation therapy is ...
As we look to other health systems in the East and South, we’re seeing a significant uptick in adult and pediatric hospitalizations due to common illnesses such as influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), rhinovirus and COVID-19. While we haven’t yet seen a drastic increase in those numbers locally, we are preparing for what we think will could be a rough ...
Having been on the market for over a decade now, many of us have at least some familiarity with vaping. Whether it is because you or a loved one use the products, or you’ve seen the big blooms of vapor being exhaled from someone in public, they seem to be more and more common. So what exactly is vaping? Vaping ...
St. Peter’s Health is a proud affiliate of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. As such, St. Peter’s is given access to articles, resources, clinical expertise and research to share with our local community. Every year, around 145,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. More than 50,000 people die from it. But the good news is that colorectal ...
March is national colon cancer awareness month. Colon cancer is rising among young individuals and according to the National Cancer Institute, it’s the third leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. As a result, colon cancer guidelines have changed. Now, everyone should be screened for colon cancer beginning at the age of 45. Screening options There are ...
Nicotine Cessation Program is evidence-based and effective St. Peter’s Health offers the Greater Helena community clinical and evidence-based programs to help nicotine users quit for good. In partnership with the Montana Quit Line and the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking program, the St. Peter’s Health Nicotine Cessation program is a seven-week program that combines the use of medication and ...
When I was growing up, my brothers and sisters and I would earn a $5 reward from my mom if we had no cavities after we went to the dentist. Her reasoning was that it cost her less to pay us $5 than to get cavities filled, and this created an incentive for us to brush and floss regularly. What ...
January is “Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.” This is the perfect time to highlight the importance of getting your regular women’s health screenings. The conventional screening called a “PAP” smear was developed by Dr. George Papanicolaou in the 1940s. It is the most common cancer screening test for women and consists of a pelvic exam and sampling of the cervical cells ...
Cardiologist Dr. Sharon Hecker has been practicing medicine in Montana since 1996 and earned her Doctorate of Medicine at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. She completed her fellowship at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center, her internship at the Northwestern University– Evanston Hospital and her residency at Loyola University Medical Center. She is a board-certified member of the American ...