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Good fences, better boundaries

Dear Annie: I have a neighbor whom I used to enjoy very much. We would chat at the mailbox, exchange holiday cookies and occasionally sit on each other’s porch for a friendly visit. She was the kind of neighbor everyone hopes to have close by. Lately, though, things have changed. She now drops by without calling, often at the worst possible times. More than once, I have opened the door in my exercise clothes, with dinner half-cooked and papers spread all over the kitchen table, only to find her smiling and ready to settle in for a long visit. If I say I am busy, she laughs it off and ...

Woman’s HPV test comes out positive for three risk types

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 35-year-old female. My doctor did a Pap smear and a human papilloma virus (HPV) test that was positive for one of the “risk types” (16, 18 and 45 according to my chart) — but not one of the really bad ones. I am otherwise healthy. My Pap smears have always been normal. I never did get my HPV vaccine. Should I get it? Should I worry? What are the chances of it going away? I am engaged to be married; how do I tell him? — V.S.P. ANSWER: HPV is the cause of cervical cancer in women and head and neck cancer in men. Although there are many different types, ...

Yes, boldly go

So much for journalistic objectivity. The BBC science editor covering the launch of Artemis II couldn’t contain her enthusiasm when the first plumes of smoke spread out from the launch pad. “Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed, clapping like a schoolgirl. As the rocket lifted off, she got visibly emotional: “It’s not just what you see and you hear as the rocket lifts off. You can feel the force of it through your body. This is the most powerful rocket that NASA has ever built!” Rebecca Morelle can be forgiven for falling in love with the subject of her ...

Dear Annie: Being needed isn’t the same as being seen

Dear Annie: I am wondering if I am the only one who feels this way, though I suspect I am not. From the outside, my life looks full. I have family, friends, responsibilities and a calendar that rarely seems empty. Yet somehow, I often feel lonely right in the middle of it all. I spend so much time taking care of other people, showing up, remembering birthdays, checking in and being the dependable one, but very rarely does anyone ask how I am really doing. If I disappeared for a week, I honestly wonder who would notice beyond needing something from me. It is a strange kind of sadness ...

Explaining birdshot chorioretinopathy and its treatments

DEAR DR. ROACH: My niece was diagnosed with birdshot chorioretinopathy. Can you please explain what this is, which treatments are involved, and what the typical prognoses are? — P.Z. ANSWER: Birdshot chorioretinopathy is an inflammatory condition of the choroid and retina (the very back of the eye). The average age of diagnosis is 53. This disease is an autoimmune disease that is strongly associated with genetics. Nearly everyone with this disease has the same human lymphocyte antigen group (HLA-A29), even though only 7% of people have this antigen present in their T cells (one of ...

The Iran hawks are losing their judgment

I am an Iran hardliner. But I’m struggling to understand how other hardliners can be so credulous about President Donald Trump’s leadership of this war. It’s as if you were stranded by the side of the road and accepted a ride from an obviously drunk driver. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal editorial board scolded those of us who were not cheerleading for this war: “There’s remarkable pessimism in the media and political class about the U.S. bombing campaign against the terrorist regime in Iran. Five days into the war, you’d think from the coverage and commentary ...