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Will this be the unhappy American birthday?

Columns

In one month, the United States will observe its 250th birthday. It is shaping up more like a memorial service for a lost loved one than a party to celebrate something special. Rather than anticipating a happy occasion, America at 250 is increasingly characterized by anger, name-calling and scandals. Performers are withdrawing from President  Trump’s Freedom 250 Great American State Fair in Washington, claiming organizers lied to them about its partisanship. Trump, who has contributed mightily to the growing divisions among us, is threatening to make a “major speech,” mostly to ...

Dear Annie: A birthday card full of questions

Columns

Dear Annie: My sister and I have not spoken in three years following a falling-out over our mother’s estate. I won’t rehash the details — suffice it to say, neither of us came out looking entirely clean. We were never close growing up, but we were friendly enough as adults, and I miss that. Last month, she sent me a card for my birthday. No note inside, just her signature. I’ve been staring at that card for weeks, trying to decide what it means. Is it an olive branch? Is it guilt? I don’t want to make a fool of myself by reaching out warmly only to be met with a cold ...

Will single-payer health care champions ever offer something credible?

Columns

Billionaire progressive activist and California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer recently remarked: “Health care companies only care about one thing: profits. Single-payer now.” This is the same Tom Steyer who opposed single-payer when he ran for president in 2020. “Bernie Sanders was right,” he says. “Boy, was I wrong.” He still cannot explain how to pay for it. Can anyone? Single-payer health care has been the progressive left’s signature domestic demand for four decades. It has generated presidential campaigns, mass rallies, congressional cosponsors and an ...

Numbness persists in patient after four years of injections

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was in excellent health until December 2020, when I was admitted to the hospital with high-risk multiple myeloma (MM). I’ve been participating in a Phase 2 clinical trial since January 2021, and I was fortunate to achieve minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative status in November 2023 — a milestone that is reached by only 10% of over 20 participants. However, as a side effect of four years of treatment, including Velcade injections (16 total), I’ve developed neuropathy, mainly in my feet. My primary issue is overall numbness and a lack of feeling in my feet. ...

The present breaks the past’s heart

Columns

Change is not my best friend. Not since the day my family moved from Wisconsin to California when I was eight. Leaving the land of my grandmother, the skating rink and snowballs in winter, Lake Mendota and the tennis courts in summer, the community garden and all that seemed unfair. The Fourth of July parade for kids was pure Americana. I dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Ice cream never tasted better than it did then and there. Los Angeles seemed like paradise lost, with a smoggy sky in a child’s eyes. Grown-ups talked about the Manson murders. Take me back, please! That ...

Gabapentin’s benefit to sleep outweighs risks in woman’s case

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 70 year old woman in good health, other than osteopenia and digestive problems that plague many seniors. I went through a sleep study and was found to have somewhat severe periodic limb movement. I do wake up frequently, always use the bathroom, and can be awake for a while before going back to sleep. I was prescribed 100 mg of gabapentin, which does help. But I worry about dementia since the frequency and length of time of taking gabapentin determines the risk. My watch does indicate a longer, deeper sleep when I take it, but there’s a trade-off. Do I get the ...