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Despite the widespread use of mammography screening, the incidence of de novo metastatic breast cancer has not declined and represents 3% to 6% of new breast cancer diagnoses in high-income countries and 10% to 30% in low-income countries. De novo metastatic breast cancer refers to breast cancer that has already spread to distant sites (liver, brain, lung or bone) at a patient’s initial diagnosis and has a five-year survival rate of around 29%.

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As many people are making plans to enjoy the great outdoors this spring and summer, Wake Forest Baptist Health’s Wilderness Medicine experts are sharing some important information to help make it a safe and enjoyable time for the whole family. Seth Hawkins, M.D., wilderness medicine expert, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and medical director for N.C. State Parks, offers the following tips.

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How do you know if the nasal congestion and sneezing you’re experiencing is spring allergies or COVID-19?

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A study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that while approximately 30 million American adults have obstructive sleep apnea only about 6 million, or 20%, have been properly diagnosed and treated.

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Clinical pastoral education is an interfaith professional program that helps theological students, ordained clergy, members of religious orders and qualified laypersons develop the interpersonal skills needed to work as chaplains or spiritual care providers in hospitals and other settings.

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While the donation and transfusion of blood are very common, and relatively simple as far as medical procedures go, the path from donor to recipient is more complex than most people may realize.

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Concussion is the most common and mildest type of traumatic brain injury, but it should never be taken lightly. Any concussion, however slight, temporarily disturbs vital brain activity and can cause a range of physical, mental and emotional symptoms that vary in number and severity from case to case.

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Osteoarthritis can produce joint pain and stiffness sufficient to limit and even prohibit the performance of everyday tasks. It becomes more common with age, once it starts it typically gets worse and there’s no known cure. But there are therapies that can relieve pain and maintain joint function.

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If you let the sun burn your skin you’ll pay a price right away, with painful redness, peeling and possible blistering. But sunburn can also generate long-term problems, such as premature aging of the skin and skin cancer.

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You just have to be smart about what you grill and how you grill it, and be willing to broaden your view of what qualifies as proper cookout fare.

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Roughly four out of five people won’t ever experience memory issues more serious than the “senior moments” of normal aging.

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Hospital medicine is a relatively new discipline – the term for those who practice it, hospitalists, dates only to 1996 – but it is one of the fastest growing fields in medicine today because of dramatic ways health care has changed over the past two decades.

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There’s currently no good way to tell when – or even if – congenital heart defects will become apparent. Even defects that are identified and treated in childhood can resurface and cause problems in adulthood.

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“Addiction is something we’re all going to encounter no matter what kind of medicine we end up practicing,” said Shane Stone, a fourth-year student at Wake Forest School of Medicine who led the effort to establish a student interest group in addiction medicine at the school.

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The often-misunderstood specialty employs low doses of radioactive materials and advanced imaging technologies to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.

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“The increase in diabetes in our society is almost certainly driven by the increase in obesity,” says Alain Bertoni, M.D., of Wake Forest School of Medicine. “But not everybody who has diabetes is obese and not everybody who is obese has diabetes. There are definitely other factors at work.”

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Enjoying good times around the holiday table can sometimes be difficult for people with food allergies.

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Ultrasound-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation for thyroid conditions is a minimally invasive procedure that is quick and cost-effective, with side effects about the same as those of a flu shot.

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In addition to following a balanced diet, young competitors need to know when to eat what types of food to allow enough time for the digestion and absorption of the nutrients they need to perform at their best.

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Recognizing your limits, knowing where you’re going and what you might encounter there, and being aware of the environment you’re in are the best ways to avoid the bites, stings, cuts, sprains and other mishaps that can spoil outdoor activities