Entries by drjohnskennedy

Happy Thanksgiving from DeKalb Surgical

The physicians and staff of DeKalb Surgical Associates want to extend to all our patients and their families a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on the past, whether it be just in the year of 2023, or back to our childhoods, sharing the memories and legends and stories that […]

Hyperparathyroidism Can Affect Anybody–Even a Major League Pitcher!

Pitcher Jon Lewis signed with the Washington Nationals in January 2021, and underwent parathyroid surgery later that year. Hyperparathyroidism is a disease that is underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated.  It is typically manifest as a slight elevation in your calcium level, and your doctor might even overlook it, maybe not even aware themselves of how big […]

How long should I continue getting mammograms? At what age should I stop?

One unanticipated consequence of the COVID pandemic has been the postponement of screening mammography for virtually the entire population of US women who are candidates.  Mammography centers are opening again, now with a large backlog of women to schedule.  It is anticipated that there will be a delay in diagnosing breast cancers in some women […]

Breast Health In The Time Of COVID-19: Volume 5

Schedule Your Mammogram It seems only fitting to come full circle in this final volume to talk further about mammograms.  Mammography is the workhorse in our efforts to identify and treat breast cancer at its earliest stages. I spoke in the first volume about the difference between screening and diagnostic mammograms, and you may want […]

Breast Health In The Time Of COVID-19: Volume 4

In this volume, I am completing my list of 19 steps to improve your breast health, during this COVID-19 pandemic. The first volume was about mammograms. In the second volume, I touched on alcohol, smoking, weight gain, hormones, sleep, and pregnancy. The third volume  discussed exercise, vitamin D, the Mediterranean diet, pollutants, breast-feeding, and stress. […]

Breast Health In The Time Of COVID-19: Volume 3

I am continuing my list of 19 steps you can accomplish to improve your breast health, during this COVID pandemic.  My first volume was about mammograms. In the second volume  I touched on alcohol, smoking, weight gain, hormones, sleep, and pregnancy.  Let’s continue.   #7        Take some time to exercise every day, for about 40 […]

Breast Health In The Time Of COVID19: Volume 2

19 Things to Do to Promote Breast Health during the COVID- 19 Pandemic In my first volume, I explained what to do if your screening mammogram has been postponed.  In this volume I will touch on diet and some other factors that can affect your breasts. There are so many disruptions in our daily routines […]

Breast Health In The Time Of COVID: Volume 1

If you are like me, you may be spending hours a day catching up on what new information there is about the pandemic.  With the “stay at home” directives, it is hard to get yourself up and out to do any exercise, and I’ve heard reference to the “COVID-19 pounds” we may gain before it’s […]

Final Installment in Series of 5: “Nurse Kay”

My first rotation as an intern at Grady Hospital was on the Orthopedics team.  We would manage all the patients with broken bones, no matter what the age.  And so it happened that our team went to the pediatrics floor on a daily basis.  It was there that I met “Nurse Kay”, as her young […]

4th Installment in Series of 5; The Dedicated “Office Nurse”

After finishing my surgical residency at Emory University, I took over a surgical practice from a retiring surgeon in Decatur, Georgia.  His office was in a renovated stone house in downtown Decatur, and he had three employees, all of whom continued working for me for some time. A few years later, two other retiring surgeons […]