The amount of a person's body hair is determined by his/her genetic makeup. A person may have a condition called hirsutism in case she is a woman and develops excessive amounts of coarse and pigmented hair on areas of her body where men typically grow hair, such as the face, chest and back. Hirsutism is a condition of unwanted, male-pattern hair growth in women.
Hirsutism may be caused by an ethnic or family trait, ... more
To describe thinking and memory problems that can occur after cancer treatment, cancer survivors use the common term "chemo brain", which may be called cognitive dysfunction, cognitive changes or chemo fog as well.
The term chemo brain is misleading, despite the fact that it is a widely used term. Whether or not memory and concentration problems in cancer survivors are caused by chemotherapy is not understood yet. Doctors are ... more
Connecting a woman’s uterus with her outer genitals, the vagina is a muscular tube. Vaginal cancer is a rare form of cancer that usually occurs in the cells that line the surface of the vagina, which is called the birth canal sometimes. Primary vaginal cancer is a rare cancer that starts in the vagina, while various cancers spreading to the vagina from other places in the body are more common. Only 2 to 3 % of gynecologic cancers are ... more
Pancreatic cysts are abnormal pockets of fluid, which have the shape of sacs, located on or within the pancreas. The cysts might be somehow disturbing for patients, but they should be reassured that these cysts are not cancerous; they even do not lead to symptoms in most cases.
Despite the name, many pancreatic cysts aren't considered real cysts. That is because the cells of these pockets of fluids do not fall in the same ... more
Located at the base of the neck just below Adam's apple, the thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland. When the thyroid gland grows larger than normal, it means that a person has a condition called goiter. Although painless, a large goiter could cause a cough and make it difficult to swallow or breathe.
A lack of iodine in the diet is the most common cause of goiter worldwide. This condition could also be due to nodules that ... more
An autoimmune disorder caused by a viral infection may result in optic neuritis. Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve, the bundle of nerve fibers in the eye transmitting visual information to the brain. Common symptoms of optic neuritis include pain and temporary vision loss; occasionally, those signs and symptoms might be an indication of a condition that causes inflammation and damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord, ... more
