Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025 i 5280 Health

My grandfather’s 80th birthday was a double celebration. With our family gathered around the dining room and a mylar balloon floating above his seat at the head of the table, Pop-Pop ushered in his eighth decade, cancer-free. He had been battling colon and liver cancer for more than a year, underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and, in stubborn New Yorker fashion, had seemed to come out on top. And yet, exactly one month after we raised our glasses to him being in remission, on January 11, 2020, he was gone. I was overwhelmed by the unfairness of it all. Didn’t the universe know that Pop-Pop never lost a fight? Didn’t it know that this was the man who attended every dance recital I ever had, wowed my sisters and me…

Arnica & Lemon Verbena Serenity Lotion Leaf People founder and herbalist Julie Williams hikes nearly an hour up the mountains outside Aspen to harvest the wild arnica for this skin soother. The flowering herb, which has long been used as an anti-inflammatory, creates a lotion that isn’t just hydrating but also ache-minimizing and mind-clearing. $40 Red Rocks Beard Oil Wiry goatees and thick mutton chops don’t stand a chance against the softening blend of horehound, hops, and yarrow in this beard oil made by Longmont’s Colorado Aromatics. Vetiver oil also adds a woodsy aroma to the vegan-approved beard-tamer. $15 Co-Wash Bar Scented with coconut, citrus, and verbena, this all-in-one shampoo and conditioner from Denver’s woman- and Black-owned Black Travel Box is ideal for sailing through DIA security: Light yet mighty (one 2.64-ounce…

Fighting cancer is a tough task, but people living in Denver have long been able to count on having the best weapons for the battle within a few minutes’ reach. That hasn’t been the case for rural Coloradans, who sometimes have had to make long treks to Denver or Salt Lake City to receive appropriate care. “You really don’t want to get in a car after a heavy dose of chemotherapy,” says Chris Thomas, president and CEO of Community Hospital in Grand Junction, “and drive hours back home.” For Coloradans living on the Western Slope and in the southern part of the state, care that had typically only been available in urban areas is finally making its way to the countryside. Thomas’ Community Hospital, for example, opened the $54 million…

When the omicron variant coursed through the United States in 2022, it affected demographics differently—but predictably. Hispanic, Native American, Black, and Asian populations recorded higher infection rates than white people during the surge, just as they had throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Those variations laid bare the fact that the health care industry is not immune to discrimination based on race. That includes oncology. “We see disparities not only in incidence,” says Evelinn A. Borrayo, associate director of community outreach and engagement at the CU Cancer Center, “but, more importantly, in mortality.” And although the pattern repeats itself across the world, Colorado has unique problems. To name one: Compared with other states, Hispanic residents here suffer higher rates of lung, breast, and colorectal cancers, and though they have guesses, doctors don’t…

Spore Treatment Could functional mushrooms become the next CBD? Fungi have long been symbols of decay and witchcraft, but recently, our cultural mycophobia has been giving way to wellness-driven mushroom mania. Studies suggest that pompom-shaped lion’s mane (pictured), for instance, can promote brain health and that cordyceps—the cause of the zombie apocalypse in HBO’s The Last of Us—exhibit cancer-fighting properties. “I think these types of functional mushrooms have more potential to help humanity than psychedelic mushrooms and CBD combined,” says veteran Colorado mushroom forager Del Jolly. That prospect inspired him to co-found Longmont-based Umbo in 2020 with Rashad Evans, a former UFC fighter based in Boca Raton, Florida, and retired Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer. Plummer, who lives in Boulder, also co-founded MyCOLove Farms, a gourmet and functional mushroom grower…

During World War II, the U.S. Army began probing mustard gas’ various poisons, looking for deadlier weapons. But among the harmful chemical ingredients, researchers discovered nitrogen mustard, a compound that, miraculously, seemed to slow lymphoma. Eventually, doctors figured out a way to deploy nitrogen mustard and similar so-called alkylating agents to damage the DNA of cancer cells, and in 1956, methotrexate, one ingredient of what’s now the standard chemotherapy cocktail, helped lead to the first recorded cure of metastatic cancer. The drive to build on past discoveries continues today as cancer treatments become more specific to individual patients, resulting in improved outcomes and reduced side effects. “Our knowledge of basic science, biology, and biochemistry is what’s fueling the successes that we’re seeing in the clinic,” says Dr. Gerald Falchook, a…

The field of cardio-oncology isn’t new; it’s simply new to you. In the past, physicians in the specialty were confined mainly to research facilities, where they studied cancer’s effects on the body’s beating center. Among their discoveries: Cancer survivors have a greater chance of developing heart disease because of the powerful drug treatments that coursed through their veins. Today, cardio-oncologists are finally putting their homework into practice. Dr. Chris Fine is the only cardio-oncologist at Denver’s National Jewish Health and one of fewer than 100 cardio-oncologists in the country who have been board-certified by the International Cardio-Oncology Society. Fine has begun collaborating with cancer care teams to monitor patients’ cardiovascular systems and recommend ways to protect their hearts. That might mean avoiding certain cancer drugs, such as anthracyclines, which can…

FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, 5280 has been providing the must-have list of the best doctors in the Denver metro area. For the second year in a row, we’ve partnered with Castle Connolly, a health care research and information company, to create the list. Although some of the medical specialties represented will be different than they have been in the past, by partnering with Castle Connolly, 5280 is able to deliver a much larger list of physicians, which we hope better serves our readers. The list is also available at directory.5280.com/doctors. ADDICTION MEDICINE Ingrid A. Binswanger SAINT JOSEPH, GOOD SAMARITAN Kaiser Permanente 1375 E. 20th Ave. Denver 80205 303-338-4545 Joseph P. Cannavo GOOD SAMARITAN, LUTHERAN, SAINT JOSEPH Kaiser Permanente 1375 E. 20th Ave. Denver 80205 303-338-4545  Alexis C. Carrington GOOD SAMARITAN,…

The first thing to know about cold plunging—the act of dunking yourself in frigid water for an extended period of time—is that it may induce total bliss, pure agony, or both. “It’s completely subjective,” says Justin Weiss, founder of Colorado cold plunge group Ice Church. What’s more definitive is that the practice is heating up thanks to its purported health benefits, including remedying chronic pain, inflammation, and post-workout soreness. (There are dangers, too, such as hypothermia and cold shock, so start slowly, don’t dunk alone, and make sure you have dry clothes and a place to warm up quickly.) Weiss battled fibromyalgia for years until he discovered cold immersion in 2015. “In a few days, my pain was melting away,” he says. But finding the right place to take a…

3000 B.C.E. In the earliest known depiction of cancer treatment, an ancient Egyptian textbook depicts breast tumors being removed by a cauterization tool called a fire drill. 1895 German engineer Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovers the X-ray. Within three years, Swedish physicians Tor Stenbeck and Tage Sjogren describe using X-ray radiation therapy to cure skin cancers. 1923 Greek physician Dr. George Papanikolaou invents a screening test for cervical cancers, which becomes known as the Pap smear. 1960 U.S. doctors use methotrexate to bring about long-term remissions and cures in children with leukemia. 2010 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves sipuleucel-T for metastatic prostate cancer, making it the first cancer immunotherapy to hit the market. 2017 Two tests that identify specific genes in tumors get the go-ahead from the FDA, allowing…

As far as diagnostics go, the typical blood test you get during your yearly physical is good for indicating that something is wrong—just not what is wrong. A high amount of white blood cells, for example, could be a sign of a tumor, but it could just as easily mean that you’re pregnant. That’s why doctors perform other exams, such as CT scans or biopsies, before they can clear a patient or deliver a cancer diagnosis. More screenings mean more time, money, and anxiety. Enter biomarker testing, a specialized form of blood exam that can identify the genes and proteins that are specific to certain cancers. Originally developed about 30 years ago and popularized in the early 2000s, biomarker tests not only pinpoint malignancies, but they also help doctors select…

THE PROCESS How we come up with the Top Dentists list. This list is pulled from the 2024 topDentists database, which is created using peer evaluations and includes listings for more than 900 dentists and specialists in Colorado. To create its list, topDentists asked dentists and specialists a personal question: “If you had a patient in need of a dentist, which dentist would you refer him or her to?” The nomination pool comprised all active dentists listed online with the American Dental Association as well as with dental academies and societies. (Dentists could also nominate others who may not be on those lists.) Respondents were asked to consider experience, continuing education, manner with patients, use of new techniques and technologies, and physical results. After the responses were compiled, dentists were…