Q: I’m starting radiation treatments soon. Is there a way to keep my skin from peeling? During radiation treatments for cancer, nearly eight out of 10 people will develop some form of skin …

Q:           How should I get rid of my old and expired medicines? I don’t want to just flush them down the toilet into the water supply. There …

Today, we picked most of the apples off the one remaining apple tree in the little orchard Grandma and Grandpa planted back when I was in high school.  The yield was good this year, even with …

Not long ago, it was the full Fall Moon. I didn’t know that, but Grandpa did. When I went upstairs to a breakfast of cereal, Grandpa glanced up at me as he pulled his laced leather boots on. …

Years ago, while speaking to 120 pharmacy students in an auditorium in Pullman, Washington, I had my first hot flash. First, my scalp suddenly started feeling hot and prickly. Then, two heartbeats …

Grandma Gay sent me home with a whole lot of apples from her back yard trees. It being the season for apples, I was trying to find a good recipe for them when I came across my stack cake recipe. …

“I don’t think I can take this medicine for the next five months, let alone five years,” insisted Robbie, a 61-year-old breast cancer survivor. After completing chemotherapy …

Sonny and I took a trip to visit Grandma Gay and Grandpa Monte. I always get a good chuckle as I enter their home, then turn around on my way to close the door behind me and peer through their wide …

What do you reach for when cleaning a kitchen cutting board or caring for a scratch? A disinfectant, antiseptic, or an antibiotic? Disinfectants and antiseptics are chemical compounds with the …

As the seasons change, our immune systems must overcome a new set of variables to keep us healthy. Doctors can only do so much, and I firmly believe it is up to me to do the best I can to stay as …

Q:       What is RSV? Respiratory syncytial virus, abbreviated RSV, is also known as human orthopneumovirus. One of the most common causes of severe respiratory …

It’s nice to know how to make sauces like white sauce, cheese sauce, and gravy. I’ll never forget the first time I actually considered gravy-making. I was seven, maybe eight years …

Q:           When is the best time to get a flu shot? The CDC recommends those aged 65 and older get vaccinated in September or October rather …

I visited Caren and Jake over the weekend and as I usually do when visiting, went to church with them on Sunday. They use old-fashioned hymnals and I like that. I am confident my kids started to …

Q: Every summer, my nose runs, and my eyes itch from my allergies. Which antihistamine is best? When you come in contact with something you’re allergic to, your body releases histamine, …

This weekend Kat took me to her favorite u-pick orchard. She and I were heading home from shopping in town when she got a text from a friend; turned to me and asked, “Mom, would you like to …

In the evenings before heading to bed Grandpa prepares the coffee pot to make five cups of coffee in the morning: one cup for me and two cups each for him and Grandma. In the wee hours of the morning …

Grandma started making ginger snaps this morning before Grandpa and I got up. (She does her baking early in the day during the summer months so she’s not warming up the kitchen in the heat of …

Grandma and I were preparing bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches for dinner when Grandpa came in. He took his place at the table like he does most evenings after working during the day around the …

Our oldest, Kat, brought me 10 lb. of cherries. She asked me if I wanted some tart cherries before she went to pick them; I asked how much do they cost; she said the farmer wanted a dollar a pound. I …