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A former pediatric oncology nurse, I entered the world of online journalism when I created the website Journal to Wellness.com. After running the site for several years, I decided to branch out into freelance work and began writing and editing for individual clients and large content creators such as OneSpace, Textbroker and Demand Media. I also spent some time as a ghostwriter for an insurance broker in New York.
More recently, I served as the editor-in-chief for the website and online magazine SevenPonds.com, where I managed a team of 5-7 remote writers and oversaw day-to-day operations of the blog. I also worked with two co-writers to develop all-new content for the company's newly redesigned website, which will launch in 2025.
If you're in need of high-quality website content, blog posts, or long-form articles please feel free to contact me. I am also available to craft e-books and white papers for your firm.
Last month, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of 24 people across the United States in connection with a $1.2 billion Medicare scam. The scam targeted seniors, calling them on the phone and offering them "free" orthopedic devices such as back, knee and wrist braces, ostensibly to help with arthritis pain.
Ali Benjamin's " The Thing About Jellyfish " is a delightful, poignant and thoroughly entertaining novel about a young girl's strange, multilayered journey through grief. Told through the eyes of 12-year-old Suzanne, it is a story of imagination and wonder; friendship and betrayal; and the healing power of love.
Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable. ~ Mary Oliver As a pediatric oncology nurse, I saw more than my fair share of death. My dying patients were children - some infants, some toddlers, some teens - all leaving this world far before what logic would dictate was "their time."
An interview with Jessica Nutik-Zitter, M.D. Part One Today SevenPonds is speaking with Dr. Jessica Nutik-Zitter, M.D. Dr. Zitter is a board certified specialist in both critical care and hospice and palliative medicine and an attending physician in the intensive care unit at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.
A new study shows the vast majority of women do well on endocrine therapy alone A much anticipated study comparing the long-term survival of women with early-stage breast cancer who received chemotherapy with women who did not has just been released.
It has been over 35 years since the medical community first became aware of a strange and deadly disease that mainly affected gay men. The news first broke in June 1981, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report describing an unexplained outbreak of a rare form of pneumonia, pneumocystis carinii, in five previously healthy young gay men.
Researchers are moving closer to understanding how the virus works Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute have used a modified poliovirus to fight cancer cells. The experimental therapy uses the polio virus to stimulate an immune response, which prevents the cancer cells from "hiding" from the immune system.
A palliative care physician offers practical advice to people living with a serious illness and their loved ones Dr. Steven Pantilat's "Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and Caregivers" is a wonderful resource for individuals and families struggling to cope with life-limiting illness.
The monument honors the victims of lynching and racial terrorism An unusual memorial was unveiled recently in Montgomery, Alabama , the only one of its kind in the United States.
It wasn't very long ago that no one questioned the finality of death. A person died when they were no longer breathing and their heart stopped beating - period. There was no such thing as CPR, and mechanical ventilators didn't exist.
In a blistering indictment of the American healthcare system, the British Medical Journal Lancet published a in April that looked at income inequality in relation to the nation's health. The results showed that the wealthiest Americans live a full 15 years longer than their poorer counterparts.
The bill would give a $1,000 tax break to donors, living or dead Two bills currently pending in the New Jersey legislature would provide tax credits of $1,000 to organ donors in the state, Politico reports. The bills also authorize tax credits of $100 for blood donors who donate at least four times in a calendar year.
When Carol Kearns lost her 7-year-old daughter Kristen to a rogue wave in 1976, she thought her life had come to an end. Lost in a haze of grief and despair, she spent the next 10 days praying for a miracle that never came.
I am dying from the treatment of too many physicians~ Alexander the Great When a doctor tells you you have cancer (or any life-threatening illness) your natural reaction is to ask him or her, "What should I do?" You've just been thrown into uncharted waters, with nothing to guide you but your desire to survive.
A pastor in Wisconsin held a special service to acknowledge parishioners' grief The holidays come with a host of expectations. Perhaps the most ubiquitous of these is the feeling that we must put a smile on our faces no matter how we feel. This "forced cheer" can be difficult for anyone under any circumstances.
There is arguably no pain greater than that of losing a child or seeing your child become permanently disabled. In fact, when most of us hear stories of such tragic loss, they inspire in us compassion, empathy and a desire to help.
When most of us think about death, we think in very personal terms. Perhaps we worry about the pain of losing a loved one or ponder what it will be like when we are confronted with our own demise. Very few of us spend much time thinking about death on a macro level, at least not here in the United States.
How expansive is the human mind? How resilient is the human spirit? These are questions few of us ask ourselves as we go about our daily lives. Yet when tragedy strikes, the answers may be crucial to our ability to survive. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a film that answers both of these questions.
Hospitalized elderly patients live longer when a female doctor cares for them, Harvard study finds A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows that women may make better doctors than men, at least some of the time.
Each month Kathleen Clohessy, R.N., offers a new perspective on living with a terminal illness. Kathleen comes to SevenPonds with 25 years experience as a registered nurse caring for families and children facing life-threatening illness. She began her career in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at N
"Healing Spaces," by Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., is an interesting and sometimes enlightening book. Written in 2009, it describes in great detail some of the earliest scientific research into the fascinating field of psychoneuroimmunology, which seeks to explain the complex interactions bet
Androgen deprivation therapy is a highly effective treatment for prostate cancer. Also called hormone therapy, ADT includes a number of medications that decrease the production of the hormone testosterone or block uptake of testosterone by prostate cells. Early and aggressive use of hormone therapy has contributed to lower mortality rates from prostate cancer in the United States.
The knee is the largest joint in the body. Composed of three bones -- the femur, or thigh bone, the tibia, or shin, and the kneecap -- the knee is stabilized by four ligaments and cushioned by the menisci, two rubbery, disc-shaped pieces of cartilage that prevent friction between the bones.
A new study from the American Cancer Society has confirmed what public health officials have known for a long time - smoking kills. Published in the Oct. 23, 2016 issue of JAMA, the study found that 29 percent of U.S. ... Continue reading →
Scientists have long known that there is a strong correlation between diabetes and dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease. People living with diabetes have an incidence of Alzheimer's that is roughly twice that of the general population, and they tend to show signs of cognitive decline at an
In a move that was unsurprising to those who have been following the "opioid epidemic" in the United States, the American Medical Association declared in June that it was rescinding its recommendation that pain be assessed as the "fifth vital sign." Coming on the heels of the latest pain managem
For people living with cancer, anxiety and depression are often a fact of life. Simply knowing that they have a potentially life-limiting disease is a difficult burden to bear. Then the side effects of treatment often leave them too sick and exhausted to cope effectively with their fears.
Using ceramic bunnies to make a statement about global violence might seem like an odd concept. But that's exactly what artist Justin Novak does with his series "21st Century Bunny" -- a collection of hypervigilant, one-eyed, gun-toting ceramic rabbits that Novak created in Denmark and Finland betwe
Today SevenPonds speaks with Sarah Hooper, the Executive Director of the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy and Adjunct Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California. A recognized expert in medical-legal issues in the area of end-of-life
Today SevenPonds continues our two-part interview with Sarah Hooper, the Executive Director of the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy and Adjunct Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California. (Read Part One here.) A recognized expert in