Ask the Expert

Our experts at Banner Estrella have covered many topics through our community members' health and wellness questions. Look for future question and answer columns every Friday in the Southwest Valley Republic.

• Cancer Care
• Complementary Medicine
• Diet and Exercise
• General Health
• Germs
• Heart Care
• Men's  Health 
• Neurology 
• Orthopedics 
• Pediatrics 
• Women's Health 
• Your Health

• Colon Cancer Haider Zafar, MD
• Colon cancer and aspirin Haider Zafar, MD
• Cancer prevention Chia-How Liu, MD
• Kidney Cancer Jean Robey, MD
• Mastectomies and lumpectomies Kimberli Cox, MD
• Are my moles dangerous? Haider Zafar, MD

 Diet and Exercise

• Diabetes and your Diet Homar Bartra, MD
• The Cinnamon Myth Julie Bradshaw, MD
• Calcium and Osteoporosis Lucia Magat-Gregorio, MD
• Trans Fats Brianne Holmes, Registered Dietitian
• Hypertension and Diet Mariel Morales, Registered Dietitian
• Portion Control Mariel Morales, Registered Dietitian
• Exercise and Pain Douglas Mangan, MD
• Long-term weight loss John Monroe, MD
• Target heart rates Parminder Singh, MD
• Working outside in the heat Vicki Copeland, MD
• Minimizing the risk for golf injuries William Brainard, MD
• Energy drinks Stanley Wen, MD
• Protecting yourself from the summer heat Alan Molk, MD
• Training for a marathon at 50 Jason Brown, MD
• How to have a healthy Thanksgiving Jacklyn Diefenbach, Registered Dietitian
• What kind of health problems does obesity cause? John DeBarros, MD
• How can my family stay active and avoid injury? Grant Padley, MD
• Weight training Grant Padley, MD
• Is gluten-free good for you? Jacklyn Diefenbach, Registered Dietitian

 General Health

• Avoiding prescription-drug overdoses Cathy Nguyen, PharmD
• Getting a good night's sleep Vicki Copeland, MD
• Diabetes and Kidney Disease Jean Robey, MD
• Risk factors for kidney disease Jean Robey, MD
• When to see a kidney specialist Jean Robey, MD
• Pain when Sleeping Kathy Maher, RN
• Leg Swelling Kathy Maher, RN
• Shin Splints Aaron Reinhardt, PT
• Why am I going to the bathroom so much during the middle of the night? Jean Robey, MD
• Exercise-induced asthma Stanley Wen, MD
• What causes blood clots? Sarita Sharma, MD
• Hypothyroidism Shishir Murarka, MD
• Cuts, scrapes and medical care Gavin Parisi, MD
• Seniors' skin problems Shishir Murarka, MD
• The five-second rule John Po, MD
• I'm not sweating. Is that bad? David Cohen, MD
• Wisdom teeth Michael Golding, MD
• Flip-flops Dr. Therese Losi
• Peptic ulcers Hector Rodriguez-Luna, MD

 Germs

• Strep Infections Sandy Gladding, MD
• e.Coli Toni Lee, RN, Infection Preventionist
• Killing Household Germs Toni Lee, RN, Infection Preventionist
• Colds vs. Allergies David Engstrom, MD
• How Serious is MRSA? John Po, MD
• Who Should get a Flu Shot? Jean Robey, MD
• How can I protect my child against H1N1 John Po, MD
• Does being pregnant increase my chances of getting H1N1 Mystie Johnson, MD
• What is valley fever? Varsha Dandavate, MD
• Universal flu shot? John Po, MD
• Should my healthy child get a flu shot? Featuring John Po, MD

 Heart Care

• Hypertension and Diet Mariel Morales, Registered Dietitian
• Mitral Valve Prolapse Lawrence Kline, D.O.
• Testing for mitral valve prolapse Lawrence Kline, D.O.
• Women and Heart Disease Lawrence Kline, D.O.
• Understanding Cholesterol Nathan Laufer, MD
• Understanding cholesterol drug research Adhar Seth, MD
• Measuring cholesterol buildup Thomas Perry, MD
• Red Wine and Heart Disease Mariel Morales, Registered Dietitian
• New Device for Hearts Mitchell Ross, MD
• Non-invasive artery disease testing Allan Grossman, MD
• Atrial fibrillation and stroke Andres Atiemo, MD
• Is Afib a form of a heart attack? Rajeev Garg, MD
• Heart palpitations Faran Bashir, MD
• Heart attacks and healthy people Nathan Laufer, MD
• Dental hygiene and heart attacks Youngsoo Cho, MD
• Sleep and heart health Youngsoo Cho, MD
• Cardiovascular Disease and Women Mitchell Ross, MD
• What do my cholesterol test results mean? Jason Brown, MD
• Heart Attacks while Exercising Lawrence Kline, D.O.

Men's Health

• Penile Dysfunction Shawn Blick, MD

 Neurology

• Brain Injury Troy Anderson, MD
• Dementia Ryan Rawlings, MD
• Seizures and convulsions Marc Wasserman, MD
• Do seizures mean epilepsy? Marc Wasserman, MD
• Strokes and Transient Ischemic Attacks Troy Anderson, MD

Orthopedics

• Basic Bone Fractures Gregory Sirounian, MD
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome   Kent Chou, MD
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Kraig Burgess, MD
• Carpal Tunnel Surgery Kent Chou, MD
• Back pain James Hawkins, MD
• Back and hip pain  Gregory Sirounian, MD
• Back pain diagnosis using discography Tory McJunkin, MD
• Relieving Back Pain James Hawkins, MD
• Hip Bursitis Robert Karpman, MD
• Minimally-invasive Joint Replacement Steven Myerthall, MD
• Knee Pain Gregory Sirounian, MD
• Gender Knee Replacement Audrey Tsao, MD
• Rehab after knee surgery Dan Dzurida, Physical Therapist
• Anterior Hip Replacements Gregory Sirounian, MD
• Exercise and Osteoporosis Bignfen Grace Yu, MD
• Osteoporosis of the Spine James Hawkins, MD
• Meniscus tear Douglas Mangan, MD
• Spinal stenosis James Hawkins, MD
• Spinal fusion James Hawkins, MD
• Painful Shoulder Syndrome William Brainard, MD
• Walking in Pain Keith Vavrinak, PT
• Tennis elbow Featuring Kent Chou, MD
• Repetitive Stress Injuries and Ipods Kent Chou, MD

Pediatrics

• What parents can do about childhood obesity Jason Brown, MD
• Acid Reflux Matthew Bennett, MD
• Children and Weight Training Douglas Mangan, MD
• Jaundice Michael McQueen, MD
• Childhood Hypertension Celida Rangel, MD
• Measles immunization John Monroe, MD
• Bedwetting at age six Wendi Morfitt, MD
• How to allergy proof your home Michael Arbel, MD
• How can I pack a healthy lunch for my child? Martin Hernandez, MD
• When does a bump on the head become serious? Marc Wasserman, MD
• How dangerous are concussions for young athletes? Grant Padley, MD
• Keeping your child safe around water Michael Arbel, MD
• How dangerous is whooping cough to babies? Varsha Dandavate, MD

Women's Health

• Cervical cancer vaccine Gema Fernandez, MD
• HPV Mystie Johnson, MD
• HPV vaccine Mystie Johnson, MD
• What is a hysterectomy Jennifer Shaw, MD  
• Options to Hysterectomy Mystie Johnson, MD
• Preventive Mastectomies Sandy Gladding, MD
• Inflammatory breast cancer Theresa Frouge, MD
• Estrogen therapy Lucia Gregoria, MD
• Bioidentical hormones Gema Fernandez, MD
• Cardiovascular Disease and Women Mitchell Ross, MD
• Severe morning sickness Mystie Johnson, MD
• Traveling while pregnant Gema Fernandez, MD
• Having a baby at 40? Tim Walter, MD
• How can I reduce my chances of premature labor Tim Walter, MD
• Preparing for pregnancy Raj Rathee, MD
• Umbilical-cord blood banking BJ Ho, DO
• Exercise and Pregnancy Tim Walter, MD
• Gestational diabetes Stephen Pedron, MD
• Pre-eclampsia Mystie Johnson, MD
• Post-partum depression Mystie Johnson, MD
• Post Partum Depression Lorenzo Boyce, MD
• What is best for a first child: Breastmilk or formula? Kelly Goad, MD
• My uterus is tipped. Is that a problem? Jordan Oland, MD
• Overactive Bladder Shawn Blick, MD
• Why do some women become incontinent Jennifer Klauschie, MD

 Your Health

• Medicine in the Hospital John Placko, Pharmacist
• Spanish Interpreters Vicki Yepiz 
• Anesthesia Stephanie Wade, MD
• Why do I need a medical check-up? Stanley Wen, MD
• Selecting a primary-care physician Kent Johnson, MD
• How do I protect myself against brain injury? Marc Wasserman, MD