Ira Breite's Sirius Doctor Radio Show: Monday April 28th

Yesterday, I had (if I may say so) a great show. It was all about getting in shape, avoiding skin cancer, dieting and finally, after you had done all of the preceding, sex.

I started the show discussing exercise. Like most doctors, I exhort people to exercise, but, when asked how to do it, I usually give some platitude and move on. Not so on Doctor Radio. In studio, I spoke with Mr. Lloyd Wilkins, a personal trainer in New York City, and on the phone I spoke with Marjorie Albohm, who is a certified athletic trainer (yes, there is a difference) and the President Elect of the National Athletic Trainers Association. Marjorie was an athletic trainer for two Olympic games. Both she and Lloyd gave me great tips on clothing, stretching, choosing the right exercise and ways to avoid injury. There was so much more to ask them that I was sad when the segment ended. Hopefully, they can both come back!!

Onto skin cancer; specifically melanoma. My colleagues in the Department of Dermatology at NYU published an important study showing that for melanoma, the worst kind of skin cancer, size still matters. I spoke with Naheed R. Abbasi, MPH, MD, the lead author of the study and also with Dr. Michael Whitlow, a dermatologist at NYU. In addition to the study, we talked about ways to avoid melanoma in the first place, including avoiding UVa, UVb and sun protective clothing. Take home point: wet t-shirts aren't as sun protective as you think!

Then for a bit of religion. Have you ever said something like "Dear God, please don't let me eat that bag of potato chips?" Well, if you think that works, I have an author for you. Barbara Bartocci, a Christian author and motivational speaker, just wrote a book called "Grace on the Go: Quick Prayers for Determined Dieters." As a physician, I am open to just about anything thats legal to promote weight loss. But, while it was fun to get a different point of view, I am not sure that this will work for the less religiously inclined.

Finally, we shifted to sex. A recent article in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that there may be some benefit (some) for pre-menopausal woman to use a testosterone spray on their abdomen's to increase sexual satisfaction. Against this idea at all was Dr. Lenore Tiefer who joined me on the phone. In studio, and with stories that made me say "Thank God for satellite!!" was Dr. Miriam Greene, a member of the NYU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Miriam has an excellent voice, and we played her CDs as bumper music as well. Although the issue is unresolved, especially in the pre-menopausal set (doctor talk for don't do it yet), Miriam's story justify the existence of Doctor Radio and FCC-free satellite radio in general! To hear them, you have to listen!