September/October 2005

Nan's Note

From Your NO. 1 Health Advocate

For those of you who are new to WebMD, welcome! And for those of you who are familiar faces, how are you feeling? We have been thinking about you. Now that the fall season is upon us, we've also been thinking about:

Back-to-school grind -- for those who were not in summer school.

Back-to-work grind -- for those who took their foot off of the gas pedal during the summer and actually escaped on vacations.

The World Series -- it may be hard to top last year, both the sweet victory and the bitter defeat! WebMD will be with you once again during the telecast with our now famous "Symptom Checker," "Injury Reports," and many special family sports features at www.WebMD.com, including our calorie calculator for game-time feasting.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- (how fabulous our culture is today to have such heightened disease awareness. We have come a long way!). See our "Circle of Friends" feature and learn how relationships evolve when online support communities meet in real life. Also see our cancer screenings chart to understand which tests are recommended at what ages and how often.

Re-enrolling in or making changes to our health plans -- I'm loving those online flexible medical-spending account calculators. If your plan offers one, use it.

And don't forget to check out our new signature department, "WebMD Checkup: 10 questions about your life and well-being." Our very first WebMD Checkup is with Perry Cox, MD, from the NBC hit series Scrubs. In real life, actor John C. McGinley is simply a patient like the rest of us -- well ... sort of! Read what he has to say.

No matter the season or the reason, health is a part of our everyday lives. And our take on health at WebMD is to look at it from every angle. What do the medical experts have to say? What do WebMD.com community members have to say? What are the quick tips? What are the latest news and trends? You'll get answers in WebMD the Magazine and, more completely, at our web site, www.WebMD.com, America's leading source of health information online.

Here's to a fall filled with well-being for you and yours,

Nan-Kirsten Forte, MS
Editor in Chief