I was hoping you could answer a question for me about birth control pills. There is a history of breast cancer in my family (my mother). Is it true that because of this, it is unsafe for me to use birth control pills? A few friends have recently had condoms break during sex, and I am looking for a type of "backup" contraception system.

I have had Crohn's disease for 16 years and am in remission right now. Recently my boyfriend and I have been toying with the idea of anal sex, but I'm concerned about it given my health issues. I have a lot of thickening of the terminal ileum walls and worry that the "trauma" of anal sex could set off a flare up and be painful because of the narrowing. Any thoughts? I'm way too embarrassed to discuss this with my male doctor. Thanks!

I am in need of bunion surgery, and it is something I must get done in the near future. My question is this: Will I be able to wear high heeled shoes again? I've gotten away from the pointed toes, but I do love high heels.

Is it true that if you have the seed implant for prostate cancer, the patient can not come in contact with any pregnant women?

I heard that eliminating or reducing red meat from your diet can help get rid of allergies. Is this true? Or just a rumor?

Does a virgin need to have a Pap smear? Is cervical cancer the only disease a Pap smear detects? What are the means of contracting cervical cancer and any other possible diseases detected by the Pap smear?

1) What is TMJ? What kind of doctor handles this problem?

2) I have a rather odd problem. For the past several years, I have noticed that when I open my mouth wide to yawn or take a bite out of a sandwich, the right condyle of my jawbone slips laterally from the temporomandibular joint, making it difficult, and at times, painful, to close my mouth. I basically have to slip the condyle back into the socket; otherwise, it slips in by itself, which is what causes the pain.

Other than being inconvenient, this has not adversely affected me in any way that I can tell, except that I am now careful not to open my mouth completely when I yawn. I am reluctant to see a doctor about this because I cannot reproduce the situation at will, and don't know if the problem can be diagnosed or detected unless the doctor actually sees the condyle slip out.

Also, any time I have gone to Health Services, it seems that whatever the problem, they just send me home with a jar full of ibuprofen. What do you think is wrong? Is this problem serious? Does it deserve immediate attention? What type of doctor would I need to see and could I get a referral from Health Services?