Locations
Office
Everett, WA
About
Bio
After finishing medical school at the University of Kansas, I completed residencies in anatomic and clinical pathology at Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center. I then spent an additional year in cytopathology fellowship at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. I am board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology as well as cytopathology. In addtion, I have focused interests in thoracic/lung pathology and medical microbiology. I have previously worked as a staff pathologist / assistant professor of pathology at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA and at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, IL. I moved to Washington State in 2007 and am happy in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Pathology
Doctor Q&A
442 Answers
103 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A female asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes but not ideal: The "best" time to have a pap test is mid cycle (approximately day 14). This is not always possible / practical as appointments are made far in advan... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Elimination : Elimination of alcohol
alcohol is eliminated from the body by excretion and metabolism. Most alcohol is metabolized, or burned, in a manner similar to... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Elevated : Elevated peripheral blood eosinophil counts can be encountered in a number of clinical settings. Common triggers for eosinophilia include allergies (... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
What is this white bump on the inside of my vagina? it doesn't hurt at all but i think it got bigger
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Without : Without seeing the "bump" it is difficult to tell you exactly what it is, but a raised firm rounded white-tan lesion in the vaginal lining may (among ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Fatigue: Early HIV symptoms occur about one month after infection. These can include: fever, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph glands, and rash. These early H... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Depends on type.: Some cancers such as leukemias (malignancies of the blood and blood forming cells) can be diagnosed with routine blood work (venipuncture from arm) an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Possibly.: Some (but not all) oral / oropharyngeal papillomas are caused by hpv. The best way to determine whether or not a specific lesion is hpv mediated is t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes.: When patients have mastectomies to prevent cancer, it is possible for them to have reconstructive surgeries to achieve good cosmetic results. There a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes.: Please never use needles that have already been used by someone else. If someone with HIV or viral hepatitis has used a needle previously, and you th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Possibly genes: While nearly all cervical cancers are related to hpv infections, a few patients may have genetic alterations that predispose to cervical cancer. Thes... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Talk with doc.: It is possible to have external genital warts (like on the vulva / vagina) and to not have cervical warty changes. Please discuss your specific conce... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
HPV test done if ASC: This means that if a person has a pap test result of asc-us (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance), then the lab will perform a high r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Generally no.: Superficial / cosmetic body piercings (of the naval or other area) are not generally associated with any increase risk of cancer. Piercings can becom... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Possibly: A 1.5 cm spiculated lung nodule should be further evaluated, especially if the patient is a current / former smoker. Pet scan study might help to det... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
No.: If you mean a complete blood count (CBC) as a 'regular blood test', then HIV would not be diagnosed. In order to confirm a diagnosis of HIV infection... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Symptoms:: Symptoms of ovarian cancer:
abdominal pressure, fullness, or swelling,
pelvic discomfort,
persistent indigestion, gas or nausea, changes in bowe... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes, ask.: Pap tests will find hpv & precancerous / cancerous cells in the cervix / vagina. In addition to those, pap tests will also detect 5 other infections ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
DNA viruses: Hpvs are dna viruses that can cause warts, premalignancy / dysplasia, and cancers in people. Some strains are associated with skin infections and cau... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Possibly...: Smegma is a sticky material that can collect between the head of the penis and the foreskin. Some authors have reported that male circumcision can he... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Harder to cure...: If a person has a strain of TB that is resistant to some of the drugs that are usually given to treat tb, then the healthcare providers who are taking... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
All foods...: If lab tests have instructions to fast, that means that you must not have anything to eat or drink for a specified period before your test.
Certain... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Prostate cancer: Prostate cancer is a relatively common cancer. This type of malignancy is seen in essentially men only.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes.: Hiv (the virus that causes aids) is spread from person to person by sharing needles or by exchange of body fluids in intimate acts like oral/vaginal/a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Limits immune system: The virus that causes aids is hiv. Hiv is a virus that is spread from person to person by close / intimate contact in which two people share cells / ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Not always...: A 'purple bump' inside the mouth could be a sign of HIV infection; however, there are multiple reasons to have a purplish bump in the oral cavity that... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Need specifics...: I am not certain what you mean by "the cancer shot". There are many different types of cancer / malignancy and many different prevention and treatme... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
HIGHLY unlikely.: U.S. Cdc says that HIV is not spread by social kissing (closed mouth). Having chapped lips would make minimal difference unless the other person (who... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Depends on size & #.: Lung cancer is the most common visceral cancer in the world today. Because of this, the presence of a mass lesion in the lungs is concerning. Import... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Many asymptomatic: Many people with genital hpv infections are completely asymptomatic. Genital warts may appear as flat lesions, small cauliflower-like bumps or tiny b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Cervical biopsy...: A pap test is designed to screen for both dysplasia (precancer) and cancer of the cervix. If a patient has an abnormal pap test, then a tissue biopsy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yeast infection...: Neutrophils and spores / pseudohyphae of candida indicate that you have a "yeast infection".
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Tuberculosis lung: Primary koch's infection is another name for primary tuberculosis of the lungs. This is a condition that requires multiple antibiotics taken in combi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
No.: When present, hpv infects the lining of the vagina and cervix. Hpv does not impact the ovaries or the lining of the uterus (parts of the female genit... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Type of togavirus.: From who: chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in southern tanzania in 1952. It is an RNA virus that belo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Likely not...: Folliculitis is inflammation at the base of hairs / follicles. In general, there are no hair follicles in the bladder or urethra (pee tube), and henc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
No.: In some types of malignancies, white blood cell counts may increase (especially in blood malignancies like leukemia). Many solid tumors (like colon c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Many kinds could.: The neck is an anatomically complicated region with many internal structures. A ct scan of the neck could show both primary and secondary cancers (tu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Many types: Hiv impacts the immune system. As HIV progresses, infected persons can develop infections (like pneumonia and others). Hiv patients are also at risk... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Hormonal disorder: Polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos) is a common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age. Infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, excess hair... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Urethritis?: You may have urethritis with is a condition in which the urethra (hollow tube running from the bladder to tip of penis that carries urine) becomes inf... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Not widely used.: There is no commercially available widely used test for oral hpv screening. If a person is concerned about oral hpv, he/she can see a dentist or a do... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Sharing body fluids: Hiv is a sexually transmitted infection. It can also be spread by contact with infected blood, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Shot may still help.: There are more than 100 strains/types of hpv. The hpv vaccines that are available protect against just a few strains. In general, vaccines do not 'f... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
See doc or clinic...: If you are concerned that you have a viral infection that is gradually destroying your immune system, then please see a physician for diagnosis and th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Drug therapies.: Hormone therapy and chemotherapy are two options for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. I am attaching a valuable link with good information:
... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Infections/dysplasia: Genital warts (on the penis, scrotum, cervix, vagina, vulva, perineum, perianal skin, and anus) are caused by hpv (human papillomavirus). Having wart... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Flu-like illness: The majority of people infected by HIV develop a flu-like illness within a month or two after exposure. This illness, known as primary or acute HIV i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Yes.: Some people (especially men, but also some women) can be 'carriers' of hpv and not have warty lesions or precancerous changes that are visible to the ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
Possibly: Ultrasonography can detect anatomic abnormalities (such as masses / cysts / tumors, etc...) in many body sites. This testing can be very important in... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Sturgisanswered
Pathology 31 years experience
NCI web link!!!: Retinoblastoma is a cancer that forms in the tissues of the retina (the light-sensitive layers of nerve tissue at the back of the eye). Retinoblastoma... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
5
Recommendations
274
Thank you notes
Dr. Donald Jacobson
Dec 10, 2013
Dr. Sturgis has the rare gift of being a talented pathologist who contributes a lot to basic science literature in pathology while also being able to answer clinical medical questions in a succinct ye...Read More
Jul 19, 2013
Very timely and accurate responses.
HealthTap member
Dec 16, 2012
Dr. Sturgis was one of the most kind, informative, patient doctors I have ever met with. He made absolute sure that I understood everything he explained, gave me enough time to ask all my questions, ...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions from your patients the best doctors I have ever had were the ones that took time to talk and most importantly listen to what was being said.
HealthTap member
Recently my boyfriend has experienced redness, soreness and cuts on his penis and I kindof feel a little funny in my vagina.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thank you! Your reply is appreciated!
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
University of Kansas School of Medicine, KS
Graduated 1992MD
Residency
Northwestern University, McGaw Medical Center
Awards
Bayer Recognition Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology, Department of Pathology Northwestern University
Top Doctor, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, 2012
Top Doctor, First Place, Everett, WA - Winter
2013
Affiliations
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
College of American Pathologists
American Society for Clinical Pathology
Publications
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