In these uncertain times, the start of summer — marked unofficially by the just-passed, long Memorial Day weekend — may have caught more than a few of us by surprise. Seasonal health and safety precautions, however, should be well considered and carefully carried out, especially by parents. All of us, for example, must step up….
Continue ReadingCancer
Big Pharma, battling over sky-high prices, called out on big fib on R&D costs
U.S. will ban targeted health menace of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars
The Biden Administration will ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars with new regulations to be issued within the next year — actions that Big Tobacco is expected to battle but which proponents say could have big health benefits for those who have been targeted to buy and use these products. Smoking is a leading cause….
Continue ReadingBiden urged by NAACP and black health groups to ban menthol in cigarettes
President Biden, who lost a son to the disease, has a personal commitment to fighting cancer. He has made improving Americans’ health a top priority of his administration, calling for trillions of dollars in government spending in this area. He also has said he wants his officials to be at the fore in slashing at….
Continue ReadingFrom Medicare seniors, lessons on delayed care and importance of insurance
Patients packed in their doctors’ waiting rooms in pre-pandemic times may have looked around and wondered: Why are there so many seniors here receiving medical care? It isn’t just age that gets older Americans in numbers to treatment for illness or injury or preventive care — it’s also, of course, their qualification at 65 for….
Continue ReadingCancer experts seeing advanced cases with care delayed by pandemic fears
One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic may be showing up in tragic fashion: Cancer specialists say they are treating a wave of advanced cases in which patients might have benefited from earlier care had fear of Covid-19 infection not kept them away from doctors’ offices and hospitals. The information about the harms of missed appointments,….
Continue ReadingOnly in America: Desperate patients raise billions in online donations to pay for crushing medical costs
Modern medicine may be providing patients with significant improvements in key treatment areas, but the cost of care has become so crushing that online campaigns for charitable medical aid have become heartbreakingly common in the United States. A team of researchers from institutions across the country reported that the well-known GoFundMe website, between May 2010….
Continue ReadingColorectal screening may need to start at age 45, U.S. panel advises
An important federal advisory group has joined with medical specialists in recommending a change in the age at which patients should start screening for colorectal cancer, to age 45 and not the current 50 years old. Earlier detection of bowel issues could save lives, the U.S. Protective Services Task Force (USPSTF) has decided, with the….
Continue ReadingCenturies of restraint fall: Top journals assail Trump’s science denialism
They are a unique combination — august publications in science and medicine that harken back for centuries yet now inform 21st century practitioners about the latest advances in their fields. And now these leading scientific journals say the present moment forces them to abandon their prized political neutrality to oppose the science denialism of the incumbent….
Continue ReadingA gut check in an acclaimed actor’s sad death and a leader’s abrupt resignation
The world has received painful reminders about the adage about decision making that also applies to digestive health: “Always listen to your gut.” Movie fans are mourning the tragic and early death of the brilliant actor Chadwick Boseman. He was 43 and battled colon cancer with courage, including as he starred as the “trailblazing Marvel….
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