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Trump Admin Plans Ban on More Synthetic Food Dyes
The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove artificial food dyes from the U.S. food supply, officials say. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary are expected to share more details on Tuesday, CNN...
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Immune Therapy Effective in Older Cancer Patients
It's well-known that a person's immune system wears down over time, becoming less effective as folks progress through middle age and become seniors. But that doesn't appear to hinder the effectiveness of immunotherapy for cancer in seniors, a new study says. Seniors with...
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Harmful Chemicals Found in Kids' Mattresses
Babies and toddlers could be exposed to harmful chemicals while they sleep, due to compounds found in their mattresses, two new studies say. Air samples taken from 25 children's bedrooms revealed elevated levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and other...
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Advanced Cancers Returned to Prepandemic Levels
Many Americans were forced to postpone cancer screenings - colonoscopies, mammograms and lung scans - for several months in 2020 as COVID-19 overwhelmed doctors and hospitals. But that delay in screening isn't making a huge impact on cancer statistics, at least none that can...
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Immunotherapy Keeps Fighting Lung Cancer When Stopped
Immunotherapy might help keep lung cancer at bay for months or even years after the treatment has been abandoned due to side effects, a new study says. Immune checkpoint inhibitors essentially take the brakes off the immune system, giving it free reign to hunt down and kill...
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Air, Light Pollution Raise Childhood Thyroid Cancer Risk
Babies exposed to air and light pollution have a higher risk of developing childhood thyroid cancer, a new study says. Airborne particle pollution and outdoor artificial light both increased babies' risk of developing thyroid cancer before they turned 20, researchers...
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CT Scans Can Increase Your Cancer Risk
Considering a trendy whole-body CT scan after hearing celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Jason Bateman tout their benefits? Weigh the cancer risk from the scan's radiation before making an appointment, a new study warns. CT scan radiation is expected to cause...
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Blood Test Can Predict Melanoma Recurrence
A new blood test can help predict if melanoma survivors will have a future bout with skin cancer, researchers say. The test looks for DNA fragments that are shed by tumors and float free in a person's bloodstream. About 80% of later-stage melanoma patients who had detectable...
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Home-Delivery Medical Meals Prevent Hospitalization
Home-delivered meals tailored to people's chronic illnesses can prevent hospitalizations, help folks remain healthy and save billions of dollars each year, a new study says. In "Food Is Medicine" programs, people with conditions like diabetes, heart disease or cancer receive...
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Natural Disasters Increase Cancer Risk
Natural disasters fueled by climate change might wind up increasing cancer deaths, a new study suggests. Rates of colon cancer diagnoses dropped during and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico two weeks apart, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers...
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RFK Jr.: Some Cuts to CDC Will Be Reversed
Some recent cuts at U.S. government health agencies may be reversed, including a key program that tracks lead exposure in kids, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week. The lead poisoning prevention and surveillance branch of the U.S....
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Eligible Smokers Not Getting Lung Cancer Screening
Lung cancer screening can save the lives of former and current smokers, but most aren't taking advantage of it, a new study says. Fewer than 1 in 5 people eligible for lung cancer screening go through with a chest CT scan, according to research published April 2 in the...
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'Weekend Warriors' as Healthy as Daily Exercisers
Life is busy, and some folks simply don't have time until the weekend to work out. Turns out, that's just fine for their health, a new study suggests. "Weekend warriors" who cram their week's exercise into one or two days appear to gain as much benefit as people who are...
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Where Jobs, Programs Were Cut at Health Agencies
Thousands of people responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, monitoring the safety of food and medicine, and administering health insurance programs for nearly half of the country were laid off Tuesday at the...
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FDA's Top Tobacco Official Removed
The Food and Drug Administration's chief tobacco regulator has been removed from his post amid broad cuts at the agency and across the federal health workforce handed down Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. In an email to staff, FDA tobacco director Brian...
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Citrus Oil May Relieve Cancer Patients' Dry Mouth
A new formula made with natural citrus oil could help cancer patients find relief from dry mouth, a common and painful side effect of radiation treatments. The formula was created by researchers at the University of South Australia and Stanford University. It mixes limonene...
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Dr. Crandall: Eat a Mediterranean Diet to Lower Heart, Cancer Risks
People living in areas that regularly eat a Mediterranean diet have been found in studies to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer. And to live a longer, healthier life. "This is a diet that people can live a long life - over 100 years," says Dr. Chauncey...
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New Prostate Surgery Preserves Erectile Function
A pioneering technique can help nearly twice as many men preserve erectile function following prostate cancer surgery, researchers say. The new surgical method, called NeuroSAFE, preserves the nerves that run through the prostate's outer layers, which are thought to be...
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Study: Tobacco Control Has Saved Nearly 4 Million Lives
Tobacco control measures like anti-smoking campaigns and cigarette taxes have prevented nearly 4 million lung cancer deaths during the past five decades, a new American Cancer Society study estimates..
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Colon Cancer Increases Risk of Heart-Related Death
Colon cancer is a particularly deadly form of the disease, the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. But patients diagnosed with colon cancer also need to be concerned about their heart health...
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Mammograms Also Assess Women's Heart Health
Mammograms can be used to screen for more than just breast cancer, researchers say. The X-ray breast scans also can be used to assess calcium deposits in arteries, which is an indicator of heart health, researchers are scheduled to report Monday at a meeting of the American...
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Younger Adults At Increased Risk For Colon Cancer
Colon cancers have been steadily increasing among people younger than 50, even as cases have declined among seniors. That's why guidelines now recommend that colon cancer screening start at 45, five years earlier than previously advised, Dr. Jennifer Davids, chief of colon...
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Cheap Health Insurance Can Delay Cancer Diagnosis
Considering a short-term health insurance plan as a cheap alternative to more costly comprehensive coverage? You could be rolling the dice when it comes to cancer, a new study suggests. People who opt for short-term limited duration (STLD) insurance tend to have their cancers...
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Hormone Patch Eases Prostate Cancer Side Effects
When prostate cancer patients need therapy to reduce male hormone levels, delivering some of the treatment via a patch on the skin may be just as effective as traditional means of administration with fewer side effects, according to a mid-stage study. Prostate cancer cells...
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Babies With Heart Defects Have Higher Cancer Risk
Newborns with a heart defect may have two strikes against their future health, rather than one. Babies with heart birth defects appear to have a higher risk of developing childhood cancer, compared to those without a heart abnormality, researchers report in the journal...