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FDA approves breakthrough pancreatic cancer drug – an oncologist explains how daraxonrasib nearly doubles survival
For a long time, the likelihood of surviving pancreatic cancer has been extremely low. For patients who were diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer between 2015 and 2021, about 97% died within five years of their diagnosis.
Pancreatic cancer is so deadly in part because there are no effective screening tests, and it rarely causes...Read more
The Kirkland Signature Care Plan? Costco prepares move into Medicare Advantage
Costco is preparing to bring its signature bulk savings to the healthcare industry through a proposed partnership with SCAN Health Plan (SCAN). While the co-branded Medicare Advantage and Medigap options are still awaiting official approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the plan signals a major shift in how seniors ...Read more
Environmental Nutrition: Bring on the broccoli
Deep, vibrant green broccoli, its large flowering heads arranged tree-like atop thick stalks, stand tall as one of the healthiest and widely consumed vegetables.
The folklore
This native to the Mediterranean was derived from cabbage by the Etruscans, an ancient Italian civilization. Its name comes from the Italian word “broccolo” or “the...Read more
Increasing daily steps may boost surgical recovery
Surgery can take a toll on the body, and it takes time to recover. How quickly and successfully you return to normal function depends on such factors as the type of surgery, your overall health, and whether any complications occur. To support a smooth recovery, medical centers use several strategies, including encouraging people to start walking...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Keeping young hearts in the game
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My teens love being on their school’s sports teams. But in recent years, I’ve seen more stories about kids, and even professional athletes, having issues with their hearts during games. What can you tell me about this?
ANSWER: From football and lacrosse to volleyball and basketball, sports conditioning requires stamina and...Read more
Most Sleep-Deprived US Cities and Those Where Sleepyheads Live
It's estimated that roughly 15% of Americans have trouble falling asleep, and 18% say they struggle to stay asleep. Innerbody, a health and wellness platform, crunched federal data and other sources to identify the top five most sleep-deprived cities in the U.S.
1. Norfolk, Virginia
2. New Orleans, Louisiana
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Toledo,...Read more
Newsom promotes affordable insulin, but California's generic label off to a slow start
SAN FRANCISCO — At a Walgreens in this city’s bustling Japantown neighborhood, pharmacist Margaret On stocks two boxes of long-acting insulin pens from California’s new prescription drug label, CalRx, emblazoned with the state’s iconic grizzly bear.
Although she hasn’t dispensed any, On plans to keep them on hand. “It’s good to ...Read more
California weighs penalties for healthcare providers that don't rein in costs
California is weighing stiff penalties for hospitals and other healthcare entities that don’t stay under state spending limits, potentially levying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if these providers don’t take steps to rein in rising healthcare costs.
If the state Office of Health Care Affordability adopts the fines next week, ...Read more
My husband was kicked out of hospice for dying too slowly
“No more operations,” he said.
It was mid-January 2026, and my then-73-year-old husband, Mike Salmon, had just started bouncing back from a three-month ordeal of three operations related to aortic aneurysms, sepsis, and a terrifying descent into delirium tied to a stay in the intensive care unit. Now, after another potentially fatal aortic ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Why a broad pool of donors is important for transplant patients
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm getting a new driver's license and am thinking about checking the "organ donor" box for the first time. I don’t know anyone who’s been an organ donor, and my family and friends haven’t talked about this. Can anyone donate?
ANSWER: People of many ages, backgrounds and health histories may be eligible to become organ ...Read more
How much of a cancer drug is too much? Patients, researchers challenge FDA-approved dosages
Northwestern University economist Chuck Manski studies decision-making amid uncertainty. That prepared him better than many other cancer patients to decide whether to stay on an immunotherapy treatment that was making him very ill.
For six months in 2022, Manski received monthly infusions of nivolumab to fight advanced melanoma. The drug ruined...Read more
Elderly Man's Unable To Form Words After Extreme Sun Exposure
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm an 82-year-old man with osteoporosis, a pacemaker, and a vegetable garden, which I worked in yesterday for 5 hours in the extreme heat. I consumed a large bottle of ice water. When I came back into the cool house, I was unable to select or even pronounce the proper words. I felt like my brain's gears were all in neutral. My...Read more
Losing weight may not be enough to prevent Type 2 diabetes
Around 115 million Americans have prediabetes. Fortunately, for most (58%), losing as little as 5% to 7% of their body weight can reduce their risk of going on to develop full-blown Type 2 diabetes.
But there are folks with prediabetes for whom weight loss alone doesn't prevent progression to Type 2 diabetes. A study in the journal Diabetes ...Read more
Homeopathy for Addiction: Can It Help?
Addiction is a complex disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. While conventional treatments such as counseling, medications, and support groups can be effective, some people may also turn to alternative therapies such as homeopathy for relief. Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that uses highly diluted substances to ...Read more
Virginia budget cut could strain behavioral health crisis response
The budget that recently took effect in Virginia includes provisions that mean Medicaid will no longer reimburse providers for certain behavioral health services.
Subject to federal approval, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, which administers Medicaid at the state level, will no longer pay for a service called community ...Read more
Pennsylvania reports 2 measles deaths in Lancaster County, state's first in decades
PHILADELPHIA — Two people have died from measles in Pennsylvania, state officials said Tuesday, marking the first fatalities involving the highly contagious disease in the state in 35 years and the only measles-related deaths reported nationally so far this year.
Both were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, the center of a major ...Read more
Where Florida's gun violence exacts its biggest toll on Black and Latino children
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Just west of the St. Johns River, which divides this sprawling city racially and economically, 2-year-old A’mahri Robinson was murdered in his mother’s arms.
Ladonna Johnson was rocking A’mahri to sleep in March when he was shot in the head with a gun she kept for protection.
A’mahri loved going outdoors and ...Read more
Pennsylvania reports 2 measles deaths, state's first in 35 years
PHILADELPHIA — Two people have died from measles in Pennsylvania, state officials confirmed Tuesday, the first fatalities from the highly contagious disease in the state in 35 years and the only deaths involving the highly contagious disease reported nationally so far this year.
The deaths occurred in Lancaster County, the center of a major ...Read more
Ebola is still killing in central Africa. These groups are working to save lives
Misinformation and distrust are among the challenges facing public health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo as they confront the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Even though the virus has faded from U.S. headlines, key organizations are still at work providing medical care and training to counter the spread of the disease.
...Read more
Syringe litter did not increase after a needle exchange ban was overturned in Pueblo, Colorado, but health services suffered
The City Council of Pueblo, Colorado, voted to ban the distribution of syringes through syringe service programs starting in May 2024.
Also called needle exchanges, these programs are run by community organizations that provide healthcare services. The impetus for the ban, as council members noted, was syringe litter in public spaces....Read more
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