cancer

What If Chemo Doesn't Help You Live Longer Or Better?

11:10am July 24, 2015

by Richard Harris

Terminal cancer patients sometimes get chemotherapy in the belief that it will ease their symptoms. But a study finds that many who get the treatment near death actually have a poorer quality of life.

Queue Listen Now

HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer and other cancers by fending off the virus that causes them. But it's been a tough sell with doctors and parents.

Early Push To Require The HPV Vaccine May Have Backfired

3:26pm July 20, 2015

by Robin Marantz Henig

The HPV vaccine has failed to gain market share compared to other new vaccines, even though it's great at preventing cancer. Concerns about teen promiscuity and attempts to require it may be why.

In the movie The Fault in Our Stars, having terminal cancer doesn't look so bad for Hazel, played by Shailene Woodley, and Gus, played by Ansel Elgort.

Health & Safety

Teens Dying Of Cancer Face Intensive Treatments In The Final Days

8:02am July 10, 2015

by Ina Yang

Young cancer patients are more likely than older adult patients to be hospitalized or get chemo in the month before death, a study finds. Talking about end-of-life wishes is crucial, researchers say.

Jennifer Glass found out she had lung cancer four months after she got married. Here, her first round of chemo in February 2013.

'No One Should Have The Right To Prolong My Death'

7:14am July 09, 2015

by Robin Marantz Henig

Jennifer Glass was a newlywed when she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. "I'm doing everything I can to extend my life," she says, while advocating for a right-to-die law in California.

Map: Elevated colorectal cancer rates in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachians and along the Virginia/North Carolina border.

Despite National Progress, Colorectal Cancer Hot Spots Remain

7:13am July 09, 2015

by Scott Hensley

Since 1970, the national colorectal cancer death rate has been cut in half. But progress has lagged in the Lower Mississippi Delta, Appalachia and counties in eastern Virginia and North Carolina.

When It Comes To SPFs And Sunscreens, We're Still In The Dark

11:46am June 19, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

Changes in sunscreen labels designed to make them clearer don't seem to be doing the job, a survey finds. Less than one quarter of people knew that SPF value relates to preventing sunburns.

Kenyan women visit an outreach team from Marie Stopes, a reproductive health organization that can screen for and treat cervical cancer.

It's Time To Pay Attention To 'Below-The-Belt' Cancers

9:29am June 18, 2015

by Marc Silver

That's another way of referring to gynecological cancers, which strike more than 1 million women a year — and are on the rise in the developing world.

That free bake at the apartment complex isn't such a smart health move.

Apartments Lure Students With Free Access To Tanning Beds

5:00pm June 04, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

Indoor tanning boosts the risk of skin cancer, yet half of apartments close to the University of Texas, Austin, offer free use of tanning beds. Many let minors use the machines, which is illegal.

Women with the earliest form of ductal carcinoma in situ didn't need surgery to get a good survival advantage.

Surgery Doesn't Help Women With Early-Stage Breast Carcinoma

12:21pm June 03, 2015

by Katherine Hobson

Only women with more advanced cases of ductal carcinoma in situ benefited from surgery, a study found. Most women do have surgery for DCIS, although it's a controversial diagnosis.

Actress Rita Wilson arrives at the premiere of the documentary Fed Up in West Hollywood, Calif., in May 2014.

Second Opinions Are Often Sought, But Their Value Isn't Clear

11:24am May 27, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Patients facing serious illnesses often seek medical reviews of their cases. Some people glean helpful advice, but researchers don't have much data about whether the consults lead to better results.