Medical Treatments

Health & Safety

When A Patient Says 'Everything's Fine,' A Doctor Should Be Wary

12:44pm February 16, 2015

by John Henning Schumann

The retired cop was an easy patient, who took his medicine without complaint. After an operation, the man went into a mental tailspin that his doctor realized had been in the making for years.

Panel Says Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is A Disease, And Renames It

8:14am February 13, 2015

by Miriam E. Tucker

"Systemic exertion intolerance disease" might not fall trippingly off the tongue, but an Institute of Medicine panel says it better matches the symptoms. The disease, it says, is real.

The ParaGuard IUD, which releases copper into the uterine cavity, can last up to 10 years. In clinical studies, the pregnancy rate among women using the device was less than 1 pregnancy per 100 women annually.

Health & Safety

Are Pediatricians Prepared To Help Patients Who Want IUDs?

8:13am February 13, 2015

by Shefali Luthra

Some pediatricians and other doctors worry they aren't properly prepared to make this highly effective form of birth control available, because their training didn't cover insertion of the devices.

A couple of male, genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes take flight.

Florida Health Officials Hope To Test GMO Mosquitoes This Spring

7:18pm February 12, 2015

by Greg Allen

The British firm that developed the strain of mosquito says it has already tested the insect in tropical countries and found it can reduce populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes by 90 percent.

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Semmelweis considered scientific inquiry part of his mission as a physician.

The Doctor Who Championed Hand-Washing And Briefly Saved Lives

2:55pm February 11, 2015

by Rebecca Davis

One of the most important medical advances may also be the simplest: hand-washing. It's the best defense against spreading disease. And its power was discovered long before anyone knew about germs.

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Are Teenagers Capable Of Making Life-Or-Death Decisions?

11:54am February 11, 2015

by Nancy Shute

The case of Cassandra, a 17-year-old who says she doesn't want chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, has sparked fierce debate. A medical ethicist says teenagers should be able to determine their fates.

Health & Safety

What Causes Breast Cancer? These Families Want To Help Find Out

9:27am February 11, 2015

by Paige Cowett

Many things raise the risk for cancer, including exposure to various toxins and radiation. But our knowledge about the range of chemicals and compounds that can trigger cancer is limited.

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Find other stories in the Living Cancer series at WNYC.org.

Cancer Patients And Doctors Struggle To Predict Survival

6:56pm February 10, 2015

by Amanda Aronczyk

After being diagnosed with cancer, people often ask one question first: "How long do I have?" Doctors usually overestimate the time, and patients often don't understand it's a range, not one number.

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Kathy Liu and her son Joey Xu talk to friends back home in Gainesville, Fla., from his hospital room in Cincinnati.

Health & Safety

Son's Rare Cancer Leads Family On Quest For Cure

6:50pm February 10, 2015

When a child falls ill with cancer, many of the drugs that might help are either experimental or unapproved for use in kids.

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Marder says immunotherapy has side effects but is less tiring than chemotherapy.

Harnessing The Immune System To Fight Cancer

4:35pm February 10, 2015

by Rob Stein

Our immune systems constantly fight off disease — protecting us from colds, flu and infection. An experimental treatment called immunotherapy is helping patients' immune systems fight off cancer.

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