When a person develops solid tumors in the stomach or esophagus or rectum, oncologists know how to treat them. But the cures often come with severe effects on quality of life. That can include removal of the stomach or bladder, a permanent colostomy bag, radiation that makes patients infertile and lasting damage from chemotherapy. So […]
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Lauren Caggiano had felt sick for days by the time she tested positive for the flu in an emergency room on a February afternoon. Hours later, she was in the intensive care unit. By 4 in the morning, she was on a ventilator. Ms. Caggiano, a paralegal who lived in Oceanside, Calif., doted on her […]
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A little over a year ago, Joseph Coates was told there was only one thing left to decide. Did he want to die at home, or in the hospital? Coates, then 37 and living in Renton, Wash., was barely conscious. For months, he had been battling a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome, which had […]
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As more measles cases emerge around the country, doctors say they’re concerned that those infected may be at risk of long-term health complications. A bout of measles sends the immune system into shock, demolishing critical cells that help our bodies respond to threats. This can leave people extremely susceptible to other pathogens for weeks after […]
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Women outlive men, by something of a long shot: In the United States, women have a life expectancy of about 80, compared to around 75 for men. This holds true regardless of where women live, how much money they make and many other factors. It’s even true for most other mammals. “It’s a very robust […]
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The Covid-19 vaccines were powerfully protective, preventing millions of deaths. But in a small number of people, the shots may have led to a constellation of side effects that includes fatigue, exercise intolerance, brain fog, tinnitus and dizziness, together referred to as “post-vaccination syndrome,” according to a small new study. Some people with this syndrome […]
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This winter’s Covid wave in the United States has been the gentlest to date, in a welcome reprieve. According to wastewater data aggregated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not only was there less Covid circulating over the holidays than in previous years, but there was also less virus in the wastewater than […]
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Before their immune systems mature, young children are especially vulnerable to infections — and to falling far more ill than adults might with certain common illnesses. That’s why childhood vaccination programs have been such a boon for public health. In the past 30 years, recommended childhood vaccines have prevented an estimated 1.1 million deaths and […]
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has often trained his criticisms of vaccines on a common ingredient: aluminum, which he has suggested is responsible for a litany of childhood ailments, including food allergies, autism and depression. “You wonder why a whole generation of children is allergic to stuff,” Mr. Kennedy said during a 2021 interview. “It’s because […]
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