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Urgent care clinics move to fill abortion care gaps in rural areas

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Providing abortions was the last thing Shawn Brown thought she’d be doing when she opened an urgent care clinic in this remote town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

But she also wasn’t expecting the Planned Parenthood in Marquette to shut down last spring. Roughly 1,100 patients relied on that clinic each year for ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q&A: Why are younger people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My cousin, who's in her 30s, was recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer. I've always thought of colorectal cancer as something that affects older adults. Why are more young people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and is it different when it happens at a younger age?

ANSWER: For many years, colorectal cancer was ...Read more

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This Northern Cheyenne doula was about to start getting paid -- then Medicaid cuts hit

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LAME DEER, Mont. — Misty Pipe had about an hour before her shift began at the post office. She used that time to check in on a new mom who lives a few miles outside this town at the heart of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

A mom of seven, Pipe is a doula on the reservation who supports new and expectant parents. She does that work ...Read more

Breaking news! Fiber is a pain killer

Knee osteoarthritis affects at least 20 million American adults age 50-plus, causing chronic pain and disability for many of them. Treatment may call for constant use of over-the-counter pain killers, repeated steroid shots, or surgery. There are more than 1.2 million total-knee replacement surgeries done annually. But what if you could reduce ...Read more

Weighing Whether A Nerve Block Is Right For A Case Of Arthritis

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have bad knee arthritis. My doctor is suggesting a genicular nerve block. Is this a good idea? Will it fix the problem? -- P.O.V.

ANSWER: Chronic knee pain from osteoarthritis is a common problem in middle-aged and older adults. Before a person receives treatment, the diagnosis should be confirmed by an X-ray. First-line ...Read more

Nasal irrigation can help shorten the duration of the common cold. SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images

Recent studies prove the ancient practice of nasal irrigation is effective at fighting the common cold

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It starts with a slight scratchiness at the back of your throat.

Then, a sneeze.

Then coughing, sniffling and full-on congestion, with or without fever, for a few insufferable days.

Viral upper respiratory tract infections – also known as the healthandspirit/health/healthtips/s-4067748">Read more

Cigarette display at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Miami, Fla., in July 2025. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Tobacco is still one of the world’s top killers – here are the key obstacles to enacting generational smoking bans

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Smoking is really bad for you. Most people know that. Even smokers think smoking is bad for one’s health. But most people don’t know just how bad it is.

More people in the United States die every year from smoking than from alcohol, illegal drug use, car accidents, suicides and murders combined. Cigarette smoking costs an ...Read more

Unvaccinated individuals face 140 times higher risk of contracting measles. Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images

What declining vaccination rates mean for your family – and what you can do

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

As the risk of measles remains an ongoing concern, herd immunity in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is already slipping. According to data obtained via The Washington Post in January 2026, 1 in 3 Allegheny County kindergartners were in a classroom too far below adequate vaccination coverage to stop a measles outbreak during the 2023-24 school...Read more

Inclusive health care settings are essential to the well-being of LGBTQ+ patients. AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Doctors can refuse to treat LGBTQ+ patients in several states – these religious exemption laws lead to drops in HIV testing

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

An increasing number of U.S. states have passed laws that allow health care providers – including doctors, nurses and pharmacists – to refuse to treat patients based on their personal or religious beliefs. While these conscientious objection laws have long existed for issues such as abortion, their effects on LGBTQ+ people have not been ...Read more

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'The Pitt' dramatizes the very real burnout that threatens medical care workers and patients

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In between patients at my oncology clinic, I couldn’t catch my breath. I asked my nurse to check my oxygen level and pulse. My chest felt heavy, as if something were pressing on it.

I sat in the same examination chair my patients use, watching the monitor and running through possible diagnoses. But I knew what this was.

A panic attack.

My ...Read more

Nipple Soreness From Phone Could Be Due To Odd Placement

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 75-year-old man. I keep my cellphone in my left shirt pocket every day. Recently, my left nipple has become very sore. I asked my general physician about it, and he wasn't concerned. I'm concerned that the electromagnetic field from the phone may be an issue. Is there any research on this, and should I have this checked ...Read more

Hot spots of inflammation fuel aging

Scientists from Rockefeller University created an atlas showing the location of 7 million cells in 21 kinds of tissue in lab mice at three different ages -- all with the aim of identifying what routes aging takes throughout the body. What they observed was around 300,000 age-related changes in the genome (readable portions of your DNA) that were...Read more

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FDA withdraws GSK's approval of drug touted as autism treatment

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

U.S. regulators have withdrawn their approval of a GSK Plc drug that the Trump administration had promoted as a treatment for autism, adding another twist to the unusual story of a decades-old drug.

The Food and Drug Administration is pulling its approval of Wellcovorin, a branded version of leucovorin from GSK Plc, according to a post Thursday...Read more

Psilocybin mushrooms contain numerous chemical compounds that researchers have not yet studied. Smitt/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Psilocybin mushrooms are going mainstream, but scientific research and regulation lag behind

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Amid a renaissance in the science of psychedelics, public interest in psilocybin – or magic mushrooms, as they’ve long been known – is surging.

One study found that rates of psilocybin use increased 44% among adults ages 18-29 from 2019 to 2023, and 188% among those over age 30. This amounts to more than 5 million adults using ...Read more

(Hiram Alejandro Durán/El Tímpano)/KFF HEALTH NEWS/TNS

Immigrant seniors lose Medicare coverage despite paying for it

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

OAKLAND, Calif. — Rosa María Carranza leaned forward to hold a 3-year-old’s back as the girl climbed a rock in the forested hills of northeast Oakland.

Dressed in hiking gear and beaded necklaces, Carranza, 67, maneuvered between trees and children on a sunny morning in December. “Hold on to that branch,” she said in Spanish. “You ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: How liver transplant is transforming care for patients with advanced colorectal cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. One in 5 patients is diagnosed with metastatic disease, meaning the colorectal cancer has spread beyond the colon, often to the liver.

When surgery isn't an option, a liver transplant may be a lifesaving alternative. Mayo Clinic leads in this approach, combining ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Physical therapist-recommended golf exercises

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

As golf season approaches, preparation should start before your first tee time. Building strength off the course can improve performance and help reduce injury risk.

"Play the long game by building strength off the course," says John Zajac, D.P.T., a physical therapist certified in golf-specific rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine. "...Read more

Getting Vaccinated Is Most Effective To 'Scare Away' Viruses

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 82 years old and in very good health. I have no major medical issues so far, but I work on my health as I believe in prevention. During the past eight months, I've had three colds, plus COVID-19 for the first time this past November. I remember the old days when we used to wear camphor necklaces every winter in order to "...Read more

Countering chemo side effects

Every year, around 2 million folks are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. and at least 25% of them receive some form of chemotherapy. While the benefits are clear -- less cancer progression, longer life, and even cancer cure -- the side effects range from nausea, gastro problems, fatigue, hair loss, nerve pain, and mood swings to chemo brain.

...Read more

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Ancient flea-borne disease makes comeback in California. What's typhus?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Cases of flea-borne typhus have hit an “all-time high” in a California county, according to public health officials.

A record 220 cases of the disease were identified in 2025 in Los Angeles County, the county public health agency reported April 2.

“Alarmingly, nearly 9 out of 10 people identified as infected with typhus required ...Read more