The United States has a shortage of the only first-line medication recommended for pregnant women with syphilis to prevent passing it to their baby, even as congenital syphilis rates have been skyrocketing.

Last July, drug manufacturer Pfizer issued a voluntary recall of brand name Bicillin L-A, or penicillin G benzathine — a long-acting ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend has had several small skin cancers removed, and that made me wonder if I'm at risk, too. What everyday habits can help reduce my risk of skin cancer?

ANSWER: Whether skies are clear or overcast, your skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. UVB rays are the primary cause of sunburn, while UVA rays ...Read more

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting "988.”

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Nearly every Tuesday for a decade, Steve Siple attended a bar trivia night with friends in Birmingham, Alabama. After moving to North Carolina, he developed a new ritual — joining other ...Read more

SUGAR GROVE, N.C. — Year after year, Ross and Rebecca Tobiassen saw their healthcare costs rise, having relied on the Affordable Care Act for federally subsidized health insurance since its start in 2014. Year after year, the couple in western North Carolina kept their coverage, believing the peace of mind was worth the cost.

But in December,...Read more

DENVER — Children’s Hospital Colorado says it reinstated gender-affirming care in response to a court order, but transgender patients can’t actually receive it because the health center’s doctors refuse to write prescriptions, fearing federal retaliation.

The Aurora hospital had stopped allowing providers to provide puberty blockers and...Read more

In Maine, state health officials hoped to steer a slice of $190 million in new federal rural health funding to shield hospitals and clinics from the fallout caused by cuts to federal health programs.

Their plan would have helped pay to treat low-income, uninsured patients.

But federal leaders overseeing the five-year, $50 billion Rural Health ...Read more

Cancer in the United States experienced a dramatic turnaround in 1991. Prior to that year, cancer deaths had been increasing for decades, peaking at 215 deaths per 100,000 people, meaning about 1 in 4 deaths were attributed to cancer. Then it began to consistently decline, decreasing by 34% between 1991 and 2022. This amounted to an estimated...Read more

ROCHESTER, Minn. — One of the most detailed maps to date of meningioma— the most common brain tumor in adults — reveals how the tumor's surrounding environment helps drive disease behavior and patient outcomes, according to new research from Mayo Clinic.

The study, published in Nature Genetics and conducted in collaboration with ...Read more

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(Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.)

©2026 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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(EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.)

©2026 Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Q. Do small skin cancers that are not melanoma still need to be removed, or is it safe to just watch them and leave them alone?

A. It’s true that melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, because it can spread throughout the body. You definitely need to have any melanoma removed, to try to excise it before it spreads. Two other ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My father always loved to sing and would make up silly songs for us when we were kids, and then for his grandkids. He’s now been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Should we incorporate music into his care? How would it be most helpful?

ANSWER: Music certainly can play a role in your father’s care, since music memories are ...Read more

Ebola, a deadly virus, is spreading rapidly through parts of central Africa. By the time the outbreak was confirmed in mid-May, hundreds of potential cases had been identified, suggesting the strain had been circulating for months undetected. Although the U.S.’s retreat from global health initiatives isn’t directly to blame for this crisis, ...Read more

When Congress allowed COVID-era subsidies for health insurance to expire, California used its own funds to offset the hike in Obamacare premium costs for residents with low incomes.

But the reach has been limited.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom negotiates his last budget with the legislature, the Democrat wants to offer financial help to more than 1 in ...Read more

The Affordable Care Act seems to always be in a policy tug-of-war as its backers and critics spar over how it should work and who can qualify for coverage. This year is no different, with the Trump administration embracing standards it says will reduce fraud as well as steps that could further erode national enrollment.

Wide-ranging ACA changes...Read more

The Trump administration has issued final rules on how states should ensure that millions of Medicaid enrollees prove they’re working or completing other activities, such as job training, volunteering, or being enrolled in an educational program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the rules on June 1. That deadline was set ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — Ben Dowse hadn't expected to treat measles when he became a doctor, but there he was, examining a newborn exposed to the virus in the womb. The infected mother had given birth just hours earlier. The hospital had alerted Dowse to the case before delivery, and he'd braced himself for the worst.

Dowse wore a full-body ...Read more

Patients receiving a type of vitamin D lived longer after chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer in a small study run by researchers with the Salk Institute.

Among 36 patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer that had metastasized or spread, those taking a type of vitamin D called paricalcitol experienced a significant survival boost one...Read more

BOSTON — As the state investigates a possible cancer cluster at a high school, many Herald readers have asked whatever happened with the potential tumor cluster at a local hospital.

Seven current and former nurses in Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s fifth floor maternity wing were diagnosed with brain tumors, the Herald reported last year.

The ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The first case of the measles this year has been reported in Connecticut.

The case involves an unvaccinated adult in Hartford County who tested positive over the weekend, according to Brittany Schaefer, spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health.

The Connecticut resident had left the country “recently” and ...Read more