GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — In a midwife’s suburban Atlanta home with a playground and chicken coop outside, Madie Collins lay on an examination table while the midwife measured her pregnant belly. Unlike at many a doctor’s office, no crinkly paper sheet covered the table and no antiseptic chill lingered in the air. The room next door, where ...Read more

There are 1,300 water parks in the United States and 85 million people visit them each year. As a parent, it's important to know what to look for if you are planning a trip to an indoor or outdoor water park.

First and foremost, know the rules of the park you plan on attending. Water slides are the No. 1 cause of injuries at water parks. It’s...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I was just diagnosed with early stage melanoma, and I am being referred to an oncologist. What happens next? Will I need a lymph node biopsy, or are there cases where it can be safely avoided? What other surgical or nonsurgical treatment options might be recommended?

ANSWER: Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that ...Read more

TOLEDO, Ohio — The little boy, dressed in a Toy Story sweatshirt, wrapped himself around the nation's health secretary.

"What do you guys want to be when you grow up?" Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked a carpet full of preschoolers.

"A dinosaur!" the boy replied, squeezing tighter.

Just weeks ago, Kennedy sat ...Read more

Three people were recently hospitalized after eating poisonous wild mushrooms foraged in California wine country amid an unprecedented outbreak of illness and deaths linked to the practice statewide, health officials in Napa County announced.

The adults ate poisonous wild mushrooms foraged in the Napa Valley community of Deer Park over the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — According to San Diego County vaccination records, about 6,800 of the 19,000 residents who received their initial mpox vaccination dose did not receive a follow-up booster shot, a fact that is increasingly important as the “clade I” version of the virus increasingly causes outbreaks worldwide.

San Diego officials this week ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that patients can continue to get mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortion, via telehealth and by mail. At least for now.

A lower court had temporarily blocked this access nationwide in early May 2026. The case now returns to that lower court, although it may well make it back ...Read more

The FDA’s recent decision to withhold approval of a new skin cancer treatment fell like a hammer on doctors who treat melanoma and patients who saw that the drug had prolonged the lives of a third of the participants in a clinical trial.

“It was devastating news,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, a dermatologist at the University of Cincinnati ...Read more

Cruise ships are convenient floating hotels by which to see far-flung parts of the world – but as an epidemiologist, I know they are also everything an infectious pathogen could want: thousands of strangers packed into enclosed spaces for days or weeks, sharing dining rooms and high-touch surfaces such as elevator buttons and handrails, ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and I was told I may need surgery. How do doctors determine whether surgery is the right option? Are there newer, less invasive approaches available?

ANSWER: Treatment for esophageal cancer has evolved significantly in recent years, and surgery remains one of the most important ...Read more

Where you live, how much you earn and whether you can afford health insurance can shape far more than your medical bills in Texas. According to a new report, those differences can also have lasting effects on your access to care and overall health.

The Commonwealth Fund analyzed data from 2022 through 2024 to compare health system performance ...Read more

Last week, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Noah Kahan revealed that in 2025, while on a trip to Joshua Tree, he was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder at age 28. This debilitating condition affects an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. and 240 million globally, causing unwanted intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors. ...Read more

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Cori Roberts was living in a rented basement four years ago when she was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer.

Recently divorced, the former stay-at-home mother had started working again in her mid-40s, taking a human resources job that paid $41,000 a year. Then, despite having insurance, she was hit with more than $8...Read more

MENAHGA, Minn. — The culture in this north central Minnesota city is defined by faith, farming and Finnish heritage.

A statue of St. Urho, the fictional patron saint of Finland, stands 12 feet tall in the middle of Menahga. Pews in the Lutheran churches, which outnumber bars and restaurants in this community of 1,400, fill each Sunday with ...Read more

At a recent dental appointment, I was unexpectedly seen by a new provider in my longtime dentist’s practice. Early in the visit, he realized we were both Iranian American. Like me, he had been born and raised in the United States. We were both fluent English speakers and fully accustomed to navigating American medical settings.

...Read more

Q: I am 73 and healthy, but my beloved husband has early-stage dementia. His diagnosis was a shock, but on reflection, I realize that he was starting to repeat himself and had forgotten to pay a few bills. He is doing well, yet I know he could already jeopardize our $1.6 million in savings. How can I restructure our financial plan and estate and...Read more

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is an herb that has a lemon scent and has been used for more than 2,000 years for its medical properties in cultures around the world. It is native to the Mediterranean, but is now cultivated in several countries including North Africa and Western Asia.

Lemon balm contains a variety of compounds, including ...Read more

Hitting your daily fiber quota is notably difficult, but not getting enough can take a toll on everything from your gut to your heart.

“Research shows that higher fiber intake is linked to a lower risk of serious health conditions, including heart disease, pancreatic cancer, and diverticular disease,” says Julie Pace, RDN, a functional ...Read more

Q: What is the role of blood pressure, how does it work, and what are the factors that affect it?

A: A simple way to understand it might be imagining this scenario: You’re in your back yard, holding a hose. When you turn on the water, it shoots through the hose and out the nozzle. The water is moving because it’s under pressure. Similarly, ...Read more