Radiation therapy has saved countless lives, but the way its effects are commonly described as "brutal" or "toxic" makes some cancer patients avoid it as an option, according to a commentary published in JAMA Oncology.
What they're saying: While radiation therapy can leave damaging side effects, major improvements have made it safer, more precise and more effective, Narek Shaverdian, an author of the viewpoint and a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told Axios.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and one of the biggest hospital lobbies on Tuesday offered clashing views on how much nonprofit health systems benefit the communities they serve.
Driving the news: Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the Senate HELP Committee, issued a report that found six of the biggest nonprofit hospital systems dedicated less than 1% of their total revenue to charity care in 2021 — a key criteria for maintaining their tax-exempt status that Sanders wants tightened.
The number of abortions performed in North Carolina fell 31% the month after the state implemented a 12-week ban and required in-person counseling before the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Why it matters: The ban, which took effect July 1, changed the landscape in one of the South's last havens for women seeking abortions.
A trio of new studies paints a grim picture of how overdose deaths, depression and barriers to care are weighing heaviest on disadvantaged and minority groups — and are aligning to widen health disparities as the U.S. emerges from the pandemic.
Why it matters: While behavioral health issues seep into nearly every corner of American life, many experts say interventions have to be built around "precision psychology" that factors social determinants and can predict which subgroups benefit the most.
Observance of World Mental Health Day has snowballed, with luminaries like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle throwing their weight behind what had been a low-key annual observance.
Why it matters: Mental health has turned into a defining social, medical and workplace issue, especially for young Americans.
California is banning four potentially harmful food additives in the first state law of its kind, which takes effect in 2027.
The big picture: California officials say they're banning red dye No. 3, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and propylparaben from being manufactured, sold or distributed in the state because they can be harmful, but the FDA says the move could disrupt food supply and create higher prices.
The issue of mental health is "fundamentally impacting the fabric of society," U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said during a recent event hosted ahead of Tuesday's World Mental Health Day.
Why it matters: Political divisiveness, climate change, COVID, gun violence and social media are among stressors taking a simultaneous toll on mental health, which in turn fuels more harmful behaviors.
Global deaths from strokes could reach about 9.7 million a year by 2050, which would be a nearly 50% rise from 2020 levels, according to a new analysis from the World Stroke Organization-Lancet Neurology Commission.
The big picture: Low- and middle-income countries will have an outsize influence on the trend, with 90% of stroke fatalities projected to be in low- and middle-income countries and just 9% in high-income countries by mid-century.
Rural health providers have a long to-do list for Congress.
Driving the news: When thechairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee last month put out a call for ideas on shoring up rural America's fraying health care system, rural providers came prepared.
Walgreens pharmacists and store workers have planned walkouts at some locations through Wednesday in the latest labor unrest to roil the health sector.
What's happening: Pharmacies closed on Monday at Walgreens locations in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon, CNN confirmed, while employees took to social media to complain about understaffing and deteriorating working conditions.
Sima Sistani, CEO of the storied WeightWatchers brand, has become well-practiced at saying three little words: "We were wrong."
Driving the news: At the annual HLTH conference in Las Vegas, Sistani once again explained how a company that's long preached self-restraint and behavioral change is embracing blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.
