Health

Many early-stage breast cancer patients can skip chemo, major study finds

By Marilynn Marchione, AP Chief Medical Writer

The study is the largest ever done of breast cancer treatment, and the results are expected to spare up to 70,000 patients a year in the United States and many more elsewhere the ordeal and expense of these drugs.

U.S. blocks UN health panel from backing taxes on sugar drinks

By Jamey Keaten, Maria Cheng, Associated Press

The move disappointed many public health experts but was enthusiastically welcomed by the International Food and Beverage Alliance — a group that represents companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo. and Unilever.

5 dead, nearly 200 sickened from romaine lettuce outbreak

By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press

The Arizona growing season is long over and it's unlikely any tainted lettuce is still in stores or people's homes. But there can be a lag in reporting, and reports of illnesses have continued to come in.

In rural America, tightened access to Medicaid means tough choices

By Laura Santhanam

Politicians have promised changes to the health care program will help lift people out of poverty. But this Tennessee family says things don't seem to be getting better.

Why did my Medicare premiums go up?

By Philip Moeller

The issue here is government failing to take steps to help restrain the prices that we all pay for drugs, hospitals, medical equipment, and doctors, writes columnist Philip Moeller.

Chaotic and unending recovery after Hurricane Maria leads to far more dead than official government estimates

The death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year was far larger than known, according to a new study. At least 4,645 people on the island are estimated to have died as a result of the storm and…

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Senior advocates say new draft guide to Medicare distorts facts. Here's what you need to know

By Philip Moeller

Medicare advocacy groups are concerned that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is improperly putting its hand on the scales to tilt them further in favor of private Medicare Advantage plans.

With highest hepatitis C mortality rate in U.S., Oregon expands access to life-saving drugs

By Cat Wise

New drugs can cure up to 95 percent of patients with hepatitis C, a virus that can be debilitating or deadly. And there’s been a 20 percent rise in new infections from 2015 to 2016 due to the opioid epidemic.

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This digital pill wants to make following your prescription easier

By Cat Wise

Most adults say they struggle with remembering to take their prescriptions. A nationwide study is testing a pill with an ingestible sensor that tracks medication adherence from inside the body.

What's really in public swimming pools?

By Laura Santhanam

Eight people died and more than 27,200 people became ill from swimming in contaminated water between 2000 and 2014 , the CDC said in a recent report. Here's what you should know.