Health Glance
This isn’t the story of a poor family with a mother who has a dreadful disease that bankrupts them, or with a child who has to go without vital medicines. Unlike many others, my family can afford medical care, with or without insurance. Instead, this is a story about how broken the market for health insurance is, even for those who are healthy and who are willing and able to pay for it.
Most employees assume that if they lose their job and the health coverage that comes along with it, they’ll be able to purchase insurance somewhere. The members of Congress who want to repeal the provision of last year’s health insurance law that makes it easier for individuals to buy coverage must assume that uninsured people do not want to buy it, or are just too cheap or too poor to do so.
Money Won’t Buy You Health Insurance
Key breast cancer 'driver' gene found
Cancer experts have identified a gene which can cause a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer to develop. ZNF703 is the first "oncogene" to be discovered in five years.
It is overactive in around one in 12 breast cancers, and could account for up to 4,000 UK cases a year. Cancer Research UK, whose scientists carried out the work, said the gene was a "prime candidate" for the development of new breast cancer drugs.
Consumer Group: Cola Coloring May Cause Cancer
A consumer advocacy group says chemicals that give cola its distinctive caramel color may cause cancer. CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained on "The Early Show" that the Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) is concerned about a chemical that is liberated during the production process of making colas.
"They say (the chemical) has been found in government studies to cause cancer in animals. The State of California is so concerned about this that they have listed one of these ingredients on their list of substances known to cause cancer, and they want to limit the amount to no more than 16 micrograms a day," she said. "To put that into context for you, 20 ounces of cola can contain 12 times that amount."
Energy drinks potentially dangerous for kids, study reports
Parents might start hearing more about Red Bull during pediatrician visits. Researchers at the University of Miami have reviewed the literature on energy drinks -- caffeinated beverages such as Red Bull, which sometimes also contain herbal supplements -- and their effects on children.
It's no great surprise that they found that the products, many of which have three times the caffeine of a cola and some of which have five times more, might be quite harmful to kids. Their results were released by the journal Pediatrics on Monday.
Frequent use of over-the-counter painkillers carries real risks
Acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen: More than 80% of us report using these four main over-the-counter analgesics, according to the market research firm Mintel. Two-thirds of us keep stashes on hand, not just at home but also at work, in our handbags or in the car. And about half of us have multiple bottles available, just in case.
All that pill popping certainly affects our health — and not always for the better. Used correctly, over-the-counter analgesics can help with acute aches and pains. Even more enticing, growing evidence suggests that some of them might also help fight Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, as well as heart attacks and some cancers.
Rare disease or not, Colorado teen can't have medical pot at school, not even a lozenge
A Colorado teen with a rare neurological disease wants to do two things: Take the medical marijuana he needs to control his seizures and attend high school. Sounds simple, but, of course, it's anything but.
The drama playing out between the student and the school likely has little to do with the boy's disease -- described as diaphragmatic and axial myoclonus -- and more to do with the zero-tolerance policy regarding medical marijuana.
Study: Tiny LED holiday bulbs contain lead, arsenic
Small holiday LED bulbs, marketed as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional light bulbs, contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially hazardous substances, reports a study released Thursday.
The low-intensity red LEDs (light emitting diodes) in Christmas lighting strands had up to eight times the amount of lead allowed under California law, and while the white bulbs had less lead than the colored ones, they had high levels of nickel, according to a team of researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Davis.
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