Certain tests can derail colon cancer before it starts. But too many women avoid the screenings, fearing embarrassment or pain.  read more »

Most people feel sleepy occasionally, but tiredness that persists despite allowing time for adequate sleep is neither normal nor healthy.  read more »

With more treatment options available, there’s no need to suffer in silence.  read more »

Mindfulness meditation can help ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing stress and increasing mental clarity.  read more »

Innovative therapy for low-grade disease is reducing side effects.  read more »

Diabetes can be caused by any of several factors, and it has many different forms. Knowing which type of diabetes you have—and why—is an important part of managing the disease.  read more »

Many people who long ago made it through one of life’s biggest crises may not be aware of the medical and psychological challenges that lie ahead.  read more »

You can make the convenience and flexibility of an insulin pump work for you. But be aware that using the pump doesn’t eliminate the need to closely monitor your glucose levels.  read more »

By now almost everyone acknowledges two facts: The first is that Americans have a weight problem. By standard definitions (see lower box, page 19), one third of adults are overweight and another third are obese. The second fact is that overweight is an enormous burden on our health. It increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular dis-ease, and certain cancers.

   read more »

When the intestine has been injured beyond repair or no longer functions well enough, transplantation is an option. The prob-lem is that this organ contains a lot of tissue from the lymphatic system—a system that carries immune cells. When a donor’s small intestine is transplanted, those immune cells, which normally fight foreign substances and infec-tion, may attack the recipient’s tissue, causing a condition called graft-versus-host disease. In addition, the new organ may be rejected.

Basics of transplantation  read more »

Melonoma

More Americans develop skin cancer than any other type of cancer. In its common forms, skin cancer is highly curable. But melanoma, though it accounts for only about 3% of skin cancer cases, causes by far the most skin cancer deaths. The reason is that melanoma is very aggressive. If not detected at an early, superficial stage, it can spread rapidly to the rest of the body.

How common is melanoma?  read more »

More than a decade ago, scientists established that the bac-terium H. pylori—not stress—is responsible for most cases of ulcers in the stomach and the adjoining segment of the small intestine (duodenum). But you can have H. pylori living inside your gut and not have an ulcer. In fact, about a third of Americans are infected with this bacterium.

What dyspepsia feels like  read more »