Story highlights Study finds higher lung cancer risk among male smokers taking high levels of certain B vitamin supplements The study did not find the same association for women or nonsmokers (CNN)Men who took high doses of vitamin B6 and B12 supplements had a higher risk of lung cancer, and the association was highest among current smokers, according to a study published Tuesday. The study found a 30% to 40% increased risk of lung cancer among men taking these vitamins from individual supplements -- not from multivitamins or diet alone. But the effect seemed to be driven by current smokers who far exceeded the recommended daily amounts of the vitamins, according to study author Theodore Brasky, an epidemiologist in the division of cancer prevention and control at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. "I think these results point to a synergism" between high-dose B … [Read more...]

After a decade-long search for a matching bone marrow donor, Krissy Kobata is scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant in October from her brother, an imperfect match who was ineligible to donate before the recent development of a new treatment. But despite securing a donation, Kobata is still working to register new potential donors to the Be The Match registry to help others. Krissy Kobata Courtesy of Team Krissy Kobata was 24 when she discovered she had myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition where bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells that can only be cured by a bone … [Read more...]

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, right, joined by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, about Republican legislation overhauling the Obama health care law. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP In the wake of congressional Republicans' failure to pass a health care bill, two governors from different parties are going to bring their own ideas to Washington. Staff for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, are working on a joint health care plan. Kasich told Colorado Public Radio's Colorado … [Read more...]

Getty Images Activists hold signs during a Stop 'Trumpcare' rally May 4, 2017 in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC. And there was just one. The entire United States, with the exception of a single small county in Ohio, is now on track to have at least one insurer offering Obamacare health coverage next year. That's a big change from earlier this summer when at different times a total of 82 counties lacked commitments from insurers who sell individual health plans for 2018. And the continued decline in "bare counties" provides more ammunition for Obamacare advocates arguing against Trump administration claims that the health-care program is failing and needs to be replaced immediately. The … [Read more...]

With Congress on recess, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is taking full advantage of the time away from Washington, D.C. by crisscrossing Texas and focusing on a familiar message: it's past time to repeal Obamacare. Even though the U.S. Senate in late July rejected the latest so-called "skinny repeal," Cruz is continuing to tell Texans during stops over the last two weeks that the fight goes on. "We have to deliver on our promise to repeal Obamacare," the Republican said during a speech to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce on Monday. Earlier on Monday he had been in New Braunfels meeting with employees of Sysco Central Texas, Inc. And already on Tuesday, Cruz has delivered speeches to agriculture workers in Edinburg and to workers at a business in Mission. Later Tuesday, Cruz has stops planned for Pharr and Brownsville. Last week Cruz made similar comments during stops in Lubbock, Amarillo, Katy and Addison. After touring a business in Amarillo Cruz said he's optimistic that the Senate … [Read more...]

Physicians Convene in Atlanta to Learn About Precision Medicine, Genomics, Concierge Medicine, Direct Primary Care (DPC) and Other Innovative Healthcare Delivery Happenings, October 27-28, 2017 Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 Concierge Medicine Today, in partnership with The Direct Primary Care Journal (The DPC Journal), are hosting a 2-day innovative healthcare delivery and precision medicine forum in Atlanta, GA on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28, 2017 entitled CMT’s 2017 Concierge Medicine Forum. In addition to serving as a “think tank” for the broader industry in uncovering emerging trends that could improve the lives of today’s physicians and their patients, the two-day forum will also address current trends that are having an impact on the quality of health care today. Bringing together leaders from such major healthcare, technology and Precision Medicine brands including Sequencing.com, Doctor Evidence, Evidenza Precision … [Read more...]

Healthcare IT leader brings deep expertise in data analytics to healthcare talent management solution provider. Woburn, Mass. (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 HealthcareSource®, the leading provider of talent management solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced that Virginia McFerran has joined its Board of Directors, effective this month. A leader in healthcare technology for two decades, McFerran brings a deep expertise in all facets of healthcare data and analytics, from patient and financial metrics to payor and provider data. McFerran is President of Optum Analytics, a division of OptumInsight that designs and delivers innovative data and analytics solutions that improve care and eliminate costs. Previously, she led a variety of transformational initiatives ensuring HIMSS Stage 7 designation and the receipt of several awards for clinical and operational excellence as Chief Information Officer of UCLA Health, an organization consistently ranked among the … [Read more...]

UMN Rochester is implementing Portfolium Assessment and Canvas by Instructure to meet its assessment and accreditation needs San Diego, CA (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 The University of Minnesota Rochester (UMN) is implementing Portfolium Assessment to centralize the collection, archival, and assessment of learning artifacts in connection with its accreditation management and reporting needs. As UMN Rochester modernized its LMS platform by selecting Canvas by Instructure, the timing was perfect to sync with a Canvas-integrated system to bring assessment data, rubrics, and scoring mechanisms out of siloed databases and into the Canvas ecosystem. “We selected Portfolium because of its LTI-based assignment sync and grade exchange with Canvas and other learning management systems, and because of how incredibly easy it is for students and faculty to use,” said Norman Clark, Administrative Director of Academic Programs. Beyond core assessment and accreditation readiness, … [Read more...]

Enlarge this image A priest blesses a boy during communion. Earlier this year, the Irish Episcopal Conference approved guidelines for priests who father children. In the guidelines, which were recently published online, the Irish bishops advised any priest who is also a father to "face up to his responsibilities — personal, legal, moral and financial." Peter Morrison/AP hide caption toggle caption Peter Morrison/AP A priest blesses a boy during communion. Earlier this year, the Irish Episcopal Conference approved guidelines for priests who father children. In the guidelines, which were recently published online, the Irish bishops advised any priest who is also a father to "face up to his … [Read more...]

My Elder Advocate Franchise Has Signed Franchise Agreement With Industry Expert In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Will Open In The Fall of 2017. New York, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 Rick Carr has signed a Franchise Agreement with My Elder Advocate Franchise group for the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania market. Rick currently owns both the ATC Healthcare Services and the Care Builders at Home Franchises and has been providing services to the elder sector in the Pittsburgh market for nearly 15 years. “I am really excited about the services that My Elder Advocate provides that we do not currently offer our clients”. Said Carr. “This is exciting for us as it closes the loop in our services”. Rick and his team brings years of experience in the senior care market and has a long history addressing the needs of elders. My Elder Advocate provides families with services that span the entire elder care continuum including: long term care planning, home health care … [Read more...]

Meet the exceptional women of the Corn Producers Association of Texas, who journeyed from city to farm, and discovered that farming today is based on advance science and sophisticated technology that maximizes production while conserving resources. New York, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 In 1920, one out of three Americans lived and worked on farms and ranches. Today, that’s about one out of fifty. The change from a rural, agricultural nation to one that is mostly urban and industrialized has been constant over the past century. But for every trend, there are exceptions. Recently, the Corn Producers Association of Texas teamed with YourUpdateTV to discuss a group of women who grew up in cities, moved to farms, and are now actively engaged in growing our food. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: http://bit.ly/2vTtiYw These women are part of an organization known as CommonGround, a group of women farmers who are having conversations about the food they … [Read more...]

Guthrie Medical Group wins Back Pain Centers of America’s 2017 Awards of Excellence Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 22, 2017 Back Pain Centers of America (BPC), which connects people searching for solutions to their neck and back pain with a reputable physician in their area, announces that Guthrie Medical Group is the winner of the 2017 Awards of Excellence for the Patient Growth Award. This award is one of three categories of awards being presented in our 2017 series. The patient growth award recognizes the spine practices that implement programs to better serve the patient community. Guthrie is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system designed to offer patients a full-spectrum of health services incorporating primary care, complex specialty care, behavioral health services, surgical services, inpatient care, durable medical equipment services, home health, long-term care, palliative care and hospice care. Guthrie Medical Group identified an opportunity to … [Read more...]

While the solar eclipse temporarily dimmed the sun in the summer sky, nearly four dozen emergency first responders and veterans gathered together under the First Baptist Church's pavilion beside the Tomball Fire Station for a barbecue lunch to thank them for their efforts. Marine veteran Larry Hinkle, 38, said he wanted to honor first responders and veterans by walking across the state of Texas and has called this trek the Lone Star Hump. Starting from his hometown in Fort Worth on April 3, 2017, he headed north to the Panhandle toward El Paso, then east to Austin, Corpus Christi, Waco and Houston. "I'm a proud patriotic Texan and wanted to give back to the state that I love so much," he said. He said he he plans to end his trek in Kilgore on September 11, 2017. Last year, he undertook a cross country walk from North Carolina to California. "I walked up to 30 miles a day," he said. This year, he said he's hitting the road with his RV and is taking up to 10 days to meet with … [Read more...]

NEW YORK (AP) — Critics want New York City to remove a statue in Central Park that honors a doctor who used slaves in developing a pioneering approach to treating physical problems women can develop after childbirth.The call to remove the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims has gotten louder and gained urgency in the wake of violence that followed recent a white nationalist rally in Virginia over the removal of a Confederate statue and sparked national discussions about what should be displayed and honored in the public square.Sims was a 19th-century physician who is credited with developing a surgical technique to repair certain types of fistulas, or tears, which prior to that had been a seemingly insurmountable condition. He developed the technique through operations on enslaved black women in Alabama, without anesthetic.Among … [Read more...]

So you gazed at the heavens on Monday and marveled with millions of Americans as the moon slowly moved across the face of the sun. If you were lucky, you even experienced the wonders of totality.Now you find yourself with a pair or two — or maybe more — of paper eclipse glasses and you don't know what to do with them.Well, you have a few options.First of all, you should know that as long as the solar filters on your glasses are not scratched, punctured or torn, there is no reason you can't use them again and again.They'll still be good the next time a total solar eclipse casts a shadow on the planet in July of 2019. (That eclipse can be viewed from Chile and Argentina.)Heck, they'll still be good the next time there's a total solar eclipse in the U.S. on April 8, 2024.If you've heard rumors that the solar filters on eclipse glasses expire after three years, ignore them. According to NASA, they are fine to use indefinitely as long as they’re in good condition and meet … [Read more...]

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Republican congressman in a Kansas district that President Donald Trump narrowly lost last year was expected to face tough questions about health care and other issues Tuesday night during a town hall meeting, with national Democrats already targeting him. Rep. Kevin Yoder’s event in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe was his first face-to-face town hall meeting with constituents since Trump’s election in November, though he’s done four telephone-conference forums. The Kansas City Star’s editorial board sponsored the event and was picking its 110 audience members randomly from people who registered. Yoder’s 3rd Congressional District marries Democratic neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, with perpetually expanding acres of subdivisions and strip shopping centers in GOP-leaning suburbs to the south. Four of the five representatives in the past 50 years have been Republicans, but the district was centrist enough for GOP moderates and … [Read more...]

Organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the 15th World Suicide Prevention Day is Sept. 10, 2017. This year’s theme is: “Take a minute, change a life.” “As members of communities, it is our responsibility to look out for those who may be struggling, check in with them, and encourage them to tell their story in their own way and at their own pace,” IASP states. On average, 121 people die by suicide daily in the U.S. – and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention estimates that number is even higher. Read on for tips from experts on how to help loved ones – including adolescents – who deal with suicidal thoughts or attempts. … [Read more...]

Two definitive studies of hundreds of thousands of coffee drinkers prove that coffee makes you live longer.Conventional wisdom is that coffee drinking is bad for you. Doctors, nutritionists, and self-help gurus (including, for instance, Tony Robbins) have railed against coffee for decades, nay, centuries.Well, conventional wisdom about coffee is total BS, according to two huge studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe and funded by some of the most reputable medical research organizations in the world.Far from being a health risk, drinking coffee has now been proven--beyond all reasonable doubt--as a good way to help you live longer.A huge team of scientists funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumers and the International Agency for Research on Cancer tracked the coffee-drinking habits of 521,330 individuals in 10 European countries.Related: Ways coffee makes you a better person … [Read more...]

Lunch boxes are sparkling clean at the start of the school year, but after a few days ... look out! According to research from e-cloth, 73 percent of fabric lunch boxes tested contained mold and 20 percent had bacteria (staph and enterococci) that could contaminate food and cause food poisoning. Yikes! The solution? Thoroughly clean lunch boxes after every use. TODAY Home spoke with cleaning coach Leslie Reichert to find out some helpful tips for doing the job right. Shutterstock Start by getting rid of all smashed grapes, smeared peanut butter and other obvious crumbs and smears your child left behind — as well as whatever “treasures” he or she picked up that day.To remove most bacteria and mold, wash fabric lunch boxes and reusable food containers after every use with soap and water. A microfiber towel, rather than a … [Read more...]

A program meant to address the shortage of OB-GYNs in rural America could help many families who are faced with an hours-long -- and often dangerous -- journey to the nearest qualified hospital. Dr. Ellen Hartenbach, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, launched the first rural obstetrics and gynecology residency in 2016, aiming to train doctors in the rural communities that they will eventually practice in. “Residents who train in certain settings are more likely to locate their practices in similar settings. We want to give them experience in these underserved areas,” Hartenbach previously said, in a post on the school’s website. DENTAL PROFESSOR TACKLING OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN CLASSROOM AFTER SON'S OVERDOSE DEATH Since the … [Read more...]