My mother died in my home in hospice in 2020, on the day my state of Washington went into COVID-19 lockdown. Her body was taken away, but none of the usual touchstones for grief were available to our family. There was no funeral or supportive gathering, no deliveries of food and no hugs. For months afterward, as the nationwide lockdown ...Read more

At a pharmacy in Iowa, a 42-year-old Black gay man couldn’t find a medication he needed. The pharmacist, a white woman, told him they didn’t stock that medication. But while he waited to pay for his other purchases, he saw another customer place the medication he just asked for on the counter.

“I felt really bad,” he said. “...Read more

From ticks and mosquitoes to pangolins and raccoon dogs (two species accused of being the animal origin of COVID-19), the conversation around wildlife and health often hinges on the idea that animals can make us sick.

That’s not necessarily wrong. As humans encroach deeper into wild spaces and alter habitats, we’re creating opportunities ...Read more

Editors Note: September is Healthy Aging Awareness Month

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DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've been hearing a lot lately about healthspan versus lifespan when it comes to aging. What do they each mean? And what is the difference?

ANSWER: We get a lot of questions about what distinguishes between lifespan and healthspan. The simplest answer is to ...Read more

A new COVID-19 variant, XEC, has arrived just before fall.

The new variant has sprouted from the omicron variant that developed in late 2021. Although XEC is new, Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London, told the BBC that he would be surprised if it became the dominant variant throughout winter.

...Read more

More than half the world’s population is not getting enough of seven crucial nutrients. It’s an issue the World Health Organization said is a major threat, especially for children and pregnant women in low-income countries.

Published in the journal the Lancet Global Health, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, UC ...Read more

CHICAGO — A former executive at Outcome Health – who was the star witness against his bosses in a trial last year – was sentenced to seven months in prison on Thursday for his role in what prosecutors have called a $1 billion fraud at the company.

Before sentencing, former Outcome executive Ashik Desai stood before the judge and ...Read more

Tommy John pitched in the big leagues from 1963 to 1989 and won 288 games. Only 25 MLB pitchers have won more.

But check out his 27 years of statistics, and you’ll see one year is blank: 1975. That’s because in the fall of 1974, John underwent surgery for a ligament tear in his elbow, an injury once considered career-ending.

...Read more

With rising rates of obesity in the U.S. and increasing attention being paid to the health harms of processed foods, it’s clear that far more could be done to help consumers make healthy food choices.

A bill known as the TRUTH in Labeling Act has been sitting before Congress since late 2023. If passed, it would require U.S. food ...Read more

The prostate is a small gland in males that aids in reproduction. Prostate cancer is one the most common types of cancer, and when it's detected early, often by a simple blood test, it has the best chance for successful treatment.

"Prostate cancer is incredibly common, probably going to be diagnosed in about 300,000 men this year in the United ...Read more

Patients undergoing cancer treatments often use palliative medicine to cope with nausea, fatigue and other bothersome symptoms.

Palliative medicine is a medical specialty whose main focus is supporting patients and families/caregivers who need help managing symptoms related to cancer or side effects related to the treatment of cancer, along ...Read more

Since the dawn of the antibiotic age, opportunistic pathogens have evolved defenses faster than humans can develop drugs to combat them.

At the same time, humans have unwittingly given the bugs an advantage through the overuse of antibiotics, allowing pathogens that survive their exposure to pass on their resistant traits.

Now, a new report ...Read more

Dear Healthy Men: I just found out that September is both Suicide Awareness and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. What do we need to know about those two issues?

A: Prostate cancer and suicide are among the top 10 causes of death for males. Let’s take a closer look at both:

Prostate Cancer

Only biological males have a prostate, and one in ...Read more

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

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When Pooja Mehta’s younger brother, Raj, died by suicide at 19 in March 2020, she felt “blindsided.”

Raj’s last text message was to his college lab partner about how to divide homework...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two people in Los Angeles County are sick with a rare parasitic infection known as "raccoon roundworm," according to officials.

The parasite, called Baylisascaris procyonis, was found in the South Bay area of L.A., according to a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health news release. The parasite can infect the brain, ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Corrections has sued its former health care services provider, arguing the company breached its contract with the state when it failed to pay subcontractors for roughly $35 million in medical services provided to prisoners.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Ingham County Circuit Court against Grand ...Read more

Even though preventive care is supposed to be free by law for millions of Americans thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many don’t receive recommended preventive services, especially racial and ethnic minorities and other at-risk patient groups.

The Affordable Care Act exempted preventive services from patient cost-sharing for large ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House and Senate Democrats are pushing leadership to quickly pass legislation to permanently expand subsidies on the health care exchanges — ideally by the end of the year.

Forty-one Senate Democrats, led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and 154 House Democrats, led by Lauren Underwood of Illinois, are sending a letter to ...Read more

Medicare Advantage plans have been successful in enrolling Medicare beneficiaries and delivering to those clients. Despite this, some insurers are downsizing their share of the market and hospitals are canceling or not renewing their contracts to serve plan members – leaving enrollees in the lurch.

In recent months, Humana, CVS and some ...Read more