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Why Do Prevention Experts Want to Lower the Recommended Age for Mammograms?
Driven in part by an increase in breast cancer diagnoses in younger women — particularly in Black women — the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — has proposed lowering the recommended age for beginning regular mammograms from 50 to 40. The USPSTF recommends that women at average risk for breast cancer get screening mammograms every other year.
Modern Integrase Inhibitor Regimens Work Well Over the Long Term
Current integrase inhibitor–based antiretroviral treatment, including once-daily pills and long-acting injectables, are highly durable, controlling HIV for years, according to recent research. Even regimens that contain just two drugs can work well long term. One study showed that Gilead Sciences’ all-in-one pill Biktarvy (bictegravir/tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine) has kept HIV in...
Recovery From Addiction Is a Journey. There’s No One-and-Done Solution.
The atmosphere inside the Allen House is easygoing as residents circulate freely through the hallways, meet in group sessions, or gather on a large outdoor patio that features a dirt volleyball court with an oversize net. The 60-bed safety-net residential treatment center in Santa Fe Springs, run by Los Angeles...
Lambda Legal Asks Court to Allow People With HIV to Join the Military
Lambda Legal wants a U.S. District Court to end the Pentagon’s policy prohibiting people with HIV from joining the military. Specifically, Lambda Legal filed a motion for summary judgment, meaning that it asked the court to issue a judgement in a lawsuit without holding a trial, since there is no dispute about the key facts of the case.
Increased Medical Debt Is Associated with Higher Cancer Mortality Rates
A new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) found medical debt is associated with significantly higher cancer mortality rates at the county level in the United States. On average, an estimated 20% of the population carried medical debt. For every 1% increase in the population with...
Prioritizing Black Health in Kansas
Seeking to improve the health outcomes of Black Americans and other marginalized communities, the University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center launched the Center for African American Health last week. Created by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at KU Medical Center, the community-led center will focus on education,...
Addyi Improves Sexual Health for Women With Breast Cancer
Addyi (flibanserin), a drug that helps balance chemical messengers in the brain, led to improvements in sexual desire (libido), arousal and satisfaction, less pain and better health-related quality of life for premenopausal women using hormone therapy for breast cancer, according to research presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
Biden Admin Implores States to Slow Medicaid Cuts
Too many Americans are losing Medicaid coverage because of red tape, and states should do more to make sure eligible people keep their health insurance, the Biden administration said Monday. More than a million Americans have lost coverage through the program for low-income and disabled Americans in the past several...
Health Insurance Plans Will Cover Preventive Care as Court Case Continues
Today, June 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit approved an agreement by the parties on a stay of the remedy in the case of Braidwood v. Becerra, pausing the effect of the lower court’s ruling that threatens access to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended preventive services without cost sharing as required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The agreement provides that the government will not take any action to enforce the ACA provision against the plaintiffs while the litigation proceeds.
More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months
At least eight states this year have decided to seek federal approval to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, leaving just a handful that have opted not to guarantee at least a year of health care for women during that critical period after pregnancy. The new states on the list include Montana,...
Many Younger Women With Breast Cancer Can Safely Have a Baby
There is good news for patients with breast cancer who would like to have a baby. A new study published May 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that for young women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, pausing endocrine therapy to pursue a pregnancy did not raise the short-term risk that the disease will recur. Additionally, nearly 75% of the participants in the POSTIVE international clinical trial had at least one pregnancy and nearly 65% delivered healthy babies during their hiatus from hormone therapy.
Cherokee Nation Makes Progress Toward Hepatitis C Elimination
A five-year evaluation of the Cherokee Nation Health Service (CNHS) hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination program found that 86% of people diagnosed with the virus were linked to care and 99% of those who completed antiviral therapy were cured, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But about 40% did not start treatment, showing that there is still room for improvement in access to care.
National Public Health Groups Applaud the Supreme Court’s Medicaid Ruling
On Thursday, June 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a decision in the case of Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski siding with the plaintiff and ruling that individuals could enforce their civil rights to spending clause programs such as Medicaid via Section 1983.
You Can’t Escape Race in Cancer
Have you ever been involved in a group where you felt safe enough to be authentic? What happens when that safe bubble unexpectedly bursts?. The more I talk openly about race within the cancer space, the more I see the true colors of those I never dreamed would have a racist bone in their body. I naively hoped that race wouldn’t matter after I was diagnosed with cancer because it can be life-threatening. After all, we all bleed red. But I was slapped with another harsh dose of reality once I understood there’s no escaping racism and white supremacy. It seeps into every part of my life and is just as toxic and unbearable as my cancer treatments. It became clear early on that I would never be seen as just a cancer patient. I would always be seen as a Black cancer patient and, ultimately, a Black cancer survivor.
Denials of Health Insurance Claims Are Rising — And Getting Weirder
Millions of Americans in the past few years have run into this experience: filing a health care insurance claim that once might have been paid immediately but instead is just as quickly denied. If the experience and the insurer’s explanation often seem arbitrary and absurd, that might be because companies appear increasingly likely to employ computer algorithms or people with little relevant experience to issue rapid-fire denials of claims — sometimes bundles at a time — without reviewing the patient’s medical chart. A job title at one company was “.”
American Cancer Society and Color Health Announce Partnership to Increase Cancer Screening for Employers and Unions
American Cancer Society and Color Health Announce Partnership to Increase Cancer Screening for Employers and Unions. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and Color Health today announced a partnership that will provide convenient, accessible, and comprehensive cancer prevention and screening solutions for the highest-burden cancers including breast, prostate, lung, cervical, and colorectal for more than 150 million Americans who receive health care through either their employer or union.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
Cardiovascular disease — the No. 1 cause of death among people 65 and older — is poised to become more prevalent in the years ahead, disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic communities and exacting an enormous toll on the health and quality of life of older Americans. The estimates...
HIV Vaccine Induces T-Cell Response in First Human Trial
A new type of HIV vaccine based on germline targeting—an approach that trains the immune system to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs)—stimulated a strong helper T-cell response in a small early clinical trial, researchers reported in Science Translational Medicine. CD4 cells—the main target of HIV—help coordinate immune system responses, including the activation of antibody-producing B-cells.
Healthy Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you’re looking for a treat to satisfy your sweet tooth, or to pick you up when you feel tired (I certainly did during my chemo) then look no further. These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are awfully good. They are easy to make, and, once cooled, can be frozen to keep on hand for several months, if you can keep your hands off them that long.
Liver Cirrhosis and Related Mortality Are Projected to Rise
Deaths from liver cirrhosis are expected to rise over the next decade, but the causes of advanced liver disease are changing, according to study findings published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Cirrhosis was responsible for 2.4% of global mortality in 2019. As obesity and alcohol consumption have increased around...
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Real Health is the leading health magazine for African Americans in the United States. Launched in 2004, the goal of Real Health is to help African Americans of all ages achieve optimum health and wellness—physically, mentally and emotionally—by offering readers current, accurate information based on the latest science through well-researched stories that educate, entertain, uplift and motivate members of the community at large to be their best selves.
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