Weight-loss drugs’ impact on cancer risk revealed in new study

Weight-loss medications and bariatric surgery have both been found effective at helping people shed excess pounds — and now a new study explores their link to obesity-related cancer (ORC) risk.
Obesity is a known risk factor for certain types of cancers, and has also been shown to impact cancer survival.
Obesity-related cancers include multiple myeloma, meningioma, adenocarcinoma of esophagus; stomach, colorectal, liver or bile duct, gallbladder, pancreas, uterus, ovary, renal-cell kidney, thyroid, and postmenopausal breast cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
SEMAGLUTIDE FOUND TO HAVE SHOCKING BENEFIT FOR LIVER DISEASE PATIENTS IN NEW STUDY
Researchers at Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv, Israel, conducted an observational study of the medical records of 6,356 participants aged 24 and older who had obesity and diabetes, with no history of obesity-related cancer.
Between 2010 and 2018, half of the participants took GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 ..

‘We Already Are Curing Cancer’: TIME100 Health Panel Discusses How to Solve an ‘Evolving’ Disease

Sara Sidner, anchor and senior national correspondent for CNN, told the audience at the TIME100 Health Impact Dinner on Tuesday night that she did 16 rounds of chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in 2023—and worked the entire time through it. The room erupted into loud applause.

“It is possible to live your life while trying to kill cancer,” Sidner said. “We’ve come such a long way, and I just quickly want to say to this room: whoever is in this room that is a nurse, a doctor, a physician, a researcher, someone who is creating drugs for us—thank you. Thank you for the research. Thank you for your work; we need it so, so much.”

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Sidner was joined onstage by Dr. Vinod Balachandran, surgeon-scientist and director of the Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Victor Bulto, president of the U.S. unit for Novartis, which sponsored the event in New York City. The three appeared on a ..

The One Word That Can Destroy a Friendship

When Shari Leid was a teenager heading off to college, she proudly opted for a vanity plate on her Mazda 323 hatchback that was a shortened version of one of her most-deployed words: “whatever.”

Now, decades later, she has a different view of how dismissive it is to shut down a conversation with such a casually snide remark. It is, she’s found, the single word that can break even the strongest bonds—one she’s had to teach herself to stifle in the interest of maintaining healthy relationships.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The problem with ‘whatever’

“Whatever” is a “fighting word,” says Leid, a friendship expert who’s the author of books including The 50/50 Friendship Flow—and it’s an immature one at that. “People stop and notice it,” she says. “It’s in-your-face, and there’s something that feels demeaning to it.”

Brushing off a conversation with “whatever” immediately escalates the tension in the conversation, whether you’re talking to a friend, family member, or the customer-..

FDA warns seniors to avoid this vaccine after deadly complications

Older adults are being warned against receiving the chikungunya vaccine before traveling.
The Ixchiq vaccination, developed by Valneva to prevent the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2023 as the first of its kind.
The approval applies to anyone aged 18 and older who has a risk of being exposed to the virus.
FIRST VACCINE FOR CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS, AN ‘EMERGING GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT,’ GETS FDA APPROVAL
But the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a safety notice on May 9 recommending that adults over 60 years old pause use of the vaccine due to fatal complications.
«FDA and CDC will continue the evaluation of post-marketing safety reports for Ixchiq,» the release reads.
«While the safety of Ixchiq for use in individuals 60 years of age and older is being further assessed, FDA and CDC are recommending a pause in use of the vaccine in this age group. FDA and CDC will update the public when the..

What’s Behind Your Persistent Cough?

No one wants to be the person who can’t stop coughing. Not only is it uncomfortable on your throat, but it also draws angry stares from others in elevators, subway cars, and restaurants—especially during respiratory virus season.

Why do some coughs seem to take forever to resolve? A pulmonologist and an otolaryngologist explain the causes of a chronic cough and what you can do about it.

Defining chronic cough

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

In order to know what’s behind a constant cough, it helps to first keep track of how long you’ve had it. And there are specific timeframes that make a cough chronic or not.

An acute or fleeting cough lasts for up to three weeks, explains Dr. Natalie Earl, an otolaryngologist at the Centers for Advanced ENT Care—Feldman ENT Division in Maryland and Washington, D.C. These short-lived coughs are usually related to a virus you caught and will resolve on their own, she says.

Read More: What to Eat When You’re Sick

On the other hand, a persistent..

When Fighting with Your Insurance Company Becomes a Full-Time Job

Erin Massey is busy in her day job as a scientist at a biotech company. But recently, she’s had another job, too: trying to convince her insurer, Cigna, to pay for a medication that she needs for her insomnia.

Premera, Massey’s previous insurer through another employer, covered the medication, and her doctor has deemed it medically necessary and has filled out numerous forms saying so. But Cigna repeatedly denied her requests for the insurance company to cover the medication, Quviviq, she says.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Massey estimates that she spends 8-10 hours a week working on getting the medication covered: talking to Cigna representatives, filling out forms, writing appeals, and otherwise researching how to convince Cigna that the medication is essential for her health. Her experience is not unusual: in total, Americans spend at least 12 million hours a week calling their health insurance company, according to a Gallup poll.

They do this because of the complicated na..

Flesh-eating New World Screwworm could pose health risks to cattle, humans

A threat to American livestock – the New World Screwworm (NWS) fly, which has been considered eradicated from the country since 1966 — has reemerged as a potential danger following an outbreak in Mexico.
The news triggered a shutdown of cattle, horse and bison imports along the southern border, as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in an X post on Sunday.
«Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately,» she wrote in the post.
DANGEROUS FUNGUS COULD SPREAD TO PARTS OF US, RESEARCHERS CLAIM
«The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again.»
The NWS is a fly that is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some South American countries, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
While the flie..

Top 10 most expensive prescription drugs in the US by price and by sales volume

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s Monday announcement of an executive order that will slash prescription drug prices in the U.S., the spotlight is on current costs and how much Americans could save.
The president’s order calls for «most favored nations drug pricing» — which means «the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,» he said.
«Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%,» Trump said.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES ON 'BIG PHARMA' BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LOWER DRUG PRICES
Katy Dubinsky, a New York pharmacist and founder and CEO of Vitalize, applauded the move to reduce prescription prices, noting that Trump’s order tackles a long-standing problem.
«But this will not be simple to accomplish,» she told Fox News Digital.
«The executive order doesn't reduce costs immediately,» she said. «It directs government agencies to start drafting the rul..

FDA says ‘dangerous’ substance known as ‘gas station heroin’ poses major risk to young people

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sounding the alarm on a dangerous drug referred to as «gas station heroin,» that can lead to serious harm, including death.
FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary sent a letter to his colleagues last week to draw their attention to what he called a «dangerous and growing health trend» facing the nation and young people. Makary said there is an increasing number of adverse events involving products that contain tianeptine.
Tianeptine, often called «gas station heroin,» is sold in gas stations through a variety of products, despite the drug not being approved by the FDA.
«I am very concerned,» Makary wrote. «I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth.»
‘GAS STATION HEROIN’ IS GROWING THREAT IN NEW JERSEY, HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN: ‘DANGEROUS AND ADDICTIVE’
The products are typically sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retai..

Which Weight-Loss Drug Works the Best?

As more doctors and patients turn to the latest weight-loss drugs, researchers are trying to figure out which drug is right for which patient—and at what point in their weight-loss journey.

Key to making those decisions is how effective the drugs are and which side effects people might experience while taking them.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Congress on Obesity provides some of those answers. Researchers report on a head-to-head trial comparing Wegovy (semaglutide), made by Novo Nordisk, to Zepbound (tirzepatide), made by Eil Lilly. The initial findings were released in Dec. by Eli Lilly, who funded the study. The current report includes more details on how the two drugs affected waist circumference and other measures, as well as their side effects.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Among the 751 people randomly assigned to receive weekly injections of either the maximum dose of Wegovy or the maximum dose of Zepbound fo..