Category: Public Health

The New West: Smoke In The Sky, A Purifier At Home

Amid forecasts for increasingly unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, residents in Western states are snatching up home air purifiers. With good reason.

Modern Wildfires Pose New Health Risks For Firefighters

Studies long have linked urban firefighters’ on-the-job exposure to toxins with an increased risk of cancer. More recently, as urban-style development reaches into once remote stretches of California’s mountains and forests, wildfire crews are exposed to fuels and carcinogens more typical of urban fires. We talk with Tony Stefani of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation about the health risks that poses for firefighters.

Trump Wants To Take Guns Away From People In Crisis. Will That Work?

So-called red flag laws that let police take guns away from people with mental illness have support from both advocates and opponents of gun control. But it won’t alleviate gun violence.

Trump Wants To Take Guns Away From People In Crisis. Will That Work?

So-called red flag laws that let police take guns away from people with mental illness have support from both advocates and opponents of gun control. But it won’t alleviate gun violence.

Kathy Brandt, A Hospice Expert Who Invited The World Into Her Own Last Days With Cancer, Dies

Kathy Brandt and her wife, Kim Acquaviva, national experts in hospice and palliative care, shared intimate details of Brandt’s experience with terminal cancer before her death Sunday.

The Real-Life Conversion Of A Former Anti-Vaxxer

Kelley Watson Snyder, a mother who for years opposed mandatory childhood vaccinations and joined with like-minded parents who espoused similar views, today runs a pro-vaccination Facebook page. What changed?

If You Smoke Pot, Your Anesthesiologist Needs To Know

Colorado is on the front lines in dealing with how marijuana use affects surgery. Lessons learned on operating tables and in recovery rooms have prompted calls for more research on marijuana nationwide.

The Talk Seniors Need To Have With Doctors Before Surgery

Surgeons are rethinking the old notions of “informed consent.” With older patients especially, a push is on to talk candidly about what a surgery will do, its risks and how it will affect their quality of life.

Genetic-Testing Scam Targets Seniors And Rips Off Medicare

Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to identity theft and Medicare fraud.

In The Battle Of The Fitness Trackers, The Most Steps Might Not Win

Fitness trackers took off about a decade ago, and it’s not unusual for devoted walkers to log several miles a day. But is such a feat necessary?