A patient's eye view of radiation therapy: This is what it feels like
Although it can also be a robust part of curative treatment for a range of cancers (including prostate and breast cancers), in my case, it quickly — and disappointingly — became clear that radiation wasn't going to jolt my metastatic Ewing's sarcoma into retirement (never the likeliest outcome). But it ameliorated some discomforts and with notably less wear and tear than the chemo alternatives.
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Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar store food shopping isn't derailing American diets, study suggests
Dollar stores tend to sell less healthy food, but households that shop there appear to compensate by making healthier purchases elsewhere, a new study suggests. Researchers from Tufts University in Boston analyzed more than a decade of household food purchasing data from 183,000 U.S. households between 2008 and 2020. The study, published Monday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that dollar stores now account for 6.5% of household calories, double the 3.4% they made up in 2008. MORE: How dollar store grocery options stack up to traditional stores To track the healthfulness of household food purchases and diet quality, the team looked at data from the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which ranges from 0 to 100. The HEI measures how closely a person's diet aligns with national dietary guidelines, considering factors such as fruit and vegetable intake, whole grains and fat consumption. Higher scores indicate better alignment with these recommendations. Researchers excluded non-food items like alcohol and tobacco, as well as fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood, which don't have standard nutrition labels. Meals eaten outside the home, such as those at restaurants, were also not included in the assessment. Households with substantial purchases at dollar stores had an HEI score of 46.3, which was similar to the 48.2 score of those with moderate purchases and the 50.5 score of those with no purchases. "Purchases directly from dollar stores were less healthy, but even households that bought a lot from dollar stores had overall diets similar in healthfulness to those who bought less -- suggesting they may be getting healthier options from other places," Dr. Wenhui Feng, a professor of health care policy research at Tufts University School of Medicine and lead author of the study, told ABC News. Families were likely strategizing by purchasing certain items at dollar stores for affordability, while continuing to buy healthier items at other grocery stores, Feng suggested. The study also found overall that household diet quality remained consistent long-term, even as the share of food calories from dollar stores doubled. "Most of what dollar stores sell is likely ultra-processed -- packaged, ready-to-eat foods that tend to be higher in salt and additives that aren't necessarily healthy," Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor of nutritional medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. MORE: Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will close 1,000 stores following fourth-quarter loss St-Onge said this is troubling given the rapid growth of dollar stores, especially in low-income and rural areas. In these areas, dollar stores play a much larger role in food access, sometimes serving as one of the few nearby retail options, she noted. But St-Onge added that the issue probably won't be solved by simply restricting dollar stores. "Everyone should have access to affordable, healthful foods no matter where they're sold," she said. "If dollar stores are more prevalent in certain neighborhoods, improving their offerings would be a great step." Feng stressed that food accessibility is clearly a nuanced issue that requires work beyond just stopping the expansion of dollar stores. Even if the issue of access is solved, he said that nutritional inequality may still exist due to consumer preferences and economic constraints. "I don't think there is one policy that can make food purchase immediately healthier. We should approach this as part of the greater discussion about food access and food affordability," Feng said. Veer Patel, MD, is an emergency medicine doctor at Maimonides Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
Why Young Children May Not Get Covid Shots This Fall
This fall, it may not be possible for many parents to have a healthy child under age 5 immunized against Covid. Pfizer's vaccine has long been available to these children under so-called emergency use authorization. But the Food and Drug Administration is considering discontinuing the authorization for that age group, according to an email sent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to state and local health departments. Pfizer confirmed the possibility on Monday evening and said that the company was 'currently in discussions with the agency on potential paths forward.' For children 5 to 11 years old, the Pfizer vaccine is expected to be approved and available, according to the C.D.C.'s email, which was reviewed by The New York Times. In July, the F.D.A. granted full approval to Moderna's Covid vaccine for children — but only for those who have health conditions that may put them at increased risk should they become infected. Novavax's Covid vaccine has never been available for children under 12. The upshot is that if the F.D.A. does not renew Pfizer's authorization for children 6 months to 4 years, or fully approve the vaccine, healthy children in that age group will have no officially sanctioned options — although doctors may still choose to provide the vaccine 'off label.' That the F.D.A. might rescind the authorization was first reported by The Guardian. 'Unfortunately, this leaves one of the vulnerable groups, specifically healthy children less than 2 years old, without access to a safe vaccine that's known to prevent hospitalization and death,' said Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, who oversaw the C.D.C.'s work group on the Covid vaccine before she resigned in June. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
CDC staffers voice frustration over Kennedy's anti-vaccine rhetoric in wake of shooting
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staffers are voicing frustration over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s past vaccine comments, following Friday's shooting at the agency's headquarters in Atlanta that left one police officer dead. Although the motive of the suspected shooter — Patrick White, 30, from Kennesaw, Georgia — remains unknown, he told a neighbor that he believed the Covid vaccines had made him sick, a source told NBC News on the condition of anonymity. Kennedy visited CDC's headquarters earlier Monday, where security led him through campus, pointing out shattered windows across multiple buildings, according to statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. Later, Kennedy met with the widow of the killed police officer. Employees were instructed to work remotely this week. A virtual only all-staff meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, although it isn't clear if Kennedy will be in attendance. The shooting took place near the campuses of both the CDC, which includes an on-campus day care center, and Emory University. For some employees, the shooting highlighted growing hostility toward public health officials, which they feel has been shaped by Kennedy's long history of spreading vaccine misinformation, including the Covid vaccine. In 2021, Kennedy filed a citizens' petition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration revoke the authorization of the Covid vaccines. The same year, he described the Covid shot as the 'deadliest vaccine ever made.' Just last week, Kennedy terminated 22 contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines — the same technology used to develop Pfizer's and Moderna's Covid shots. In an announcement on X, Kennedy claimed 'mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses.' In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson, said Kennedy 'has unequivocally condemned the horrific attack and remains fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of CDC employees.' 'This is a time to stand in solidarity with our public health workforce,' Nixon said, 'not a moment for the media to exploit a tragedy for political gain.' Kennedy has not yet spoken publicly about vaccine misinformation that may have contributed to the shooting. Numerous studies have shown that the Covid vaccines are safe and effective. 'There's a lot of misinformation, a lot of really dangerous rhetoric that's currently being spread by the current administration, that makes us seem like villains, that makes us seem like our work is setting out to hurt people,' CDC employee Elizabeth Soda said in an interview. 'So it's not at all surprising, right, that people are going to listen to our leaders.' A 'scapegoat' Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, said the Covid vaccine has become an easy scapegoat — a symbol of all the losses the pandemic inflicted on people, including loss of life, physical and mental health and personal freedoms. 'The vaccine is something you could focus on, instead of a general feeling of loss,' he said. Even before the shooting at the CDC, there were multiple threats against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other public-health experts. Chin-Hong said he received multiple threatening emails a day at the peak of the pandemic. These days, he gets emails 'full of hate' about once a week. Usually, he reads the first line and then deletes them. Still, he feels personally unsafe often because he gives public talks about vaccines, he said. As a public health expert, he thinks of that as a duty. The CDC shooting heightened those fears. 'The CDC incident really makes me feel more personally at risk,' he said. In employee group chats, staffers are also voicing frustration with Kennedy. 'People feel like this is a natural progression when you spend years denigrating science and public health, spread misinformation about vaccines and publicly attack federal workers,' said one CDC employee who was granted anonymity for fear of repercussions. 'Folks, myself included, are pissed off,' the source added. An employee at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, said it's not lost on them that Kennedy 'has demonized our work.' In an email obtained by NBC News, Kennedy told CDC staff on Saturday that he was praying for the entire agency, adding that the shooting was 'deeply unsettling,' especially for those working in Atlanta. 'We want everyone to know, you're not alone,' Kennedy wrote. This article was originally published on
