DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have been diagnosed with a brain tumor and advised to have radiation therapy. I’m very nervous about this and the risks for me, my family and, potentially, another cancer diagnosis. Can you explain why radiation therapy could be right for me?

ANSWER: Radiation therapy has been used to treat cancer since the beginning of ...Read more

Congress set aside $50 billion for rural hospitals and medical providers to allay fears over the billions more in historic cuts to federal health care spending that President Donald Trump signed into law on Independence Day.

But is that bandage big enough to save struggling rural hospitals?

“I have more questions than I have answers,” said...Read more

Skin allergies are common and often frustrating to diagnose. But new technology could soon help change that.

Dr. Alison Bruce, a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic, is aiding the development of an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool to support allergy patch testing. The tool is being designed to help patients self-apply test patches and use ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Public health officials on Tuesday said mosquito samples collected in Anaheim and Garden Grove have tested positive for West Nile virus, the first confirmed virus activity this year.

There have been four positive mosquito samples collected in those cities, according to the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District. So ...Read more

In the wake of January’s deadly wildfires, Los Angeles County leaders are weighing a disaster registry intended to help disabled and senior residents get connected to emergency responders to bring them to safety during disasters.

County supervisors approved a feasibility study this spring for such a voluntary database. Supporters applauded ...Read more

As authorities brace for a potential resurgence in bird flu cases this fall, infectious disease specialists warn that the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants could hamper efforts to stop the spread of disease.

Dairy and poultry workers have been disproportionately infected with the H5N1 bird flu since it was first ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On a recent summer afternoon, Randy and Vera Tom prepared a stir-fried lunch in their Redwood City, California, home with their “sous chef,” a 17-year-old Bichon Frise named Munchies, afoot.

Randy, 70, recently overhauled his lifestyle after the couple participated in a Stanford Medicine study tracking their metabolic ...Read more

Experts in vaccines and vaccination — including pediatricians — work together throughout the year to update the Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule for ages 18 years or younger.

The schedule is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics and based on ongoing reviews of the most recent scientific data for each of the ...Read more

President Donald Trump signed the first successful rollback of the country’s major health care programs into law on the Fourth of July, and some major changes are expected to be felt in Nevada over time.

Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the reconciliation package includes critical policy changes, from ending taxes on tips to extending...Read more

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University collaborated to create a customized app based on artificial intelligence that may help people with multiple sclerosis track their symptoms — and even predict them.

The app passively pulled health data from the personal digital devices — like smartphones and fitness ...Read more

Rehab hospitals that help people recover from major surgeries and injuries have become a highly lucrative slice of the health care business. But federal data and inspection reports show that some run by the dominant company, Encompass Health Corp., and other for-profit corporations have had rare but serious incidents of patient harm and perform ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — From 8 a.m. until late at night, Nathan Hill performs countless tasks for his 16-year-old son, Brady. Some of the tasks are small — things most people “take for granted that our kids can do,” Hill said, like popping Brady’s pimples when he gets acne outbreaks.

Others could mean the difference between life or death. A ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: This is kind of embarrassing, but, for a while, I’ve been leaking urine. Can something be done to fix this incontinence problem?

ANSWER: You don’t have to live with this issue. The three main types of urinary incontinence are:

Stress incontinence — due to leakage with activities, such as lifting, climbing stairs or ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado’s first human cases of West Nile virus this year were confirmed in two people who contracted the disease in Adams County, public health officials said Thursday.

Those individuals likely contracted the virus from infected mosquitoes in late June, the Adams County Health Department said in a news release. While no mosquitoes...Read more

One of the world’s biggest genetic databases comprises DNA data donated over the years by more than a million retired military service members. It’s part of a project run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The initiative, dubbed the Million Veteran Program, is a “crown jewel of the country,” said David Shulkin, a physician who ...Read more

Doctors, hospitals, and health insurers for weeks issued dire warnings to Republican lawmakers that millions of people would lose health coverage and hospitals would close if they cut Medicaid funding to help pay for President Donald Trump’s big tax and spending bill.

But Republicans ignored those pleas, made even deeper cuts, and sent the ...Read more

On his way to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stopped by the home of podcaster Gary Brecka. The two spent time in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and tried some intravenous nutrition drips that Brecka, a self-avowed longevity and wellness maven, sells and promotes on his show, “The...Read more