Month: January 2022

The American Cancer Society (ACS) in a new report said lung cancer incidence and mortality were declining.  The group used incidence data through 2018 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, the National Program of Cancer Registries and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Mortality data through 2019 was collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. FLORIDA BOY, 6, BATTLING CANCER NAMED POLICE CAPTAIN FOR THE DAY Lung cancer incidence reportedly fell for advanced disease, while rates for localized-stage increased suddenly by 4.5% annually, "contributing to gains both in the proportion of localized-stage diagnoses (from 17% in 2004 to 28% in 2018) and 3-year relative survival (from 21% to 31%)." Mortality patterns reflected incid...

For decades, researchers have suspected that people infected with an exceedingly common virus, Epstein-Barr, might be more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, a neurological illness that affects a million people in the United States. Now, a team of researchers report what some say is the most compelling evidence yet of a strong link between the two diseases. The virus infects nearly everyone in their teen or young adult years, and very few go on to develop multiple sclerosis. The researchers also note that it is not the only known risk factor for people who develop the illness. But they say their data points to it being the clearest of them all. While it remains to be seen whether the finding will result in treatments or cures for multiple sclerosis, the study may further motivate rese...

Omicron poses a “substantially reduced risk” of serious illness compared to Delta — and is more than 90 percent less likely to kill those infected, according to a federally funded study. The study, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wednesday, said it proved “compelling evidence of an intrinsically less severe infection” from the variant that currently accounts for 90 percent of cases in the US. The evaluation of more than 70,000 infected Californians saw those with Omicron less than half as likely to need hospitalization as those with Delta — and about 75 percent less likely to need intensive care. Those hospitalized also needed to stay approximately 70 percent less time, with a median treatment time of 1.5 days compared to five d...

Talk about getting the short end of the stick. As if contracting COVID wasn’t bad enough, a dismayed man now claims that he’s lost a whopping 1.5 inches from the length of his penis as a lingering result of the vile virus. “My penis has shrunk,” lamented the griping guy in a letter to the “How To Do It” podcast this week. “I’m a heterosexual man in my 30s,” he said, anonymously — only referring to himself as “coming up short.” “In July of last year, I contracted COVID and was very sick. When I got out of the hospital, I had some erectile dysfunction issues,” he added. The purportedly once-well-endowed man went on to explain that prior to his diagnosis, he boasted an “above average”-sized tool. A heterosexual man in his 30s claims his penis shrunk...

Photo: Hector Vivas (Getty Images) A new study that found compounds in cannabis could stop the coronavirus from infecting cells has understandably captured the internet’s attention this week. But while the findings are worth following up on, people shouldn’t get too excited yet, as the researchers are very clear that simply smoking or otherwise ingesting cannabis isn’t going to make someone covid-proof. The study was conducted by scientists at Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University. They were screening for chemicals found in plants that could in theory bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, thus inhibiting its ability to infect our cells. The team identified two such potential compounds from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa): cannabigerolic a...