Health and Safety

New Study Says Most Breast Cancer Treatments Safe During Pregnancy

A new study indicates that most breast cancer treatments are safe during pregnancy, Blogging Baby reports. If true, this could mean fewer instances of the terrible choice between the life of the mother and the life of the baby. The researchers warn, however, that women should still not undergo radiation therapy while pregnant. They also […]

Egg Freezing May Open New Fertility Options

For years, doctors have frozen embryos and sperm to help prospective parents preserve them for future use. Eggs, however, could not be frozen and used with more than a minor chance of success. That may be changing. Japanese researchers have announced a new technique that gives frozen, then thawed eggs the same pregnancy-success rate as

Sleeping with Light or Not Sleeping Could Be Breast Cancer Factors

A new study by the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says that sleeping with a light on, working a night shift, or not getting enough sleep could be causes of breast cancer. This work confirms several previous studies, providing what researchers say is “the first proof that light is indeed

FDA Approves Cervical-Cancer Vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration today approved a vaccine for cervical cancer, the second-leading cause of death among women around the world. The FDA says vaccines are most effective when they immunize enough people so that the pathogen disappears. The New York Times reports that a Centers for Disease Control committee will likely recommend that

Pregnant Women Warned to Avoid Canned Tuna

Pregnant women should avoid all canned tuna, Consumer Reports magazine warned this week, citing potentially high levels of mercury. The Food and Drug Administration, on the other hand, says the average amount of mercury in light tuna is still within acceptable limits. Consumer Reports counters that although average amounts in light tuna may be low,

New Test May Help Time Inductions

In at least one hospital, more pregnant women than usual were scheduling inductions yesterday, trying to avoid giving birth on today’s date of 6/6/06. They fear the date corresponds to 666, the number of the beast, or Antichrist, in Revelations 13:18. It’s fitting then, that there’s news today of a new test that may more

Artificial Insemination for Danish Lesbians

Lesbians and single women of any orientation in Denmark now have the same rights to artificial insemination in public hospitals as straight couples, PinkNews.co.uk reports. Denmark was the first country to legalise same-sex civil unions, in 1989, although the rights and protections are more limited than in a marriage.

New Drug Slows Breast Cancer

(Back to our regularly scheduled program . . . though I will continue to post highlights from Blogging for LGBT Families Day for a while.) Scientists have shown that a new experimental drug, Tykerb, slows the growth of breast cancer even when existing “new generation” drugs like Herceptin fail to work. A controlled study of

Barbecue Safety

Whether you prefer tenderloin or tofu, Memorial Day represents the official start of grilling season here in the U. S. (I’ve been known to stomp out to the grill in six inches of snow when the mood strikes, but that’s an exception.) This seems as good a time as any to suggest that people review

IVF Pregnancies May Pose Additional Risks

Women who get pregnant via in vitro fertilization (IVF) may have a higher risk of placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta blocks all or part of the cervix. Placenta previa can cause the woman to hemorrhage and increases the risk of a premature birth or other delivery problems. Researchers at St. Olavs University

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