Patients, Too, Turn to the Internet for Fund-Raising
By TARA PARKER-POPEPeter W. Cross for The New York TimesJessica Haley, with her husband Sean, posted an online appeal to raise money for fertility treatment.
On Jessica Haley’s 28th birthday in June, she posted a wish on the fund-raising Web site IndieGoGo. Ms. Haley and her husband, Sean, of Melbourne, Fla., wanted a baby, but their insurance did not cover fertility treatment.
To their astonishment, donations started pouring in. Word of the couple’s plight spread on Twitter and Facebook, and a “Help the Haleys Have a Baby” campaign raised $8,050 — including $423 from a total stranger.
A Hard Turn: Better Health on the Highway
By ABBY ELLIN
After driving hundreds of miles, the last thing Roy Williams, a truck driver from Denton, Tex., wanted to do wasexercise. After a day trapped in the cab, stopping only to gorge on greasy fare at truck stops, who could think of working out?
But once he ballooned to 405 pounds, he knew he had to make a change. So last year, Mr. Williams, 5
‘Cancer’ or ‘Weird Cells’: Which Sounds Deadlier?
By GINA KOLATA
My friend’s mother got terrifying news after she had a mammogram. She had Stage 0 breast cancer. Cancer. That dreadful word. Of course she had to have surgery to get it out of her breast, followed by hormonal therapy.
Or did she?
Though it is impossible to say whether the treatment was necessary in this case, one thing is growing increasingly clear to many researchers: The word “cancer” is out of date, and all too often it can be unnecessarily frightening.
Why Doesn’t No Mean No?
By JOE NOCERA
In 1998, The New York Times published a front-page article suggesting that two new drugs, angiostatin and endostatin, might finally win the war on cancer.
Though not yet tested in humans, the drugs had “eradicated” cancer in mice, the article said; and while some researchers were cautious, others could barely contain themselves. Dr. Richard Klausner, then the director of the National Cancer Institute called the drugs “the single most exciting thing on the horizon.”
In the subsequent 13 years, oncologists have come to the sobering realization these new drugs are not the holy grail after all. Usually used in conjunction with chemotherapy, they extend life and suppress tumor growth — but only by months, not years. Sometimes they do less than that — with serious side effects. As a breast cancer therapy, alas, the angiostatin Avastin falls in the latter category.
Obama administration calls on health insurer to reduce rate hike
Using a tool in the new healthcare law for the first time, officials call the 12% increase 'unreasonable.'
By Noam N. Levey, Washington Bureau
November 22, 2011
Reporting from Washington
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