Pap tests for cervical cancer boost cure chances
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(CBS News) Women are more likely to survive cervical cancer if it was diagnosed through a Pap smear test, according to a new study.
PICTURES: 5 medical tests that could save your life (and 5 to skip)
The study is the first to estimate the chances of surviving cervical cancer, according to the authors. For the study, Swedish researchers tracked 1230 women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1999 to 2001. The researchers tracked the women for an average follow-up of 8.5 years, and found women whose cancers were found by the Pap test had a 92 percent cure rate, while women who were diagnosed because of their symptoms only had a 66 percent cure rate.
During the course of the study, 373 women died. Of those women, 75 percent were not screened for cervical cancer with a Pap test. The study is published in the March 1 issue of the British Medical Journal.
"Regular Pap screening does not just prevent cancer by looking for precursors, but it also increases the possibilities of cure if the cancer is detected during screening," study author Dr. Bengt Andrae, a cancer researcher at Uppsala University in Stockholm, told HealthDay. "We can say the benefit of Pap smear screening is real."
"Even if you have not gone to cervical screening before, go when you are invited because you have a much better prognosis than waiting for the symptoms to appear," Andrae told BBC News.
Nearly 12,200 American women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. More than 4,200 women are expected to die from the disease in 2012. Symptoms of cervical cancer may include abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge, possibly after sex, according to the CDC.
How often should a woman get screened for cervical cancer? Recommendations vary.
According to American Cancer Society Guidelines, All women should begin cervical cancer screening about 3 years after they begin having sex, but no later than 21 years old. Screening should be done every year with the regular Pap test or every 2 years using the newer liquid-based Pap test, the society says. Beginning at age 30, women who have had 3 normal Pap test results in a row may get screened every 2 to 3 years. BBC News reported the Swedish cervical screening program invites women aged 23-50 to attend every three years and women aged 51-60 to get a Pap test every five years.
Last year, an advisory panel to the government, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended against yearly Pap tests, saying they could do more harm than good, HealthPop reported. The panel said the more tests a person gets may result in unnecessary biopsies. Check with your doctor to find out more about cervical cancer screening.
The American Cancer Society has more on cervical cancer.
All infant Tylenol recalled by J&J
A container of grape-flavored Infants' Tylenol liquid medicine with the enclosed syringe and flow restrictor is posed in Moreland Hills, Ohio on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012.
/ AP(AP) All infant Tylenol is being pulled from U.S. shelves because some parents have had problems with Johnson & Johnson's redesigned bottles. The company introduced the new bottles three months ago, claiming they were a big safety improvement and made to measure doses easier.
But parents and caregivers have instead complained that the protective cover on top of the bottles doesn't work correctly. While it is meant to limit the amount of medicine that is drawn into a plastic syringe, the cover instead pushes into the bottle when the syringe is inserted, consumers say. The plastic syringe has an opening in the tip but no needle - it's meant to squirt medicine into the baby's mouth.
Continue »Egg recall in 34 states over Listeria concerns
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(CBS/AP) Michael Foods, a Minnesota-based food company, is recalling more than one million hard-cooked eggs from 34 states, after tests revealed some may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
PICTURES: Listeria: 7 key questions answered
Some 15,000 pails of eggs in brine, sold for institutional use, are being recalled, Michael Foods spokeswoman Diane Sparish said in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration written statement.
Pfizer recalls birth control pills after mix-up
FDA
(CBS/AP) Pfizer sent shudders through women across the U.S. yesterday, when it recalled 1 million packets of birth control pills due to pregnancy concerns. The pills - which are supposed to be nearly 100 percent effective when taken properly - were victim of a manufacturing mix-up which caused some packets to be distributed with the pills out of order.
PICTURES - Teen moms: 20 "leading" states
That means a patient could have unknowingly skipped a dose and raised her risk of an accidental pregnancy.
Continue »Pfizer recalls 1 million birth control packets
istockphoto
(CBS/AP) Pfizer announced it's recalling 1 million packets of birth control over a packaging mix-up that could raise the risk for an unplanned pregnancy.
PICTURES: Unsafe sex? Poll shows where young people do it most
The mix-up affects 28 lots of birth control pills: 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. Both products are manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and marketed in the U.S. by Akrimax Rx Products under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand.
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Novartis pill mix-up may involve painkillers
Wikimedia Commons
(CBS/AP) The Food and Drug Administration and Swiss drug maker Novartis warned yesterday that over-the-counter medications may be mixed up with powerful painkillers.
Officials advised consumers to stop using the products following hundreds of complaints about broken or incorrect tablets winding up in pill bottles.
Novartis recalled 1,645 lots of drugs including Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz and Gas-X. These drugs may have accidentally been packaged at the Lincoln, Neb., facility with powerful prescription painkillers made at the same facility. The opioid drugs are sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone.
Continue »ADHD diet study says eating healthy could help
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(CBS) Do diets that claim to reduce symptoms of ADHD in kids actually work?
PICTURES: Does your child really have ADHD? 17 things to rule out first
A new review of ADHD diets by pediatric researchers suggests healthy eating could actually help kids reduce their ADHD symptoms. But the researchers warn a diet probably shoud not be the first line of defense against ADHD, but merely a supplement to other proven therapies such as medication.
Novartis recall: Excedrin, NoDoz, Gas-X, Bufferin
Excedrin
(CBS/AP) Novartis is recalling some popular over-the-counter drugs over concerns about broken or incorrect tablets winding up in pill bottles. Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X are the drugs in question.
Novartis had recently decided to temporarily suspend production at its Lincoln, Neb. Plant for "maintenance and other improvement activities."
Continue »Arsenic in juice to televised stroke scares: 2011's top health stories
Serene Branson scared some television viewers when her speech became garbled during a Grammy Awards broadcast in February. She was later diagnosed with having a migraine
/ AP/KCBS TVPICTURES: 2011 Year in Review: Health
Some of the top stories from this past year looked at amazing medical procedures, including the marathon separation surgeries of conjoined twins or the groundbreaking operations that gave three Americans new faces. Some stories challenged long-held beliefs, questioning the benefits of seemingly everyday parts of life like circumcision, cellphones, multivitamins, and vaccines.
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Build-A-Bear recalls 300,000 bears (full details)
Build-A-Bear Colorful Hearts Teddy
/ Health Canada(CBS) Build-A-Bear is recalling 300,000 teddy bears amid concerns the bears' eyes could pop out and kids could choke on them.
PICTURES: Trouble in toyland? 24 toys deemed dangerous
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., of St. Louis, Mo. was voluntarily recalling the "Colorful Hearts Teddy Bears" line. The 16-inch tall bears with loosened eyes were sold from April 2011 through December 2011 in the U.S. and Canada.
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Wal-Mart awaits baby formula results after death
Joe Raedle
(CBS/AP) COLUMBIA, Missouri - Wal-Mart and health officials awaited results from tests Thursday on a batch of powdered infant formula that was removed from more than 3,000 stores nationwide after a newborn baby who consumed it apparently died from a rare infection.
Sudden infant death: 14 ways parents raise the risk
Continue » Wal-Mart pulls infant formula after baby dies
Joe Raedle
(CBS/AP) Wal-Mart has pulled a batch of 12.5-ounce cans of Enfamil Newborn powdered infant formula after a Missouri newborn died from what doctors suspect is a rare bacterial infection.
Sudden infant death: 14 ways parents raise the risk
The voluntary recall affects more than 3,000 Wal-Mart stores nationwide. The government has yet to order its own recall of the formula with lot number of ZP1K7G. The formula's manufacturer, Mead Johnson Nutrition, said its records show the lot tested negative for the suspected bacterium before shipping.
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Pink Bibles pulled over Planned Parenthood link
WalMart
(CBS/AP) Breast cancer awareness has turned a plethora of objects pink - including Bibles. But the pink-bound version of the Holman Christian Standard Bible has now been recalled by the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing division, because some of the sales money was given to Planned Parenthood.
PICTURES: Breast cancer campaign turns planet pink: Too much?
A portion of the purchase price went to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. LifeWay Christian Resources, the Bible's publisher, made the move after receiving complaints that some Komen affiliates were helping fund cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics, which also provide abortions.
Continue »Obesity rates fall for New York schoolchildren
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(CBS/AP) Childhood obesity rates are falling in New York City, according to a new government study. The CDC's study of public schoolchildren in kindergarten through eighth grade found obesity rates fell from 21.9 to 20.7 percent overall between the 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 school years.
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The 1.2 percentage drop was the biggest recorded decline in childhood obesity in a large U.S. city, the CDC said. That means there are about 6,500 fewer obese children in the public schools, according to city officials.
Chicken, cilantro recalls underway: Are you at risk?
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(CBS/AP) Two food recalls are underway amid concerns the foods carry potentially deadly, disease-causing bacteria.
Pictures: 10 dangerous but common food safety mistakes
The FDA said Friday that Pacific Cilantro of Salinas, Calif., is voluntarily recalling more than 6,000 cartons of cilantro that were shipped to California, Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Indiana, South Carolina and Missouri. An FDA test found salmonella in a sample of the herbs, also known as coriander. The cilantro was grown by Salt River Farming in the Phoenix-area.
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