Red Onions: Help for High Cholesterol?
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(CBS) Can eating red onions lower your risk for heart attack and stroke? A new study suggests the answer to that question may be yes.
At least if you're a hamster.
Continue »Breast Cancer Awareness Goes Viral on Facebook
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(CBS) A new trend has female Facebook users giving status updates like "I like it on the floor" or "I like it on the couch," but it seems they're revealing not where they like to have sex but where they keep their purses.
And it's all in support of breast cancer awareness month, which occurs each October.
Continue »Breast Cancer Myths: 8 Biggies Debunked
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(CBS) These days, women know more about breast cancer than ever before - and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which starts today, gets lots of credit.
PICTURES: Breast Cancer Myths: 8 Biggies Debunked
Peter Criss: Men Can Get Breast Cancer Too
Peter Criss, of Kiss, is a breast cancer survivor. (Eric Stephen Jacobs)
(CBS) Think breast cancer is just for women? Think again.
Peter Criss, the 63-year-old founding member of Kiss, was one of the nearly 2,000 men that are diagnosed with the disease each year.
Continue »Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Where We Stand
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(CBS) Breast cancer continues to take a heavy toll on American women, 26 years after health advocates named October National Breast Awareness Month.
Just how big a toll? In 2006, 191,410 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,820 women died, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Continue »Study Tests Fish Oil, Aspirin for Colon Cancer
New study will examine the cancer-fighting power of fish oil and aspirin. (istockphoto)
(CBS) Could aspirin and fish oil hold the secret to preventing colon cancer? Scientists in England are embarking on a study to find out.
Previous studies showed that a substance in fish oil, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), can provide some protection against precancerous colon polyps, according to a statement issued by the University of Leeds, which is coordinating the study.
Continue »Michael C. Hall's Brave Cancer Battle
Actor Michael C. Hall poses during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival September 15, 2010. (Matt Carr/Getty Images)
(CBS) Michael C. Hall, the popular TV serial killer Dexter, always believed he would be a victim of an early death.
"I think I've been preoccupied since I was 11, and my father died, with the idea of the age 39: Would I live that long? What would that be like?" he told the New York Times.
Hall's father died of prostate cancer when he was 39.
All the more shocking then, that Hall, who turned 39 in February, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma earlier this year.
Continue »Celebrity Cancer Survivors to Host Telethon
Michael Douglas (AP)
Actor Michael Douglas be joined on the broadcast by other celebrity cancer survivors, including Christina Applegate, Lance Armstrong, and Elizabeth Edwards.
Continue »46 Million Americans Still Cigarette Junkies
One in five teens still smoking cigarettes, says CDC. (istockphoto)
(CBS) If you want to stop Americans from smoking cigarettes it seems you are going to have to rip them from their cold dead hands.
Of course, with the insanely high risks of lung cancer and heart disease linked to smoking, that shouldn't be too hard.
Continue »Magic Mushrooms May Ease Death Anxiety
Will tripping ease death fears? (istockphoto)
(CBS) UCLA researchers may be tripping, but they say a new study shows that magic mushrooms can help ease anxiety for patients with advanced-stage cancer.
Twelve volunteers were given psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, or a placebo. Then they were asked to lie down, wear dark eye shades and listen to music - in essence space out.
The results? Those who had been dosed with psilocybin had improved mood up to six months after their trip. That's substantial, considering that the patients are facing death. They also required less pain medication.
Continue »Russians Urged to Smoke, Drink
Will Russian smoke more for country's health? (istockphoto)
(CBS) Times are tough all over, but one Russian government official thinks he has the perfect medicine to cure his country's economic ills - more smoking and drinking.
"If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates," Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Continue »Dr. Oz Cancer Scare: "Dumb Luck...Saved My Life"
Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Jonathan LaPook talk about colon cancer. (Dr. Oz Show)
(CBS) Here's one thing to know about Dr. Mehmet Oz's recent colon cancer scare - he's damn lucky and he knows it.
"The only thing holding me back from a terrible outcome is the dumb luck that I checked myself out for the show," Oz told People magazine. "I would have put this off, like a lot of people. But I bet this saved my life."
Continue »Dr. Oz's Colonoscopy Finds Pre-Cancerous Polyp
Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Jonathan LaPook. (Dr. Oz Show)
(CBS) Dr. Mehmet Oz just might be the last person on earth people would expect to get a colon polyp.
He's physically fit (he left me in the dust the last time we ran together), he eats a healthy diet, he doesn't smoke, and he has no family history of colorectal cancer or colon polyps.
But several weeks ago, when Mehmet had his first screening colonoscopy at age 50, I removed a small adenomatous polyp that had the potential to turn into cancer over time.
Continue »Michael Douglas: Can Actor Beat Stage 4 Cancer?
(CBS/AP) Michael Douglas is facing a tough battle, as the actor-turned-cancer-patient undergoes radiation and chemotherapy to treat a tumor at the base of his tongue.
But the 65-year-old Oscar-winning actor is not about to give up.
Continue »Medicare to Help Older Smokers Kick the Habit
It's never too late to quit smoking, experts say. (iStockPhoto)
(CBS/AP) The government has another bailout on the books... this time it's a plan to help older smokers kick the habit.
Medicare is finally catching up with most private insurers by providing counseling for anyone on the program who is trying to quit smoking.
Experts say it's never too late, even for lifelong smokers.
Continue »