A promising new technique may reduce treatment times for patients receiving radiation for Breast Cancer. Doctors insert a Balloon Catheter into the breast to more evenly deliver radiation to the tissue surrounding the balloon. Patients must undergo the procedure twice daily for five days, as opposed to the typical external beam radiation which requires a daily dose for up to six weeks. The Balloon Catheter is now awaiting FDA approval.
Each winter, millions of Americans suffer from a variety of symptoms, but it's hard to tell if it's just a cold or something more severe. Experts at the University of Michigan say the common Cold generally lasts three to seven days and may or may not cause a fever. The Flu makes you feel worse than a cold, and tends to stick around for up to 12 days. If your Cold or Flu symptoms show no improvement, or get worse, it could be Pneumonia. Other signs of Pneumonia include a cough that suddenly gets worse, the feeling of being out of breath, or a sudden, high fever.
A new survey of undergraduate students found more than one half have some type of body piercing, and that 17% of them have suffered some sort of medical complication from the piercing. Those numbers are according to research at the Mayo Clinic which clarifies that 23% of the under-grad students with tattoos did not report complications Instead, it was the body piercing in which the incidence of infection was significant. The study warns that many make a big mistake going to a friend for piercing or someone who doesn't make sure the tools they use are sterile and that needles are used once and thrown away. For more info ( click here).