All posts by SRH Matters

You Annoyed Me at Hello: Why Kids Still Need to Learn Manners

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You Annoyed Me at Hello: Why Kids Still Need to Learn Manners

2012-10-22

It’s fall, which means that the new academic year has started. It also means that my husband, a 37-year-old college professor, has started to shake a fist at his inbox. Why? Because, as surely as leaves fall from trees, my husband’s new crop of undergrads won’t know how to address him. They’ll toggle between no salutation, using his first name only, or greeting him with a cheery: “Hey!”

Sadly, being called “Hey!” by a teen doesn’t inspire my husband’s cheer, nor does it establish the rapport the sender may have wished. Instead, it makes the vexed professor and his wife wonder whether titles are as defunct as an iPhone 4 charger.

Our concerns aren’t just academic. We have a daughter, not yet three, and like many parents, we have grand ambitions for her. One is that we’d like her to be a polite member of society starting, we believe, by addressing adults as Mr., Mrs. and Ms.

Continue reading You Annoyed Me at Hello: Why Kids Still Need to Learn Manners →

Why Does Bad News Stress Women Out More than Men?

Psycological Health

Why Does Bad News Stress Women Out More than Men?

2012-10-16

By Alexandra Sifferlin
It’s hard to avoid the news, thanks to Twitter feeds, Facebook updates and the ubiquity of newsfeeds eager to flood your screen with both calamity and celebration. But how are all these current events affecting our psyche?

To figure out whether our increasing exposure to 24-hour news coverage — especially negative news — has an impact on our stress levels, researchers from University of Montreal recruited 60 men and women to read news stories and submit to certain stressful situations. Turns out, women are more sensitive to negative news stories than men are, and they remember the details of such events better.

(MORE: Background TV: Children Exposed to Four Hours a Day)

For the study, the researchers divided the participants, aged 18 to 35, into four groups to read news stories. One group of men and one group of women read “neutral” news stories, about park openings or movie premieres, for example, while the other groups read negative news stories — about murders and accidents. To determine the participants’ stress levels after reading these stories, the research team took saliva samples and analyzed each for the stress hormone cortisol. The higher the level of hormone, the more stressed the participants likely were.

The study participants then completed stress-inducing tasks involving memory and intellect, and then provided a second round of saliva samples. The following day, the participants discussed the news stories they read the day before with researchers over the phone. The scientists found that although women’s stress levels didn’t rise after reading the negative news stories, the stories did make them more reactive to the stressful situations they endured afterward: women’s cortisol levels were higher after the memory and intellect tasks if they had first read negative news stories than if they read the neutral ones. Researchers didn’t see the same effect in men. What’s more, women who read stories about accidents and murders remembered more about them than did women who read “neutral” news. Again, the same phenomenon wasn’t seen among the male participants.

“When our brain perceives a threatening situation, our bodies begin to produce stress hormones that enter the brain and may modulate memories of stressful or negative events,” Sonia Lupien, director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress, explained in a statement. “This led us to believe that reading a negative news story should provoke the reader’s stress reaction.”

(MORE: Human Kindness Gene Withstands Threats and Fear)

What might explain the gender difference? The researchers speculate that evolutionary factors could play a role. Women’s invested interest in the survival of their offspring may make them more sensitive to potentially threatening situations or events. “Women tend to be more empathic than men,” says lead author Marie-France Marin. “It could be that they carry the [emotional] load longer than men, which could also influence their memory.”

The authors argue that understanding and appreciating individual reactions to bad news is increasingly important in our plugged-in society. “We are consuming news more and more. With smartphones, you can always see what’s going on. Our brain is constantly detecting stressors, and more and more stress hormones get back to the brain, which can affect attention, mood and cognition,” says Marin.

For women, perhaps recognizing that they may be particularly vulnerable to news-related stress could help them lessen the burden by simply being mindful of the potential effect of mass media, or by engaging in coping mechanisms like meditation and exercise.

The study was published in the journal PLoS One.

How Exercise-Friendly Is Your Body? A Genetic Test Claims to Tell You

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How Exercise-Friendly Is Your Body? A Genetic Test Claims to Tell You

2012-10-15

By Alexandra Sifferlin

Is that daily jog really doing your body any good? A new test purports to tell you whether you’re genetically wired to benefit from exercise — or not so much.

As the New York Times reports, the genetic test is developed by British company XRGenomics, and is based on the findings of a 2010 study that identified about 30 gene variations that predicted how fit an individual may become through aerobic endurance activity.

The study’s authors, including researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, discovered the gene variations by genotyping muscle tissue of study participants who completed 6 to 20 weeks of endurance training. People’s aerobic fitness levels were gauges by looking at increases in their VO12 max — the body’s ability to circulate oxygen to muscles during exercise.

(MORE: For Better Heart Health Exercise Harder, Not Longer)

Not surprisingly, the results led to an onslaught of requests for a genetic test, so the study’s lead researcher, James Timmons, a professor of systems biology at Loughborough University in England, and his colleagues filed a patent for the gene variants and developed the test. It’s not the first such test on the market: there are others (none of which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration) that say they can predict whether young, aspiring athletes are better suited to sprinting or long-distance running, for example. But these test focus only on single genes, while XRGenomics’ product, with its analysis of 30 gene variants, is more reliable and scientifically validated, say its developers.

Curious gym-goers can send the company a cheek swab, and within six weeks they will receive results identifying them as low- or high-responders based on their DNA profile. It’ll cost you, though: the basic test and report run about $318; the price goes up to $478 for a more detailed analysis and personalized exercise recommendations from the company’s experts.

(MORE: For More Weight Loss, Exercise Less?)

But whatever your genetic profile, the test can’t predict all the ways in which you may benefit from exercise. The test won’t tell you, for example, whether or not you will lose weight through physical activity, or how it will influence other health factors like blood pressure and insulin levels, though there are plans to include such measures in the future.

The makers of the test still say it allows people to tailor their exercise and diet habits to meet realistic health goals. “The test can be used to guide and inform adult fitness and be used to explain why an aerobic training regime might not be as effective as your personal trainer or exercise specialist told you it would be,” they write on their website.

Hope for Infertility Treatments: Scientists Make New Eggs from Mouse Stem Cells

Reproductive Health

Hope for Infertility Treatments: Scientists Make New Eggs from Mouse Stem Cells

2012-10-10

Japanese researchers have produced mouse eggs from stem cells that bred healthy offspring, a breakthrough that may one day help treat human infertility.

Researcher Mitinori Saitou and his team from Kyoto University in Japan used two different types of stem cells during their research: embryonic stem cells — a controversial technique since scientists must destroy embryos to cultivate them — and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are adult cells, such as skin cells, that are reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state. Producing healthy eggs from iPS cells is potentially even more exciting than using embryonic stem cells, since iPS cells sidestep the ethical issues that plague those derived from embryos and because the resulting eggs would contain the same DNA as their donors.

Stem cell experts greeted the work with praise. “They’ve gotten to what was our Holy Grail, which is making eggs,” George Daley, a leading stem-cell scientist at Harvard, told NPR. “It’s like cellular alchemy. I mean, they can turn lead into gold here. They can turn skin cells or blood cells into eggs.”

(MORE: Ovary Stem Cells Can Produce New Human Eggs, Scientists Say)

In previous efforts, scientists — including the current group — have been able to create sperm and egg cells in the lab, but they weren’t able to produce healthy offspring from those cells. In the current study, published in the journal Science, the researchers first added growth factors and proteins to the stem cells to turn them into primordial germ cells. These cells were then combined with somatic cells from mouse ovaries to make “reconstituted ovaries,” which they transplanted into the mice. Four weeks later, the scientists removed them again, isolated immature egg cells from the ovaries and allowed them to mature in a dish. The mature eggs were fertilized with mouse sperm in a test tube and the resulting embryos were transferred into female mice, leading to the birth of healthy, fertile pups that went on to reproduce themselves.

It’s not at all clear whether the procedure would work similarly in humans, but the researchers if it does, it could revolutionize treatment for infertile couples and for older women who want children. “Now is the time for society to think about this,” Amander Clark, a stem cell scientist at UCLA, told the Los Angeles Times. “If we want to use stem cells to treat women who are older, we have to decide what the parameters are. Should this be available for women who are 40 to 50 years old? How about 50 and above? These shouldn’t be questions for scientists to decide alone.”

Indeed, such an advance would lead to a thicket of ethical questions: would you allow the use of tissues from a dead person to create new life, for example?

(MORE: Scientists Restore Fertility in Mice Using Lab-Generated Sperm)

The researchers said the lab-created egg cells led to healthy pups less frequently than did natural mouse eggs, which were also fertilized and transferred to female mice in a control group. Mice impregnated with embryos created via in-vitro fertilization with natural eggs produced healthy offspring 13% of the time, compared with 3.9% for eggs created from embryonic stem cells and 1.8% for eggs made using iPS cells.

Nevertheless, the advance sheds light on how precursor cells eventually develop into sperm or egg cells, a scientific understanding that could in itself aid infertility treatments. That’s encouraging for the many women who struggle with fertility: according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10% of America women have problems getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

Ketamine for Depression: The Most Important Advance in Field in 50 Years?

featured, Psycological Health

Ketamine for Depression: The Most Important Advance in Field in 50 Years?

2012-10-09

In a new review in Science, the authors call the identification of the anesthetic and “club drug” ketamine as a rapid treatment for depression “arguably the most important discovery in half a century” of research on the condition
By Maia Szalavitz

In any given year, 7% of adults suffer from major depression, and at least 1 in 10 youth will reckon with the disorder at some point during their teenage years. But about 20% of these cases will not respond to current treatments; for those that do, relief may take weeks to months to come.

There is one treatment, however, that works much faster: the anesthetic and “club drug” ketamine. It takes effect within hours. A single dose of ketamine produces relief of depression that has been shown in studies to last for up to 10 days; it also appears to reduce symptoms of bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts. Now, a new research review published in Science calls the discovery of these effects of ketamine, “”arguably the most important discovery in half a century” of depression research.

Ketamine doesn’t work the way traditional antidepressants do. Many such drugs affect levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, and while the idea that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin or an “imbalance” of other key neurotransmitters has been firmly fixed in the popular imagination, scientists have known for decades that it can’t be that simple. For one, antidepressant drugs change the brain’s neurotransmitter levels immediately, yet depression doesn’t lift for several weeks, a delay that could be potentially deadly.

Another theory is that depression is caused not by neurotransmitter problems per se, but by damage to brain cells themselves in key regions critical to controlling mood. This idea fits nicely with evidence that stress can cause depression, since high levels of stress hormones can cause an overrelease of a neurotransmitter called glutamate, which damages cells and affects exactly the same suspected areas. More support for this theory comes from the fact that all known antidepressants increase cell growth in these areas too, providing an alternate explanation for their therapeutic results.

At first, ketamine seemed to throw a monkey wrench into that neat idea, however. It didn’t seem likely that a drug could repair cells within hours, but new research explored in a review paper in the journal Science suggests just that. Ketamine rapidly spurs the growth of new synapses, the connections between brain cells, and is associated with “reversal of the atrophy caused by chronic stress,” the authors write.

Unfortunately, the hallucinogenic and often outright unpleasant effects of ketamine mean that it can’t be used in the same way typical antidepressants are, and fears about its potential for misuse also hamper its development. Researchers are frantically trying to develop compounds that have the same effects as ketamine without producing a “high.”

In the meanwhile, however, ketamine is already FDA approved, so there’s nothing stopping psychiatrists from trying it and patients from asking for access to it in emergency situations when all else has failed. However, it must be given by infusion and carefully monitored (nasal sprays are being developed and there is an oral form that has some effects, but is not optimally absorbed), and the drug impairs patients for hours. Still, it relieves depression for at least several days: if there’s a choice between being entirely dysfunctional seven days a week or only out of commission for one or two, many people would accept that trade-off.

But while research on ketamine is ongoing, clinical use of the drug in the community remains rare. Fears about abuse continue to run high, though ketamine has never caught on as a major street drug. If the Science paper’s authors are right that ketamine’s effect on depression is a key advance — and if the drug really holds similar promise for bipolar disorder — patients might want to consider pushing for greater access. Ketamine is off patent, so no drug maker is likely to do so.

Maia Szalavitz is a health writer at TIME.com. Find her on Twitter at @maiasz. You can also continue the discussion on TIME Healthland’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIMEHealthland.

Study: Free Birth Control Slashes Abortion Rates

featured, Reproductive Health

Study: Free Birth Control Slashes Abortion Rates

2012-10-08

By Olivia B. Waxman
What would happen if women at risk for unintended pregnancies received the birth control of their choice — especially the more effective kinds — at no cost?

The national abortion rate would plummet, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology on Thursday.

The researchers enrolled 9,256 women from the St. Louis region into the Contraceptive Choice Project between August 2007 and September 2011. The women were aged 14 to 45, with an average age of 25, and many were poor and uninsured with low education. Nearly two-thirds had had an unintended pregnancy previously. Participants were either not using a reversible contraception method or willing to switch to a new one.

(LIST: 8 Preventive Health Services that Women Start Getting for Free Today)

Researchers provided free, FDA-approved birth control to the women for three years. The women were given their choice of contraception, including oral birth control pills and long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods like implants and IUDs. The researchers specially briefed the participants on the “superior effectiveness” of LARC methods — the T-shaped IUD, or intrauterine device, has close to 100% effectiveness and can last five to 10 years, for instance — and 75% of women chose those devices over the pill, patch or ring.

Over the course of the study, which lasted from 2008 to 2010, women experienced far fewer unintended pregnancies than expected: there were 4.4 to 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women in the study, after adjusting for age and race — much fewer than the national rate of 19.6 abortions per 1,000 women and lower also than the rate in the St. Louis area of 13.4 to 17 abortions per 1,000 women.

The effect of free contraception on the teen birth rate was remarkable: there were 6.3 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 in the study, compared with the national rate of 34.3 births per 1,000 teen girls.

(MORE: Which Birth Control Works Best? (Hint: It’s Not the Pill))

The findings come amidst contention over President Obama’s health-care law, which offers women FDA-approved birth control without a copay. As of August 1, contraception is covered for women signing up for new health insurance plans or renewing their existing plans.

“[C]hanges in contraceptive policy simulating the Contraceptive Choice Project would prevent as many as 41% to 71% of abortions performed annually in the United States,” the study’s authors wrote.

Nearly half of the more than 6 million pregnancies that occur each year are unintended, and about 43% of them end in abortion. Further, about 1 million births are unintended, costing U.S. taxpayers about $11 billion a year in associated expenses. Low-income women with less education are far more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than their wealthier, educated peers.

About half of unplanned pregnancies occur in women who are using no contraception; in other cases, women may be using short-acting contraception, like condoms or pills, which can fail if not used properly. In contrast, methods like IUDs, which are fitted into the uterus, or hormonal implants, which are surgically placed under the skin of the upper arm, can be placed and then forgotten about — no need to remember to refill a prescription or take a pill at the same time each day.

(MORE: What Got Lost in the Birth-Control Debate)

Women who choose long-acting contraception are more likely to stick with it as well: in the study, 85% were still using it a year later, compared with 35% of those choosing pills or other short-acting forms of birth control. “Because LARC methods have been shown to have higher continuation rates than other reversible methods, the number of adolescents and women using no contraception would decline, further decreasing the unintended pregnancy rate,” the authors conclude.

Yet American women use LARC methods at far lower rates than in other countries. In large part, that’s because of cost: upfront costs to implant an IUD, which requires a doctor visit, can total $500 to $1,000, for example. Over a decade, however, birth control pills can cost just as much. American doctors also tend not to recommend long-acting birth control to women as often as they do the pill or patch, though IUDs and implants may be up to 20 times more effective.

That’s why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is now urging doctors to recommend IUDs and implants as “first-line” contraceptive choices to their teen patients.

Sex or money: What makes you happier?

Psycological Health

Sex or money: What makes you happier?

2012-10-04

Ian Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex for CNN Health. Read more from him on his website, GoodInBed.

If you’re thinking that the benefits of a hefty bank account could help turn up the heat in the bedroom, you’re at least partly right.

Money might not buy love, but it can allow for a sizzling sex life.

About 70% of multimillionaires — with a mean net worth of a whopping $90 million — say they enjoy better and more adventurous sex, according to a 2007 survey by Prince & Associates Inc., a marketing research firm specializing in global private wealth.

“Fully 63% of rich men said wealth gave them ‘better sex,’ which they defined as having more-frequent sex with more partners. That compares to 88% of women who said more money gave them better sex, which they defined as ‘higher quality’ sex,” writes Robert Frank in an article for the Wealth Report entitled “The Rich Libido.”

It makes sense when you think about it: Money relieves much of the life stresses that most of us have to deal with, helping those 1%ers relax and let go.

The security of extreme wealth can provide a sense of stability that many people, particularly female millionaires, find empowering. And expensive toys like private jets and trips to exotic locales certainly don’t hurt, either.

Hooking up with the rich may even improve the quality of sex, at least for women. In a 2009 study (PDF), researchers at Newcastle University found that as male partners’ income increased, so did the frequency of women’s orgasms.

Political differences and the bedroom

Could money act as an aphrodisiac? Maybe. Or, as the study’s authors suggest, perhaps wealth-inspired orgasms are the result of evolution, helping women discriminate between men to find those that have the best provider potential.

However, a partner who can provide more resources and more orgasms may not necessarily be the best long-term bet, because wealth changes people, and not always for the better.

According to social psychologist Justin Lehmiller, “Wealthier people engage in more dishonest and unethical behavior, and these traits may follow them into the bedroom. In fact, research has found that power and wealth are linked to a higher likelihood of infidelity.”

But luckily for all of 99%ers, sex itself may confer more happiness than money ever could.

In one study, researchers at Dartmouth College and the University of Warwick, England, measured levels of happiness in 16,000 men and women. They found that the more sex people had, the happier they were, regardless of their age or whether they were male or female.

And while money was found to buy more sexual partners, it didn’t necessarily buy more sex. In fact, men who paid for sex were considerably less happy than those who didn’t, which makes sense.

According to Lehmiller, “You can buy all of the sex you want, but at the end of the day, most of us want and need more than a few moments of physical contact. Purchasing sex does not meet our psychological needs for intimacy and emotional connection.”

Beyond ‘Fifty Shades’: Sex experts share their favorite books

The researchers even found that sex is so closely tied to happiness that they estimated increasing sexual intercourse from once a month to once a week would have the same mood-boosting effects as adding $50,000 a year in income.

Sex may contribute to your happiness — and your actual bank account — in other ways, too. According to research by biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, people who have more sex might do better at work.

Sex triggers the release of various brain chemicals, such as dopamine, vasopressin and oxytocin, which are associated with creativity, problem-solving, cooperation and confidence. It stands to reason, says Fisher, that regular sex might improve performance in the boardroom as well as the bedroom.

So how can you reap these rewards? Invest in your relationship by giving it the same time and attention that you would your retirement portfolio. Make time for date nights. Make sure that the number of positive interactions with your partner outnumbers the negatives.

Practice 30-second hugs to get those feel-good chemicals flowing. Share a cuddle — and maybe a fantasy or two. Remember, you may not own six homes and a private jet, but when you bank on your relationship, you can feel just as rich.

So what makes you happier: sex or money?

Crank up your sex drive

When sex is a pain in the back.

featured, Sexual Health

When sex is a pain in the back.

2012-10-01

By Ian Kerner, Special to CNN
September 6, 2012
An estimated eight out of 10 Americans will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. It’s no surprise that can have big effects on what goes on in your bedroom: whether a temporary strain slows you down or a more serious injury halts sex altogether.

We don’t have good statistics on the number of people who eschew sex because of back pain, mainly because many people don’t like to talk about sex with their doctors. But it stands to reason that back troubles can make sex a pain, too.

“Being in pain can make it more difficult to concentrate on pleasurable sensations, which in turn can make it more difficult to become aroused and have an orgasm,” explains Florida-based sex therapist Rachel Needles. “Depending on the dose and type, pain medication can also interfere with arousal and orgasm in both men and women.”

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to deal with the situation. Here are some ways to enjoy intimacy without back pain:
Talk about it. Back pain can be tricky because people often look fine, even if they feel terrible. That’s all the more reason to keep your partner in the loop.

“The most important thing is to be open with your partner and have ongoing discussions about how the pain is interfering with sexual intimacy,” says Needle. “This will help the partner in pain to not just avoid sex, but instead to team up with their partner to find ways for sex to be more comfortable and enjoyable.”

Beyond ‘Fifty Shades’: Sex experts share their favorite books

Work it out. Dr. Maureen O’Leary, a specialist in orthopaedic injuries and neuromusculoskeletal impairments, guides clients through exercises designed to stretch and strengthen muscles.

“I’m also a big fan of Pilates, which is very effective at strengthening the muscles in the abdomen and torso that help support the back,” she says.

Yoga may help, too: “I personally have recurrent lower back issues and have found that practicing yoga several times a week, especially right before sex, helps tremendously,” says sex and marriage therapist Shellie M. Selove.

An experienced instructor, personal trainer or physical therapist can explain specific exercises and stretches that target the area of your back that’s problematic.

Make adjustments. It makes sense that, depending on the location of your pain, some sexual positions will be more and less comfortable than others. “People with lower back problems like sciatica or a herniated disc tend to feel more pain when bending forward, while those with spinal stenosis may find bending backward to be more painful,” explains O’Leary.

Let your body be your guide. If lying on your back hurts, you may want to be on top during sex, or vice versa. Side-by-side or spooning positions can take pressure off the back.

Experiment by placing a pillow under your lower back, stomach, knees or neck to see if the extra support helps, or try an angled pillow to make certain positions more comfortable, suggests sex educator Stephanie Mitelman.

Are you too tired for sex?

Explore other forms of intimacy. “It’s so important to touch and be touched by your partner,” says Needles. Taking a hot bath or shower or getting a massage can help loosen tense muscles before sex.

Even better, they can be fun, connecting forms of foreplay: Treat your partner to a soapy shower, or trade gentle massages to get in the mood. If intercourse seems like it might be too painful, make foreplay the main attraction, or focus on other forms of intimacy, such as cuddling, kissing, oral or manual stimulation, or simply sharing a fantasy.

Most causes of back pain eventually resolve with time and proper care. Whether you choose to make some adjustments in the bedroom or decide to make rest your priority, there’s no need to banish intimacy altogether. Take this opportunity to connect and communicate with your partner — inside the bedroom and out.

Stay-at-home dads are sexy

Your detour to a stress-free life

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Your detour to a stress-free life

2012-09-25

Ever feel overwhelmed by worries? Do you find yourself dwelling on concerns big (is my job safe?) and small (that darn clogged sink!)?

It’s official: You’re human and living in the United States. Anxiety levels in this country are the highest they’ve been in seven decades, surveys show.

Not surprisingly, money and work woes top most people’s freak-out lists (thank you, lingering recession). All that e-mailing, texting, and tweeting aren’t helping; social technology has reduced actual face time (a known stress reliever) and made us compulsively available to everyone at all times.

Women suffer most — we’re twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, which involves excessive worry about a wide range of things (and requires medical attention).

Continue reading Your detour to a stress-free life →

Heavy Women May Be More Likely to See Breast Cancer Recur

Sexual Health

Heavy Women May Be More Likely to See Breast Cancer Recur

2012-08-28

Overweight and obese women may have a tougher battle in store when it comes to breast cancer: a new study published in the journal Cancer finds that carrying extra pounds is linked with a higher risk of cancer recurrence and death.

Previous studies have linked obesity with breast cancer recurrence, but the new study is among the first to find the same trend even among women who are overweight but not obese. The researchers found that having higher body mass index increased women’s risk of breast cancer recurrence and death, even if they had state-of-the-art treatment like chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.

Continue reading Heavy Women May Be More Likely to See Breast Cancer Recur →