Sunday, February 4 marks World Cancer Day, which aims to unite the whole world in the fight against cancer and raise awareness of the disease. As more and more research focuses on how our lifestyle can affect our risk of developing cancer, here we round up some of the latest findings which suggest small everyday changes we can make to help reduce our risk and improve health overall. Don’t feel guilty about your coffee habit Although experts are not calling for anyone to take up drinking coffee to prevent diseases such as cancer, many recent studies have concluded that if…

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Insurance coverage of colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer is a frequent source of frustration for consumers, including a reader who asks about his situation. In addition to his query, this week I also address questions about Medicare premiums and delays in determining Medicaid eligibility. Q: When I had a screening colonoscopy in 2015, the doctor removed a polyp and told me to come back for another colonoscopy in three years. I paid nothing for the 2015 test because it was a preventive screening. When I scheduled my appointment for this year, the provider said the procedure was diagnostic because…

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The two women are said to have a rare mitochondrial disease called myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibres (MERRF syndrome), a condition that could prove fatal if passed onto their offspring. The three-person baby procedure is an advanced form of IVF that uses the mother’s egg, the father’s sperm and a donor egg from a third person who has healthy mitochondria. Since mitochondria have their own DNA, the resulting child inherits DNA from all three people, but everything that defines personality and physicality still comes from the mother and father. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) approved the decision,…

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