The Guardian Health

This rural California county’s problem is all too common: how to reduce suicides when everyone has a gun

Shasta county has one of the state’s highest rates of suicide and gun ownership. Here’s how locals are trying to combat itLike many men in the mountainous California county of Shasta, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, Bill Rocha loved to hunt and fish, spending the infernal summers out on the lake in his boat. For decades he made his living as a contractor, working hard with his hands every day. And like many men in rural parts of the state, Bill was a gun owner. He had several hunting rif

health  19h ago

The Guardian Health

Healthy cooperation: how northern universities are linking with NHS trusts to drive innovation

Backed by a mix of private and public finance, Huddersfield and Manchester are among many in the academic sector helping to create jobs and growthHuddersfield might appear an unlikely setting for a thriving health research complex. The West Yorkshire town is best known for its manufacturing heritage, but has quickly become a honey pot for private sector businesses keen to collaborate with the town’s university in a push for the latest medical breakthroughs.Next month, the driving force behind th

health  1d ago

The Guardian Health

‘You’re treated like this is the end’: Meet the dementia rebels – diagnosed and determined to change people’s minds

Few things are more feared than a dementia diagnosis. Now people living with the condition are fighting against damaging stereotypes and demanding proper medical supportWhen Maxine Linnell, 78, a retired psychotherapist living in Leicestershire, learned that she had dementia four years ago, the diagnosis proved less challenging than some people’s reactions. “What was striking was how many people’s attitudes changed almost immediately … they stop seeing you as a person and see only dementia, some

health  1d ago

The Guardian Health

Challenges of treating and living with a brain injury | Letters

Readers respond to an article on how early intensive rehabilitation after a stroke or head injury is crucial for recoveryRather like Ian Sample himself trying to read Orlando Swayne’s book, I was nervous reading his article, braced for half-digested truths or oversimplifications on neurotherapy (The doctor who mends broken brains: why there is room for hope after a stroke or head injury, 3 June). But he paints an accurate picture of the way brains retain neuroplasticity and the reality of the po

health  1d ago

The Guardian Health

Muscle growth drug ‘could reduce loss of lean tissue’ when using slimming jabs

Trial suggests monoclonal antibody can help retain lean body mass when losing weight with GLP-1 medicinesA drug that promotes muscle growth could significantly reduce the loss of lean body mass when using slimming jabs, research suggests.While GLP-1 based jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have proved highly effective at helping people who are overweight or obese, experts have warned it is not only fat that is lost. Studies suggest 25-40% of total weight loss is down to a reduction in lean body ma

health  1d ago

The Guardian Health

Monday briefing: Are we any closer to a cure for cancer?

In today’s newsletter: ​Researchers are giving us new insights into early detection and treatments, but with access to life-saving care remaining uneven patients still have a long road aheadGood morning. Israel has returned fire on Iran following a wave of missile strikes, the first attacks between the two countries since April’s ceasefire, despite Donald Trump reportedly urging Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate. The escalation threatens to drag the Middle East back into a regional war and rai

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

Richard Scolyer shares his ‘greatest lesson’ in open letter to Australians before famed cancer researcher’s death aged 59

‘My intention is for this letter to be published upon my passing – as my final farewell,’ Scolyer wroteRichard Scolyer, cancer researcher and former Australian of the year, dies aged 59Richard Scolyer, acclaimed melanoma researcher who tried experimental treatment on his own brain cancer – obituaryAn open letter to all Australians from Professor Richard A Scolyer AO16 December, 1966 – 7 June, 2026 Continue reading...

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

Record number of people waiting for NHS diagnostic tests in England

One in five of the 1.92m patients on waiting list wait longer than six weeks for tests such as CT and MRI scans, analysis showsA record number of people are waiting for a diagnostic test on the NHS, triggering fears that delays in accessing CT and MRI scans can endanger patients’ health.A total of 1.92 million patients in England are waiting to have a test to diagnose their illness such as by an ultrasound scan, assessment of their hearing, bone scan or various tests for cancer. Continue reading

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on cancer treatments: new hope for patients now and in the future | Editorial

A drug for pancreatic cancer shows immense promise, but we shouldn’t forget research in the field is a story of small victoriesIt is unlikely that we will ever declare a final victory over cancer. Governments have often promised it: from Nixon’s 1971 “war on cancer” to the 2016 Obama‑Biden plan to fight and cure it “once and for all” and Sajid Javid’s 2022 “war on cancer” initiative in the UK. But framing it this way can obscure how real progress is made: not in stu

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

Factors leading to failures in NHS maternity care | Letters

Readers respond to an article on the serious failings at the Nottingham university hospitals trustI am writing as someone who has been personally affected by failings in maternity services at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust. Zoe Williams (Midwives want to make childbirth miraculous – so what went so wrong in Nottingham?, 1 June) correctly acknowledges the affect of austerity on maternity services (I can attest to that, having worked in the public sector), but it in no way excuses

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

‘Significant breakthrough’: NHS hospitals adopt faster, more accurate bladder cancer test

Five hospitals in England and Wales have switched to test taken at home, rather than invasive hospital procedureNHS hospitals are using a new way of diagnosing bladder cancer that is faster, more accurate and more convenient for patients than the existing test.Doctors said the Galeas bladder test is a major breakthrough because it involves a urine test taken at home rather than an invasive procedure done at hospital which is uncomfortable for patients. Continue reading...

health  2d ago

The Guardian Health

If we are to counter medical misogyny, women can no longer be treated as unreliable witnesses of their own experience | Alison Downham Moore

The history of gynaecology fuses innovation, authority and violation – and radical surgery is not the unavoidable answer to sufferingUntil just a few weeks ago, Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome was reduced to ovarian cysts, much to the frustration and confusion of many patients with this systemic endocrine condition. The struggles of people with endometriosis to access patient-centred and appropriate care continue in many countries.These are examples of the despair many patients report w

health  3d ago

The Guardian Health

New study casts doubt on reliability of mental health diagnosis interviews

Diagnostic interviews seen as ‘gold standard’ vary in reliability from condition to condition, study saysDiagnostic interviews – the most common way to diagnose substance use and mental disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar and personality disorders – vary in reliability from condition to condition, according to a new study in Jama Network Open.Laura Duncan, a psychiatry professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and one of the study’s authors, said diagnostic interviews are

health  3d ago

The Guardian Health

Removing ‘invisibility cloaks’ and safely skipping chemo: new weapons in war on cancer shared at US conference

Drug that stops cancer cells hiding and a breakthrough for pancreatic cancer among highlights from Asco conference – but there were also notes of cautionDoctors, scientists and researchers shared new research about ways to tackle cancer at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) annual meeting, the world’s largest cancer conference.The event in Chicago, attended by 40,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions and 2,700 poster presentations on this year’s theme, “the

health  4d ago

The Guardian Health

Ebola spread in central Africa could match 2014 record outbreak, US health officials say

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predictCentral Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases t

health  4d ago

The Guardian Health

How to prevent older people from having fatal falls | Letters

Jules Robinson outlines the targeted support needed to prevent accidental deaths, and Sara Hazzard urges investment in rehabilitation and the physiotherapy workforceDenis Campbell’s article (GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs, 3 June) draws welcome attention to a severe but often overlooked health crisis. Research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) shows that falls are the leading cause of accidental death in the UK, killing

health  4d ago

The Guardian Health

The right’s culture war over prostate cancer screening is damaging trust in medicine | Polly Toynbee

The decision not to test all men and only screen the most at risk, including black men, is fact-based. Yet it’s been called ‘two-tier’ – and labelled as misandryIf the country seems to be slipping away from reason and trust in science, blame usually falls on modern phenomena such as social media and its fantastical influencers. Or on the US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s bizarre anti-vaccine, anti-fluoride, anti-evidence lunacy. But campaigns against the UK national screening committee’s

health  4d ago

WHO News

Africa CDC and WHO launch joint continental Ebola response plan

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan on the ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The plan aims to raise US$ 518 million to support African countries together with partners to prepare for, rapidly detect and respond to the outbreak.The six-month plan, covering June to November 2026, brings together governments, partners and communities

health  4d ago

The Guardian Health

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket

As demand for cobalt, gold and other minerals grows, mining is accelerating deforestation in the Congo basin – and increasing the risk of deadly Ebola outbreaksFor decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most.Not any more. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

Experience: I sat under an oak tree every day for a year

After a period of burnout, I realised that nature knows what you need, and is always ready to offer it – you just have to be quiet enough to receive itIn 2022 I moved to Clevedon, near Bristol. As soon as I saw the oak tree behind my flat, I started sitting under it. It’s not in some beautiful, remote place – it’s on an urban hill surrounded by grassland – but as a solitary tree on the side of a hill, it drew my attention. I was burned out. For 10 years, I had run a nonprofit

health  5d ago