Young People In Corn Belt Are Getting Significantly More Cancer Since 2015
An analysis by The Washington Post found that in the past decade, cancer rates in the six states with the highest corn production are rising more rapidly than in the country as a whole. People aged 15-49 living there have shown a 5% increase in overall cancer rates, with kidney and skin cancer soaring to 35%-65% higher than the national average.
The Washington Post:
Cancer Rates Among Young Adults Are Rising Fastest In The Corn Belt, New Data Show
Mackenzie Dryden’s happiest childhood memories are of running barefoot through the sunlit corn fields of her hometown. But when she was diagnosed with cancer 2½ years ago at 18 years old, a disturbing thought began to take hold. Could something in the land she loved have made her sick? Dryden went to social media for answers, and stumbled upon a deeper mystery: Within just two years, four other recent graduates from her high school — home to only 500 students — had also been diagnosed with advanced cancers. (Eunjung Cha, Keating, Chikwendiu and Melgar, 10/27)
The Baltimore Sun:
Local Residents Light A Path For Breast-Cancer Survivors
Jill Krause’s medical treatment had formally ended, but her battle with breast cancer wasn’t really over. The disease — and the effects of enduring eight surgeries in about 21 months — cast a long shadow over her life. At 40, she struggled with osteoporosis, shallow breathing, limited range of motion in her upper body, high cholesterol from the radiation and heart issues that she is still monitoring. (Zumer, 10/26)
In other health and wellness news —
Stat:
Can ‘Food Noise’ Be Measured? Telehealth Giant Ro Rolls Out A New Scale For Obesity Care
Telehealth companies that have seized on the boom in weight loss drugs are playing a bigger role not just in treating patients with obesity, but also shaping how the medical mainstream understands obesity. (Chen, 10/24)
CBS News:
Sisters With Mysterious Symptoms Diagnosed With Same Rare Brain Condition: "You've Got To Be Kidding"
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham knew what was and wasn't normal for their kids. As the parents of six, they had seen a lot of illnesses and tantrums. But they were baffled by the behavior of their youngest daughter, Austyn. Austyn was "just not happy" and "never content," Ashlee said. As an infant, she never slept and cried constantly. She was "never smiling, never laughing," the toddler's mother said. She had mild developmental delays and a tremor. At 18 months old, genetic testing found she had a genetic condition called Chiari malformation. (Breen, 10/25)
AP:
Company Recalls 2M Pounds Of Barbecue Pork Jerky That May Contain Wire
A South Dakota company is recalling more than 2.2 million pounds (998,000 kilograms) of Korean barbecue pork jerky sold at Costco and Sam’s Club stores because the product may be contaminated with pieces of metal, federal health officials said Friday. LSI, Inc., of Alpena, voluntarily pulled the product after customers complained about finding pieces of wiry metal in the jerky, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Company officials said the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production. No confirmed injuries have been reported. (Aleccia, 10/25)
AP:
4.9 Million Pounds Of Frozen, Boneless Chicken Have Been Recalled
Hormel Foods is recalling nearly 4.9 million pounds of frozen boneless chicken products it sold to restaurants, cafeterias and other outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. Customers reported finding metal in the chicken breast and thigh products. Hormel concluded that the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production, the food safety service said. There have been no reports of illnesses or injuries. (10/25)
The New York Times:
Neutrogena Recalls Makeup Wipes Over Bacterial Contamination Concerns
More than 15,000 packages of Neutrogena makeup wipes were recalled last month over concerns of potential bacterial contamination, federal safety regulators said. Kenvue, Neutrogena’s parent company, issued the voluntary recall after finding that some cases of its makeup towelettes tested positive for Pluralibacter gergoviae, a bacterium that can cause infections, according to a report from the Food and Drug Administration. (Ziegler, 10/25)
Plus: How to carve a pumpkin without hurting yourself —
CNN:
Why Many Americans Who Are In The ER On Halloween End Up There
Not all the scares and frights and bumps in the night are imaginary on Halloween. Each year, thousands of people land in the emergency room due to Halloween-related injuries. One of the biggest culprits may come as a surprise: It’s pumpkin carving, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. (Hetter, 10/24)
