Americans Increasingly Dying By Accident, And Society Isn’t Doing Enough To Prevent It, Report Says
The National Safety Council found that the rate of people dying accidentally has jumped 15.5 percent over a decade. “It’s all preventable. Every accident is preventable,” said Ken Kolosh, the safety council’s statistical manager. In other public health news, NPR takes a look at the man behind immunotherapy, and experts gather in Denver to discuss sleep.
The Associated Press:
More Americans Are Dying Each Year By Accident
Accidents are killing more Americans each year, increasingly from overdoses and falls. A new report from the National Safety Council said that in 2014, more than 136,000 Americans died accidentally. That’s up 4.2 percent from the year before and a jump of 15.5 percent over a decade. And the accident rate has risen despite a 22 percent plunge in car crash deaths since 2005. Overdose and accidental poisonings are up 78 percent over a decade — pushing aside car crashes as the No. 1 accidental killer in the U.S. (Borenstein, 6/9)
NPR:
A Scientist's Dream Fulfilled: Harnessing The Immune System To Fight Cancer
Sharon Belvin's nightmare with cancer began in 2004, when she was just 22. Belvin was an avid runner, but said she suddenly found she couldn't climb the stairs without "a lot of difficulty breathing." Eventually, after months of fruitless treatments for lung ailments like bronchitis, she was diagnosed with melanoma — a very serious skin cancer. It had already spread to her lungs, and the prognosis was grim. She had about a 50-50 chance of surviving the next six months. (Davis and Palca, 6/9)
Denver Post:
When 11 Hours Aren’t Enough: The Rare Disorder Of Perpetual Sleepiness
Idiopathic hypersomnia patients sleep for excessively long periods — generally more than 11 hours at a stretch — but even after awakening in daytime hours often find themselves slipping back into slumber. (Simpson 6/9)
