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At issue are two genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2.More women may benefit from gene testing for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, especially if they've already survived cancer once, an influential health group recommended Tuesday.At issue are genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. When they're mutated, the body can't repair damaged DNA as well, greatly increasing the chances of breast, ovarian and certain other cancers. Gene testing allows affected women to consider steps to lower their risk, such as when …

A woman’s habit of keeping her contact lenses in while swimming and showering had serious consequences: She developed a rare eye infection that left her legally blind in one eye, according to a new report of the case.The 41-year-old woman, who lives in the United Kingdom, went to the eye doctor after experiencing blurry vision, eye pain and sensitivity to light in her left eye for two months, according to the report, which was published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine.She told …

Months after health officials in New York, New Jersey and Illinois raised concerns about a new deadly fungal superbug, a study has suggested climate change may be playing a role in its troubling rise.“Candida auris fungus” (C. auris) is a multi-drug–resistant fungal infection that spreads in hospitals and is extremely deadly — killing as many as one in three who get it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).While there are likely many reasons that the infection has no …

(Reuters Health) - Adults who smoke cigarettes may have an easier time cutting back or quitting altogether if they start vaping, but a new French study also suggests that vaping may make ex-smokers more likely to relapse."Among adults, electronic cigarette use by never smokers is extremely rare - most users are smokers who want to quit or reduce their tobacco consumption or former smokers who want to prevent a relapse," said Ramchandar Gomajee, lead author of the study and a researcher at Sorbon …

Taking care of aging parents can often take a toll, emotionally and financially. Learn what women can do to help ensure their own well-being while they care for someone else.Caring for an aging parent is a compassionate—but often stressful—undertaking. It can take a huge emotional toll on everyone in a family, but for women the financial impact can hit especially hard. "Women who become caregivers for an elderly parent or friend are more than twice as likely to end up living in poverty than if t …