LIBBY, Mont. — Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from railroad tracks where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to sneak into vermiculite-filled storage bins … Read more
Two sisters are warning the public about an invasive form of strep after their mother and step-father died from the disease on the same day earlier this year. Sammi and Meta Ross said doctors failed to recognize the warning signs of group A strep until it was too late. Strep A are bacteria found on … Read more
Healthcare in the Asia-Pacific is facing its biggest challenge – relentless demand. According to a recent World Health Organization report, the problem of unmet need manifests in two ways: there are people who need health services but forgo care due to access barriers; there is also unrealised demand, when people are unaware of their health … Read more
Karen Nickel has been dealing with lupus and other illnesses for years, illnesses she blames on childhood exposure to a suburban St. Louis creek where Cold War-era nuclear waste was dumped decades ago. It’s time, she said Friday, for the federal government to start making amends. “People have died and are still dying,” Nickel, co-founder … Read more
Adelaide woman Paris Hedger had saved for a trip to the United States since she was 13 years old, but soon after she arrived, her life was turned upside down because of a life-threatening medical condition. A few months before she was hospitalised, Hedger was working as a travel content creator, securing paid work and … Read more
The aftermath of last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio doesn’t qualify as a public health emergency because widespread health problems and ongoing chemical exposures haven’t been documented, federal officials said. The Environmental Protection Agency never approved that designation after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment even though the disaster forced the evacuation of … Read more
Private health insurance premiums are set to rise by more than 3 per cent from today, the biggest increase in five years. The federal government last month approved an average industry premium rise of 3.03 per cent. But some major insurers have confirmed prices will increase by as much as 4.1 per cent. Newsletters: Breaking … Read more
A new mum who was told her neck pain was caused by poor breastfeeding posture discovered her symptoms were actually due to a brain tumour. Fiona Donald, 41, started experiencing pain in her neck the day after giving birth to her son, Ralph, now six. The mum-of-two would wake up with severe headaches and started … Read more
A self-confessed “vaping addict” has called for them to be banned after her right lung collapsed twice and is now permanently scarred. Karlee Ozkurt, 20, has been vaping for five years – after peer pressure at high school convinced her to start. She claims it’s the “worst decision” she ever made and her life’s biggest … Read more
Irene Rallis, 48, and Richard Geagea, 49, had been trying to conceive for a decade when Irene finally fell pregnant last year. So when their doctor told them their ultrasound results at the 30-week mark indicated their child would likely be born with a severe disability, the married couple from Sydney were determined to continue. … Read more
