The Guardian Health

Anti-abortion activists are trying to limit access in NSW – and they are just getting started

Obstetricians and gynaecologists say anti sex-selective abortions bill ‘predicated on misinformation’ and ‘underlying aim is to restrict access to abortion’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe man who wants to ban “sex-selective abortions” is the first person who will tell you it won’t work.New South Wales Libertarian party MLC John Ruddick has introduced legislation that would see health practitioners sent to prison or fined thousands if they carry out a termination be

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Big tobacco uses cigarette playbook to help sell ultra-processed foods, journal reveals

New issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on parallels between marketing for cigarettes and UPFsThe new issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on ultra-processed foods, and reveals that big tobacco companies used strategies that helped them sell cigarettes to sell ultra-processed food products, including Lunchables, geared toward children.The parallels between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes include not only how UPF products were formulated and market

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Federal workers experiencing ‘PTSD-like symptoms’ after unlawful firings by Trump administration

In survey of more than 300 fired probationary employees, 95% reported continuing mental health effectsUS federal workers laid off by the Trump administration said they are experiencing mental health effects, including PTSD-like symptoms, from losing their jobs, according to a new survey.More than 300 fired probationary employees were surveyed, with 95% reporting ongoing mental health effects, according to 27UNIHTED, a network of former National Institute of Health (NIH) employees. Nearly half sa

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

The doctor who mends broken brains: why there is room for hope after a stroke or head injury

The neurologist Orlando Swayne doesn’t suggest everyone can recover. But he does argue that early, targeted and intense therapy can sometimes bring about life-changing improvements – and we have a moral obligation to provide itClaire was in bad shape. She had been brought to the ward on a stretcher and hoisted on to a bed where she lay curled up in a ball. She was unable to speak, her eyes flat and face expressionless. While she could move her right arm a little, her left arm and both legs were

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Thousands more UK black men to be invited for prostate cancer screening

Health secretary announces expansion of Transform trial but does not back population-wide testingThousands more black men will be invited to take part in a prostate cancer screening trial as the health secretary insisted he was “following the science” in not backing population-wide testing.James Murray accepted a recommendation from the UK national screening committee (UKNSC) that will result in only a few thousand high-risk men with a gene mutation being screened for the disease. Continue readi

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Weight-loss drugs may prevent thousands of knee replacements, study suggests

Patients with knee arthritis who took medications for at least three years at reduced risk of needing surgeryTaking weight-loss drugs for at least three years could prevent thousands of knee replacements a year, research suggests.Globally, more than 500 million people have osteoarthritis. Knee arthritis is the most common form, affecting about 14 million people in the US and more than 5 million in the UK. Many will require knee surgery. In the UK more than 120,000 knee replacements are carried o

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘My son is still suffering’: the ill effects of water contamination in ‘Brixham incident’

Physical and psychological impacts of a tap water parasite outbreak continue to be felt in south DevonSouth West Water fined £1.85m over parasite outbreak in DevonMost of the tourists milling around the busy fishing harbour or visiting Agatha Christie’s riverside holiday retreat have probably forgotten what South West Water euphemistically calls the “Brixham incident”.But for residents at the centre of the “incident” – a parasite outbreak that caused perhaps hundreds of people in south Devon to

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘A rude awakening’: more doctors running for office in rebuke to Trump’s health policies

Medical professionals are entering the political arena as funding cuts, layoffs and RFK Jr’s vaccine skepticism spur them to actionWhen Abdul El-Sayed walked into Detroit’s health department in 2015, he found about 85 employees crammed into the back of a municipal parking building. The city had recently gone bankrupt and the 185-year-old institution was placed under state emergency management. His job was to rebuild it from practically nothing.Within a year and a half, El-Sayed, who has a medica

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

Weight-loss drugs can cut breast cancer risk by up to 30%, studies suggest

Three studies add to evidence that jabs could be part of cancer-fighting toolkit to cut risk of developing or dying from diseaseWeight-loss drugs can cut the risk of developing or dying from cancer by 30%, doctors have said.Millions of people already use the drugs to treat obesity. Now a series of studies presented at the world’s largest oncology conference suggest the drugs could play a role in preventing and treating cancer. Continue reading...

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

Add leaf blowers to the list of antisocial garden tools | Letters

Miranda Fagandini says the noise made by these devices is dreadful and can be life-alteringOn reading the latest column in your long-running series (Lawnmower hum: why the sound of the summer could cost you £5,000, 27 May), I noticed that the writer didn’t include the curse of the leaf blower in their list of antisocial garden tools.The noise is dreadful and can be life-altering. We bought one which turned out to be so loud that it has caused permanent hearing loss and hyperacusis

health  Jun 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

Doctors don’t know what to do about wellness influencers but we dismiss them at our peril | Ranjana Srivastava

To be a cancer specialist is to see the worst of harm caused by social media. Yet I have never changed a patient’s mind with outrage“And so, of course, I have completely stopped eating red meat.”The “of course” is galling, especially since we have been using precious bags of blood to top up my patient’s haemoglobin.Ranjana Srivastava is an Australian oncologist, award-winning author and Fulbright scholar. Her latest book is Every Word Matters: Writing to Engage the Public Continue reading...

health  Jun 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

Midwives want to make childbirth miraculous – so what went so wrong in Nottingham? | Zoe Williams

The acronym ‘FOH’ for ‘Fuck off home’ was used beside the names of expectant mothers. Senior midwives advised others not to be ‘too kind’. But as this and other shocking evidence is brought to light, sexism is only one part of the storyIt’s said to be mother nature’s stunning con trick, the single most helpful move in the propagation of the species – that childbirth might be the worst thing ever to happen to anyone, but once you are through it, you instantly forget how painful it was. And that i

health  Jun 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

Yoga can reduce anxiety and insomnia for people living with cancer, study finds

First clinical trial of its kind, involving 410 cancer survivors in US, also finds reductions in distress and fatigueYoga can reduce emotional distress, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia in people living with cancer, according to the results of the first clinical trial of its kind.Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are living with cancer, with advances in treatments meaning more patients are surviving the disease than ever before. But for many, the physical and mental side-effects of their dia

health  Jun 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

To die with dignity: my young husband’s final wish came with a $65,000 price tag

My husband, Craig, didn’t want to spend his last days in the hospital. His fight with bladder cancer then became a battle to get him hospice care at home“This isn’t where I want to die,” my husband, Craig, whispered to me.We were in a shared room on the top floor of NYU Langone hospital in Manhattan, the window obscured by a long privacy curtain. I barely had space to stand next to his hospital bed under the bright fluorescent lights, our thoughts interrupted by the constant beeping of machines.

health  Jun 1, 2026

WHO News

Joint statement by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and WHO concerning the outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirm their strong partnership and shared commitment to protect the health and well-being of the people of Ituri Province and the nation at large, following the joint mission to Bunia led by Dr Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Health, Mr. Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, Minister of Communication and Medias, and the visit of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This high-level visit come

health  May 31, 2026

The Guardian Health

Women don’t need menopause tea and meno-friendly nighties. They need doctors to take them seriously | Emma Beddington

Serious health conditions are being misdiagnosed and pregnancies are missed while the internet swells with terrible advice and meno-products. Enough!Ladies! Are you tired all the time, sweaty and hot, or headachy? Do you have a range of the vague complaints (laziness, hysteria, dissolute habits, general languishing) that would have seen you committed to a 19th-century asylum? Are you lacking in joie de vivre? Maybe you’re perimenopausal!Or maybe you’re not: being tired, hot and over everything a

health  May 31, 2026

The Guardian Health

World faces cancer workforce crisis with 100m staff shortfall, report warns

Researchers say healthcare systems could be overwhelmed by 2050 as global burden of disease continues to riseThe world is facing a cancer workforce crisis, experts have said, with a shortage of 100 million staff expected by 2050 as 100,000 people are diagnosed every day.Patients could face much longer waits to be diagnosed and treated in future as the global cancer burden continues to rise and threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, according to a report at the world’s largest oncology confer

health  May 31, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘It’s a great healer’: why being outdoors in nature means so much to us

Many of those who love spending time in Britain’s green places say it is awe-inspiring, calming and therapeuticAs a recent study revealed almost half of UK adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, we asked readers to tell us about what being outside means to them.The replies – heartfelt and passionate – came flooding in, with some admitting they just did not have the words to say how important it is. Continue reading...

health  May 31, 2026

The Guardian Health

Cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients, trial shows

Jab brought ‘unprecedentedly strong responses’ in patients whose disease had become resistant to chemotherapy and immunotherapyDoctors have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients.In an international trial spanning 11 countries, the injection was offered to patients whose cancer had spread or come back and whose disease had failed to respond to other treatments. Continue reading...

health  May 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

Every month, my explosive rage would send shockwaves through my family. Then I got a diagnosis that changed everything

Mothers with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) explain how it has affected their relationship with their familiesLaura Daly was six the first time she suspected something was wrong with her mum, Wendy. Furious at locking herself out of the house, Wendy reversed and rammed the car into their garage door once, twice, then three times, as Laura cowered silently in the back, her head flopping forwards with each smash. On the seventh smash, the garage door contorted just enough for Laura to sque

health  May 30, 2026