breast cancer

Why Angelina Jolie Chose a Preventive Mastectomy

Posted on 05/14/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | Personal HealthMovie star Angelina Jolie, told she was at high risk for breast cancer, underwent a preventive double mastectomy, but a prominent cancer geneticist tells AARP the actress should also consider removing her ovaries to reduce her risk of deadly ovarian cancer. Jolie, 37, revealed in a moving essay in the New York Times today that her own mother died of ovarian  cancer at 56, which is why Jolie got genetic testing that revealed she has the BRCA1 gene mutation. This …

Mammogram Advice: Older Women Aren’t Convinced

Posted on 04/22/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthMore than three years after a federally appointed panel of experts said most women don’t need annual mammograms, a new study of mammogram rates shows that older women have pretty much ignored the advice. According to an analysis of data from nearly 28,000 women, women over 40 continue to get the yearly screening, apparently unconvinced they should do it less often. In fact, mammogram rates slightly increased overall, from 51.9 percent in 2008 to 53.6 percent in 2011, even though …

Now Read This: ‘Guy’s Guy’ Mike Greenberg Writes Chick Lit

Posted on 04/10/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

EntertainmentMike Greenberg is a “guy’s guy” — he co-hosts the ESPN show “Mike & Mike in the Morning”— so when he decided to write a novel from the perspective of three women, he knew he’d have to rope in some “gal’s gals.” To “get things right” in his recently released All You Could Ask For, Greenberg told me, he formed the world’s most homegrown focus group: his wife, his agent’s wife, and their female yoga instructor. But there’s one vignette …

In Going Public, Valerie Harper Is in Good Company

Posted on 03/11/2013 by | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | Your LifeActress Valerie Harper’s March 11 appearance on the Today show to discuss her diagnosis of terminal brain cancer made her the latest celebrity to go on television to talk about a personal life-and-death health challenge. There was a time the famous tended to keep quiet about serious illnesses behind a protective cocoon of press agents, limousines with tinted windows and mansion walls. Often fans found out about their conditions through terse press releases asking for privacy, or though hints picked …

Insurance Will Have to Pay for More Preventive Care

Posted on 02/20/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The new health law requires that most insurance plans cover all costs for preventive care, including colon cancer screening. But it didn’t turn out to be that simple. Many patients ended up with a bill when the doctor performing the colonoscopy removed precancerous growths known as polyps. Why the bill? Because a preventive screening had turned into a procedure. Now the Obama administration is trying to straighten out the confusion: …

VA Grants Burial Rights for Same-Sex Oregon Couple

Posted on 02/15/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Home & Family | PoliticsBy Steven Dubois of The Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to allow the same-sex spouse of a member of the military to be buried in a U.S. national cemetery. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki used his discretionary authority to allow the burial of Nancy Lynchild’s ashes, the agency said Thursday. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who called Shinseki last month to lobby for the action, said the Oregon couple will become the first …

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