Health's weekend read includes Taylor Swift's impact amid brain surgery, seniors’ health struggles and more

Fox News Digital publishes an array of health pieces all week long to keep you in the know on a range of wellness topics: health care access, innovative surgeries, cancer research, mental health trends and more — plus, personal stories of people and families overcoming great obstacles.

As you wind down your weekend, check out some of the top stories of the week in Health that you may have missed, or have been meaning to check out. 

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These are just a few of what's new, of course. There are many more to see at http://www.foxnews/health. 

Dive into this selection here.

A New Jersey woman stayed awake during her brain surgery — and sang Taylor Swift songs to help doctors gauge her cognitive function. Selena Campione, 36, shared her story with Fox News Digital. Click here to get the story.

Adults tend to need more medical care as they age, but coordinating that care can be stressful and strenuous for seniors. Doctors discussed the health care challenges older adults face — and what needs to change to improve the situation. Click here to get the story.

It’s happening more often — busy physicians are turning to chatbots for help in summarizing medical reports. Experts weighed the benefits and the risks of using AI in the health care space. Click here to get the story.

Time-restricted eating has been linked to a higher risk of heart-related death in a new study. The researchers and cardiologists offer their insights on the surprising connection. Click here to get the story.

Kate Middleton’s announcement of a cancer diagnosis has sparked an outpouring of support — and concerns about the uptick of cases among younger adults. Here’s what to know about the recommended cancer screenings for early detection. Click here to get the story.

The benefits of cold plunging and other ice therapies have been called into question by a new study. The researchers plus cold therapy experts reacted to the findings. Click here to get the story.

People who smoke marijuana daily face a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study found. Get the details on the effects of frequent cannabis use. Click here to get the story.

Drug overdoses reached a new high last year in the U.S., according to a new CDC report. Find out what groups were most affected — and what addiction experts think about the surge. Click here to get the story.

Since 2020, the prevalence of medication abortions — triggered by what’s known as the abortion pill — has risen 10%. Women’s health experts detailed the possible reasons for the increase. Click here to get the story.

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New Jersey woman sings Taylor Swift hits while awake during brain surgery: 'Eras Tour' in the O.R.

A Stanhope, New Jersey, mom has taken her love of Taylor Swift to a new level. 

Selena Campione, 36, underwent brain surgery on Jan. 31, 2024 – but it wasn’t an ordinary procedure.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Campione shared that she'd been to numerous doctors to address some peculiar symptoms that began in March 2023.

This included tingling and numbness on the right side of her body, which developed into an inability to hold objects in her right hand.

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"I couldn't use my right arm, the right side of my face would swell up, and I would have trouble talking," she said. 

"I would be stuck, almost."

Campione, a private school teacher, described how her symptoms kept "growing and growing," leading to problems walking.

"My right leg – I wouldn't even feel it," she said. "I wouldn't have feeling in my foot. Part of my skin would turn purple. I wouldn't feel anything at all."

The wife and mother sought help from various experts, including neurologists and MRI specialists, and went through multiple hospital stays. She said she was prescribed eight different medications.

TAYLOR SWIFT SUPERFAN SPENT NEARLY $9K TO ATTEND 12 ERAS TOUR CONCERTS

This was until she connected with Dr. Nitesh Patel, a neurosurgeon and co-director of the Neurosurgical Oncology program at Hackensack Meridian Health at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

In the same interview with Fox News Digital, Patel disclosed his first encounter with Campione’s imaging, which led him to believe there was a larger issue at hand.

Patel broke the news to Campione that she had a low-grade glioma on the left side of her brain, explaining the trouble on the right side of her body.

To remove the tumor, the neurosurgeon suggested an awake craniotomy, otherwise known as brain surgery, where the patient is not fully put under.

"I was scared out of my mind," Campione said in reaction to finding out she’d be kept awake.

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"I couldn’t even believe that was a possibility. I didn’t even know that you could have brain surgery and be awake."

While the news frightened her, Campione acknowledged that she wasn't getting any better.

"It was hard on me, but it was also on my family, too," she said. 

"My girls are little. I missed my daughter's birthday [because] I was in the hospital. I missed a ton of work. I missed my students."

She added, "I trusted Dr. Patel’s judgment, and I could see how confident he was that this is what I needed." 

Campione was numbed from the top of her head down to her eyebrows and ears, Patel said, and then put under light anesthesia. 

Patel said that keeping the patient awake during this procedure helps indicate to the surgeon what’s safe to touch and what’s not once the brain is exposed.

TAYLOR SWIFT QUIZ! HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE FAMOUS POP MUSICIAN?

"When we get to the surface of the brain, before we touch anything, which could potentially cause permanent damage, we want to know what we're getting into," he said. 

"It's high-end real estate."

Campione’s tumor was reportedly sitting "in the middle" of the parts of her brain involved in speech and motor function.

During awake craniotomies, Patel can test the boundaries of the brain areas that are safe to tamper with by prompting the patient to stimulate the brain through speaking or, in Campione’s case, singing. 

"She can talk, she can repeat things, tell us her name, etc.," the doctor said. "And while we're stimulating the brain, if she has any errors in those actions, we know that's a critical area."

TAYLOR SWIFT FAN BREAKS WORLD RECORD FOR IDENTIFYING THE MOST SONGS IN ONE MINUTE, SAYS IT WAS ‘EASY TASK’

"We could do it the boring way … or we can do it a bit more of an exciting way, and I found singing is particularly very helpful."

Patel added that during speech, the "pitch and the cadence of each word" varies, as does articulation, which is also captured in singing.

Once Campione knew she’d be singing during surgery, her young daughters "jumped at the chance" for their mom to sing Taylor Swift tunes.

"That's what's playing in my house all the time, so I can probably sing all of her songs," she said. "So, I – of course – was ready to sing Taylor."

Patel assured her that since he was a Taylor Swift listener himself, he was "going to pick up" if Campione "mis-phrases something or says a word the wrong way."

He said, "Furthermore, it's also testing her memory … She knows the lyrics; she should be able to sing the songs."

Campione admitted that all she could remember was "vaguely" hearing Swift’s song "Shake It Off" playing in the operating room.

CALIFORNIA SHOW OF TAYLOR SWIFT'S ‘ERAS TOUR’ CLASSIFIED AS ‘MICROEARTHQUAKE’: THESE 5 SONGS HIT LOUDEST

"I felt nothing. I didn't know anything was going on," she said. "I didn't even know my head was open."

She added, "I didn't know I was singing until I saw all these videos of me singing."

Patel remembered Campione singing along to other Swift songs, including "22," "Bad Blood" and "You Need To Calm Down." 

"Basically, she did the Eras Tour for us," he said, laughing. 

"I don't want to discount the complexity of everything that's involved in doing a brain surgery," he said. "But at the same time, I feel like the only way to really help patients get through the shock of going through any type of brain surgery is to have a touch of humor."

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In addition to "keeping the mood light," Patel mentioned the importance of patient preparation — of "knowing that the team there is ready to take care of them, is professionally skilled and very good at their job," he said. "But at the same time, we're all human beings."

Campione reported feeling "fantastic" since her surgery, and now has scaled back her slew of medications to just one.

"I'm doing really well," she said. "I feel pretty normal, which is fantastic, because I wasn't able to say that for a long time now, and it was hard."

She said as well, "I'm so grateful to Dr. Patel and the rest of the neuro team and everyone at Jersey Shore Hospital."

Campione has not been able to attend a Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert due to her medical status.

She joked that if the pop star would like to gift her family tickets to the next U.S. show — "that would be awesome."

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Top UK health official urges against eating whole Easter egg in 'one go' hit with backlash: 'Life too short'

After a top England's National Health Service (NHS) director warned people "not to eat the whole Easter egg in one go," doctors hit back, saying that "life is too short" to cut back this holiday season. 

In a blog post, Dr Andrew Kelso, a NHS medical director, advised people to watch their waistline and show constraint when it comes to chocolate treats.

"I urge people to enjoy their Easter eggs in moderation," Kelso said. "Enjoy your sweet treats but don’t overdo it." 

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The top doctor said that his warning was timely due to an increase in obesity, Type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.

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"Many people don’t realize that an average Easter egg contains around three-quarters of an adult’s recommended daily calorie intake," Kelso said. 

"At a time like this when we are seeing significant increases in cases of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as tooth decay, I urge people to enjoy their Easter eggs in moderation and resist the urge to eat a whole egg in one go," he said.

Despite the top doctor's advice, others in the medical community were quick to advise the opposite.

"I'm an intensive care doctor. Life is short. Eat the Easter egg," @madbusymum wrote on X.

"I’m a dentist," @wendythedentist replied. "Eat the Easter egg all at once!"

"I’m an Intensive Care Nurse. I totally agree," @shinybluedress wrote.

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US tuberculosis cases in 2023 were at highest level in a decade, CDC says

The number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced. 

The CDC said on its website Thursday that "overall, cases increased from 8,320 in 2022 to 9,615 in 2023, an increase of 1,295 cases" 

"The rate also increased from 2.5 per 100,000 persons in 2022 to 2.9 in 2023," it added, noting that numbers were up among all age groups. Data from the agency shows nearly 10,000 infections in 2013. 

CDC officials expected TB numbers would rise, but the 2023 count "was a little more than was expected," Dr. Philip LoBue, director of the agency's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, told The Associated Press. 

WOMAN LEFT WITH KIDNEY DAMAGE AFTER VISITING HAIR SALON 

The new CDC statistics are not a count of how many people were newly infected in 2023, but rather of how many people developed a cough or other symptoms and were diagnosed. 

An estimated 85% of the people counted in 2023 were infected at least a year or two earlier and had what’s called latent TB, when the bacterium enters the body and hibernates in the lungs or other parts of the body. Experts estimate as many as 13 million Americans have latent TB and are not contagious. 

"Although TB incidence in the United States is among the lowest in the world and most U.S. residents are at minimal risk, TB continues to cause substantial global morbidity and mortality," the CDC says, calling it "one of the world’s leading infectious disease killers." 

DRUG OVERDOSES HAVE REACHED RECORD HIGH, PER LATEST CDC REPORT 

The CDC says tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" that usually targets the lungs but can also attack other parts of the body such as the kidney, spine and brain. 

Symptoms of TB disease in the lungs include chest pains and a prolonged cough, sometimes with blood. 

Other symptoms include weakness or fatigue, weight loss, fever and loss of appetite. 

Cases declined sharply at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but have been rising since. 

"This post-pandemic increase in U.S. cases highlights the importance of continuing to engage communities with higher TB rates and their medical providers in TB elimination efforts and strengthening the capacity in public health programs to carry out critical disease control and prevention strategies," the CDC said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Health care is ‘overwhelmingly complex’ for older adults, experts say: ‘Ever-increasing hurdle’

Adults tend to need more medical care as they age, but coordinating that care can be stressful and strenuous for seniors.

Getting in-person care and treatment can require "substantial time, effort and cost" for older adults and their partners or caregivers, according to a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Led by Ishani Ganguli, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, researchers looked at data from 6,619 adults aged 65 and older, who responded to the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data, to get an idea of the number of days spent receiving medical care.

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During that year, the older adults had an average of 17.3 "ambulatory contact days," which consisted of visits to a primary care doctor or specialty doctor — or a test, imaging procedure or treatment.

They had an average of 20.7 total contact days, which also included days spent in a hospital, emergency department, skilled-nursing facility or hospice facility.

Around 11% of the adults had 50 or more total contact days.

"Some of this may be very beneficial and valuable for people, and some of it may be less essential," Ganguli of Harvard Medical School told KFF Health News. 

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"We don’t talk enough about what we’re asking older adults to do and whether that’s realistic."

Woven into all of those medical touchpoints are different guidelines for medical conditions, financial incentives offered to doctors and the need for specialized care, Ganguli noted.

"It’s not uncommon for older patients to have three or more heart specialists who schedule regular appointments and tests," she also said.

For patients with multiple health issues, there are even more appointments to juggle.

"The good news is that we know so much more and can do so much more for people with various conditions," Thomas H. Lee, chief medical officer at Press Ganey, a consulting firm that tracks patients’ experiences with health care, told KFF Health News. 

"The bad news is the system has gotten overwhelmingly complex."

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the research but agreed that medical complexity for seniors is a "huge problem" in the U.S.

"The medical system is overburdened coming out of the pandemic, and there is a shortage of both doctors and nurses," he told Fox News Digital.

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Meanwhile, the health care needs of the country’s elderly are increasing, especially with technological advances in helping to manage chronic illness, Siegel noted.

"At the same time, the extensiveness of Medicare coverage is shrinking, along with providers who can work with it," the doctor added.

"And the barriers to getting needed procedures and treatments are increasing, along with out-of-pocket costs."

Dr. Shana Johnson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician in Scottsdale, Arizona, said the complexity of navigating the U.S. health care system is an "ever-increasing hurdle" to obtaining medical care. 

"Every step of the health care system is laden with complexity — from scheduling an appointment with a provider that accepts your insurance, to filling a prescription that you can afford, to discerning which medical tests you actually need," she told Fox News Digital.

Johnson was not involved in the new study.

In her new role as an independent health care system consultant, Johnson works to help patients navigate this complexity.

"An increasing number of people are reaching out for help navigating the system and finding the right care," she said.

A patient recently contacted Johnson for help after her primary care doctor’s failed attempts to refer her to a rheumatologist.

"First, her doctor sent her to the university medical center," she said. "They denied the referral because their appointment slots were reserved for high-complexity cases, and her case was deemed not difficult enough."

A second referral was placed to a private rheumatology practice, but they declined because they didn’t accept Medicaid insurance. 

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"Fewer private practices accept Medicaid because of the low reimbursement rates," Johnson noted.

At this point, the patient contacted Johnson for help in getting connected to care.

"After speaking with her, I suspected she had fibromyalgia, and this expanded the number of specialists who could help her," she said.

Johnson referred the patient to a pain clinic in a large hospital system — but the clinic denied the referral because it was too busy with opioid patients and could not accept outside referrals. 

Also, the patient’s doctor did not work for the hospital system. 

"Next, I tried the general physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic," Johnson said. "They said no because she was a better fit for the pain clinic that declined to see her."

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At this point, the patient had waited five months, in pain, trying to get a diagnosis — and treatment hadn't even started.  

Johnson noted, "This patient's struggles are not unique — they are the usual."

When faced with the "treatment burden" that comes with making appointments, finding transportation, following up with insurance companies, incorporating doctors’ recommendations and managing medical costs, many seniors may opt to forgo care altogether, according to Victor Montori, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

In a 2020 research paper, Montori revealed that around 40% of patients with chronic conditions "considered their treatment burden [to be] unsustainable."

At highest risk are the older adults who are managing multiple medical conditions and those who have "low levels of education" or are "economically insecure and socially isolated," as reported by KFF.

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The rise of digital technologies in the health care system can add another layer of difficulty for older adults, experts agreed.

"It’s harder and harder for patients to gain access to clinicians who can problem-solve with them and answer questions," Montori told KFF.

Elizabeth Rogers, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, shared with KFF Health News her tips for making care more accessible for older adults.

First, she recommended giving feedback to doctors if a treatment plan doesn’t seem sustainable.

"Be sure to discuss your health priorities and trade-offs —what you might gain and what you might lose by forgoing certain tests or treatments," she told KFF. 

It’s also important to discuss which medical interactions are essential and which can be skipped, Rogers said.

Based on these discussions, doctors might be able to make adjustments to treatment plans or prescriptions. 

Some medical centers may have social workers or "patient navigators" on staff to help seniors coordinate and consolidate appointments, and arrange transportation if necessary.

Rogers also stressed the need for seniors to ask questions to ensure they understand their doctors’ directions. 

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"I would ask a clinician, ‘If I chose this treatment option, what does that mean not only for my cancer or heart disease, but also for the time I’ll spend getting care?’" Ganguli of Harvard told KFF. 

"If they don’t have an answer, ask if they can come up with an estimate."  

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Woman left with kidney damage after visiting hair salon

Medical professionals are warning about the potential side effects of certain hair treatments after a young woman sustained kidney injuries after a session at a salon.

A 26-year-old Tunisian woman suffered from three acute kidney injuries between June 2020 and July 2022, according to a piece that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month. The letter to the editor, which was written by French doctors, linked certain smoothing and straightening hair products to kidney damage.

The woman in the case study had no previous health issues when she sought medical help. She suffered from vomiting, fever, diarrhea and back pain when she approached the doctor.

"Each episode of acute kidney injury had coincided with a hair treatment at the same salon on the day the symptoms began," the journal letter explained. 

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"The patient reported a burning sensation during each procedure, followed by scalp ulcers."

Upon examination, medical staff found that her blood tested positive for increased plasma creatinine levels. Plasma creatinine is a waste product that comes from muscles – when it enters the blood, it is filtered out by kidneys.

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When the woman went to the salon, the hairstylist would apply a cream on her hair that contained 10% glyoxylic acid. That chemical is what researchers believe caused the kidney damage.

"These results provide evidence that hair-straightening cream containing glyoxylic acid is responsible for calcium oxalate–induced nephropathy after hair-straightening procedures of the type described here," the letter argues. "Glyoxylic acid was patented and introduced recently in hair-straightening products as a seemingly safer alternative to formulations containing formaldehyde."

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"In consideration of the potential nephrotoxicity of topical glyoxylic acid, products containing this compound should be avoided and, we would proffer, discontinued from the market."

The article also noted that 26 patients in Israel suffered acute kidney injuries after "Brazilian-style" hair-straightening procedures.

In 2022, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study suggested that chemical hair-straightening products may increase women's risk of uterine cancer. Researchers pointed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the products.

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Princess Kate's cancer, plus marijuana risks and sleep's impact on mental health

ROYAL RECOVERY – In the wake of Princess Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement, doctors discuss the preventative treatment she is receiving. Continue reading…

NOT SO FAST – Intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating, was linked to a surprising spike in heart-related deaths. Here’s what the study found. Continue reading…

UP IN SMOKE – Using marijuana daily could increase the risk of serious cardiac events. Officials at the American Heart Association explain. Continue reading…

UNLIKELY DONOR – A Massachusetts man's life was saved when he received an animal kidney in a groundbreaking transplant. Continue reading…

UNDER THE RADAR – Thousands of men's cancer diagnoses were missed during the COVID pandemic. Doctors weigh in. Continue reading…

MENTAL EXHAUSTION – Sleep and mental health are more closely connected than you might think. Experts reveal the serious risk of missed rest. Continue reading…

AT-HOME ABORTIONS – Medication abortions have seen a sharp increase over the past decade. Women's health experts offer insights. Continue reading…

VISUAL DISORDER – A rare neurological condition caused a man to see "demonic" facial distortions. Learn more about what causes this scary phenomenon. Continue reading…

'APPETITE FOR DRUGS' – Overdose deaths continue to climb in the U.S., per a new CDC report. What needs to change? Continue reading…

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More doctors use ChatGPT to help with busy workloads, but is AI a reliable assistant?

Dr. AI will see you now.

It might not be that far from the truth, as more and more physicians are turning to artificial intelligence to ease their busy workloads.

Studies have shown that up to 10% of doctors are now using ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM) made by OpenAI — but just how accurate are its responses?

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

A team of researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center decided to find out.

"Every year, about a million new medical articles are published in scientific journals, but busy doctors don’t have that much time to read them," Dan Parente, the senior study author and an assistant professor at the university, told Fox News Digital.

"We wondered if large language models — in this case, ChatGPT — could help clinicians review the medical literature more quickly and find articles that might be most relevant for them."

WHAT IS CHATGPT?

For a new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine, the researchers used ChatGPT 3.5 to summarize 140 peer-reviewed studies from 14 medical journals.

Seven physicians then independently reviewed the chatbot’s responses, rating them on quality, accuracy and bias.

The AI responses were found to be 70% shorter than real physicians’ responses, but the responses rated high in accuracy (92.5%) and quality (90%) and were not found to have bias.

Serious inaccuracies and hallucinations were "uncommon" — found in only four of 140 summaries. 

"One problem with large language models is also that they can sometimes ‘hallucinate,’ which means they make up information that just isn’t true," Parente noted. 

CHATGPT FOUND BY STUDY TO SPREAD INACCURACIES WHEN ANSWERING MEDICATION QUESTIONS

"We were worried that this would be a serious problem, but instead we found that serious inaccuracies and hallucination were very rare."

Out of the 140 summaries, only two were hallucinated, he said.

Minor inaccuracies were a little more common, however — appearing in 20 of 140 summaries.

"We also found that ChatGPT could generally help physicians figure out whether an entire journal was relevant to a medical specialty — for example, to a cardiologist or to a primary care physician — but had a lot harder of a time knowing when an individual article was relevant to a medical specialty," Parente added.

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Based on these findings, Parente noted that ChatGPT could help busy doctors and scientists decide which new articles in medical journals are most worthwhile for them to read. 

"People should encourage their doctors to stay current with new advances in medicine so they can provide evidence-based care," he said.

Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence in health care, was not involved in the University of Kansas study but offered his insights on ChatGPT use by physicians.

"AI's integration into health care, particularly for tasks such as interpreting and summarizing complex medical studies, significantly improves clinical decision-making," he told Fox News Digital.

"This technological support is critical in environments like the ER, where time is of the essence and the workload can be overwhelming."

Castro noted, however, that ChatGPT and other AI models have some limitations.

"Despite AI's potential, the presence of inaccuracies in AI-generated summaries — although minimal — raises concerns about the reliability of using AI as the sole source for clinical decision-making," Castro said. 

"The article highlights a few serious inaccuracies within AI-generated summaries, underscoring the need for cautious integration of AI tools in clinical settings." 

Given these potential inaccuracies, particularly in high-risk scenarios, Castro stressed the importance of having health care professionals oversee and validate AI-generated content.

The researchers agreed, noting the importance of weighing the helpful benefits of LLMs like ChatGPT with the need for caution.

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"Like any power tool, we need to use them carefully," Parente told Fox News Digital. 

"When we ask a large language model to do a new task — in this case, summarizing medical abstracts — it’s important to check that the AI is giving us reasonable and accurate answers."

As AI becomes more widely used in health care, Parente said, "we should insist that scientists, clinicians, engineers and other professionals have done careful work to make sure these tools are safe, accurate and beneficial."

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Abortion pill use has spiked in recent years, new report reveals: ‘Substantial increase’

Since 2020, the prevalence of medication abortions — triggered by what’s known as the abortion pill — has risen 10%.

Medication abortions made up 63% of all abortions performed in the U.S. in 2023, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization headquartered in New York.

Some 642,700 medication abortions were performed last year.

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The data came from Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study, which monitors the estimated number of abortions performed on a state and national basis.

With medication abortion, a woman terminates her pregnancy by taking two different medications — mifepristone and misoprostol — over a period of a couple of days, according to the Yale Medicine website.

The woman first takes a medication called mifepristone, which blocks the production of progesterone, a hormone that supports pregnancy.

The second medication, misoprostol, triggers contractions — and kickstarts the process of miscarriage. That process usually takes between 12 and 24 hours.

The abortion pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. It can be administered within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

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In states where procedural abortions are illegal, medication abortions may also be illegal.

Fourteen states have banned the prescription of mifepristone.

Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

"The increased reliance on medication is, to some extent, likely a result of abortion being banned in 14 states," Rachel K. Jones, principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, told Fox News Digital.

"In many states where abortion remains available, medication abortion can be provided by telehealth, which can reduce the logistical and financial barriers that make it difficult for people to access care," she went on. 

"Some brick-and-mortar facilities are also able to provide medication abortion more efficiently, which has been necessary to meet the growing need in states where people are traveling for care." 

It is also likely that some people who would prefer a "procedural abortion" now have to rely on medication abortion because they don’t want to wait weeks for an appointment, Jones stated. 

ABORTION IS 'GRUESOME SIGN' OF WHAT SOCIETY HAS FORGOTTEN, SAYS CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP

Monica Cepak, the New York-based CEO of Wisp, an online provider of birth control pills and treatments, said the Wisp team expanded its offering of medication abortions following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. The high court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the issue of abortion to the states.

The company currently ships the abortion pill to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Washington, New York and Maryland, its website states.

"We were able to provide an affordable telehealth option in nine states to date — while, most importantly, protecting our patients’ privacy," she told Fox News Digital.

Wisp saw a 527% increase in demand for its medical abortion services in 2023, Cepak noted. 

Audrey Blondin, a former attorney and adjunct professor in the Department of Population Health and Leadership at the University of New Haven, talked to Fox News Digital about the increase in medication abortions.

"This was a substantial increase in medication abortion over a relatively short period of time," she said.

"I think this is a good example of ‘where there's a will, there's a way,’" she added, referring to the response that resulted when some states enacted bans against abortions.

"Technology and medicine have worked together to give women a rightful choice," she said. "I always say your health care should not be determined by your zip code."

Cost savings could be another reason for the rise in medication abortions, according to Blondin. 

"There are disparities in health insurance for a procedural abortion," she said. "You have to visit the clinic and pay a doctor — it can be a substantial expense."

There may also be extra costs involved for women who travel to another state, she noted.

"That's different from rolling over to Walgreens or CVS and getting a prescription," Blondin noted.

A medication abortion typically costs around $800, according to the Planned Parenthood website, but some health insurance policies may cover it. 

There are also programs available via the National Network of Abortion Funds to provide financial assistance for the abortion pill.

Lila Rose, founder and president of the Virginia-based pro-life advocacy group Live Nation, said the rise of "the abortion pill" is a "horrific tragedy." 

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"Federal law currently prohibits sending abortion drugs through the mail under the Comstock Act, and that law should be vigorously enforced," she told Fox News Digital.

Rose also warned that medication abortions can pose a dangerous risk to women.

"Between 2.9% and 4.6% of women who take the drug may require emergency room treatment," she told Fox News Digital. 

"Based on this data, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has estimated that roughly one in 25 women who take mifepristone may require emergency care."

"The abortion pill, mifepristone, has killed millions of American children in a discriminatory and brutal way," she added.

Yale Medicine stated that while medication abortion is considered a "safe procedure," some rare complications can occur.

Those include "pregnancy tissue being left in the uterus, blood clots in the uterus, bleeding too much or for too long, infection or an ongoing pregnancy," the website noted.

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Cancer and Princess Kate: Important screenings to focus on for best health

Kate Middleton’s Friday video announcement of her cancer diagnosis may have shed some light on why she’s been out of the public eye lately — and there's been an outpouring of support for her and the royal family ever since she spoke to the world via video. 

In her video message on Friday, Middleton revealed that after her recent abdominal surgery, doctors initially believed her "condition was non-cancerous" — but further testing proved otherwise.

"My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment," she shared.

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Said Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, "The good news is that the word ‘preventative’ was used."

Experts agree that Middleton is under no obligation to reveal the details of her condition.

Siegel also emphasized Middleton’s right to privacy.

"We need to respect her privacy and show compassion and empathy, especially given her young age and young children," he told Fox News Digital.

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"[Medical] records should be sacrosanct," he also said. 

Amid these discussions, he and other doctors are also sharing insights about the importance of cancer screenings. 

"When should women be screen[ed] for cancers — and what sort of tests should they be asking for?" Fox News' Carley Shimkus asked on Monday during a "Fox & Friends" medical segment with Dr. Siegel. 

The doctor noted, to start, the importance of public service awareness of cancer screenings. 

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It's a "very big public service" on Middleton's part that she came forward to share her story, he said.

"Women should start with cervical cancer screening at the age of 30 or earlier," he also said. 

That means "Pap tests every two or three years." (During Pap tests, gynecologists swab cells near the patient’s cervix and send the sample to the lab to test for any abnormal or precancerous changes to the cells.) 

Siegel said women should also make sure they don't have HPV, or human papillomavirus.

"You want to get vaccinated against that when you're in your teens," he said. "That's hugely important."

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He added, "But the no. 1 cancer for women is breast cancer." 

And "while people might say, well, Kate Middleton is 42 years old — well, we're starting to see cancers in younger and younger women," he said.

He noted, "Our own Dr. Nicole Saphier, one of the top breast radiologists in the country, insists on screening women for breast cancer at [age] 40 and above. I completely agree with that. You use mammograms, ultrasounds," he added.

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And while doctors know about all the important screenings for women as well as men, he said that "patients need to be their own advocates," too.  

There may be other important factors to consider as well when it comes to testing and screening, he said, including patients' genetic history and personal background. (SEE the video at the top of this article for more details.)

For example, said Siegel, "Did your mother or father have something very young?" 

In that case, he might then send patients for screenings or tests earlier than usual, again depending on each patient's personal background. 

Angelica Stabile and Caroline Thayer of Fox News Digital contributed reporting. 

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Drug overdoses have reached record high, per latest CDC report: ‘Grim statistics'

Drug overdoses reached a new high last year in the U.S., according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nearly 108,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2022, the agency said. 

This was a marginal increase from 2021, when 106,669 people died of drug overdoses.

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Overdoses are still the leading cause of death for adults in the country, largely driven by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug.

Over the past two decades, the rate of drug overdose deaths has spiked from 8.2 per 100,000 people in the year 2000 to 32.6 per 100,000 in 2022, per the CDC.

The overdose rate increased for males between 2021 and 2022, and slightly decreased for females.

Overdoses increased among adults ages 35 and older between 2021 and 2022, and they decreased among those aged 15 to 34. 

They were lowest for adults 65 and older.

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Overall, roughly 25% of adults aged 12 and older — over 70 million people — used illicit drugs in 2022, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

"When it comes to the intractable problem of substance abuse, one thing is evidently clear: America has an appetite for drugs, and not enough is being done about it," Dr. David Campbell, clinical and program director of Recover Together in Bend, Oregon, who was not involved in the CDC report, told Fox News Digital.

"It should come as no surprise, then, that overdoses have emerged as one of the top 10 causes of non-genetic deaths and a leading contributor to the first drop in life expectancy in the United States in over two decades."

Although the record-high rates signify an ongoing problem, some industry experts are pointing out that the rate of increase has slowed considerably.

"Despite the grim statistics released today by the CDC, overdose fatalities rose at a slower rate in 2022 compared to a year earlier," said Philip Rutherford, strategy lead for substance use at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

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Rutherford was also not involved in the CDC’s report.

"Let’s hope this is an early indication that the upward curve of overdose deaths is flattening," he added.

To help reverse the high rate of overdoses, Rutherford stressed the need for addiction treatment and recovery support. 

"It will require increasing the size of the behavioral health workforce, augmenting the number of peer support specialists and implementing a variety of strategies to provide care in all settings," he said.

Rutherford also called for increasing support for underserved populations and eliminating "deserts of care."

"We strongly urge pharmacies to increase the supply of suboxone," he said. 

"That simple step will sharply increase equitable access to treatment and recovery supports and help communities provide people with the opioid use disorder medication they need to survive."

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Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer of American Addiction Centers in Tampa Bay, Florida, also emphasized the need for education around the dangers of hidden substances, such as fentanyl. 

"Fentanyl, along with fentanyl analogs and other adulterants, can be mixed with other substances without the user’s knowledge, putting them at much greater risk of overdose," he told Fox News Digital. 

"Being aware of that risk can encourage those with substance-use disorder to be more mindful and cautious." 

Weinstein noted that "harm-reduction strategies" — like the availability of naloxone (Narcan) and needle-exchange programs — can help, but he also called for more widespread substance-use disorder treatments. 

"Evidence-based treatment can reduce substance use disorder, health harms and overdose deaths, and the longevity and quality of treatment directly relates to lower mortality rates," he said.

"We should also prioritize medication-assisted treatment to help individuals achieve and maintain sobriety."

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A lack of mental health resources could also contribute to the problem, Weinstein said.

"Our country must find ways to make community mental health resources more readily available through walk-in clinics and telehealth, and to expand the number of providers, especially in areas most impacted by the overdose epidemic," he told Fox News Digital.

"Not only is substance-use disorder itself often driven by underlying mental health issues, but the impact of substance-use disorder and overdoses on families and communities is creating a secondary mental health crisis that must be addressed before it turns deadly."

In the event of an overdose, Weinstein said it’s essential to call 911 first, administer naloxone if available, administer rescue breaths if needed — and stay until help arrives. 

"These simple steps could save a life," he said.

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Rare condition caused patient to see ‘demonic’ faces, says study on ‘visual disorder’

It sounds like the stuff of horror films — but for people who are afflicted with a rare disorder, it’s a terrifying reality.

A condition called prosopometamorphopsia (PMO) causes facial features to appear distorted, according to researchers from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

A study published in The Lancet revealed that a 58-year-old man reported seeing faces as distorted or "demonic" for 2½ years.

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"The patient stated that the distortions — severely stretched features of the face, with deep grooves on the forehead, cheeks and chin — were present on every person's face he encountered, but he reported no distortions when looking at objects, such as houses or cars," the researchers wrote in the findings.

The patient did not see those same distortions when looking at two-dimensional faces on printed paper or digital screens.

Still, despite the distortions, the patient reported that he was able to recognize people.

After the researchers showed the man some images on a screen of a person, they then had him compare the images with that same person’s actual face. 

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The patient provided feedback on the differences he perceived between the two — and the researchers used computer software to edit the photograph to capture what he was seeing.

"Through the process, we were able to visualize the patient’s real-time perception of the face distortions," said Antonio Mello, a PhD student in psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth who worked on the study, in a press release.

Dr. Jonathan Tiu, a neurologist and assistant professor of neurology at Hackensack Meridian School of medicine in New Jersey, was not involved in the study but reviewed the findings.

"Fascinatingly, the patient highlighted in the recent Lancet case report was still able to recognize everyone he was looking at," Tiu told Fox News Digital.

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"This suggests that the brain's way of visually ‘displaying’ faces, and the brain's ability to recognize a person's face, might be occurring in two different parts of the brain."

The name of the disorder, prosopometamorphopsia, comes from "prosopo" (the Greek word for face, prosopon) and "metamorphopsia," which refers to perceptual distortions.

Tiu described PMO as a "very rare visual disorder" that causes a person to see visual distortions of facial features.

"This can include a twisting or stretching of someone's eyes or a visual ballooning of that person's chin, or they might even see features where they shouldn't be, like seeing that person's teeth hover over their lips," he said.

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Experts don't fully understand how PMO occurs and who is more likely to experience it.

"It is thought that an injury to specific parts of facial processing networks in the brain, whether it be from a stroke or tumor, can produce the symptoms of PMO," Tiu said.

The condition has also been known to occur as an effect of migraines or seizures, but sometimes it comes on without any identifiable cause.

PMO is very rare, with fewer than 100 documented cases, according to the neurologist.

There are different types of PMO, as noted in a separate article published by senior author Brad Duchaine, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth.

The two most common types are full-face prosopometamorphopsia (full-face PMO) and hemi-prosopometamorphopsia (hemi-PMO), he noted.

Most cases last only a few days or weeks.

Some patients, however, continue seeing the distortions for years.

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Among the people who have had PMO, it is common for them to have been misdiagnosed at some point, the researchers stated in the study findings.

"We’ve heard from multiple people with PMO that they have been diagnosed by psychiatrists as having schizophrenia and put on anti-psychotics, when their condition is a problem with the visual system," Duchaine said in the release.

"And it’s not uncommon for people who have PMO to not tell others about their problem with face perception because they fear others will think the distortions are a sign of a psychiatric disorder," he added.

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For those who have the condition, the optimal treatment should be tailored to the underlying cause of the symptom, Tiu noted.

In one study from 2021 that reviewed 81 individuals with PMO, the authors found that there was full or virtually full recovery in more than half of the reported cases, he pointed out.

"Of those who recovered, the PMO resolved quickly within days to weeks," Tiu said. 

"However, some patients took years to recover, and in a group of patients, the symptoms did not demonstrate any improvement."

The study authors concluded that the facial processing networks that involve PMO may be in a part of the brain that has generally good potential for recovery, Tiu added.

The Dartmouth researchers expressed hope that this latest study will help raise awareness of the rare but impactful condition.

As Duchaine added, "It’s a problem that people often don’t understand."

Fox News Digital contacted the researchers for additional comment.

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Cold therapy techniques come under hot scrutiny by researchers: 'Overall benefits remain uncertain'

Cold therapy has been a popular health trend in recent years, but a new review suggests it might not live up to the hype — although others disagree. 

Medical researchers from the University of Warwick in the U.K. conducted a review of nine different studies of the Wim Hof Method (WHM), a health and wellness discipline that combines cold therapy, breathing and meditation.

Although the method was found to reduce inflammation, the researchers concluded that the "quality of the studies [done on the method] is very low" and that "all the results must be interpreted with caution."

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They also noted that the studies had small sample sizes, so they can’t be applied to the general population.

The results were published in the journal PLOS ONE on March 13.

The Wim Hof Method is based on the philosophy and practices of Dutch athlete Wim Hof. 

The method has three pillars: cold plunging, breathing and mindset.

Previous research has shown that the method can have multiple mental and physical health benefits.

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Nicknamed "the Iceman," Hof himself previously told Fox News Digital in an interview that a chief benefit of his method is reducing inflammation — which is a leading cause of most ailments and autoimmune diseases.

"I’m bringing my knowledge from nature through science to global health care, showing that through science — no speculation — we are able to do so much more within our physiology," he said. 

In addition to reducing inflammation, Hof also credited cold therapy with improving his mental health during a difficult time in his life.

With cold water plunging, "you open up to peace inside — and that inaugurates the healing," he said. 

"I began to have control over my emotions," he also said.

"The key takeaways from the review indicate [the] promising use of WHM in the inflammatory response category," Omar Almahayni, the study’s lead researcher at Warwick Medical School, told Fox News Digital.

"However, it's crucial to note that all studies included exhibit a high concern for risk bias, indicating the early stages of investigation into the Wim Hof Method."

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"While some positive effects are observed, such as attenuation of inflammation, the overall benefits remain uncertain."

The researchers uncovered many limitations of the studies they reviewed, Almahayni said.

"All the trials had a very high risk of bias due to the lack of a prior published protocol, small sample size and complexity of blinding the participants and outcome assessors to the intervention," he said.

Psychological outcomes were also difficult to measure, the researcher noted, as they relied on subjective input in response to a questionnaire. 

"Since the participants were not blinded, it was very difficult to ensure that the answers were honest and valid to the experience," said Almahayni.

Fox News Digital reached out to Wim Hof's team for comment on the review. 

Mark Palchak, CEO of Silient, a South Carolina-based chilled water company, was not involved in the systematic review, but noted that the findings show the clear anti-inflammatory properties of cold therapy.  

"The simple fact that inflammation-related diseases kill 3/5 of people worldwide, combined with the anti-inflammatory results from this study, suggests that the cold therapy discipline works," Palchak told Fox News Digital.

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Cold therapy can also be beneficial for athletes, he said, helping to reduce inflammation in the joints and cartilage and aiding in post-workout recovery.  

"One of the main benefits from cold therapy our customers experience that wasn't mentioned in the study is related to the ability to get hard things done throughout the day," Palchak added.  

"When you force yourself into ice-cold water first thing in the morning, everything else you do throughout the day becomes materially easier. Doing hard things leads to great things."

Dr. Peter Michael, director of regenerative orthopedics and spine at Miami Wellness, a pain relief center in Miami, Florida, previously spoke with Fox News Digital about the benefits of ice baths.

Ice baths are effective at reducing inflammation in the body by constricting blood vessels and reducing blood flow to the affected area, noted Michael, who was not involved in the new U.K. study.

"Ice baths can help speed up muscle recovery by reducing soreness and fatigue after exercise," he said.

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Cold plunges can also help increase the production of white blood cells, which are responsible for fighting off infections and diseases, the doctor added. 

Some experts also believe that ice baths can have a calming effect on the body, reducing stress and anxiety levels and triggering the release of endorphins in the brain.

Based on the review findings, lead researcher Almahayni called for more evidence to be gathered about the Wim Hof Method — including a larger number of participants — before it’s recommended to the public. 

"It's crucial for individuals to remain cautious and informed about the current state of research on WHM," he said. 

"While there are promising indications of its benefits, more evidence is needed before making conclusive recommendations."

Ice baths and other forms of cold therapy aren’t for everyone and are not considered a cure-all for medical conditions, experts agree.

People considering this method should check with a health care provider before taking the plunge.

Angelica Stabile of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

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Intermittent fasting linked to higher risk of heart-related death in new study

Time-restricted eating, a common weight-loss strategy often known as intermittent fasting, has been linked to a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular death.

In a study published by the American Heart Association (AHA), a group of 20,000 adults who followed an eight-hour time-restricted eating schedule were found to have a 91% higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to those who spread out their meals across 12 to 16 hours.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention│Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions last week in Chicago, although the study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

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Here are more details. 

There are several types of intermittent fasting — but they all follow the same concept of alternating between fasting and eating. 

With a time-restricted approach, the dieter only eats during a certain window. 

For example, with the 16/8 method, the person fasts for 16 hours and then can eat within an eight-hour span, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

Other versions involve fasting for a full 24 hours once or twice per week — or only consuming limited calories on fasting days.

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Previous studies have found that time-restricted eating can improve key measures related to heart health, including blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, the AHA noted in a press release.

"Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as eight hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health," said senior study author Victor Wenze Zhong, PhD, a professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, in the release. 

"However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including the risk of death from any cause or cardiovascular disease, are unknown."

Researchers from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, analyzed information from the annual 2003-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).

They compared it to causes of death logged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 2003 and December 2019.

People who ate all daily food in a window of less than eight hours had the highest (91%) risk of cardiovascular death, followed by those who ate in a window of between eight and 10 hours (a 66% risk).

The higher risk of heart-related deaths was also seen in those who had existing heart disease or cancer, the release stated.

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"Even though this type of diet has been popular due to its potential short-term benefits, our research clearly shows that, compared with a typical eating time range of 12 to 16 hours per day, a shorter eating duration was not associated with living longer," Zhong said in the release.

The average age of the participants was 49. 

Researchers followed them for an average of eight years, with some followed for as long as 17 years.

Dr. Lou Vadlamani — a cardiologist and founder of VitalSolution, an Ohio-based company that offers cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals nationwide — was not involved in the study but offered his insights on the findings.

"As with all studies, the devil is in the details," he said. "While this study provides some fuel for discussion and encourages further studies, it is far from conclusive."

The fasting habits were based on just two days of recorded eating habits, Vadlamani noted — and it hinged on the recollections of the participants.

"There was no documentation of what the participants ate while they weren't fasting or what their activity levels were," he noted.

The timing of the fasting — whether it was daytime or nighttime — was also not clear.

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"To conclusively say with any confidence that fasting has a direct impact in rates of heart attack would be a stretch," the cardiologist said.

"It certainly raises a lot of questions and supports the need for a more comprehensive study, since intermittent fasting has become so common."

Registered dietitian Lauren Harris-Pincus, author of "The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook," cautioned that this research has not yet been fully published and peer-reviewed — which means a complete analysis of its findings is "premature."

She was also not involved in the study.

"While this may suggest a correlation between intermittent fasting and death from cardiovascular disease, that does not prove causation," the New Jersey-based expert told Fox News Digital.

"There seems to be an important distinction between the short-term benefits of the time-restricted diet and the long-term risks."

She added, "The conclusions counteract the positive benefits of time-restricted eating in a body of previous research, plus the data was based on self-reported dietary records at a few points in time."

It’s not known whether the participants continued time-restricted eating for the duration of the study period, Harris-Pincus pointed out. And self-reported food intake can be affected by memory lapses or unintentional inaccuracies. 

"It also did not evaluate additional lifestyle factors that play a role in overall health," she said.

Anyone with medical conditions should speak to their physician or registered dietitian before starting any restrictive diet, Harris-Pincus recommended. 

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She added, "Intermittent fasting is not appropriate for people with a history of disordered eating or active eating disorder, those with hypoglycemia or Type 1 diabetes on insulin, children under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and more." 

Despite the limitations, Tanya Freirich, a registered dietitian nutritionist in North Carolina who works as The Lupus Dietitian, said the study is a "very important addition" to the current data on time-restricted eating. 

"In the past, there have been many benefits noted with time-restricted eating; however, this study is perfect proof that more is not always better," Freirich, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. 

"There seems to be an important distinction between the short-term benefits of the time-restricted diet and the long-term risks."

The study reinforces the importance of receiving personalized nutrition advice, according to Freirich.

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"For people on certain medications or for people who have difficulty maintaining stable blood sugar, blood pressure, or hydration, time-restricted eating may be too difficult to maintain and detrimental to their health," she cautioned.

"Additionally, while we don't learn the details of the participants' diet in the study, what you eat is incredibly important as well."

In light of this new research available, Freirich advised that people following a time-restricted eating pattern check in with their doctor and assess their cardiovascular health.  

Fox News Digital reached out to the American Heart Association and the study researchers for additional comments.

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FDA proposes ban on electrical shock devices used to stop aggressive behavior for the second time

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has proposed a ban on electrical stimulation devices intended to reduce or stop self-injurious or aggressive behavior.

The health regulator said these devices present an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury that cannot be corrected or eliminated through new or updated device labeling.

Electrical stimulation devices administer electrical shocks through electrodes attached to the skin to deter self-injurious or aggressive behavior.

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The FDA has information to indicate that only one facility is currently using these devices in the United States, which is the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Canton, Massachusetts.

The center did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

This is the second time the FDA has proposed a ban of these devices. Its first ban in 2020 was challenged in court and annulled, the agency said.

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New blood test shows high accuracy for colorectal cancer detection, study finds: ‘Not interchangeable’

A simple blood test could detect colorectal cancer (CRC) with more than 80% accuracy, according to a new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington. 

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, included nearly 8,000 people between the ages of 45 and 84, a press release stated. 

The results from the SHIELD blood test — which is made by Guardant, a pharmaceutical company in Palo Alto, California — were compared to the results from a colonoscopy procedure, the latter of which is considered the "gold standard for colorectal cancer screening," the release said.

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Among the participants who had colorectal cancer cases that were confirmed by colonoscopy, just over 83% tested positive through the blood test and 16.9% had a negative test. 

The SHIELD test works by picking up signs of colorectal cancer from DNA that is shed by tumors, which is called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).

The test performed the best at picking up colorectal cancers and was less effective at detecting precancerous lesions, the researchers found.

The SHIELD blood test is intended for use as a colorectal cancer screening for people who are of "average risk" and are not experiencing symptoms, noted study co-author William M. Grady, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Washington.

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"The accuracy rate for colorectal cancer is similar to at-home stool tests used for early detection of colorectal cancer," Grady told Fox News Digital.

The study did have some limitations, he acknowledged.

"The study was done [among] average-risk people, and that’s who the test is meant for," he said.  

The test is not currently meant to be used in high-risk people, such as those with a family history of colorectal cancer, personal history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, he clarified.

Colorectal cancer is the second most lethal cancer in the U.S.  

It's expected to claim 53,010 lives in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

People who are at average risk should start regular screenings at age 45, the ACS recommends.

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"Colorectal cancer is largely preventable, and there are currently available screening tests such as colonoscopy, FIT stool tests and the MT stool DNA test that can prevent it," he said. 

The problem, Grady noted, is that some 40% to 50% of people who should be getting screened are not doing so.

The hope is that a blood-based test would help boost screening rates.

"Blood-based screening tests are more acceptable to people than colonoscopy and stool tests and likely will increase screening compliance," Grady said. "This could lead to fewer CRC-related deaths."

Some doctors have voiced concerns about the effectiveness of the blood test — particularly its lower sensitivity to pre-cancerous symptoms.

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"Due to insufficient adenoma detection, these new blood-based tests will not be as effective as Cologuard [the stool sample test], even when their adherence is perfect, compared to current adherence of Cologuard," said Dr. Mark Fendrick of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

Fendrick was not involved in the NEJM study.

The American Gastroenterological Association released a statement in response to the NEJM study.

"Having data on a new blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer is exciting. If approved, it will help identify people who will need to undergo colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis and ultimately help save lives," said Barbara H. Jung, M.D., president of the American Gastroenterological Association, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

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The association warned, however, that blood tests do not pick up precancerous polyps — which colonoscopies can detect.

"The blood test reported in the New England Journal of Medicine study is only designed to pick up cancers and not precancerous polyps," Jung noted.

"Blood tests are not interchangeable with colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, but should prove to be an additional tool to help identify colorectal cancer early."

Blood tests could be recommended for patients who decline all other recommended tests, Jung noted — "since any screening is better than no screening at all."

Those who are interested in the SHIELD blood test should consult with their primary care provider, Grady said.

"This is significant given that at this time, when people are given the option of doing CRC screening with a stool-based test or with colonoscopy, currently half of people are electing to do neither," he added.

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Daily marijuana smokers face higher risk of heart attack, stroke, says American Heart Association study

As marijuana legalization heats up the competition among vendors nationwide, some experts are warning about the sneaky side effects of smoking it.

Daily weed smoking could cause complications for heart health, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) analyzed CDC data from 434,104 respondents to examine how cannabis use was associated with cardiovascular events.

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The impact of cannabis on the risks of having coronary heart disease, acute myocardial infarction and stroke were compared between those in the general adult population and those who had never smoked tobacco.

Of those surveyed, about 4% were daily cannabis smokers, 7.1% were non-daily users and 88.9% had not used any marijuana in the past 30 days.

Daily cannabis users had a 25% increased risk of heart attack and a 42% increased risk of stroke, the study found.

Cannabis use was associated with "adverse cardiovascular outcomes, with heavier use (more days per month) associated with higher odds of adverse outcomes," the researchers stated.

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Study co-author Dr. Abra Jeffers of Massachusetts General Hospital shared her reaction to the study findings with Fox News Digital.

"People think marijuana is harmless. It is not," she said. "We found that using marijuana (mostly by smoking) is as bad as smoking tobacco cigarettes."

"While we reported the results for daily use, any use increases risk — with more days of use per month associated with higher risk."

Recreational cannabis use is currently permitted in 24 states, according to a UCSF press release.

As of 2019, nearly 4% of Americans reported using cannabis daily, while 18% said they use it annually. 

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Senior study author Salomeh Keyhani, M.D., professor of medicine at UCSF, wrote in the same press release that "cannabis use is increasing in both prevalence and frequency, while conventional tobacco smoking is declining."

She added, "Cannabis use by itself might, over time, become the more important risk factor."

University of Colorado School of Medicine professor Dr. Robert Page serves as the American Heart Association chair for the statement on these findings.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Page said the study is "unique" in that it looked at cannabis smokers separately from tobacco users.

"Cannabis is not an innocent bystander when it comes to cardiovascular health," he said.

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He emphasized the importance of the "safety signals" that have emerged from the study.

This includes the need for patients to be "more transparent" about their cannabis use with their health care providers, while providers should be "nonjudgmental."

He added, "There needs to be shared decision-making between the patient and the provider with regard to cannabis use. Patient-centered, non-judgmental conversations are what is really needed."

This is especially important if a patient has an underlying heart condition or has experienced a cardiovascular event while using cannabis without disclosing it.

What was "scary" about this study, Page said, is that most respondents were "fairly healthy."

The largest segment of daily weed smokers ranged from ages 18 to 34.

"Those are the individuals who typically don't go to their primary care doctor because they're young and they think they're invincible," he said. "And that’s what alarms me."

Many of Page's patients, who have the ability to smoke weed freely in the state of Colorado, assume that because it’s a natural substance, it "has to be safe," he said.

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"That is the farthest from the truth," he told Fox News Digital. "Cannabinoids have what we call psychotropic effects that affect your perception … and mental status. And like prescription medications that are psychotropic, they carry side effects."

Page added, "We do need to get out to the public the fact that there is a potential for these types of cardiovascular events and people need to make an informed decision."

The doctor said he's concerned that smoking weed will repeat the history of smoking cigarettes — the dangers of which took a "really long time to cement into public health."

Other cannabis consumption methods, such as edibles, were not a focus in this study, Page noted, adding that there is "not a lot of data" on the safety of those products.

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For people who use medical marijuana under the supervision of a physician, Page reiterated the importance of weighing the risks and benefits with the medical provider.

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, the National Cannabis Industry Association pointed out that another study published by the American Heart Association in January 2024 found "no significant correlation between cannabis use and cardiovascular disease-related deaths over the last two decades, while alcohol was linked to 65% of deaths."

The organization said, "This report, along with many others, shows that while cannabis use is not entirely benign, it is clearly safer than alcohol."

It added, "Adult consumers in states with modern cannabis laws have the option to legally choose the safer substance, and it's time for federal law to catch up to those state laws."

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