CARLA K. JOHNSON

AP Medical Writer
Terri Swain-Collins uses a treadmill in the care of physiotherapist Alison MacDonald on May 20, 2025, at Kingston Injury Management, a clinic in Kingston, Ontario, in Canada. (Lisa Callahan via AP)
Exercise boosts survival rates in colon cancer patients, study shows
A first-of-its-kind experiment shows a three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients. The findings were featured Sunday at a cancer meeting in Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
 
A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine rests on a table at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., on July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
A new variant of COVID-19 may be driving up cases in some parts of the world, WHO says
A new variant of COVID-19 is circulating in parts of the world and may be driving an increase in cases in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions.
 
Boxes for the medications Wegovy and Zepbound are arranged for a photograph in California on May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia, file)
Weight-loss drugs may lower cancer risk in people with diabetes, a study suggests
Researchers are beginning to wonder if blockbuster drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepbound could play a role in preventing cancer.
 
President Joe Biden walks after speaking during an interfaith prayer service for the victims of the deadly New Years truck attack, in New Orleans, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Biden’s sudden diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer is unfortunately all too common
Former President Joe Biden’s office says that he has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and is reviewing treatment options with his doctors.
 
A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles, May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Cancer before age 50 is increasing. A new study looks at which types
A new U.S. government study provides the most complete picture yet of early-onset cancers, defined as cancer diagnosed before age 50. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Cancer Discovery.
 
A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine rests on a table at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., on July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Moderna study shows immune response in older adults for a combo flu and COVID-19 shot
A combination shot for flu and COVID-19 using messenger RNA generated antibodies in a company-funded study. The study was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
 
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Trump’s health agency urges therapy for transgender youth, not broader gender-affirming health care
The Trump administration is calling for more reliance on psychotherapy for transgender youth instead of broader gender-affirming medical care.
 
A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles, May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Advanced cancers returned to prepandemic levels, according to a reassuring report
Delays in cancer screenings brought on by COVID-19 aren’t making a huge impact on cancer statistics. Experts who track the data say cancer death rates continue to decline.
 
Marine Corps combat veteran Matt Metzger poses for a portrait with a plate of mushrooms that he grows himself for microdosing psilocybin, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Believers say microdosing psychedelics helps them. Scientists are trying to measure the claims
Microdosing is gaining popularity with a new breed of health seekers. These self-experimenters take a very small amount of psilocybin mushrooms or LSD to reduce anxiety, stress and depression.
 
The Henry Ford Hospital is seen in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. (David Coates/Detroit News via AP)
Suicides and attempts fall in health systems implementing the ‘Zero Suicide Model,’ study finds
A new study suggests that health care systems can reduce suicides through patient screening, safety planning and mental health counseling. It’s an important finding as the U.S. confronts it 11th leading cause of death.
 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen, April 5, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Health department layoffs mean that data on drug use and mental health could sit unused
A 50-year-old government survey on drug use may be in jeopardy. The entire 17-member U.S. government team responsible for the National Survey on Drug Use and Health received layoff notices Tuesday, as part of the overhaul of the U.S.
 
People protest outside of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 after layoffs were announced. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Mass layoffs are underway at the nation’s public health agencies
Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department received notices Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated, part of a sweeping overhaul designed to vastly shrink the agencies responsible for protecting and promoting Americans’ health.
 
A box containing free doses of naloxone, a nasal spray medication to reverse drug overdoses, is installed at Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
The fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy’s HHS overhaul
The proposed overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could weaken and possibly eliminate a little-known agency that’s crucial in helping Americans who struggle with their mental health or with addiction.
 
The LGBTQ+ pride flag flies beneath the American flag at the Stonewall National Monument, Oct. 11, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Trump administration cancels at least 68 grants focused on LGBTQ health questions
A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science.
 
Scientists, advocates, and concerned citizens gather at the Civic Center Plaza during a Stand Up for Science rally to celebrate science and its critical role in public health, environmental stewardship, and education in San Francisco on Friday, March 7, 2025. (Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Researchers say the US government tried to erase sexual orientation from their findings
Two California researchers say a U.S. government health publication instructed them to remove data on sexual orientation from a scientific manuscript that had been accepted for publication.
 
The National Institutes of Health's James Shannon building is seen on the agency's campus in Bethesda, Md., Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Blood test for ovarian cancer misses some Black and Native American patients, study finds
A new study finds that a common blood test for ovarian cancer may miss some Black and Native American patients, delaying their treatment. It’s the latest example of medical tests contributing to health care disparities.
 
Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo, File)
What is hantavirus, the infection that killed Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa?
 
A woman holds a candle as she attends a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Pope had coughing fit, inhaled vomit and now requires assisted ventilation, Vatican says
The Vatican says Pope Francis suffered a coughing fit that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation.
 
A doctor holds a vial of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil in Chicago on Aug. 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
CDC report adds to evidence that HPV vaccine is preventing cervical cancer in US women
A new government report says that rates for precancerous lesions decreased about 80% among younger women who were screened for cervical cancer. That’s more evidence to show the HPV vaccine is working to prevent some cancers.
 
The seal is seen at the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, June 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
VA pauses billions in cuts lauded by Musk as lawmakers and veterans decry loss of critical care
The Department of Veterans Affairs has temporarily suspended billions of dollars in contract cuts after an uproar that critical veterans health services were harmed, lawmakers and veterans service organizations said Wednesday.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shown Sunday, March 15, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
HHS is losing thousands of workers under Trump administration probationary job cuts
Department of Health and Human Services officials expected most of the agency’s roughly 5,200 probationary employees to be fired. That’s according to a recording of a staff meeting shared with The Associated Press.
 
A woman holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a drug used for weight loss, at her home in Front Royal, Va., on March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)
Could obesity drugs help with alcohol cravings? New study suggests potential
A new study suggests that medications that have transformed the treatment of obesity may also help people drink less alcohol. The study was small — just 48 adults — and lasted just over two months, so it’s not the final word.
 
The seal is seen at the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, June 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Veterans Affairs deems more than 130 occupations ineligible for Trump’s deferred resignation plan
Most nurses, doctors and other staff caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs are not eligible for the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer.
 
The seal is seen at the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, June 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
VA nurses are in short supply. Unions say Trump’s deferred resignation plan could make things worse
Nurses caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs comprise the largest group of federal employees.
 
A page, top, from the Census.gov website that displayed on Jan. 24, about sexual orientation and gender identity, and the error page, bottom, showing the page is not available on Jan. 31, is photographed Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Health data, entire pages wiped from federal websites as Trump officials target ‘gender ideology’
A government memo aimed at implementing President Donald Trump’s order rolling back protections for transgender people has rippled through the federal government as agencies scramble to make changes to strip “gender ideology” from websites, contracts and emails.
 
Transgenders rights supporters rally outside of the Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Some hospitals pause gender-affirming care to evaluate Trump’s executive order
Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia and the nation’s capital say they have paused gender-affirming care for young people as they evaluate President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at cutting federal support for such care.
 
An abortion- rights activist holds a box of mifepristone pills as demonstrators from both anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)
Emergency contraception pill could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions, study suggests
A new study suggests that a pill used for emergency contraception could be repurposed at a higher dose as an abortion drug, providing a possible alternative to mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in the most common type of abortion in the United States.
 
President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding the southern border in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
What to know about President Donald Trump’s order targeting the rights of transgender people
One of President Donald Trump’s executive orders offers a new federal government definition of the sexes that could have a major impact on transgender people. It calls for the government to define sex as only male or female.
 
Susan Scarbro bowls while wearing a mask in Little River, S.C. on Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)
Meet the Americans who still take COVID-19 precautions seriously
People with immune system health problems continue to take precautions against COVID-19 five years into the pandemic. The threat of infection is a governing force in their lives while others speak of the coronavirus in the past tense.
 
A vial of testosterone is prepared for injection at a home in Florida, on May 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 US adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, researchers find
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents with commercial insurance received gender-affirming medications during a recent five-year period. That’s according to a study published Monday that sheds light on medical practices now being weighed by the U.S.
 
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