Health

LOS ANGELES - Millions of people have endured a colonoscopy, believing the dreaded exam may help keep them from dying of colon cancer. For the first time, a major study offers clear evidence that it does. Removing precancerous growths spotted during the test can cut the risk of dying from colon cancer in half, the study suggests. Doctors have long assumed a benefit, but research hasn't shown before that removing polyps would improve survival — the key measure of any cancer screening's worth. Some people skip the test because of the unpleasant steps need to get ready for it. "Sure, it's a pain in the neck. People complain to me all the time, `It's horrible. It's terrible,'"...

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A new drug to treat advanced skin cancer, or metastatic melanoma, has been shown to nearly double average survival time in a study of more than 130 patients, researchers said Wednesday.

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A teenage girl told police she was being repeatedly raped by a group of men who plied her with alcohol and demanded sex, a court has heard.

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The diet drug Qnexa has cleared a major hurdle toward eventual Food and Drug Administration approval. An independent panel of medical experts who advise the agency voted Wednesday that Qnexa's significant weight-loss benefit outweighed its potential risks.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill is to acquire two thirds of discount clothing retailer Peacocks stores, in a deal which will see 6,000 jobs saved, Peacocks' administrators KPMG said on Wednesday. The administrators said in a statement that Edinburgh Woollen Mill agreed to buy 388 stores from Cardiff-headquartered Peacocks, but the other 224 stores would be closed immediately, leading to 3,100 redundancies. Peacocks called administrators in and was put up for sale in January after succumbing to falling sales and high debts. ...

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WASHINGTON - The Obama administration declared Alzheimer's "one of the most-feared health conditions" on Wednesday as...

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CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again shaken the socialist leader's passionate supporters. Though the 57-year-old former soldier looked stoic and played down the dangers of his latest condition, the announcement inevitably raises questions over his ability to stand for the October 7 presidential vote - or rule beyond it. Chavez, who has dominated Venezuela since taking office in 1999 and whose fierce anti-U.S. ...

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Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has ordered a health board to "urgently review" its freedom of information policy after it held back more than 50 reports on serious incidents at its hospitals.

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Comedian Frank Carson has died, his agent confirmed.

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Participants in the Tower Climb and Run will travel only about a third of a mile during the event, but they'll climb 952 steps (58 stories) from the base of the Tower of the Americas in HemisFair Park to the top. The 27th annual event benefits the Lone...

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