In Altoona, Iowa, Ava Hutchinson was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 2. She was treated and declared cancer free in 2009, but it came back in July. She’s 11 now and she may not see 12. She didn’t want any presents, just cards. She got cards. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Health
A new study, examining two dozen previous reports, finds that 90 percent of the household dust examined contained 10 toxic chemicals. Read more →
If two photos could capture the intensity of the heroin epidemic in America at the moment, these are the ones. Read more →
A Florida congressman appeared to threaten to unleash a virus on the U.S. House of Representatives over its inaction. Read more →
In Weare, New Hampshire (pop. 8,785), townspeople have posted plastic flamingos on their lawns as a symbol of their support and hope for a 12-year-old girl fighting leukemia.
The flamingos are being sold for $10 each to raise money for Abby Van Dyke’s expenses. Thirteen-hundred birds have been sold so far. Read more →
Chris Ford and Nicole Wismer, of Nashville, were to be married in November. But then he got the word from his doctor that he’ll probably be dead by then. He has cancer. Read more →
It’s true that business media speak a different language from earthlings, but we’re still confused — and a little impressed — with Mylan’s chief executive officer Heather Bresch’s response to her company’s shakedown of people who need to buy EpiPen’s to be used during allergic emergencies.
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Anyone who’s had a critical prescription has to be both relieved and frustrated by the reaction to the rapid increase in the rise of EpiPen, the shot that people with severe and life-threatening allergies use to stay alive. Read more →
Researchers found that as men’s income increased in comparison with their spouses, their psychological well-being and health declined. The men’s mental and physical health (measured by self-assessment) were at their worst during years when they were their family’s sole breadwinner, according to The Atlantic. Read more →
Your daily dose of bittersweetness. Read more →
If there’s someone who should catch a break in this state, it’s Gabriele Grunewald, a professional runner who once ran the fifth-fastest time in the 1500 meters in University of Minnesota history just a day after she was diagnosed with cancer.
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Betsy Davis took her own life about a month after a California law took effect that declared that she had a right to. She had ALS, and so she gathered her friends for a two-day party that ended with her under a hillside canopy, saying goodbye to the friends who showed up. Read more →
Sure, they might hack up a hairball on the carpet every now and again, but cats won’t disappoint you the way a human can from time to time.
That might explain why a Rochester woman has spent $20,000 on her cancer-stricken cat. Read more →
Sandy Abeler, of Bertrum, Minn., swims across a lake there to raise money to send kids to camp. She’s 89. Read more →
Katie Schoener is going to be remembered and buried today in Scranton, Pa., and her family isn’t shy about the circumstances. Read more →