MS Maze

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced it is committing $750 million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Read it: Gates Foundation Pledges $750 Million to Global Fund (infographic)

Did you know there’s such a thing as blood shortage season? The beginning of a new year means that donations are low and blood centers need your help.

January was declared National Blood Donor Month back in 1970 for a perfect storm of reasons. People have full schedules through the holidays, the weather takes a turn for the worse in January, and cold and flu season make many potential donors ineligible, if only for a short time. But even though donations are down, the need for blood is not.

Read it and see the video: It’s Blood Shortage Season

High-powered magnets — the kind you might have sitting on your desk right now — may pose a serious risk to the children in your life.

With an increasing number of incident reports to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency has issued a warning that high-powered magnets are a safety risk for children.

The type of magnets in question are the high-powered ball-bearing magnets that are marketed to adults as stress relievers or desk toys.

Read it: High-Powered Magnets Deadly to Children

Having cancer is stressful enough, but what if potentially lifesaving chemotherapy drugs were in short supply and unavailable to you? And how would you feel if these shortages were entirely preventable?

President Obama recently signed an executive order directing the FDA to step up work to reduce drug shortages. Drug companies will be required to let the FDA know of the possibility of drug shortages sooner. The FDA and the Department of Justice will be investigating abuses that would lead to drug shortages, and agencies will be empowered to stop the practice of driving up prices and creating shortages due to the manipulations of companies or distributors.

Why are many cancer drugs in short supply?

Read: Economics Behind Cancer Drug Shortages

It is estimated that more than 65 million people in the United States provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aging family member or friend during any given year. It takes a physical, emotional, and financial toll, and is an all but invisible labor of love.

Who are the caregivers? Sixty-six percent of family caregivers are women and more than 37 percent are also responsible for children and grandchildren under age 18. Caregiving goes on largely behind closed doors, before and after outside employment.

Read: Caring for the Caregivers

Have you ever thought about donating blood, but didn’t know if you could or should? Can you donate blood if you’ve received a blood transfusion yourself…or if you’ve had cancer?

Rules about blood donation eligibility vary from state to state. If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, call the blood donation center ahead and ask if your specific circumstances make you ineligible.

Find out if you’re eligible: Are You Eligible to Donate Blood?

Giuliana Rancic, the 36-year-old host of “E! News” and “Fashion Police” announced on the “Today Show” that she has early stage breast cancer.

The cancer was discovered on a mammogram she had at the insistence of her infertility specialist, according to an article in Boston Globe. Unless there is a particularly high risk of breast cancer, mammograms are generally not recommended for women under the age of 40.

Read it: Giuliana Rancic has Breast Cancer: The Evidence and Emotions of Mammograms

Living with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
(#24 in a series)

What would you do if you found a lump in your breast? I called a doctor, but not everyone agrees that was the right decision.

Some readers said I shouldn’t have reached out to the medical community, shouldn’t have had surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. I say it’s a personal decision, one we must each make based on our individual case. I told my story but do not give medical advice, unless you consider my plea to check your own breasts or to at least talk to a doctor to be medical advice.

Read it: What would you do if you found a lump in your breast?

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Profiles
Carmelita P: Grieving Son Recounts Mom’s Battle with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Nancy Steiler: Searching for “Normal” After Cancer
Eileen Z. Fuentes: Living with a Grateful Vibration
Meagan Farrell: Cancer Survivor Says “Let Go of the Little Stuff”
Melissa Stukenborg: When Worst Fear Becomes Reality, Find Your Inner Strength

Related
Breast Cancer Awareness: Taking it Personally
Man with Breast Cancer says, “Don’t be embarrassed…it’s too important”
Living with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Series
My Video: What is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?
My Book: No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis
Follow on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo

It’s pink ribbon time again. That time of year when we’re bombarded with all things pink to bring attention to breast cancer, it’s causes, treatment, and funding for research.

There’s a lot of talk about “boobies” and “ta-tas,” but there’s a whole lot more to it than saving breasts — it’s about saving lives.

When it comes to breast cancer awareness, many people still don’t realize that men can get breast cancer, too. The numbers are small, but cancer is cancer and, if you’re a man, you need to know that a lump in your breast area should not be ignored.

And did you know that not all breast cancers are alike? Or what it means when your diagnosis is “triple-negative breast cancer?”

Last October I did my part in blogging for breast cancer awareness. As I wrote those posts, I was unaware that a fast-growing tumor was about to make its presence known in my own breast. I am very fortunate to be here this October to help with another Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this time with some personal experience to back it up.

I’ll be posting a wrap-up of my year-long journey on Care2.com on October 14 — one year from the day that I discovered that ominous lump. My birthday also happens to fall in October and I am beyond grateful that I was able to add another candle to the cake.

Related Reading:
Man With Breast Cancer Says, “Don’t Be Embarrassed…It’s Too Important”
Video: What the Heck is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Series

On vacation earlier this year, he noticed a hardness in his left breast while showering. His wife, Virginia, thought the nipple appeared inverted and a darker color than unusual. Donald readily admits that without his wife’s observation and insistence that they cut their vacation short, he likely would have procrastinated and delayed seeing a doctor.

How does it feel to be a man with breast cancer? Read it: Man with Breast Cancer says, “Don’t be embarrassed…it’s too important”

More kids are showing up in hospital emergency rooms because of accidental poisoning from medication, according to a study from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Over half a million children are exposed to pharmaceuticals each year.

Read it: Pediatric Medication Poisoning on the Rise

Women and girls in Ethiopia are disproportionately affected by the prolonged drought in Ethiopia because the burden for most household tasks falls on them.

Read it: Drought in Ethiopia Hits Girls and Women Hardest

Living with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
(#20 in a series)

As a triple-negative breast cancer survivor, there’s a lot I could tell you about the process. In fact, this is my 20th blog post on the topic. But the most important things I want you to take away from this series are really quite simple. I hope you take them to heart.

Read it: 5 Things About Breast Cancer You Should Take to Heart

Access all posts in the Living with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Series

Big tobacco is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the graphic images mandated to appear on every pack of cigarettes sold in the U.S. after September 2012. (See all nine images below.)The warnings are required under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed by Congress and signed into law in June 2009.

In a press release, Lorillard, Inc., the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the U.S., said the warnings are an “unconstitutional way of forcing tobacco manufacturers to disseminate the government’s anti-smoking message.”

Read it: Big Tobacco Sues FDA over Shocking Warning Labels

The decision to breastfeed or not to breastfeed is an intensely personal one, based on a variety of circumstances.

For those mothers who choose to breastfeed and can do so, having family and societal support increases the odds that they and their babies will have a better breastfeeding experience.

Read it: World Breastfeeding Week: Surgeon General Reports Progress