Cancer
Health in a Hurry: The Week’s Important Medica…
Welcome to another edition of Health in a Hurry, our quick tour through medical news you might otherwise miss. This week we look at a respiratory virus many people have never heard of, a long-awaited…
Will Your Microbiome Save Your Life?
In recent years researchers have become extremely interested in the collection of microorganisms living in and on our bodies. This microbiome has a profound impact on our overall health. Few people wo…
Eating Ultra-Processed Food Is Bad for Your Brai…
For years, the American diet has been trending towards more and more processed foods. Such foods now make up more than half of what we eat. And we are not the only ones. Ultra-processed food has becom…
Health in a Hurry: The Week’s Most Important M…
Here at The People’s Pharmacy, Terry and I try to bring you the health news that matters to you. Often, these are long articles that may take several minutes to read. Today, though, we are introduci…
Show 1461: How Patients Are Using Technology to …
Medicine has changed enormously over the last several decades. As with other parts of society, digital technology has disrupted previous practices. Clinicians can now care for patients at home, monito…
How to Provide Protection against Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is a sneaky killer. Screening is difficult and has not resulted in reducing diagnoses or deaths (Health Technology Assessment, May 2025). Only about half of the women diagnosed with thi…
Could Common OTC Drugs Sabotage Cancer Immunothe…
Cancer patients and oncologists are working hard to get the best possible results from immune checkpoint blockade—one of the most promising advances in cancer care. But a new warning from Duke resea…
Will Eating Junk Food Put You at Risk for Cancer…
A lot of people are anxious about developing cancer. A poll in the UK found that 2/3 of those queried are very worried that they will get a cancer diagnosis. Many were concerned that they would not be…
Do You Know Which Carcinogens Caused Your Cancer…
Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …
Show 1420: The Cooking Oil Controversy Spotlight…
This week, we dig into the cooking oil controversy. For decades, we’ve heard that we should be using vegetable oils rather than butter, lard or other fats (possibly even olive oil). Oils from corn, …
Aspirin and Cancer: The Overlooked Protection Hi…
When you think of aspirin you probably think of 1) a pain reliever, 2) a fever reducer and 3) heart attack protection for high-risk patients. But for more than three decades, we have been talking abou…
Top 10 Podcasts of 2025: Your Most Popular Healt…
As we come to the end of the year, we wondered which of our health conversations had resonated most with our podcast listeners. They tuned in for conversations that challenged conventional medical wis…
The Miracle of Metformin Against Diabetes, Cance…
One of the cheapest and most effective medicines for controlling blood sugar has been around for decades. In truth, though, herbalists were using goat's rue (French lilac) for hundreds of years before…
Do Tattoos Induce Inflammation or Increase the R…
Tattoos have become a popular fashion statement. It is estimated that about 20% of Swedes and 30% of American adults now have tattoos. This body art makes an esthetic statement and often conveys expli…
Why Modern Medicine Excels with Acute and Infect…
Dennis Miller, R.Ph. is a retired chain store pharmacist. His book, The Shocking Truth About Pharmacy: A Pharmacist Reveals All the Disturbing Secrets, can be downloaded in its entirety at Amazon for …
How to Brew Green Tea for Maximum Benefit
You can brew green tea simply by plopping a tea bag in a cup and pouring hot water over it. Or you can make it into a complex ritual such as a Japanese tea ceremony. When it comes to getting the most …
Are Some Vegetable Oils Worse than Saturated Fat…
For decades, the number one dietary evil in America has been saturated fat (sat fat). Ask most doctors and nutrition experts the one thing you should remove from your diet over everything else, and yo…
Prednisone Withdrawal: Why Stopping Steroids Can…
Prednisone can feel like a lifesaver when symptoms are spiraling — but stopping it can plunge people into a physical and emotional tailspin. I have often characterized corticosteroids as powerful do…
Should Your Doctor Know You Are Not Sleeping?
Are you sleeping enough, or are you missing out? Sleep scientist Matthew Walker says that skimping on sleep can shorten your life. That poses a real dilemma for seniors, since medications to overcome …
The Vaccine Controversy Is Dividing America
We have written hundreds of articles on divisive health topics. They include cholesterol and heart disease, seed oils, statins, opioids for pain, COVID treatments, food fights, vitamins, home remedies…
Forget Steps! Just Walk at Least 15 Minutes at a…
Over the many decades that we have been hosting a nationally syndicated show on public radio, we have interviewed thousands of health experts. They often disagree about drugs, diets and treatments. Bu…
Is Floating Stool a Symptom of Celiac Disease?
Most of us don’t inspect the toilet bowl too closely after a trip to the bathroom. But if your bowel movements suddenly start floating — or they’ve been bobbing on the surface for years — it…
Adding COVID Vaccine to Nivolumab Offers Benefit…
Immunotherapy is a relatively recent addition to the options for treating various cancers. One of these compounds, nivolumab, works by blocking a protein that keeps immune cells from destroying cancer…
Beating Back Garlic Breath with Parsley or a Spo…
Garlic breath can be a real social disadvantage. As delicious and healthful as garlic may be, the consequence can really put others off and even cause trouble within families. What can you do? Taming …
Did 15 Years Taking Aspirin Prevent Colorectal C…
Sometimes an anecdote or personal experience has a strong basis in science. You will shortly read a story from a reader about his family history with colon cancer. He suspects that his recent good new…
Aspirin vs. Cancer: What Are We Waiting For?
I wrote that headline more than a decade ago, but the question remains the same! Why hasn't the medical community recognized the anticancer action of aspirin? Aspirin remains one of the most inexpensi…
Can You Manage Your Blood Sugar Naturally?
Metformin is a first-line medication for people with type 2 diabetes. Although doctors also prescribe it for different disorders, from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to prostate cancer, the majori…
How Good Is Aspirin Against Cancer? You Might Be…
In 1993 we published a book with Tom Ferguson, MD, called The Aspirin Handbook (Bantam Books). In it we pointed out that there was an impressive amount of research supporting the beneficial effects of…
What Are the Alternatives to Colonoscopy?
Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among American adults. If it is detected early, before it spreads, colorectal cancer can be treat…
Should You Be Taking Vitamin Supplements?
Vitamins were among the most exciting discoveries of the early 20th century. Since then, however, doctors have been expressing a lot of skepticism about the value of taking vitamin supplements. A pron…
Will Colonoscopy Change Your Gut Flora?
Colonoscopy, in which the gastroenterologist uses a scope to examine the colon for signs of polyps or other growths, can save lives. (Learn more here.) The value of this procedure has been established…
Is Melatonin Safe for Night Shift Nurse?
People who do shift work put their bodies through a lot of stress. Most of us adapt to getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. If we are reasonably regular about the times, our body clock…
Show 1442: The Healing Power of Exercise Prescri…
A randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed what some cancer specialists have long hoped: physical activity can prolong cancer patients’ lives. Last week…
Show 1441: How Exercise Can Help Cancer Patients…
Physical activity, aka “exercise,” is a cornerstone of good health, just like adequate sleep and a balanced diet. No one questions the benefits for people who are already healthy. But doctors may …
Will COVID Increase the Risk of Alzheimer’…
At last count, COVID-19 has infected more than 111,820,082 people in the US. Over 1.2 million have died. Those are probably conservative numbers. Worldwide, the case count is over 700 million and more…
War on Opioids Punishes Desperate Pain Patients-…
We have been reading about the horrors of opioids for decades. Americans are increasingly paranoid about drugs like codeine, hydrocodone (Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Vicodin, etc.) and oxycodone (OxyContin…
Show 1439: What Men Need to Know to Overcome Pro…
In this episode, our guest, Dr. Andrew Armstrong of Duke University, discusses recent advances that men should know to overcome prostate cancer. We ask about former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis. …
Will Boosting Your Step Count Save Your Life?
How many steps do you take a day? You may have heard that you should be taking 10,000 steps a day. Initially, that ideal step count was not based on evidence, but rather was a marketing maneuver by a …
Why Is the Sugar Substitute Erythritol Risky?
Everyone on the planet may already know that sugar is bad for our health. Excessive sugar contributes to cavities in teeth and pimples on skin. It adds pounds and displaces more nutritious foods like …
Heart Attacks = Cardiac Rehab! Why Doesn’t…
Have you suffered a heart attack? Know someone who has? According to the CDC, each year over 800,000 people have what doctors call a myocardial infarction and the rest of us call a heart attack. About…