Health News

Michael Wright, now 18, was 17 when he took part in Staten Island's annual challenge to raise money for the Special Olympics: jumping into icy cold water from a height.

Joe Tippens (pictured left and right) was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread throughout his body in 2017 and given three months to live. Joe didn't think he'd live long enough to see the birth of his first grandson Luke (right). He happened to make contact with a veterinarian who told him a bout fenbendazole, a dog de-worming drug that scientists had accidentally discovered might kill cancer cells. In addition to the clinical trial he was in, Joe started taking the dog drug. In May he got to meet his grandson, and less than three weeks later, Joe's PET scans were completely clear of cancer, and he credits the dog medication for making him an 'outlier' in the clinical trial. There's no way to know yet which drug made Joe's many tumors vanish, but he's working with medical researchers on a case study. The dog de-worming medication is not recommended by any health officials or doctors, nor has it been tested in clinical trials.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Natasha Williams, 46, had 75 percent of her body burned in a house fire in January 2018. Doctors at Tampa General Hospital, in Florida, performed skin grafts, but there was not enough healthy skin to cover her burn wounds. One of her physicians recommended a new product, SkinTE, which regrows functional, full-thickness skin. Cells at the bottom of shafts of hair have stem-cell like properties that, when proliferated, can form new layers of skin. The product was applied to Williams's legs in February 2018 and she was discharged from the hospital in April 2018. Areas of her legs treated with the product now have blood vessels, sweat glands, some nerves, just like healthy skin. Pictured: Williams before the accident in December 2017, left, and after the accident, right.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed people in London have the lowest rates of cancer overall, and prostate, breast and pancreatic cancers are more common in the south.

Charlie Parkes' parents first knew something was wrong when his mother Laura had a routine scan while pregnant. The youngster (pictured left as a baby), of Corby, Northamptonshire, is one of the 6,000 children born every year in the UK with SWAN - Syndrome Without A Name - which is thought to occur due to genetic abnormalities. The mysterious condition forced the now-five-year-old to spend the first two years of his life in hospital, with him now battling bowel problems, anxiety, autism and allergies to name a few. After being told he would never walk or talk, Charlie now attends a mainstream school.

Ruby Shallom, from Bracknell, had the HPV vaccine five years ago (pictured left, before aged 12) and later developed the functional neurological disorder. She gradually lost feeling in her whole body and had become paralysed by 2016 - where she was wheelchair-bound and couldn't move anything but her left arm (pictured inset in hospital, and right, recently). She received NHS treatment as her depression spiralled this year. Miss Shallom has been receiving private therapy costing £790 a night which parents Aron and Nicola Shallom fear is her last hope, but their funds have run out.

Shauna Campbell (pictured right), 21, from Dublin, Ireland, has chronic idiopathic urticaria, a skin condition which often has no known cause. For the past five months, Miss Campbell has been constantly suffering with hives, and on her worst days, her face and lips swell up, too. She first saw symptoms two years ago, but over time, the patches worsened and became more recurrent, developing into large ring-shaped welts that are burning and itchy (see right, her legs, and inset, her arm). She claims strangers, who regularly comment on how 'horrible' it looks, have wrongly assumed she has 'ring worm' and a 'contagious disease'.

A 19-year-old who was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor months before giving birth has died after more than a year of battling to find a cure.   Dana Scatton, of Pennsylvania, was seven months pregnant in December 2017 when a brain scan revealed she had diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). It is one of the most devastating cancers, which affects 300 children a year, most of whom are under 10 years old. No one has survived with DIPG for longer than 18 months, and it does not respond to any treatment. 

A candle in a downstairs neighbor's apartment set fire to their couch - and then the Musgroves' Indiana apartment. Six-year-old Kenzie (pictured) was trapped and sustained burns to most of her body in December. Her injuries were so extensive that the little girl spent four months in the hospital (right), underwent six surgeries and lost all of her hair and half of her fingers and toes. At last, Kenzie is on the mend, but her mother says the little girl's life is 'altered forever' by a careless mistake and burning candle.

Alison Mahoney, now 32, was diagnosed with lymphedema praecox at 17. The condition caused her left leg to swell up so much that she was unable to get her foot into a shoe and made her feel uncomfortable to walk. For years she would try to hide her leg and compression wraps, which made her feel miserable and self-conscious. But one day she began wearing shorts with pride and took first place in a bikini bodybuilding competition (right).

Kaitlyn Sharpe (pictured left with her husband), now 32, had severe hip dysplasia, which occurs when the socket does not fully cover the ball portion of the upper thighbone. Mrs Sharpe, who represented Canada in a synchronised skating competition at 17, battled daily pain ever since her teens. It was not until an athletic therapist recommended she have an X-ray in 2015 that Mrs Sharpe, of Ontario, was finally diagnosed, with surgeons then breaking the devastating news that her only option was to have both hips replaced. The then 29-year-old had her right hip replaced in October 2016, with the left going under the knife the following May (implants pictured in the X-ray inset). She even required two bone grafts due to the extent of the damage. Despite the ordeal, Mrs Sharpe claims her energy levels have 'jumped up'. She is pictured right proudly showing off her scar.

Cillas Givens, 35, lost a whopping 416lbs (188.7kg) when he realised he was at risk of losing his life and enjoying his step-daughters childhood. He traveled to meet Dr Younan Nowzaradan in Houston, Texas, with the help of firefighters lifting him. After losing weight he had surgery and was able to walk for the first time in years (pictured left, before, and right, after). He is set to marry Jessica (pictured together, inset).

This comes after a senior epidemiologist was killed last week while working to fight Ebola for the World Health Organization in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Health workers are pictured left marching in the city of Butembo yesterday in protest of the fatality. Armed militiamen reportedly believe Ebola is a conspiracy against them and have repeatedly attacked health workers who are trying to fight the DRC's second deadliest outbreak ever. Doctors in the midst of the outbreak, which has left 885 feared dead (seen right) and 1,367 infected since it was declared in August, are calling for authorities to do more to protect them.

Jace Curd, eight (left and right, with his mom in the hospital), from Pell City, Alabama, was born with several heart defects including a hole in his heart and a defective valve that lets blood flow. He had four open heart surgeries before age four and has had a pacemaker replaced four times. Jace's condition was stable for several years until March 15, when he collapsed while playing video games. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors determined he'd gone into sudden cardiac arrest, an electrical problem that causes the heart to stop beating. Because he was without oxygenated blood for up to 20 minutes, he's suffered brain damage that surgeons believe is permanent.

Dr Jen Gunter, based in California, went on a twitter rant about the old wives tale that recommends putting a clove inside the vagina to treat yeast infections. There are no studies to support it’s antifungal properties – apart from in a lab – and could be a serious risk for further infections, Dr Gunter said.

Brittney Sullivan (pictured left, before her accident), from Cleburne, Texas, was found by her eight-year-old daughter after she collapsed in the bathroom in January last year. She spent 12 weeks in hospital recovering (pictured inset, most of the left side of her face was badly burned and needed to be replaced with skin grafts). Although her eyelids were destroyed by the burns Mrs Sullivan, 32, can still see out of her left eye. Pictured right, the mother-of-three now runs a support group encouraging others to focus on inner beauty.

Meghan Markle's facialist Sarah Chapman, from London (pictured right) and US-based makeup artist Daniel Martin have combined their expert knowledge to reveal how to tackle a surprise spot. Their top tips include massaging the area to help reduce inflammation and to add an eyeshadow primer before attempting to conceal the blemish with makeup. Sarah was responsible for the Duchess' pre-wedding skin while Daniel helped to create her flawless natural glow. Pictured left, Meghan on her wedding day to Price Harry.

Neesha Sonii (right), a Harley Street hypnotherapist, explains why people get emotional cravings and gives her how-to guide on how to get to the root of the problem in order to lose weight. She recommends her patients to take deep breaths and visualise how they would look at their ideal weight. She says emotional cravings are hard to shake, but with the right treatment, they can be left behind (left).

When Louise Smith was told she had cancer, she feared her dream wedding would have to be postponed. But the 29-year-old still went ahead with her big day - despite only being halfway through her chemotherapy. And she even travelled to Asia five days after being told she was cancer-free for her honeymoon with husband Oli, 31. Mrs Smith, a personal assistant, had been planning her wedding to her boyfriend of seven years for many months. When she started to get a sore throat and swollen tonsils in July 2018, she assumed it was just a cough and sought advice from her GP. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in August.

Kilian Jornet Burgada, now 29, trekked from the Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet to Everest's summit at 29,028ft in just over a day in May 2017. On his descent, a stomach bug forced him to rest for a few days at Advance Base Camp at 21,325ft (shown right). From there, he trekked to the summit again in 17 hours. He also set a record for speed when he managed the ascent at an astonishing 1,148ft (350m) an hour, all without oxygen or ropes. But researchers warn the feat is not achievable for most, with Mr Burgada being forced in live in a low-oxygen tent for four weeks and spend 100 hours trekking the Alps in preparation for the challenge. He is pictured left on the trek and inset scaling a mountain

Addiction and rehabilitation experts in the UK said the packaging and price tags as low as £1 lead people to believe the canned cocktails don't contain as much alcohol as they do. Canned mojito and gin and tonic made by Marks and Spencer had surges in popularity after Diane Abbott was seen drinking a mojito on a London Overground train (pictured left) and the main characters in BBC comedy Fleabag drank G&Ts; on a park bench (pictured right).

Joseph Hocket (pictured) got a $33,000 check in the mail from his insurance company to cover out-of-network care for his broken jaw in 2017. The insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, knew he had a history of addiction - in fact, the company had covered some of his rehab stints - but they expected him to be responsible for sending the money on to the providers. He never sent the money. Instead, he withdrew thousands and died of a cocaine and heroin overdose nine months later. His mother, Jennifer Alba (right) and policy experts blame the insurer for using vulnerable patients like Joseph as bargaining chips between themselves and out-of-network providers.

Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, of Utah, were four years old when they were separated from each other in a 26-hour operation that left them with a leg each. Now, 13 years later, they are thriving. At birth they shared an abdomen, pelvis, liver, kidney, large intestine and two legs (see left). Now, 13 years later, they are thriving, having started at school as juniors (see right, the girls separated each with one leg, Kendra is left and Maliyah is right).

John Edwin Erickson was tragically hit and killed by a car at just 34 in 2016, but his heart saved the life of retired police officer Robert Pascarelli, 66. On Monday, John's widow, Megan, and mother, Donna, got to hear his heart beat once more in an emotional first meeting with Robert.

William Yank, 21 (left and right), from Indianapolis, Indiana, started having a sore throat in June 2018 and went to urgent care, where he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. After a few days, his condition was getting worse, so his college roommate urged him to go to Johns Hopkins Hospital for a second opinion. Doctors diagnosed him with a septic shock, when sepsis leads to deadly low blood pressure, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer. Yank spent a month recovering in the hospital before he became strong enough to begin chemotherapy. In January 2019, at Riley Children's Hospital in Indiana, Yank was declared to be in remission.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Dr Wael El Banna, a surgeon in Cairo, Egypt (pictured right, in surgery), filmed himself performing a spinal repair operation on a baby with spina bifida in which he removes the pregnant mother's womb from her body. In the video he can be seen draining fluid from the amniotic sac then using keyhole surgery equipment to repair the baby's spinal column while it is still in the uterus. Dr El Banna, who performed the op in a first for the region alongside a team of 11 (pictured left), told MailOnline he believes this operation will be the future of spina bifida treatment.

Drs Layla Parast and Erin Taylor are close friends and colleagues at RAND Corporation where they work in statistics analyzing healthcare. They both gave birth at UCLA in 2014.

Scientists on BBC's Health: Truth or Scare explained the electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobiles is 'low power' and 'doesn't damage cells'. And any studies suggesting the opposite have typically been carried out on mice with 'very, very high levels' of radiation, which the 'average human' would never be exposed to. Mobiles emit radiofrequency waves in the form of electromagnetic radiation from their antennas, the National Cancer Institute claims. The area of the body closest to the antennae, typically the head, has the potential to absorb some of this energy. Pictured left is 12-year-old Rio Knight, who already relies on his mobile for social media, texting and taking calls. The show's presenters Angela Rippon and Kevin Duala (both pictured right) admitted they do not go long without checking their phones.

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Kenzie, six, (pictured left before the incident) was on a family holiday in December 2018 when an unattended candle in the apartment below caused a fire. Frightened, Kenzie, from Indiana, hid in a bedroom until she was found surrounded by flames by firefighters. Almost 70 per cent of her body was burnt, including her face, scalp, back and limbs. Her skin became infected needing six surgeries, including skin grafts and the removal of the fingers and toes on her left side (pictured inset, her foot after her toes were amputated, and right, in hospital). Kenzie's surname has not been revealed.

James Norton (left and inset in McMafia and right in Grantchester) 33, who plays Sidney Chambers in Grantchester, has to have a glucose monitor stuck out of sight on his bottom if he is filming a topless scene. He has type 1 diabetes and has complications when performing on stage, with hidden pockets sometimes created in his costumes to stash sugar tablets.