Diminishing U.S. Fears About AIDS Not Healthy by Gina Shaw How deadly is AIDS? Your answer to that question likely depends on where you live. If youíre a young woman in Zimbabwe, you might see it as a looming threat, more likely than not to cut your life short long before your time. If youíre a young man in San Francisco, you might consider AIDS and HIV a danger thatís more so in the past. The AIDS picture changes radically depending on whether youíre looking at the developed or the developing worldóhowever, despite the many advantages economically privileged countries have in combating the disease, our diminishing fears about HIV and AIDS may not be doing anyoneís health any good....more... Vaccine Vacillations Rile Parents, Physicians and Public Officials by Carolyn Cosmos I think itís unconscionable to reject childhood immunizations. I donít think its right unless thereís a health risk for your child. Iím a believer in the public health system,î said Amanda Bickel, 35, of Boulder, Colo. The mother of newborn Miles and Zach, 3, Bickel is an analyst for the Colorado legislature. She and her engineer husband Peter Meyer hold that ìmost of the diseases we vaccinate for are extremely serious, and the small risks associated with vaccines are well worth it.î So Zach has gotten all of the shots recommended for a child his age by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and Miles undoubtedly will as well. On the other hand, thereís Ingri Cassel. ìOur position is that no one should have any shots of any kind for any reason,î Cassel said. Sheís the director of Vaccination Liberation, a civil liberties organization in Coeur díAlene, Idaho, which holds that vaccinations do more harm than good....more... Directory of U.S. Hospitals Serving International Patients

Weight-Loss Surgery Cuts Pounds But Creates Risks by Carolyn Cosmos Curious about surgery for losing weight? If you turn to the Internet for information about ìstomach stapling,î you might come across an eye-arresting Web site spattered with stars and stripes. A red ìcrawlî streams across your screen: ìQuick scheduling of consults and gastric bypass surgery is now available,î it says....more... Shedding Light on Risk, Detection And Treatment of Melanoma by Gina Shaw All right, hereís the moment of truth. How much time have you spent in the sun so far this summer? And how much of that time were you actually wearing sunblock? Thatís right, itís beach season, barbecue season, swimming pool seasonóand skin cancer season. Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, accounts for about 80 percent of all skin cancer deaths and strikes more than 50,000 Americans each year, killing nearly 8,000. The overall incidence of melanoma is also rising at an alarming rate, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). If current rates of increase continue, one in 68 Americans will develop invasive melanoma during his or her lifetime, a 2000 percent increase from 1930....more... George Washington University Hospital To Open State-of-the-Art Facility Aug. 23 by Stephen Qualiana As anyone who has ever been severely sick or injured knows: Time is of the essence. And George Washington University Hospital knows this too. It is building a $96 million state-of-the-art hospital that will house 371 beds and more than $45 million in high-tech medical equipment that is scheduled to open Aug. 23. Much of the technology is designed to speed up diagnosis and treatment of patients....more...