Researchers Examining Aspirinís Role In Preventing Certain Types of Cancer by Gina Shaw Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Limit alcohol consumption. Exercise. Donít smoke. Protect yourself from too much exposure to the sun. Right now, those are just about the only strategies known to have any effect in cancer prevention. And with nearly 1.4 million new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society, itís not surprising that many people are eager to latch on to any promising new possibility in the cancer-prevention arsenal. One of the hottest prospects for cancer preventionóstill largely unproven, but with a lot of headline-making preliminary dataóis also one of the oldest and most common weapons in the medical arsenal: the humble aspirin. more... Washington University Medical Center Offers Premier International Health Care by Anna Gawel The Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo., recently invited embassy officials and others in the medical industry to a conference that showcased the facilityís renowned Centers of Excellence as well as its vast array of international health care services. The diverse delegation was reflective of the medical centerís own commitment to reaching out to the global community and offering the latest medical advancements in a setting that has been uniquely customized to meet the needs of the international patient. more... Directory of U.S. Hospitals Serving International Patients

Long and Short of It: Limb-Lengthening Surgery Changes Lives by Gina Shaw Lansana Aguste Lapia might well have been another child amputee wandering the villages of Sierra Leone. Separated from his family and likely orphaned during the brutal 10-year civil war that killed some 20,000 people, Lansana still loved to do what many boys his age do: play soccer. One day in early 2000, when he was about 6, Lansana chased a soccer ball into the jungle and was bitten by a venomous snake. The snakeís venom wasnít the kind that killed, but instead caused ìlocal necrosisîósevere tissue damage. more... U.S. Lags Behind Other Nations In Providing Family-Leave Benefits by Carolyn Cosmos In Wisconsin, Jodi Grantís school-age child was hit by a car and taken to the hospital with a broken arm. The siblings had a debate: Should they call Mom? She was at work. Mom was telephoned and rushed to the hospitalóand Mom lost her job. She had no time off and was fired for leaving work. This type of situation happens more often than you might think. more... Improved Therapy Making Strides With Spinal Cord Injury Patients by Carolyn Cosmos When actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1995 accident, his situationólike the situation of many with such severe spinal cord injuriesówas deemed nearly hopeless. Reeve didnít buy it. He fought back, and although he is still in a wheelchair and on a respirator, he has made groundbreaking progress since 2000, when he discovered that he had some movement in a finger.