When the chance to compete on the world's largest stage comes only once every four years, athletes are often tempted to power through the pain of injury to achieve their dreams. Sometimes the bet pays off and the athlete wins a place on the podium. At other times, though, competing with an injury causes career-ending long-term damage. On-site imagi...

If you have liver cancer, or care about someone who does, learning about the disease can help you cope. Cancer is a condition in which cells in the body grow out of control. Cancer cells can grow anywhere in the body, so cancer can begin in any organ or tissue. Cancer can even spread to other tissues and organs, a process known as metastasis. Liver...

February is American Heart Month, which makes it the perfect time to reduce your risk for heart disease, heart attacks and stroke. American Heart Month has been around for decades. President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first American president to recognize the event when he issued Proclamation 3566 on December 30, 1963. The first American Heart Month...

Winter sports are a great way to have fun and stay in shape. Flying down the ski slopes at 25+ miles per hour or shredding the terrain on a snowboard at more than 20 mph is certainly exhilarating, but it can be dangerous, especially if you hit your head when you crash at those speeds. Hitting your head can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), ...

The good news is that lung cancer rates are dropping. The bad news is that lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths. Screenings can help doctors detect signs of lung cancer early, while the disease is most responsive to treatment. Lung cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both cells. As areas of abnormal cells...

Mental health issues, such as dementia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can significantly decrease the quality of life in the patients who suffer them. In many cases, the signs and symptoms of these mental health issues are quite similar; this can lead to incomplete or even inaccurate diagnoses. There is an association between dementia an...

(This is part 2 of a 2-part series on sports-related concussion injuries) A concussion is an injury to the brain that occurs when the brain "bounces" off the skull. While your skull and a thin protective layer of cushioning fluid provide some degree of protection against minor bumps, they can't protect against a forceful collision with a hard surfa...

MRIs and other types of diagnostic imaging could someday replace invasive biopsies currently used to identify patients who are at risk of developing kidney disease. The kidneys are two bean-shaped, fist-sized organs. They are located just below the ribcage, one on each side of the body. Each day, the kidneys filter 120 to 150 quarts of blood to pro...