Contraception and birth control Archive

Three new studies suggest that following a plant-based diet may protect men from prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.

Many men have questions regarding the testing and screening processes for prostate cancer, such as whether prostate-specific antigen tests are still the standard, when it is time for a biopsy, and what new technologies are available to help with a more accurate diagnosis. Harvard Medical School prostate cancer expert Dr. Marc Garnick provides the answers.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has helped countless people who were unable to conceive to have children. Frequently, the process results in additional embryos remaining, eventually leading to the question of what to do with them. Embryo donation is one of several options and deciding which path to pursue may not be easy.

Prostatitis is a common inflammatory condition, but most cases have no obvious cause. Treatments are varied and include anti-inflammatory painkillers and alpha blockers, but a clinical trial showed that acupuncture has the potential to reduce symptoms of prostatitis without the side effects that drugs can cause.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and treatment strategies vary by subtype, stage, and more. A new targeted therapy may help some women with early-stage breast cancer linked to BRCA gene mutations.

In the United States, screening tests for prostate cancer are mostly done as biopsies through the rectum, but this procedure comes with a risk of infection. Technical advances are making it possible for doctors to perform a different kind of biopsy procedure in their offices, and a recent study compared the two types.