Doctor and Patient: Afraid to Speak Up to Medical Power

The slender, weather-beaten, elderly Polish immigrant had been diagnosed with lung cancer nearly a year earlier and was receiving chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial. I was a surgical consultant, called in to help control the fluid that kept accumulating in his lungs.During one visit, he motioned for me to come closer. His voice was hoarse from a tumor that spread, and the constant hissing from...

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Buffet, 3G to buy Heinz for $23B

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G Capital will buy ketchup and baby food maker H.J. Heinz Co for...

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Chicago Public Schools narrows its closing list to 129

Chicago Public Schools has narrowed the number of schools it will consider for closing to 129.The preliminary list will be culled...

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Phys Ed: Getting the Right Dose of Exercise

Phys EdGretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness.Fitness TrackerMarathon, half-marathon, 10k and 5K training plans to get you race ready.A common concern about exercise is that if you don’t do it almost every day, you won’t achieve much health benefit. But a commendable new study suggests otherwise, showing that a fairly leisurely approach to scheduling workouts may actually be more beneficial than...

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Feds OK insurance exchange partnership

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday said her department conditionally approved Illinois’ plan...

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Ex-cop shootout: 1 deputy killed, 1 wounded, sources say

Christopher Dorner was engaged in a shootout with federal authorities...

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Well: Straining to Hear and Fend Off Dementia

At a party the other night, a fund-raiser for a literary magazine, I found myself in conversation with a well-known author whose work I greatly admire. I use the term “conversation” loosely. I couldn’t hear a word he said. But worse, the effort I was making to hear was using up so much brain power that I completely forgot the titles of his books.A senior moment? Maybe. (I’m 65.) But for me, it’s complicated...

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Chicago leads nation in gas-price spikes

Drivers in Chicago are seeing a painful rise in gas prices get even worse this month. The average price of regular unleaded...

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Cardinal George praises pope's 'courage' in resigning

Cardinal Francis George said he was as surprised as everyone else when Pope Benedict XVI announced he was stepping down, saying...

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Personal Health: Getting the Right Addiction Treatment

“Treatment is not a prerequisite to surviving addiction.” This bold statement opens the treatment chapter in a helpful new book, “Now What? An Insider’s Guide to Addiction and Recovery,” by William Cope Moyers, a man who nonetheless needed “four intense treatment experiences over five years” before he broke free of alcohol and drugs.As the son of Judith and Bill Moyers, successful parents who watched...

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