Colon cancer is one of the major cancers that kill individuals worldwide, representing a form of colorectal cancer. This is a cancer that starts in the colon but can spread into the rectum, and the incidence is on the rise to raise a serious health concern. Colon cancer often produces no symptoms in its early stages, but when it is detected, treatment can be incredibly effective, considering that it develops slowly.

The incidence of colorectal cancer in the young is increasingly becoming an issue, and knowledge of the symptoms and importance of screening for this disease is critical.

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance estimates that around 150,000 Americans are diagnosed annually. In response to this rise, medical professionals encourage people to recognize early warning signs and undergo regular preventive screenings, such as colonoscopies, since they are "lifesavers" because they can detect the disease very early.

Uncommon Symptoms

The more people know about colon cancer, the more they must be aware of its symptoms, many of which can occur at any time and thus lead to a visit to a medical doctor for examination. A cancer specialist such as Dr. Waqqas Tai believes that "Even subtle changes in bowel habits or unexpected weight loss should not be brushed off lightly." He suggests a visit to a primary care physician if you've experienced any of the following symptoms:

Pencil-Thin Stools

Narrow stools may be indicative of a tumor in the colon, especially if the stool occurs near the bottom portion of the colon or in the lining itself. As Dr. Michael Cecchini, who is both a medical oncologist as well as co-director of the colorectal program at the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Yale Cancer Center, noted, this symptom is "highly concerning." The stool will change shape because the forming obstruction from the tumor is obstructing the digestive pathway as it takes the form of a pencil.

Blood in the Stool

Blood in the toilet is never good news and should not be ignored. Sometimes, rectal bleeding results from hemorrhoids or anal fissures, but at other times, this could be a symptom of colon cancer. According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood in the stool warrants immediate medical attention to determine its cause. General surgeon Dr. Terry Simpson comments, "It may be nothing, but it may be something, and it's not worth betting your life for."

Anemia

Low red blood cell count or anemia has been said to be a potential symptom of colon cancer when it is triggered by a tumour hemorrhaging into the digestive tract. Actually, studies show that anemia develops in 30-75 percent of patients suffering from colorectal cancer.

According to Dr. Tai, "There's no healthy reason a man should be anemic." Low hemoglobin in women can also indicate an underlying issue or medical condition, like a deficit that ought to be explored through a colonoscopy, aside from heavy menstrual bleeding.

Acute Constipation and Diarrhea

The classic gastrointestinal symptom is alternating between very severe constipation and diarrhea, but this could be a sign of a blockage or tumor in the colon when persistent. Experts tell patients that these symptoms should "raise red flags" for them to have a colonoscopy done to rule out cancerous growth.

Unexplained weight loss, fevers, and night sweats

These symptoms fall together under the banner of "B symptoms," which usually come with the diagnosis of cancer. According to Dr. Tai, if a patient experiences hot flashes at night, weight loss without any alteration in eating behavior, and periodic fever in the daytime, attention needs to be strictly paid. Such symptoms, in some instances, can be indicative of the late stage of the disease and need an immediate checkup.

Why Early Screening Matters

The USPSTF suggests screening for colorectal cancer in adults aged 45 to 75 years. Those above and below this age range who are at increased risk should also be screened. Such individuals include those with a familial history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, or those who present with the symptoms discussed above.

Routine screening like colonoscopy helps identify the early stages of colon cancer potentially curable before it becomes uncontrollable.

Dr. Tai said colonoscopies are easy, painless procedures that may save your life if done before cancer progresses. Recently, he took to social media to beg people to please go visit their primary care physician and have a routine colonoscopy. One can prevent himself/herself from being a victim of this disease.

Preventive Steps

First of all, know the warning signs for colon cancer. Here are some important steps you can take:

1. Familiarize with symptoms: Pay attention to the following symptoms and seek appropriate medical advice if they are persistent: persistent changes in bowel habits, presence of blood in stools, unexplained weight loss, and unusual night sweats.

2. Routine Screening: The proper follow-through on screening guidelines for any individual who has an increased chance, like getting older and family history.

3. Healthy Lifestyle: Sound diet with lots of fiber, within healthy weight range, and exercise can reduce the risk of developing colon cancer further.

Colon cancer is a serious medical condition, with the incidence among young individuals on the rise. Early detection, coupled with regular screenings, reduces the risk of advanced stages. Detection in its early stage and treatment can ensure the problem of colon cancer is eradicated. The symptoms, therefore, can be lifesavers.

You may have heard people say that they are allergic to things, whether it is gluten, soy or peanuts. These people avoid these items, even going as far as not dining in certain places where there is a possibility of cross contamination.

While it may seem like an overreaction, allergy symptoms can range from just a few rashes to cause of death. There are many people who did not and still do not take allergies seriously. As one of the most common allergies, many people who have close ones with peanut allergy, many places have opened “nut-free” zones including schools, offices and many public spaces.

While there is no cure for allergies, a new clinical trial results show that exposure therapy with peanut allergies has proven successful.

Why Do We Need Exposure Therapy?

The research team reported in the journal Allergy, April 2025, that a significant majority of the participants, more than two out of every three (67%), were able to eat at least five peanuts without triggering an allergic reaction after undergoing the treatment. This marks a positive step forward in managing this common and often severe allergy.

Seeing as expansive as the risk associated with allergies is, researchers have continued working towards proper cures and treatments. While there are precautions like avoiding the allergens, reducing exposure, when a person with a sever, allergy is exposed to the allergens, the chances of them going into anaphylaxis is a lot, so many people care EpiPens or epinephrine shot that can counter allergic reactions for a while.

How Does Exposure Therapy Work For Peanut Allergies?

The way exposure therapy works is pretty simple but needs to be done carefully. People who are allergic to peanuts are given very, very small amounts of peanut protein every day. Over time, the amount is slowly increased. It's like gently introducing the body to the thing it's allergic to, little by little. This helps the body learn that peanuts aren't actually a threat, and it starts to react less strongly. It's a gradual process, but the goal is to build up a person's ability to handle peanuts without having a dangerous allergic reaction.

In this study, 21 adults who were allergic to peanuts took part. Every day, they ate a small amount of peanut flour mixed in with their food. The goal was for them to be able to eat a small amount of peanut flour every day for at least a month without any problems. After that, they were tested to see how much peanut they could eat. The researchers were very happy with how well the treatment worked, saying that the results were similar to what they've seen in studies with kids.

The study showed some really impressive results in how much more peanut the participants could handle after the treatment. The researchers mentioned that on average, the amount of peanut they could eat without a reaction went up by a hundred times!

Why Are Researches Like This Important?

What makes this study really important is that it's the first-time scientists have specifically looked at how well exposure therapy works for adults with peanut allergies. Usually, this kind of treatment is done with kids because their bodies are still growing and changing. However, this new research shows that even adults, whose bodies are already fully grown, can still become less allergic to peanuts with this type of treatment. This opens up a whole new possibility for adults who have lived with this allergy for many years and haven't had many treatment options before. Many said that the treatment was "life-changing" and they no longer lived in constant fear of their allergy.

Every three seconds someone in the world develop dementia. Forgetting things every now and then is normal, it happens to everyone. However, nobody expects to lose their sense of being, all the memories and life experiences that make you who you are. Dementia is the condition that makes all of these fears come true. It is a collective name for different brain syndromes which affect one's memory, thinking, behavior as well as emotions.

Many symptoms of dementia are vague, especially early ones, and they can easily mislead people. However, a new technological advancement may help people get diagnosed early, through shoes.

How Can Shoes Help Us Diagnose Dementia?

This new technology, published in Science Advances in April 2025, works by using special insoles you put inside your shoes. These insoles have tiny sensors that can feel the pressure when you walk or stand. What's really clever is that these sensors don't just feel pressure; they turn that pressure into tiny electrical signals. These signals carry hidden information about how you move and how your body is working, kind of like secret messages from your feet that can tell a story about your health without you even realizing.

How Do These Shoes Work?

The electrical signals created by the smart insoles are then sent wirelessly to a special application on your smartphone, just like getting a text message. This app takes all that data and turns it into easy-to-understand pictures and information about how you walk and stand. It can show exactly where you put the most pressure on your feet and how your movement changes over time. Even more impressively, the app uses smart computer programs to learn and recognize different ways you move, like sitting, standing, or running, giving a detailed look at your daily activities.

For patients who might be developing health issues, the smart insoles could provide early clues that doctors can use to make diagnoses sooner. For athletes, this technology can help them understand their posture better, which can prevent injuries and improve their performance. If someone is recovering from an injury, the insoles can track their progress and make sure they are healing correctly.

Researchers have already discovered that the way people walk can change when they have certain health problems, especially conditions that affect the brain and nerves, like Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's might start to shuffle their feet or lean to one side when they walk. The team behind these smart insoles believes that by having much better sensors in shoes, doctors could get a more accurate and earlier warning sign of these kinds of conditions just by analyzing someone's walk. This could lead to earlier treatments and better management of these challenging illnesses.

Why Is Early Diagnosis Important?

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International there are 55 million people living with dementia in 2020.

Their research shows that most of the people who have dementia have not received proper treatment for the same. About three quatre of the people who have been diagnosed with dementia lack treatment or have access to healthcare. Even in high-income countries only about 20-50% of people receive the proper care they need.

This treatment gap can only be fixed when people start getting a diagnosis. Not just receiving care, but receiving early diagnosis and treatment is crucial for proper dementia care, as explained by World Alzheimer Report 2011.

Whooping cough or pertussis, has been making headlines for its comeback across the United States. As per the recent data, there have been 8,485 reported cases for far this year. This is double the number recorded at the same time last year. The resurgence had already led to the deaths of two infants in Louisiana and a 5-year old child in Washington state over the past six months.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. It is most dangerous for infants and young children, particularly before they are old enough to receive their first dose of vaccine at two months of age.

Why Are Cases Increasing?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, whooping cough cases dropped due to the increase in the use of masks, social distancing, and other preventive measures. However, it has made a comeback after 2 to 5 years as these preventive measures have decreased.

There is another factor in the increase of cases, it is the decline in vaccine rotes. As per an AP report, kindergarten vaccination coverage dropped last year, and vaccines exemptions reached an all-time high in the United States.

Public health officials worry that growing vaccine hesitancy could further fuel outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like whooping cough.

Pregnant women are also recommended to receive the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine to protect their newborns. Unfortunately, vaccination rates during pregnancy remain suboptimal, leaving many babies vulnerable in their first months of life.

Which States Reported The Highest Cases?

There are certain states that have reported more numbers than others. As of the recent data, Pennsylvania reported 207 cases so far, whereas Michigan has seen an even sharper rise in cases. In 2025, Michigan has reported 516 cases, mostly among children, between ages 5 to 17. Michigan, in the last year, reported 2,081 pertussis cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women get vaccinated against pertussis. Adults who missed vaccinations earlier in life should also receive a dose to ensure protection.

How Does It Affect Your Body?

According to the CDC, Bordetella pertussis bacteria attach to the cilia (small hair-like structures) lining parts of the upper respiratory tract. The bacteria release toxins that damage the cilia and cause swelling, leading to severe coughing fits.

Symptoms of whooping cough can vary depending on a person’s age and vaccination status. Initial symptoms often resemble a common cold: runny nose, mild cough, and low-grade fever. However, as the disease progresses, patients may experience uncontrollable, violent coughing fits that can make it hard to breathe. The characteristic "whoop" sound often occurs when the patient gasps for air after a coughing fit.

Who Is More At Risk?

Babies under 1 year old are most at risk for severe complications, including pneumonia, seizures, and even death. Individuals with underlying health conditions like asthma or those who are immunocompromised also face a higher risk of serious illness.

How It Spreads And How Can It Be Prevented?

Whooping cough spreads easily through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People can remain contagious for at least two weeks after symptoms begin. Some individuals may only have mild symptoms yet can still unknowingly transmit the bacteria to vulnerable groups like infants.

The best way to prevent whooping cough is vaccination. Practicing good hygiene, such as frequent handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes, can also help limit the spread. In some cases, preventive antibiotics (post-exposure prophylaxis) may be recommended for those who have been in close contact with an infected person.