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The career paths that lead to everyday acts of heroism
(BPT) - Often, we don’t think about heroism until we see it in action - when disaster strikes and ordinary people exhibit extraordinary courage and compassion to help victims in their time of need. The truth is, however, that the best of human nature is on display every day in the lives of millions of Americans who work...
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New initiative celebrates unsung heroes of severe allergy awareness
(BPT) - Individuals at risk for anaphylaxis – a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction – know the importance of having people around them who can help with allergen avoidance, such as bringing allergy-friendly food options to the company party or helping to shield from bees on the playground. Now, there is a new way to say “thank you” to the teacher, relative or co-worker who has made a difference in the life of an individual at risk for anaphylaxis. Sanofi US has launched a Severe Aller...
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Technology can turn $25 into a family giving tradition
Technology has been connecting families for generations. The invention of the phone let us hear voices of loved ones far away, and the creation of the Internet helped us to see them. Today, those same technologies that we’ve used to bring our families closer together are helping us to connect with and support families w...
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How to support your friend in a split
(BPT) - When a marriage ends in divorce, it’s not just the couple who is involved. Friends and family members are also part of the process and often play many different parts – from objective confidant to reliable “vent-ee.” If you’re suddenly or unexpectedly thrown into this role, what help are you prepared to offer? S...
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Five reasons Asian Americans should get tested for hepatitis B
(BPT) - More than 1 million Americans have a lifelong, or chronic, infection of hepatitis B. This includes one out of every 12 Asian Americans. If you or your parents were born in Asia or the Pacific Islands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you get tested for hepatitis B. Hepatitis ...
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How your unused airline miles can help a child
(BPT) - Helping a child in need may be easier than you think, by redirecting a common resource that often just goes to waste. Industry experts say Americans collectively are holding on to 9.7 trillion unused airline miles. Many people don’t have enough miles to qualify for reward travel. Others aren’t able to use the m...
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Rare Disease Impact Report quantifies patient and caregiver challenges on journey to diagnosis and beyond
(BPT) - Getting a diagnosis is just the first of many challenges patients with rare diseases – and their caregivers – face. “We went through a number of specialists until we found a team that finally looked at my daughter, Hannah, as a patient with unique needs,” says Carrie Ostrea of Las Vegas, Nev. “The process was f...
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Digging soon? Call 811 first for safety's sake
(BPT) - With winter forgotten and spring in the air, many homeowners are packing away their snow boots and rolling up their sleeves to get started on long-awaited home improvement projects. Across the country, homeowners and professionals alike will plan landscaping and home-improvement projects that require digging thi...
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Nearly 1 in 10 Americans lives with a rare disease
(BPT) - Did you know that the same number of people die each year from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, as breast cancer? And yet IPF, a rare and debilitating disease that causes permanent scarring of the lungs, is still relatively unknown. Fortunately, the focus on rare diseases like IPF is growing because they’...
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Igniting the conversation about rare diseases
(BPT) - Each year, people across the world are invited to join together to raise awareness about rare diseases. Unlike more common conditions such as diabetes and breast cancer, many of these diseases, as well as the people affected by them, are not recognized by their own awareness initiatives throughout the year. Yet for people living with rare diseases and their loved ones, the path to a confirmed diagnosis, adapting to new treatment regimens, and facing the day-to-day challenges of thes...
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Rare Disease Day 2013: Maintaining bone health in people with multiple myeloma
(BPT) - In honor of the sixth annual Rare Disease Day, celebrated on Feb. 28, it is important to drive awareness about some rare cancers that are many times undiagnosed until the cancer has already spread. One particular cancer, multiple myeloma, often goes undiagnosed until the disease has spread to the bone. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow.  An estimated 70,000 people in the United States are currently living with multi...
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Cycling to help stop diabetes
(BPT) - The American Diabetes Association is challenging bicycle riders to be part of the movement to Stop Diabetes(R) by participating in the annual Tour de Cure(R), a cycling event to raise funds to help fight diabetes. Tour de Cure is a fun way to get out with your family, friends or co-workers and has routes designe...
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national news
Tornado on the ground in Oklahoma City area
(Reuters) - A tornado was on the ground in the Oklahoma City metropolitan are on Monday, live television showed, and the National Weather Service warned of tornadoes in two counties of central Oklahoma. There were no immediate reports of injuries or death from the tornado, which was located near Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. A tornado warning means that residents should immediately take cover. (Reporting By Greg McCune)
Mon May 20 15:36:25 UTC 2013
More poor people now live in U.S. suburbs than cities - study

Newly constructed homes in an unfinished subdivision is surrounded by weeds in CoolidgeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people living in poverty in U.S. suburbs surpassed the number of poor in cities over the past decade, driven by strong growth in overall suburban populations, according to an analysis released on Monday. The change is posing a challenge to some traditional U.S. approaches to fighting poverty, which were aimed primarily at poverty in urban settings, the Brookings Institution study found. The number of poor people living in suburbs rose 64 percent between 2000 and 2011, reaching 16.4 million, it showed. ...


Mon May 20 11:55:15 UTC 2013
Vermont passes law allowing doctor-assisted suicide
By Jason McLure (Reuters) - Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives. The law, which includes a number of safeguards over the next three years as the state adapts, marked the first time a U.S. state has used the legislative process to make assisted suicide legal. Oregon and Washington have similar laws passed through ballot measures and a Montana court authorized the practice in 2009. ...
Mon May 20 14:14:46 UTC 2013
Tornadoes tear through central U.S., killing two
Less than a week after a string of tornadoes killed six people in north Texas, a massive storm system that tore through the center of the country on Sunday spawned at least a dozen tornadoes, killed two people, injured dozens more and caused extensive damage from Georgia to Minnesota. According to the Oklahoma state medical [...]
Mon May 20 15:11:31 UTC 2013