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Komen’s Race To Reverse Course: Questions And A PR Challenge

Just three days after announcing it would no longer fund cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, the pink-ribboned breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure abruptly reversed course today. But the Komen foundation’s actions still leave many questions unanswered — not to mention a public relations challenge. In a brief statement posted on the [...]

In Reversal, Komen To Continue Funding Planned Parenthood

After days of controversy, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has said it will continue funding for Planned Parenthood. Earlier this week, the foundation moved to discontinue funding of breast cancer screening by Planned Parenthood. The Associated Press reported the change came because of a new Komen policy forbidding grants to organizations under [...]

Advocates Say Flu Vaccine Should Be Mandatory For Health Workers

Despite more than 20 years of recommendations that health workers get flu shots, the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show more than a third don’t comply. The voluntary approach to reducing the risk that workers will transmit flu to patients has fallen short. So consumer and business groups met [...]

Billboards Slather On The Guilt With Anti-Cheese Campaign

Yes, we’re a nation of cheese-eaters. We load it onto pizza, layer it in burritos, sprinkle it on salads, and slap it on sandwiches. In fact, we eat about 31 pounds of it per person each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimates. That’s nearly triple the amount Americans were eating in 1970. [...]

As Komen Defends Itself, Planned Parenthood Rakes In Substitute Funds

Leaders of the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure tried in vain Thursday to contain the controversy stemming from its decision to end its grants to Planned Parenthood. But it’s becoming clearer that Planned Parenthood has the upper hand in the battle. While Komen officials argued that it wasn’t pressure from anti-abortion groups [...]

Researchers Say Malaria Deaths Are Twice The Official Count

The World Health Organization estimates that 655,000 people died of malaria in 2010. But a new report says no, the real total is twice as high — 1.24 million people. If the new numbers are right, it means there’s little chance that malaria deaths can be cut to near-zero by 2015, just three years from [...]

Komen Says Efficiency, Not Politics, Drove Planned Parenthood Change

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has rejected charges that its decision to discontinue funding for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America was politically motivated. In a statement posted on its website and a video on YouTube late Wednesday, Komen said its action had been “mischaracterized” so the organization needed to “set the [...]

Birth Control Pill Mix-Up Leads To Pfizer Recall

When it comes to birth control pills, it’s really important to take the right ones at the right time to prevent pregnancy. So Pfizer is recalling two kinds of oral contraceptives because some packages had the pills in the wrong order. Others had the wrong number of different pill types in the packages. The errors [...]

Cystic Fibrosis Drug Wins Approval

The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday approved the first drug that can treat the underlying cause of Cystic Fibrosis. The drug, known as Kalydeco, works by helping to fix a defect in a protein that causes Cystic Fibrosis. About 30,000 Americans have Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes sticky mucus to build up in [...]

Furor Erupts Over Susan G. Komen Halt Of Grants To Planned Parenthood

The reaction has been intense this evening to the news from The Associated Press that “the nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates.” Much of it is highly critical of the charity, such as this message from Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.: “Komen’s decision hurts [...]