Search and support for older adults

4+ min ago (164+ words) Expert explores innovative strategies for managing early stage breast cancer, focusing on minimal residual disease and potential treatment adjustments. The primary recommendation for these patients is enrollment in clinical trials designed to test the efficacy of intensified or switched systemic therapies, with the goal of achieving MRD clearance and preventing overt recurrence. Unfortunately, there are no currently available data or guidelines to support the safe de-escalation or cessation of treatment based on ctDNA clearance or sustained negativity in the early-stage setting. The concept is highly promising but remains hypothetical and requires validation through prospective trials. In summary, ctDNA remains a powerful prognostic marker driving research, but its use as a directive for escalation or de-escalation of treatment is currently confined to the context of clinical trials. In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Stefania Morganti, MD, PhD, research fellow at the…...

4+ min ago (230+ words) Targeted Oncology connects oncology professionals with updates on immunotherapy, biomarkers, cancer pathways, and targeted precision medicine strategies. The field of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for minimal residual disease (MRD) testing is experiencing rapid technological advancement, with new assays demonstrating increasing sensitivity by orders of magnitude compared to previous generations. This progress has generated significant excitement regarding its potential to revolutionize breast cancer management. The central challenge, however, remains the lack of proven clinical utility. While ctDNA is highly promising, particularly across the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and even metastatic settings, its current function is primarily prognostic. Standard clinical practice currently relies on a probabilistic approach, estimating a patient's general risk of recurrence but it fails to provide the precise, individual-level risk stratification needed for personalized therapy selection. MRD testing offers the potential to move beyond probabilistic risk to a single-patient-level assessment of…...

7+ min ago (362+ words) When role players change teams, more often than not, they simply provide much of the same as they've always done, just in a different uniform. Occasionally, however, that pattern is broken, and the player finds himself with an expanded role, and more opportunities, in particular on the offensive side of the ball. Nickeil Alexander-Walker signed with the Hawks this past offseason, opting for a contract worth $62 million over four seasons. The veteran guard, who has always been far more defensively oriented than offensive, almost immediately saw more scoring opportunities when he joined Atlanta, resulting in the fact that he's now putting up 19.3 points per game, which is - by far - a career-high in his NBA career. Across the board, it's career-highs, in fact. He's taking more three-pointers than ever before (6.8 per night), getting to line (4.4 attempts), and generally doing far more…...

18+ min ago (738+ words) My young daughter wasn't yet 1 years old the first time she shook her head and stretched her hands out to push away a hug from relatives. Everyone laughed it off, assuming she would grow out of it. What they didn't realize was that, even at that age, I was teaching her that she always has a choice " something I didn't have growing up. Every family gathering began the same way when I was a kid. I would open my grandparents' front door, and the smell of tamales, turkey, rice, and the best of our Mexican-American world would welcome me at the doorstep. I loved the laughs, food, and family, but before I could settle in, I had to brace myself for the greeting ritual. With my shoulders tight and my steps tiptoeing along the living room, I scanned the faces…...

19+ min ago (968+ words) The landscape of geriatric rehabilitation is poised for transformation, particularly through emerging models that integrate home-based care post-institutional rehabilitation. Recent research led by a team of experts, including M. Pol, E. van Isselt, and A. Doornebosch, aims to evaluate the outcomes, costs, and feasibility of this innovative approach. Titled "Better@Home," this multicentric prospective cohort study [] The landscape of geriatric rehabilitation is poised for transformation, particularly through emerging models that integrate home-based care post-institutional rehabilitation. Recent research led by a team of experts, including M. Pol, E. van Isselt, and A. Doornebosch, aims to evaluate the outcomes, costs, and feasibility of this innovative approach. Titled "Better@Home," this multicentric prospective cohort study with a historical control group seeks to uncover the benefits of extending rehabilitation services into the comfort of patients" homes, thereby ensuring continuity of care that is both efficient and effective. As the global…...

23+ min ago (214+ words) This book is an outsider's assessment of songwriter and vocalist Carole King's life and contributions to popular music. Author Jane Eisner wasn't able to secure an interview with the reclusive King, nor with members of her family, so she had to rely on what was already published by other writers or said by King, herself, in her memoir and in preserved broadcast interviews. Eisner did marvelous work despite these limitations. She stitched together numerous other sources'a rabbi who officiated at King's life cycle events; other singers like James Taylor who had commented publicly on her works; music critics assessing her output; and musicians who helped identify what made King's compositions structurally different from those of most other songwriters. To the extent that she was able, Eisner followed in King's physical journey: Her girlhood home in Brooklyn; a music studio in…...

52+ min ago (506+ words) As progress continues in the treatment of cancer, another illness is causing family carers concern Dementia has become Britain's biggest health fear, overtaking cancer, according to new research. Around 31 per cent of family carers fear dementia, a four per cent increase from last year, while concerns around cancer dropped from 30 per cent to 21 per cent in the same amount of time, according to Home Instead. The at-home care provider surveyed 4,000 people, including 1,600 family carers, over the course of a year in a study tracking the country's feelings around ageing and care. Almost two thirds of those surveyed (63 per cent) called for the government to declare dementia a health emergency as the disease takes a growing toll on families, according to the research. Almost 90 per cent of carers called for a dedicated dementia allowance to help fund care. Home Instead chief…...

54+ min ago (677+ words) Opinion [Allison Schrager] US middle class shrinking Published : Dec. 1, 2025 - 05:36:00 The good news is that Americans have never been richer. The bad news is that most of them don't feel like it. There has been tremendous growth in income and wealth in the US in the last half century, even for poorer and middle-class households. But because of the nature of that growth, as well as the changing structure of the national economy, a lot of the people who have benefited also believe that the economy isn't working for them. It is true the middle class is shrinking. In the 1960s the income distribution of US households looked like a bell curve with a very thick middle. Today there are fewer Americans in the middle -- largely because many have joined the ranks of the upper-middle class. Income inequality also increased. The very…...

58+ min ago (329+ words) MacLeod plans to continue coaching the Charge while she undergoes treatment. Bo Amstrup / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images Ottawa Charge coach Carla MacLeod announced Sunday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and plans "to be behind the bench as much as possible" during her treatment. "Hearing those words was incredibly difficult, but I want everyone to know that I'm going to be okay," MacLeod said in a statement. "I'm incredibly fortunate to have an exceptional medical team guiding me, and together we've built a treatment plan that gives me tremendous confidence in the road ahead." " Ottawa Charge (@PWHL_Ottawa) November 30, 2025 MacLeod has coached the Charge since the PWHL's inaugural season and led the team to the Finals in 2024-25. She's also the head coach of the Czech women's national team, which qualified for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. As a player,…...

1+ hour, 23+ min ago (758+ words) Here's how the new IRS inflation adjustments are increasing the contribution limits for your 401(k) and IRA in the new year. You can save more for retirement this year thanks to an increase in the 401(k) contribution limit for 2026. The IRS adjusts contribution limits and other tax provisions for inflation each year. High inflation as of late means this is the fourth year in a row that the adjustments have resulted in a higher 401(k) contribution limit. But what about your IRA? Here's how much you can contribute to retirement accounts in 2026. The contribution limits for a traditional or Roth IRA increased last year and will increase again for 2026. However, not everyone can make the maximum IRA contribution limits this year. You can only make the maximum contribution to your Roth IRA if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is below the threshold…...