Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States, told “Fox News Sunday” that he has not decided whether or not he will undergo heart transplant.

Cheney added that his physicians told him that they see mark improvement on his health since he was diagnosed with an end-stage heart failure last year. Just last summer, he underwent an operation wherein his body was fitted with a battery-operated medical device which helps his heart pump blood throughout his body.

During his appearance in Fox, the former vice president looked healthier than he appeared just a few months after his summer operation. He also added that he has started working on a book and is planning a fishing trip towards the end of May.

When he was asked whether or not it is safe for him to go fishing with the electrical device attached to his body, 70-year old Cheney jokingly said that he is not supposed to fall in the water.

On a similar note, when the current U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he has decided not to show pictures of Osama’s death, Dick Cheney agreed. Cheney who is not a very huge fan of the current administration was all praises about the attack that led to Osama’s death.

Cheney further said that we have to give Obama “high marks” for sending SEAL team 6 to raid bin Laden and finally brought the international most wanted terrorist down.

Based on a long-term study conducted in Europe, men under the age of 65 suffering from the early stages of prostate cancer benefit more from the removal of prostate glands than doing the “watchful waiting approach.”

However, Dr. Richard Greenberg said that the findings of the study are not practice-changing at all. Dr. Greenberg is the chief of urologic oncology in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center and is not involved in the conduct of the study.

Dr. Greenberg said that the study targeted early stage disease and it only shows what is expected of it: people who have more years to live based on their prognosis will have better chances of survival during aggresive treatment than those who are in the end stage of their cancer.

Men who have prostate cancer face a more problems than their medical condition per se. There are a lot of options and one becomes more confusing than the other. Some say surgery is ideal, other say that hormonal therapy is sufficient. In fact, many doctors believe that forgoing medical treatment – called “watchful waiting” – may also work.

Watchful waiting is usually recommended for men who have great prognosis and would like to avoid the risks of suffering from adverse reactions to prostate cancer treatment. Some of these unwanted side effects are erectile dysfunction due to surgery, secondary cancers as a result of radiation therapy, and breast growth because of hormonal therapy.

Dr. Marc Danziger, a urologist from New York, said that the benefits and side effects of treatment still has to be addresses on individual basis based on the individual needs of prostate cancer patients.

Dawn Solomon, a 43-year-old day-care provider from Maine, received sentence on Thursday for stealing at least $4 million because of overcharging the MaineCare agency for healthcare provided to disabled children. Solomon was sentenced to at least eight years in prison with three-year probation, and was ordered to pay in full the reimbursement.

Solomon runs the Living Independence Network Corporation in Norway, Maine. The institution provides social and physical treatment to children with autism, mental retardation, and other debilitative medical conditions.

Solomon’s huge overcharging was exposed after the 2009 Department of Health and Human Services audit showed a lot of questionable claims from the group. Authorities from the department found that Solomon inflated the group’s billing since 2006. By the end of 2008, it has reached $134,000 every month. Moreover, she channeled her personal expenses in the corporation.

Solomon also listed a lot of fake employees in the payroll. Her fake employees include her father-in-law, her handyman who handles repairs for her properties, and her children’s nannies.

Maine’s Heath Commissioner, Mary Mayhew, said that her administration aims to eliminate abuse and fraud in the healthcare system no matter the hurdles.

The Living Independence Network Corporation is a non-profit organization which aims to empower children with disabilities so that they can achieve a functional level. Moreover, their goal is to create vital social support system so that people with disabilities achieve independent living.

New research shows blood pressure is a great indicator how of end stage kidney cancer patient’s medication is working. Ironically, high blood pressure is linked to better prognosis and longer survival.

The proponents of the study observed 544 kidney cancer patients who are being treated with Sutent. The researchers discovered that those people with a systolic BP of more than 40mmHg lived almost four times longer than patients who had lower systolic blood pressure.

Moreover, researchers found out that during the time that the tumor does not shrink or grow is five times longer in patients with high systolic reading – systolic pressure is the top number in blood pressure readings.

Lead researcher Dr. Brian Rini said that the findings of their study supports the theory that hypertension is a biomarker of the drug’s effectiveness in tumor growth. This also means that oncologists should now closely monitor their patient’s BP to gauge Sutent’s job in treating kidney cancer in its advance stage.

Survival rates for kidney cancer are associated with the progression of the cancer, the tumor size, and its metastasis. If the cancer cells have spread in the tissues around the organ, the survival rate will drop to around 60 percent; and it drops further if the cancer cells have attacked the lymph nodes.

This study was successfully published online on April 28 of this year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute after passing an extensive peer review.

Johnson & Johnson as well as other makers of a fever medication announced on Wednesday that they will stop producing infant drops for medicines with acetaminophen to avoid confusion that may unfortunately lead to drug overdoses.

The association that handles over-the-counter or OTC drug makers said that all of their members will discontinue liquid drops beginning later this year. After all the drugs have been successfully phased out, drug companies will only market one formula for children age 12 and below.

At present, J&J and many other drug companies sell infant formulations that have half the amount of acetaminophen compared to that found in children’s (1-12 years old) formula.

Acetaminophen is a drug component usually found in Tylenol and Nyquil; it effectively reduces body temperature and pain. Although it is safe to use in general, acetaminophen overdose is one of the leading causes of liver failure in American and it sends as much as 50,000 people to the emergency room every year.

The announcement that was released late Wednesday is in line with the Food and Drug Administration’s meeting with them scheduled on Monday. The meeting was intended for the discussion of the need for additional safety instructions in drugs with acetaminophen.

Drug makers’ move to eliminate infant formula with acetaminophen content marks the second instance that the drug industry pulled off its products before the FDA can act on it. In 2007, the same group of drug makers announced the discontinuation of infant decongestant medicines ahead of an FDA meeting that was supposed to talk about infant deaths related to the product.

According to a recent study, many parents are now apprehensive to take their children to hospitals , to a doctor or to purchase prescription drugs due to the increase in the United States medical care costs.

The researchers studied data of 6,273 families that participated in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survery conducted between 2001 and 2006.

Based on the conducted study, one of the most pressing reasons that will increase the likelihood that families would not go to doctors or delay seeking medical attention is financial burden. “Financial burden” in this study is defined as out-of-pocket medical care costs more than 10% of the total family income or insurance premiums.

Some other factors noted in the study are children with activity limitation and parents with intermittent insurance coverage. The researchers also found out that race or ethnicity also play a role in the delay of medical care for children. For example, white families have greater tendencies to delay seeking medical care than black families.

This study was presented Monday during the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting conducted yearly. At this point, the study is still considered preliminary because it has not yet been scrutinized by colleagues in the industry- a requirement before a study is to be printed out in a peer-review journal.

Lauren Wisk, study leader, said that their results show how unfortunate the realities of the United States medical care are. More and more families are deciding to forego medical care because of how high the costs are.

Two lives changed because of a stem cell transplant. A 31-year old man helped extend a 7-year old boy’s life with a stem cell transplant. They met for the first time on March 2011 with the presence of an awkward silence. Little did they know that they have changed each other’s lives one way or another.

Their story started few years ago when Marshal Davis, 31, still studied at the University of Florida. He and a couple of friends volunteered their DNA samples to what is called Gift of Love.

The foundation aims to collect DNA samples of people who are willing to donate their genetics for children who might need them in the future. Davis filled out all the necessary requirements, had his cheek swabbed, and moved on with his life.

It was only during the summer of 2009 that he thought about what he signed-up years ago. Davis received a call from the Gift of Love and found out that a 5-year-old boy needs stem cells, and Davis is the perfect match.

Davis was more than happy to be given the chance to save the boy’s life but was also apprehensive because of the medical risks. But, he went on with it anyway.

As the treatments began and the stem cells multiplied in him, he was under a lot of pain and had to battle with flu every now and then.

2011 came and the treatment was a success for both Davis and Jacob Kowalik, 7. They met for the first time when Davis and his wife flew to Chicago. Now, Jacob goes to school twice a week and is hoping to get his normal life back. David, then, will forever be satisfied knowing he helped save a stranger’s life.

The government can continue funding embryonic stem cell research, the US federal court of appeal ruled on Friday. The decision, which was applauded by many scientists, handed an important victory to the administration of President Obama.

The 2-to-1 decision was made by a panel of judges from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It blocks a decision done by the lower court last August, saying stem cell research is an illegal activity under the law that forbids funding on research, which destroys or damages human embryos.

Some proponents of anti-abortion believe that stem cell research is similar to the act of murder as it destroys human embryos, which are donated from fertility treatments, in the process.

However, the court of appeals said on Friday that the law does not extend to past actions as it is written in the present tense. Still, researchers have applauded the decision of the appellate court, saying it offers wider approach for scientists who might find cure for different diseases such as diabetes, blindness and paralysis.

The director of UCSF’s Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine, Arnold Kriegstein, said the ruling is not only a victory for the scientists, but is also for the patients who have waited long enough to find cures for their terrible diseases.

He said it allows a significant research to move forward and to continue studies on medical therapies, which could possibly save several lives. Last year, trials on human embryonic stem cell were launched by private companies in order to treat blindness and paralysis.

British researchers said that middle-aged adults who get less than the ideal amount of sleep at night may be at risk for declined brain function, or in simple terms, it causes the brain to age.

The researchers said that the severity of the decline in brain function can be as much as seven years more.

Jane Ferrie, a senior research fellow, said that the society today pressures people to fit more things in our 24-hour schedule. The entire struggle to balance work and life has caused us many of us to trade hours of sleep for more “productive” things.

Ferrie said that their studies showed a link between lack of sleep and impaired or declining cognitive function.

Moreover, the study shows that women who reported an average of 7 hours of sleep have the highest cognitive score while men who sleep for 6-8 hours scored the highest. Consequently, those who reported sleeping less than 6 hours every night – regardless of gender – scored relatively low in the cognitive scores.

Since most of the biological processes in our body take place at night, sleeping gives human beings the ability to recuperate from stressors and oxidants.

Although most people can function relatively well even with less than optimal hours of sleep, it may cause a long-term detrimental effect to us, Ferrie said.

Ferrie further said that chronic short sleep leads to the production of hormones inside the body that causes high blood pressures, diabetes, heart problems, and issues in cholesterol levels.

A man from Ohio, who is said to have forced his girlfriend to abort her pregnancy thru gunpoint to the head, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder on Thursday.

Dominic Holt-Reid, a 28-year-old college student, was charged five months ago with attempted unlawful termination of his girlfriend’s pregnancy. The charges were supported by the 1996 state fetal homicide law and are considered murder in Ohio.

Prosecution alleged that Holt-Reid’s old girlfriend Yolanda Burgess, 26-year-old, agreed to terminate her pregnancy during the first trimester. Burgess is also the mother of one of his six children.

However, on the day of the scheduled abortion, Burgess changed her mind and this did not appeal to Holt-Reid, who earlier was convicted due to illegal possession of illicit drugs but is currently on parole. He purportedly pulled a gun on Burgess’ head and forced her to get on with the abortion.

The couple purportedly drove to the abortion clinic together with Holt-Reid’s gun hidden in a band on his waist. Burgess, however, found a way to alert the clinic employees and immediately called the police leading to Holt-Reid’s arrest.

Since that incident on October, Yolanda Burgess already gave birth to their child.

Abortion can legally be conducted in Ohio. However, it should be willfully done by the mother. Otherwise, it is considered a murder.

Holt-Reid pleaded guilty Thursday on all the charges including murder, abduction, and weapons charges. Ron O’Brien, County Prosecutor, said that the man faces fines amounting to $35,000 and 20 years in jail.