Health

As his stem cells are collected, DeShawn “DJ” Chow talks about his upcoming sickle cell gene therapy treatment with pediatric hematologist-oncologist Leo Wang at City of Hope Children’s Cancer Center on May 22. City of Hope hide caption

Kevin Donaldson uses fentanyl and xylazine in Burlington, Vermont. He says more people like himself are finding ways to survive the U.S. overdose crisis. Data shows overdose deaths nationwide are falling for the first time in decades. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

In recent years. more cancers are being detected but treatments and outcomes are also improving. megaflopp/iStockphoto/Getty Images hide caption

Alexandra Vazquez works in the Phifer factory, a window screen manufacturer outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Charity Rachelle for KFF Health News hide caption

Climate-driven flooding destroyed Tony Calhoun’s home in 2022. But as the water receded, his despair only grew. His fiancee, Edith Lisk (left), hopes to bring attention to the mental health toll of extreme weather. Edith Lisk hide caption

Stephanie, who asked that only her first name be used, picks up her methadone prescription at the Operation PAR clinic in Inverness, Florida. Stephanie Colombini/WUSF hide caption

People who exercise regularly have a greater capacity to store fat under the skin, which is better than storing it around organs like the liver and the heart. Arno Images/Getty Images hide caption

Khadija Rahmani says her son, Mujib Ur Rahman, 12, looks forward to visits from Shabana Siddiqui, a health educator who left Afghanistan in 2022. The Rahmani family arrived in the U.S. in January and settled in Maine. Raquel C. Zaldívar/New England News Collaborative hide caption

A health worker administers an oral polio vaccine in Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip. The World Health Organization says that in less than two weeks, they’ve helped administer more than 550,000 polio vaccines to children across the enclave. Now they're gearing up for the second dose. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at the Republican National Convention in July. She said Arkansas does not need "a duplicative program" to address its maternal mortality problems. Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

The blue flames of a natural gas stove emit harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide. Consumer and environmental watchdog groups want health warning labels on new gas stoves to let buyers know of the risks. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

John Brundahl (left), production superintendent, Todd Colvin, chief water systems operator, and Mark Toy, general manager, run the PFAS treatment plant at the Yorba Linda Water District in Orange County, Calif. Pien Huang/NPR hide caption

An woman in Kabul walks past a wall mural with a map of Afghanistan. A sweeping new morality law issued by the Taliban requires women to have a male escort on any trip outside home. Wakil Koshar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption