Health

Michigan State University researchers say a popular video game is helping patients recover from lung cancer surgery.

After surgery, it’s important for lung cancer patients to aid their recovery with exercise.   Exercise helps patients with fatigue and avoid common complications, like pneumonia.   But the prospect of exercise can be daunting for many patients.

Every year, two million people in the United States get diagnosed with skin cancer, and 50,000 of them have melanoma.

Early detection is important for successful treatment, but regularly seeing a dermatologist to monitor skin health can be expensive and inconvenient.

Enter UMSkinCheck. The University of Michigan Medical School debuted the free app earlier this month. Dr. Michael Sabel, an associate professor of surgery at U of M, was the primary physician involved in the project.

Gov. Rick Snyder says he’ll continue to push the Legislature to create a place online to comparison shop for health insurance. The health care exchanges are an element of what’s required under the federal healthcare law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
    
Republican leaders in the state House say they’re in no hurry and plan to hold hearings before making their next move. The governor says time is growing short to comply with the law, and the state risks losing its share of federal funds to enact its exchange.

Some public health officials would like to drop the requirement for parental consent for a vaccine that prevents a sexually transmitted virus. But a new University of Michigan poll shows 57 percent of parents want to have the final say in their adolescent children's health care. 

Human papillomarivus -- or HPV -- can lead to cervical cancer in women and some head and neck cancers in men.

Sarah Clark is associate director of C.S .Mott Children's Hospital national poll on children's health.

She says routine HPV vaccination is recommended for boys and girls at 11 or 12 years old. It has to be given before they become sexually active to be most effective.

U.S. News & World Report has identified 34 high-performing hospitals in Michigan out of more than 175 hospitals statewide. The rankings were released earlier this week.

Regional rankings around the country are based on how hospitals compare nationally in 16 medical specialties.

A day of triple-digit temperatures is forecast for much of southern Michigan, leading school officials in Detroit and Flint to cancel activities.

The National Weather Service says today's high should reach 101-105 degrees in Detroit and 100-104 in Ann Arbor and Midland. Heat advisories have been issued for Michigan 53 lowermost counties.

It's just the latest in a string of scorching summer days in the state.