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About 20,640 U.S. adults will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year, according to estimates from the American Cancer Society (ACS). This type of cancer, which affects the esophagus — the tube that carries swallowed food from your throat to your stomach — has been found most often in people 65 and older, especially men. The ACS says that, overall, diagnosis rates have been fairly steady in recent years. A report, however, suggests that esophageal cancer may be increasing among middle-aged people. (Searing, 5/31)

The Defense Department is reporting high levels of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water near several of its bases, according to new data released by the department. Drinking water testing near bases in Washington state, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan found levels of the chemicals well above a health threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  (Frazin, 5/31)

Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin. Researchers have known that for decades. But the substance stuck around in everyday products like paint and gasoline for decades. One big reason: The lead industry spent years using racial bias to divert public attention away from the dangers of the toxin and minimized the impact of mounting evidence indicating lead was poisoning children with devastating effects. Health officials warn that there is no safe level of lead in children. (Savage, 5/31)

Drownings are preventable. But already this year, more than 20 young children have perished this way in Florida. Not all of them lived here. The Florida Department of Health has asked the Florida Prevention Research Center at the University of South Florida to analyze an ad it put up at Orlando International Airport to warn tourists of the dangerous mix of standing water and small children. April Ingram, deputy director of FPRC, said drownings often happen away from “pool time” for children under 5. But even water inside the house presents danger. (Wantuck, 5/31)

Nearly half of us — regardless of age, race and home state — are deficient in the sun’s vitamin. We need vitamin D for healthy bones and teeth and strong immune systems but simply fail to get enough from the sun and other sources. 42% of us have less than 20 nanograms of "the sunshine vitamin" per milliliter of blood — the amount we need to thrive. (Pandey, 5/31)

Low back pain is the most common and debilitating of all pain complaints. Heavy lifting can cause it, but so can sitting at a desk all day, especially if you have bad posture and poor back support. Think hunching over a laptop at your dining table. Most times, an acute injury causing lower back pain will get better on its own in a matter of weeks. But it also can become a more lasting problem, especially as you age. Now some new science suggests one reason for this could be that we've been approaching the inflammation that comes with back pain all wrong. (Morgan, 5/31)

Four years ago, Richard Cheatum watched his 64-year-old wife lose her grip on reality inside a Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center intensive care unit. Belinda Cheatum had suffered from Crohn’s disease, a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disorder, and developed severe complications that put her on a mechanical ventilator for about three weeks. When she recovered enough to breathe on her own, she thought the helicopters flying outside of her hospital room window were part of an invasion, Richard said. She tried talking through the TV remote like a cellphone. (Gill, 5/31)