Health Highlights: Sept. 12, 2018

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

At Least 15 Men Near Ground Zero Have Breast Cancer

At least 15 men who worked near Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks have been diagnosed with breast cancer, a New York City law firm claims.

According to CBS News, one of the firm’s clients worked for a data storage company near the World Trade Center and was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

“I thought it was a cyst or a gland and I ignored it for a while,” he told CBS News. “And that was the wrong thing to do because it spread to my lymph nodes.”

“The diagnosis was pretty bleak at the time,” he told CBS, but after receiving treatment and then going through a relapse, he is now cancer-free.

John Mormando worked as a commodities broker in the World Trade Center area until 2007. He was preparing to compete an Iron Man race when he noticed a lump on his chest.

He went in for testing soon after and learned he had breast cancer.

“I was totally floored,” Mormando said. “We know breast cancer is a popular disease, unfortunately, but for men, it’s very rare. And I had it in both breasts, believe it or not.”

Some studies have concluded that those exposed to the World Trade Center site, including firefighters and recovery workers, “will experience a greater cancer burden than would be expected from a demographically similar population,” according to CBS.

The World Trade Center Health Program, established by Congress, provides treatment for a specific list of physical and mental health conditions that have been determined to be caused by exposure to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The program covers 68 cancers, including breast cancer.

For their part, Flynn and Mormando want to raise awareness about male breast cancer.

“We want to get the word out to other men because it is very rare and men tend to ignore it and don’t see a physician,” Flynn said.

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Olivia Newton-John’s Cancer Returns for 3rd Time

Singer Olivia Newton-John says her breast cancer has returned for the third time.

Speaking with the Australian show “Sunday Night,” the star of “Grease” and “Xanadu” said she will “win over” the illness, CBS News reported.

Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and then again in 2013, when breast cancer spread to her shoulder. She said that last May, she noticed back pain and canceled her tour after being told that her cancer had spread to the sacrum.

“I’m one of millions in this fight in this journey.” Newton-John said on “Sunday Night.” “A lot of people see it as a fight. I see it as part of my mission.”

Newton-John said she’s been treating her pain and insomnia with oil from cannabis plants grown by her husband, John Easterling. The couple live in California.

“I’m treating [the cancer] naturally and doing really well,” she said. “I’m very lucky I live in a state where it’s legal and that I have a husband that is a plant medicine man. … My dream is that in Australia soon it will be available to all the cancer patients and people going through cancer or any kind of disease that causes pain.”

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Prince William Launches Mental Health Website

Britain’s Prince William is launching a website to help improve mental health in the workplace.

The launch of the website, at an event in Bristol on Tuesday, was set to coincide with the release of a study showing that up to 5 million British workers experienced a mental health issue in 2018, CNN reported.

The new website, Mental Health at Work, also comes after a survey of 44,000 British workers by the charity Mind. That survey found that 48 percent of British workers had experienced some form of mental health issue in their current job, but only half had discussed the problem with their employer.

“We know that employers want to do more and are starting to see mental health as a priority, but often don’t know where to start,” said Paul Farmer, MIND’s chief executive officer. “The new online Mental Health at Work gateway will change that.”

In 2016, Prince William and his brother Prince Harry launched another campaign for mental health, Heads Together.

Speaking in March, Prince William said that “while work can provide a great sense of fulfillment, it can — at times — be a significant source of stress and negatively impact our mental health.”

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