A personalized cancer vaccine is under construction
Melanoma, a relatively rare skin cancer that affects pigment-producing cells, is one of the most serious forms of skin cancer.
This year, pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck announced that some patients in clinical trials with stage 3 and 4 melanoma (meaning the cancer has spread beyond the site of origin) had a lower risk of cancer recurrence when treated with an experimental vaccine known as mRNA-4157/V940.
The vaccine, which is a personalized messenger RNA extract using a patient’s own tumor cells, is designed to help the body detect and fight melanoma.
In the trial, the vaccine was combined with another cancer treatment called Keytruda, a therapy that boosts the body’s immune system response.
Although it must clear many hurdles before it is approved for use, the combination of vaccine and Keytruda appeared to reduce the risk of recurrence or death by 44% compared to people treated with Keytruda alone in the clinical trial .
The trial included 157 patients who were treated after undergoing surgery. About 14% of people on treatment experienced serious side effects during the trial, compared with 10% treated with Keytruda alone.
CVS has lowered tampon prices in states that have not abolished the “pink tax”
The “pink tax” is a term used to describe the additional costs of products marketed primarily to women compared to those marketed to men.
These additional costs can make certain items like deodorant and razors 13% more expensive. In some states, there are also markups or state taxes on products used only by menstruating people, also known as the “tampon tax.”
Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa ended their taxes on menstrual products in 2022. Other states, such as Virginia, will remove the sales tax on menstrual products starting in 2023.
In response, CVS reduced the prices of all CVS-branded menstrual products in the 12 states that tax menstrual products, such as tampons, pads, cups, liners, heat bands and PMS relief medications. .
On October 5, CVS began covering sales tax for these products in Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
TikTokers have been pushing back on the oral fat elimination trend with love for ’round-faced, baby-faced girls’
Buccal fat removal is an irreversible procedure in which a plastic surgeon removes fat from the cheeks to create a more sculpted facial structure. The trend made its way to social media, and a tweet that got more than 16,000 likes speculated that actors like Zoë Kravitz, Lea Michele and others have had the procedure, though none of these celebrities have confirmed this. Chrissy Teigen said she had the procedure and has no regrets.
People on social media started pushing back on the procedure, pointing out the beauty of round face shapes instead. TikTokers also shared videos of their own cheeks, calling round faces “the universal friend face.”
“I’m really tired whether our bodies are considered trendy or not,” said one user. “It was one of my insecurities and now it makes me feel better, thank you,” another commented.
