Nelle Moriarty says she's grateful for new breast cancer drugs like Herceptin.

But like most patients in cancer therapy, Moriarty, 55, says the medication often leaves her exhausted and struggling to concentrate. That's why Moriarty, a marriage-and-family therapist from Rochester, Minn., says she volunteered for a clinical trial about treating cancer-related fatigue in a new way: ginseng capsules.

Ginseng has been used in Chinese medicine to promote health for 2,000 years. A National Cancer Institute survey in 2004 found that 36% of adults use ginseng or some other form of complementary or alternative medicine .....Full Story

OAKLAND — Legislators presented a grim assessment of the state's African American community — a health care crisis, failed education and prisons overflowing with black inmates — at a town hall meeting Saturday afternoon.

And, in an hour of sometimes emotional comments, local residents underscored the urgency of the situation.

"We no longer have the luxury of time," said Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.

The report — The State of Black California, commissioned by the California Legislative Black Caucus — spells out what most already know, Dellums said.

"In too many instances across the panorama of human life, black Americans face tremendous disparities in health, in employment and in juvenile justice. It's time for the issue of racial disparities to be disclosed openly and in the marketplace of ideas," Dellums said. "It now is time to confront that issue. With passion and fire in the belly, we most go about making changes in this country .....Full Story