Elizabeth Edwards died at her home after opting to stop all aggressive treatment for breast cancer that had spread to her bones and liver. The accolades for her hopeful, but realistic, fight against cancer are piling up, and they are well-deserved.But it's also worthwhile to take a minute to look at the choices she made once she learned the cancer could not be stopped and that death was inevitable.In the modern lexicon of cancer, treatment is battle, and acceptance of death a kind of defeat. The phrase that recurs in these situations is "do everything," which means, use every possible medical intervention, no matter how invasive, painful or degrading, to stave off a death that regardless will come. [Read the full article]

Mental problems send more men in the U.S. military to the hospital than any other cause, according to a new Pentagon report.And they are the second highest reason for hospitalization of women military personnel, behind conditions related to pregnancy.The Defense Department's Medical Surveillance report from November examines "a large, widespread, and growing mental health problem among U.S. military members."The 31-page report says mental disorders are a problem for the entire U.S. population, but that sharp increases for active duty military reflect the psychological toll of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."Most notably in this regard, the rate of incident diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increased nearly six-fold from 2003 to 2008," the report says. [Read the full article]

When educator Susan Hendler asked 11-year-old Colin Horton how his week at school went, she heard some troubling answers.Colin and his friend, 11-year-old Michael Cohen, are no strangers to bullying. But the two also have something else in common -- both have been diagnosed with high-functioning autism."Beaten up, bullied and -- most of all -- name calling," Michael added. "It usually happens at recess."So the two are now enrolled in a program called "Sociable Kidz," which was founded by Hendler and fellow teacher Monica Weber to try to give children the tools they need to face bullies at school."It's a very safe environment, and they know, 'OK, I'm not the only one that's experiencing this,'" Weber said."A lot of children who are on the (autism) spectrum just tend to take it," she said. "Or they'll fight back, but physically fight back. They just don't have the skills or techniques. [Read the full article]

In April 2009, U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reached a financial agreement with a state government in Nigeria on lawsuits brought over an antibiotic that had been given to children during an outbreak of meningitis.But a U.S. diplomatic cable quotes a Pfizer executive in Nigeria as saying the company also hired investigators to dig for evidence of corruption on the part of the then-attorney general in an effort to get him to drop a similar lawsuit at the federal level. The company has said the allegation is preposterous.The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks, was published in the Guardian newspaper in London Thursday. The antibiotic Trovan was given to children in Kano state in 1996 as part of a clinical study during a meningitis outbreak. The Nigerian government said the drug caused deaths and deformities among children, and had been used without approval from Nigerian regulatory agencies. [Read the full article]