Courtenay Harris Bond
Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
April 16, 2025
Adult Health
Technology use may help ward off cognitive decline — not expedite it
Technology use helps protect against cognitive decline and dementia, a new study finds. The research suggests fears that excessive screen time and smartphone use leads to cognitive decline are overstated.April 16, 2025
Men's Health
Prostate cancer therapy being tested at Main Line Health may 'open up the door' to new treatments for advanced cancers
Main Line Health's Lankenau Institute of Medical Research is hosting a clinical trial that will test the effectiveness and safety of a new advanced prostate cancer drug. Researchers say the combination therapy could open the door for new approaching to treating advanced cancers.April 15, 2025
Health News
CT scans cause more cancer cases than previously believed, study shows
Radiation from CT scans conducted in 2023 is projected to account for 5% of annual cancer diagnoses in the United States — a rate far higher than previously believed, a new study finds.April 15, 2025
Illness
Gonorrhea is on the verge of being impossible to treat, but a new antibiotic may alter that course
Rates of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea have been on the rise across the globe. Reliable treatment for the sexually transmitted infection is down to one medication. This makes a new study showing a new antibiotic to be effective against gonorrhea particularly significant.April 9, 2025
Mental Health
Stressed by the stock market volatility? Here are tips for managing anxiety during economic uncertainty
Americans are feeling stressed by President Donald Trump's tariffs, stock market volatility and federal job losses. Here are some tips for managing anxiety over the economy.April 9, 2025
Illness
RFK Jr. tells Americans to get measles vaccine after being criticized for months for mixed messaging
Americans are encouraged to get the measles vaccine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told CBS on Tuesday as measles cases continued to mount in the U.S. The Health and Human Services secretary had been facing criticism for sending mixed messaging amid an outbreak in Texas that has killed two children.April 8, 2025
Government
Getting my REAL ID was a real ordeal
I put off getting my REAL ID until the last minute. I heard stories of people having to go to PennDOT driver license centers multiple times because they didn't have the right documents. The REAL ID deadline is May 7.April 3, 2025
Mental Health
Laughing gas appears to reduce depression, but researchers don't totally understand why
Nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, may offer a new way to treat people with major depression, if they haven't responded well to psychotherapy or antidepressants, a new Penn study shows. Researchers found it seems to stimulate certain neurons and activate brain circuits related to emotion and behavior.April 3, 2025
Health News
As much as 26% of medical imaging is unnecessary — and contributing to climate change, study finds
The carbon dioxide emissions caused by excessive MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds and X-rays are enough to power a town of 70,000 people for one year, a new study finds. Researchers found 4% to 26% of medical imaging to be unnecessary.April 3, 2025
Fitness
Pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., is a rising source of injury
Pickleball is America's fastest-growing sport. But pickleball injuries are estimated to cost Americans about $400 million a year, according to a 2023 analysis. People don't think of pickleball as a vigorous sport and don't condition enough, a local surgeon said.Just In
- Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Thunder on Sunday with two injury designations
- Inside the FDA's vaccine uproar and the push to overhaul the U.S. immunization system
- There's an anti-cruising sign still standing in Rittenhouse. It reflects the area's complicated queer history.
- Philly expands New Year's Eve firework shows so there are more places to 'enjoy the magic'
- Looking back at 2025: Philly said bon voyage to the SS United States
- Eagles-Bills Week 17 injury report, with analysis
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