Health & Wellness News

A Lehigh Valley woman tells her story about going through two cancer diagnosis' and what she does to pay it forward. She was one of the survivors honored at the Celebration of Champions gala.

Eighty volunteers helped lay 30,000 square feet of sod at the home of retired Marine Corps veteran Daniel Lasko, who lost his left leg in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2004.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Baby goats, chickens, and even lizards were met with hugs from the seniors, celebrating nursing home week.

Kidney cancer survivor talks about how receiving treatment at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute saved his life. Leaders from the institute hosted an evening of education in kidney cancer care Thursday.

In Pennsylvania, there’s currently no single resource for people to see how counties and local governments plan to spend the money. But understanding the process can help you influence it.

Lehigh Valley Health Network honored trauma survivors and their families on National Trauma Survivors Day. One man shared his story of survival and how he copes with lingering effects.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center hosted a virtual event about the state of mental health in the LGBTQ community.

For a decade, the Get Your Tail on the Trail initiative has been getting people to walk, run, bike or paddle their way to better health. St. Luke’s and the D&L trail offer day-to-day challenges and public events to encourage people of all ages to exercise.

The Borough of Emmaus has chosen to take the steps to treat its own water supply after spending over a year seeking a solution to the municipality's PFAS contamination issue

People without a permanent place to stay should "enjoy the same rights as the rest of us who have a house," Allentown Commission on Homelessness chair Abigail Goldfarb said.

Talking to children about their mental health can be challenging for parents. During Mental Health Awareness Month, educators are sharing how they address the topic with kids.

Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.

The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Proposed federal budget cuts would impact programs such as the free summer meal program for children in the Allentown School District.

The $2.75 million payment to the federal government resolves allegations that a pharmacy technician stole controlled substances on about 40 occasions and the health network failed to institute proper controls.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

A generous donation from a Lehigh Valley native and others funds free swim lessons for children and adults in the River Crossing YMCA's Safety Around Water, or SAW, swim education program.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

A regionwide wastewater plan and a hazard mitigation plan both advanced with staff review approvals by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night.