The next time you attend a funeral, don't be surprised if it more closely resembles the last wedding you went to than the somber farewell you bid your grandfather 20 years ago.

Some 50 million Americans live with chronic pain linked to disease, while another 25 million experience periodic pain caused by injury or surgery. Yet recent headlines about harmful side effects of some popular prescription pain medications have many people thinking twice before swallowing a pill for their pain. Consumers are rediscovering the benefits of topical pain relief.

It's well known that smoking causes cancer. But did you know that smoking may also raise your risk for type 2 diabetes? Or that it's a major factor in nearly half of heart attacks? It's never easy to stop smoking, but millions of people have quit -- and you can, too. Now might be the time to give it a try.

When preparing your home for the golden years, there are many ways to ensure that each room in the house is comfortable and secure, so you can live safe, sound and solo.

In a matter of seconds, most people can think of eight women who are important in their lives, whether they are mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, friends or coworkers. The ease with which most people can come up with this list just reinforces the prevalence of breast cancer in this country; according to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.

You're not just sitting on your hands waiting for the recession to end; you're taking steps to financially secure the future for yourself and your loved ones. But there's one important financial planning matter you may be avoiding, and if you are, you're not alone. Here's how to approach the delicate topic of preplanning a funeral.

For many patients, a cancer diagnosis is no longer a fatal one. However, the comfort that a patient's condition is treatable is often accompanied by dread of the grueling treatment that will be needed to save his or her life. But a new therapy holds hope for treating some cancers in just a single day, rather than through months of harsh radiation therapy.