While current statistics indicate that nearly one in nine women will get breast cancer at some point in their lives, a child getting breast cancer is virtually unheard of. However, in La Mirada, California, a 10-year-old girl is battling the disease and may be the youngest to have ever developed breast cancer.

Just last month, Hannah Powell-Auslam learned of her diagnosis. She told reporters that when she learned of her diagnosis, she wondered:

"'How could this happen? I'm ten.' I was really shocked."

Hannah discovered a lump, and doctors then did an ultrasound and discovered a tumor that spanned nearly two inches. She was diagnosed with secretory carcinoma, a slow-growing cancer.

At the age of ten, Hannah has a mastectomy. But now her doctor says that the cancer has spread to a lymph node, which will require more surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation, however, is out of the question because her breasts are still developing.

So far, Hannah has remained upbeat throughout the entire ordeal. She vows:

"I'm going to set an example. If there's something wrong with your body, you tell your parents."

Lawmakers in the Dominican Republic have voted to approve an amendment to their Constitution which would outlaw abortion. President Leonel Fernández initially proposed the measure, which has now passed 167 to 32.

Dominican Today reports:

"Despite the constant objections by feminist organizations, institutions and personalities who favor legalizing abortion in cases of incest, rape or when the pregnancy endangers a woman’s life, the Revisory Assembly Tuesday approved Executive Branch’s proposal 21, which states: “'The right to the life is inviolable from conception until death. The death penalty cannot be established, pronounced, nor applied, in any case'”

In addition to abolishing abortion, this law further reiterates the country's stance on the death penalty, which has been banned since 1924. The maximum penalty for a crime in the Dominican is 30 years in prison.

One scientist says 'Yes'.

Neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist, says that social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter are said to shorten attention spans, make young people more self-centered, and encourage instant gratification.

Facebook claims more than 150 million users, while Twitter has around 6 million. While these sites are considered extremely popular, as well as profitable, a number of psychologists and neuroscientists believe that they may be doing more harm than good.

Greenfield believes that repeated exposure could effectively "rewire" the brain. Other factors include computer games and fast-paced television shows.

"We know how small babies need constant reassurance that they exist. My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment," said Greenfield.

A team of surgeons, pediatricians, and nurses at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC successfully separated conjoined twins during a long 24-hour procedure. The 2-year-old twins - Dagian and Danielle Lee of Cleveland, OH - were separated during a procedure which began at 6:30am Saturday Dec. 13, 2008, and ended 24 hours later.

The girls, who were joined from the breast bone to the groin - are said to be recovering well at the Children's Hospital.

Leading the team that separated the girls was Joseph E. Losee, MD, FACS, FAAP, who is also the chief of the Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery. He led the more than 50 individuals involved in either preoperative care or the surgery itself.

The multidisciplinary surgical team included specialists from Orthopaedics, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, and General and Thoracic Surgery. Specialists from Critical Care Medicine, Nursing, and Cardiology have also been involved in the twins' pre and post operative care.

The girls were conjoined from the breast bone to the groin, and shared a colon. Their livers were also connected, and they shared a third leg.

According to a recent study, children who eat bacon more than once per week are at a dramatically higher risk of developing leukemia. Scientists found that children who have been struck down by the disease consumed greater amounts of processed meats, including bacon, hot dogs, and ham.

The research also shows that regularly consuming cured meats, such as bacon, can raise a youngster's leukemia risk by 74 percent, compared to those who rarely or never eat them. Scientists are now concerned that preservative chemicals known as nitrites may be to blame by triggering a chain reaction that promotes the growth of cancer.

Results of the study, which was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, suggests diet is a major factor in the development of the disease. Researchers studied 145 children and teens in southern Taiwan who had acute leukemia, and compared them with other children who did not have leukemia.

According to a federal report released Wednesday, teen pregnancy is on the rise in more than half of the states in the U.S. The analysis also found that Mississippi has also displaced Texas as the state with the highest teen pregnancy rate.

This latest report shows significant increases in the teen birthrate for 2006 in 26 states. 2006 is the most recent year for which data is available.

Mississippi's teen birthrate in 2006 was 60% higher than the national average. Texas and New Mexico trailed closely behind with 50% higher rates of pregnancy.

Some experts are blaming the higher teen pregnancy rates on increased federal funding for abstinence-only education. The results revealed today mark the first signficant spike in teen pregnancy rates in over 15 years.

The state of Ohio has just launched a new website designed to keep residents updated on an on-going investigation into an Ohio town's strange cluster of childhood cancer cases. At least 18 children in Clyde, Ohio have been diagnosed in recent years.

The website was launched on Wednesday, said Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson Dina Pierce. It aims to provide easy access to the latest information from the EPA and Ohio Department of Health into the investigation in the Sandusky County town.

The site currently includes background material on the investigation, as well as contact information for officials conducting the probe. Results of air and water monitoring will be posted after the tests begin later this month.

To date, studies of the area have not reached a conclusion on why there are so many cases of childhood cancer in the area.

Motrin had to pull a new advertisement after moms who use baby slings were angered by the spot. Motrin responded to the backlash, which started on the social networking site twitter.com, by releasing a statement that said:

I am the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare. I have responsibility for the Motrin Brand, and am responding to concerns about recent advertising on our website. I am, myself, a mom of 3 daughters.

We certainly did not mean to offend moms through our advertising. Instead, we had intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. We believe deeply that moms know best and we sincerely apologize for disappointing you. Please know that we take your feedback seriously and will take swift action with regard to this ad. We are in process of removing it from our website. It will take longer, unfortunately, for it to be removed from magazine print as it is currently on newstands and in distribution.

Here is the spot that is garnering so much attention. What do you think of the advert?

As the weather is beginning to turn and the holiday season gets ever so nearer, we are once again reminded of one of the perils of the season - the flu. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that all children between the ages of 6 months and 19-years-old, adults 50 and older, and those who work in the healthcare industry get an annual flu shot. If you do not fall into one of those categories, it still can't hurt to get one.

CVS offers flu shots without an appointment at more than 500 MinuteClinic locations and during flu shot clinic events in select CVS pharmacy stores nationwide. Consumers are encouraged to call 1-888-FLU-SHOT or go to www.cvs.com to view a list of flu shot clinics available.

Flu shots at CVS pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations are just $30 and may be covered by insurance.

Here's a list of upcoming flu shot clinic events in the greater Cleveland area:

November 4:

Mayfield Heights, 1451 Som Center Rd. (440) 937-4027 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

South Euclid, 4469 Mayfield Rd. (216) 382-6780. 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

November 5:

Berea, 212 West Bagley Rd. (440) 243-6676 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Mayfield Heights, 5901 Mayfield Rd. (440) 646-1555 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

A new study suggests that the deadly AIDS virus has been circulating in the human population for around 100 years, which is decades longer than scientists initially believed. Previous estimates put the origin of HIV back to 1930, but research has now put its origins between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908.

AIDS was not formally recognized until 1981 when it attracted the attention of public health officials in the United States.

Results of the genetic analysis of the virus appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Researchers note that the new origin dates also fall during the rise of cities in Africa, and suggest that urban development may have helped promote HIV's initial establishment and early spread.

Researchers say that HIV descended from a chimpanzee virus that jumped to humans in Africa, which is likely to have occurred when people butchered chimps. They believe that many people were infected this way, but that it didn't take hold in others until the growth of African cities, when lots of people were put close together and prostitution became promoted.