For some cancer patients, sharing the news can be a difficult decision. Not everyone is comfortable telling others, for cultural or privacy reasons — or because they just don't want to talk about it. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin initially kept his prostate cancer quiet. Kate, Princess of Wales, also waited to publicly disclose her cancer. Their reactions hardly surprised experts. One patient counselor said people sometimes keep it to themselves because they don't want to be identified solely as a cancer patient. In the U.S., death rates from cancer have been declining for decades but it remains the nation's No. 2 killer.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a deadly carcinogen still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda. Asbestos exposure is linked to 40,000 U.S. deaths each year.

Women over 35 and those facing serious diseases like cancer, lupus and sickle cell are among the most likely to turn to IVF to build the families they desperately want. But in Alabama, they are among those whose dreams are in limbo after three of the state's largest clinics paused IVF services. That happened in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling that described frozen embryos as "extrauterine children." Doctors say the ruling has made an already difficult situation worse for these women. They hope that recent legislative efforts can protect Alabama clinics but worry that threats to IVF may emerge in other states.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he never directed anyone on his staff to keep his cancer surgery and hospitalization secret from the White House but acknowledges he should have handled it differently. He apologized for keeping President Joe Biden and others in the dark for weeks. Austin was speaking to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room on Thursday, providing his most extensive comments to date on the secrecy surrounding his cancer diagnosis and struggles with complications since his surgery on Dec. 22. It was the first time he answered reporters' questions since his surgery.