‘I knew she was dying, but didn’t expect her to time it so spectacularly’: losing my mother as my baby was born

As I lay in the maternity ward, I learned my mother was gravely ill. What followed was a year full of love, rage, resentment – and a strange cocktail of new life and imminent death

My in-laws won’t accept my post-chemo vulnerability. Do I confront them?

You are well within your rights to ask them to consider your weakened immune system. You deserve to feel safe – even if the chat causes tension

Plant-based diet can cut bowel cancer risk in men by 22%, says study

Researchers find no such link for women, suggesting connection between diet and bowel cancer is clearer for men

400 people in UK diagnosed with preventable cancer every day, data shows

Experts say healthy lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and eating more vegetables can lower risk

New women’s health strategy for England aims to end decades of inequality

Among proposals to ‘reset the dial’ on women’s health are training for doctors and hubs across the NHS

Does turmeric’s reputation translate into real health benefits?

Clinical trials show that curcumin, present in the spice, may help fight osteoarthritis and other diseases, but there’s a catch – bioavailability, or how to get it into the blood

In her gracious acceptance of death, Deborah James has given us lessons in how to live

None of us truly knows how we will behave when the inevitable gets ever closer. Facing it squarely might allow us to savour those final moments

Skin Deep by Phillipa McGuinness review – a fascinating study of our largest organ

This wonderfully eclectic book covers everything from cancer to cosmetics, racism to skin hunger, with curiosity and intelligence throughout

Living in a woman’s body: I want my daughter to be inspired by my miraculous scars

When I was pregnant, I discovered that I had developed breast cancer – just like my mother before me. One day, the child I was carrying may face the same hard choices

Living in a woman’s body: our fists raised in defiance, we are taking back what is ours

Women’s bodies are forever under threat, making themselves smaller. In the first of a new series, the writer and activist explains how women are reclaiming their power

The person who got me through 2021: Heather Phillipson’s sculpture brightened my trips to hospital

On my way to have painful medical tests, I felt dejected. Then I saw a giant dollop of whipped cream with a cherry on top in Trafalgar Square

My husband has shut down sexually – and he won’t let me take a lover

He’s my best friend and I would never leave him. But I feel bereft after he withdrew all sexual intimacy from me years ago

‘A letter tells someone they still matter’: the sudden, surprising return of the pen pal

In the pandemic, many have rediscovered the sheer pleasure of writing to strangers, with new schemes spreading hope and connection around the world

Exercise can help prevent cancers, new research finds

Obesity could soon overtake smoking as the main preventable cancer risk

‘Find a part of each day to relish’: coping with cancer and Covid

This year has challenged us all. But for Sarah Hughes it’s been particularly hard. Here, she talks about living with cancer – and letting in the light in the darkest of times