Doctor's Orders: Nov. 14, 2005

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HERBAL AID FOR WOMEN Taking ginkgo biloba supplements for at least six months may lower the risk of ovarian cancer 60%, report doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. In the lab, ginkgo also stopped some ovarian-cancer cells from growing.

OUT OF BREATH? SEE YOUR DOCTOR In a study of 17,991 patients, people who had shortness of breath but no known heart disease were four times as likely to die from a cardiac cause within three years as those who breathed easily.

PILLS TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER? Evening primrose oil, pressed from the flower's seeds, is rich in gamma-linolenic acid, a substance that a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found inhibits a gene that causes nearly 30% of breast-cancer cases.

GOOD NEWS FOR WANNABE DADS A Norwegian study of testicular-cancer survivors offers hope for would-be dads: 71% fathered children within 15 years, though conception was less likely with men who had the most aggressive treatment.