Stories by Marissa Harshman

Columbian Health Reporter

The liver is an organ about the size of a football that sits just under the rib cage on the right side of the abdomen.

New Hepatitis C treatments offer hope of a cure

January 4, 2016, 6:05am Clark County Health

While antiviral drugs could cure about 90 percent of the estimated 150 million people in the world with hepatitis C, access to those drugs -- and even a hepatitis C diagnosis -- is low, according to the World Health Organization. Read story

Joe Bongiovanni, middle, of Kalama, James "Bobo" Fay, left, field researcher with Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, and Matt Moneymaker, the organization's founder, team up to search for Bigfoot.

Kalama man, his organization on the hunt for Sasquatch

January 2, 2016, 6:05am Clark County Health

Joseph Bongiovanni said he has always been interested in the idea of Sasquatch, but the Kalama man never gave to much weight to the stories of the mysterious creature said to inhabit forests in the Pacific Northwest. Read story

Fourteen-year-old Miles Cottrell of Camas assembled birdhouse kits for students at the school at Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. Last week, Miles and his family delivered the kits to the teachers at the Portland hospital.

Camas teen who fought leukemia gives back to hospital

December 24, 2015, 4:38pm Clark County Health

Two years ago, Miles Cottrell was a regular in the pediatrics unit at Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland. Read story

The Vancouver Clinic hosts prediabetes class

December 23, 2015, 5:05pm Clark County Health

The Vancouver Clinic is hosting a class for people with prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which a person has a blood sugar level higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. The two-hour course is designed for anyone who has been diagnosed with… Read story

Amanda Giese, left, plays with 5-year-old J in her Felida home Tuesday afternoon. J is an orphan from China who is staying with Giese's family during the holidays. The adoption agency prohibits the use of J's legal name.

Chinese orphan gets special Christmas wish

December 22, 2015, 6:22pm Clark County Health

For the first time, 5-year-old J got to open a Christmas gift picked out and wrapped just for him. And like most kids, he found just as much joy -- if not more -- in popping the bubble wrap insulating the toy. Read story

Surprise birth gives couple an early Christmas gift

First-time mother Lilly Lester of Vancouver and her baby girl, Persephone Brooks, are spending Christmas in the neonatal intensive care unit at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. Lester was just 28 weeks' pregnant when she went into labor while on a road trip with her boyfriend, Dustin Brooks.

Little Persephone Brooks wasn't supposed to experience her first Christmas until next year. But the feisty baby decided to make her entrance into the world in time for this Christmas -- arriving 12 weeks early and in the front seat of a rental car during a road trip. Read story

10 tips for managing diabetes during the holidays

The holiday season is a minefield, but that doesn't mean that people with diabetes or prediabetes can't still enjoy the festivities.

The holidays are full of tasty temptations that can derail healthy eating habits. And while the focus on food from Thanksgiving to New Year's can be a test for anyone, it's particularly problematic for people with diabetes. Read story