(NECN: Anya Huneke, Winooski, VT) - Women have a lot of new information to digest this week. First, new recommendations about mammograms, now new guidelines on pap smears, an effective tool for detecting cervical cancer.

This month, Allison Hicks reached a milestone. She's cancer free- five years after her diagnosis.

Allison Hicks\Cancer Survivor: "It was so shocking for me. I was unaware of HPV- I had never heard of it before."

At the age of 29, Hicks - of Winooski, Vermont - found out she had cervical cancer - which is most often caused by the human papilloma virus.

(NECN) - Dr. Peter Greenspan of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, joins NECN with what you need to know about H1N1 flu.

Dr. Greenspan discusses where the outbreak stands, and answers questions from some viewers.

You can E-mail your flu concerns to flu@necn.com

(NECN) - New medical guidelines are calling for fewer Pap smears for most women.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or ACOG, says having the tests every two years is enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer in women under the age of 30. Previous rules had called for annual testing.

Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps.

The new guidelines also say that routine pap screening should begin at the age of 21.

(NECN) - So, a reporter goes out to cover a story one day, and the next thing you know, he's in a hospital bed, donating bone marrow to a boy he had never even met.

How did it all come to be? The story is told in "The Marrow In Me," a new book written by NECN sportscaster Kevin Walsh.

Kevin joins Jim Braude on Broadside to discuss the book, and the cause.

To register to become a bone marrow donor, visit KevinWalshTV.com.

Click here to purchase the book.

(NECN: Katie Daly, Worcester, Mass.) - Researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute are taking aim at hard to treat fungal infections.

It’s not something that everyone wants to talk about, but many want to find a cure for.

Reeta Prusty Rao is a professor and researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She has devoted ten years to studying fungal infections and now, may be close to improving the way doctors treat problems like athletes foot or more serous infections

(NECN: Marnie MacLean) - Smokers across the country are trying to kick the habit. Today is the annual Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Despite years of public health efforts encouraging people to quit, smoking rates among some groups are rising.

Researchers in Portland, Maine are trying a new approach to help young women addicted to cigarettes.

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is trying to clear up some of the confusion set off by a government panel's new recommendations on mammograms this week.

On Monday, that panel said most women do not need mammograms in their 40s, but should get them starting at age 50 -- a reversal from the long-standing advice of the American Cancer Society.

Joining NECN for a discussion is Lisa Kennedy Sheldon, an assistant professor at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UMass Boston.

(NECN/ABC) - We all know how expensive going to the movies has become, but it may be even more costly than you think. A new study says when you buy snack food at the theater, you may be paying a price in health, as well as money.

A trip to the movies may not seem complete without popcorn and a soda.

15 years ago, the consumer organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest shocked the nation by revealing what was in that popcorn and soda. And, they've done it again. They say the two largest movie chains have gone back to using coconut oil to pop their popcorn.

(NECN) - There is so much in the news about flu vaccines nowadays, but how exactly do they work?

Why do people need to be immunized? What is the history of immunization in the United States?

Click here to visit the museum's Web site.

Joining NECN for a discussion from the Museum of Science in Boston is Anita Loughlin, PhD.

(NECN) - With Thanksgiving just around the corner, one may want to partake in a few pre-holiday steps aimed at making this holiday a healthy one.

Natural health care practitioner Mark Mincolla shares his tips in the video player above.

Healthy Pre-holiday tips:

1. Pedometer - 6,000 steps daily
2. 80-20 rule - 80% healthy food
3. Don't drink your calories!
4. Fill up on lean poultry and produce
5. Focus on the people not the food!