Reader's Digest

The ambulance crew gave the hospital staff at Corpus Christi Medical Center a fast rundown. Dennis Fegan, 48, had passed out at his home about 30 minutes earlier. Luckily, his parents were visiting, and they called for an ambulance after he fell from a dining chair to the floor. Then Fegan woke up, just as suddenly as he had collapsed. Three minutes later, he passed out again for less than a minute; then he came to. By the time the medics arrived, Fegan's parents had watched their son lose and regain consciousness at least eight times.

Suzanne Bull always half expected that she'd get cancer. After all, she lived in Marin County, California, where breast cancer rates are among the highest in the country. Still, she was determined to do whatever she could to protect herself. She ate right and exercised, and every year, she went into San Francisco to get a mammogram.