The Sydney Morning Herald logo
The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement
Henrietta Cook

Henrietta Cook

Henrietta Cook is a senior reporter covering health for The Age. Henrietta joined The Age in 2012 and has previously covered state politics, education and consumer affairs.

Alicia Graham has been donating her menstrual fluid in the hope of helping researchers prevent pregnancy complications.

The missing piece of the miscarriage puzzle could be hiding in plain sight

Australian researchers are among the first in the world to study a long-stigmatised aspect of women’s lives and its possible link to pregnancy complications.

  • Henrietta Cook

Latest

Cheryl Priest was diagnosed with pancreatic and lung cancer in 2021. She wonders if she would have been diagnosed earlier if she hadn’t skipped routine blood checks.

During COVID, Cheryl skipped tests. Then a ‘fake tan’ comment forced her to the GP

Oncologists are warning of waves of recurrent cancers due to later-stage diagnoses following the pandemic.

  • Henrietta Cook and Melissa Cunningham
An attendee holds a placard during an emergency public meeting at Fitzroy Town Hall last year about the cohealth closures.

‘Litany of failures’: Cohealth board threatened with sacking amid soaring deficits

The scathing review recommends drastic action at the inner-city clinics or face a complete government takeover.

  • Rachael Dexter and Henrietta Cook
Health workers wearing protective suits prepare for Ebola response operations as residents gather outside a hospital in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hospital systems pass first test after suspected Ebola case in Melbourne

Victorian health authorities are on high alert for diphtheria and Ebola following outbreaks elsewhere.

  • Henrietta Cook
Lavengamalie Malagaoma’s son Michael was left waiting for years for specialist care to deal with a hearing problem.

Patients are waiting 1460 days for routine appointments. Authorities think AI can fix it

For the first time in 80 years, Victoria is overhauling specialist care in public hospitals to ensure needy patients are not left waiting to get the help they need.

  • Henrietta Cook
Patients banned by Victorian hospitals are being ejected by security guards, leaving them untreated and out on the street.

Booted from hospital and dumped on the street: Patients on secret blacklist being refused treatment

Public hospitals are using exclusion notices to ban aggressive patients, which paramedics argue puts them and patients at risk.

  • Grant McArthur, Kieran Rooney and Henrietta Cook
Advertisement
Dragi Grozdanovski received treatment for oesophageal cancer at the old Footscray hospital last February and is now in remission.

New hospital in the west opened three months ago but already faces cuts

Patients, surgeons and Western Health are concerned about a plan to strip cancer surgeries from the new Footscray Hospital.

  • Henrietta Cook
Natasha Tualau says she has been left with sore teeth and no retirement savings.

A simple tooth fix emptied Natasha’s super and left her in constant pain

The health practitioner watchdog is investigating dentists at a major chain over alleged predatory practices encouraging patients to access their superannuation to fund veneers.

  • Henrietta Cook
Victorians are landing in emergency departments after suffering severe side effects linked to illegal peptide use.

Amputations, heart attacks, days of vomiting: The horror toll of ‘backyard’ peptides

Victorians are taking peptides for everything from weight loss and body building to skin improvements. Many end up in hospitals with severe side effects.

  • Melissa Cunningham and Henrietta Cook
Melbourne gynaecologist Simon Gordon.

‘I just wanted contraception’: Holly’s ordeal with disgraced gynaecologist leads to Supreme Court

Simon Gordon allegedly told a patient he removed her ovary and fallopian tube after discovering extensive endometriosis, concealing pathology results that showed otherwise.

  • Carla Jaeger and Henrietta Cook