There is general agreement that the United States spends too much on health care, especially on pharmaceuticals. But what we spend on drugs is not simply a function of price. If eggs double in price, people can simply cut the number of eggs they eat in half. Simply stated, cost is the product of (price per unit times the number of units purchased).
Cannabis use disorder is associated with a dramatically increased odds of death within five years of diagnosis in people with colorectal cancer, a recent observational study found.
For more than a year before her stage 4 lung cancer was found, 35-year-old Alisa Secaida, a never-smoker and a physically active Southern Californian, had been experiencing a persistent cough and, increasingly, fatigue.
Our Hispanic community is a vibrant and essential part of the American tapestry, contributing richly to the country’s society, culture, and economy. Yet, when it comes to healthcare, this community grapples with significant disparities, especially in cancer care.
It started innocuously enough. I looked in the mirror and noticed a pigmented area on my scalp just into the hairline. Like many patients, thoughts started running through my head: “Maybe it’s nothing.” Looking at my Outlook calendar, it was packed morning-to-night with meetings, patients, and travel, so I decided I would get that spot checked out the minute I had “time.”
With advances in treatment and screening for earlier detection, oncologists have improved cancer survival rates dramatically. That is excellent news, but the surging number of survivors means it is increasingly important for providers to focus more diligently on what patients need to thrive after treatment.
Credit: Jonah Elkowitz/ShutterstockThat President Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer is certainly unfortunate news, but it should come as no surprise. One in eight men in the U.S. will be told they have prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime: more than 300,000 new diagnoses occur annually, and the absolute numbers are rising.
True innovation in healthcare requires us to look beyond the obvious. For years, DNA sequencing has been the key pillar of precision medicine, offering insights into disease predispositions, mechanisms, and diagnosis that inform treatment.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology and Google Cloud have developed a tool called the ASCO Guidelines Assistant to help oncologists parse through and interpret clinical practice guidelines.
Natalie Phelps, a 43-year-old mother of two, has stage 4 colorectal cancer. She has become a central figure in the controversy over the dysfunction the Trump administration’s RIFs and budget cuts have brought to NIH.
