By: Ruth C. Browne, Marilyn Fraser, Judith Killen, and Laura Tollen From: healthaffairs.org With the proliferation of value-based payment initiatives and implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) coverage expansions, states have had many opportunities in recent years to improve the health of vulnerable populations through health promotion, prevention, and care coordination. We believe value-based payment models can and must …
New Spanish-language videos and brochures provide cancer patients with overview of radiation therapy
From: PR Newswire Cancer patients who speak Spanish have new tools to help them understand treatment options for their disease. The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) today released a series of Spanish-language patient videos on radiation therapy for cancer, including breast, prostate, lung, brain and other common cancer types. The videos complement a set of Spanish-language brochures on radiation …
New drug delivery system shows promise for fighting solid tumors
A new cancer-drug delivery system shows the ability to exploit the oxygen-poor areas of solid tumors that make the growths resistant to standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Carcinomas that affect the breast, lung, prostate and colon are among these solid-tumor cancers, as are malignancies in the lymphatic system, known as lymphomas, and the much less common sarcomas that arise in …
When is it OK not to treat cancer?
By: Dr. Laura Esserman From: cbsnews.com The Hippocratic Oath advises doctors to first do no harm … words many doctors today are taking to heart when it comes to decisions about cancer treatment. Here’s Barry Petersen: Lisa Mann was readying for a double mastectomy when she consulted Dr. Laura Esserman and heard two critical words. “Well, she said, ‘First of …
California cancer rates dropped during Recesssion — and that may not be good news
By: Jocelyn Weiner From: dailynews.com As the country plunged into recession between 2008 and 2012, something unexpected happened: An earlier small decline in the number of new cancer cases became a much bigger one. The authors of a study published last month by the Cancer Prevention Institute of California believe they have a plausible explanation for the trend: People who …
Cancer Screening Costs $88.7B Annually; New Tool Reduces Invasiveness and Price
One thing common to all types of cancer is that it’s a tremendously expensive disease not only to treat, but to test for, as well. The money spent screening for and treating cancer in the United States is estimated to be $88.7 billion every year.(1) Doctors in the U.S. screen patients for cancer more than in any other country that …
High-Risk Prostate Cancer Genomically Discernible
From: genengnews.com Prostate cancer that seems highly curable at first can take a turn toward something that is more aggressive—and far deadlier. If this turn, which occurs about 30% of the time, could be predicted, physicians could intensify treatment straightaway and potentially effect cures in men who have a high risk of succumbing to prostate cancer that would come roaring …
Prostate cancer sufferer ‘cured’ by blasting tumours with testosterone
By: Andrew Griffin From: independent.co.uk A man with advanced prostate cancer that didn’t seem to be treated has been “cured” by a new experimental therapy. The new treatment involved shocking tumours to death using testosterone. Other very ill men involved in the trial saw astonishing results, with tumours being seen to shrink and the progress of the disease stopping in …
BYU study could lead to better treatment of prostate cancer
By: Alex Stuckey From: sltrib.com A recent study involving Brigham Young University researchers could be a first step toward predicting better treatment methods for prostate cancer patients. Doctors currently base their treatment of this cancer on experience or statistics, said Michael Scott, a BYU civil and environmental engineering professor, but that method can lead to over- or undertreating the disease. …
Almost all men with early prostate cancer survive 10 years regardless of treatment
By: Laurie McGinley From: washingtonpost.com The survival rate for early-stage prostate cancer is 99 percent after 10 years, regardless of whether men undergo surgery, radiation or are “actively monitored,” according to studies published Wednesday. Researchers hailed the results as good news, saying they had been expecting a survival rate of 90 percent. The two new studies, published in the New …