Younger Generations At Greater Risk Of Developing Cancer Than Baby Boomers
However, American Cancer Society researchers found that the risk of dying from the disease has stabilized or declined in Gen X and Millennials. In a separate study, researchers found the survival rate for cancer patients who undergo a double mastectomy is the same as for patients who don't.
The Washington Post:
Gen X And Millennials At Higher Cancer Risk Than Older Generations
Generation X and millennials are at an increased risk of developing certain cancers compared with older generations, a shift that is probably due to generational changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures, a large new study suggests. In a new study published Wednesday in the Lancet Public Health journal, researchers from the American Cancer Society reported that cancer rates for 17 of the 34 most common cancers are increasing in progressively younger generations. (Bever, 7/31)
CBS News:
Double Mastectomy Shows No Survival Benefit For Most Breast Cancer Patients, Study Says
A new study published in JAMA Oncology followed more than 650,000 women with breast cancer in one breast for up to 20 years and found that women who underwent double mastectomy were less likely to develop cancer in the other breast, but didn't live any longer, on average, than women who didn't undergo double mastectomy. In other words, women who had a lumpectomy or a mastectomy on the affected side but kept their other breast did just as well from a survival benefit as women who had both breasts removed. They say this may not apply to women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes which puts them at much higher risk of breast cancer. (Marshall, 7/31)
Stat:
Cancer Moonshot's Future May Hinge On Election, Advocates Say
In President Biden’s address to the nation after dropping out of the election race, he said he would “keep fighting for my Cancer Moonshot.” He will, at least, for his remaining six months in office. Biden’s impending exit from the political stage leaves uncertainty hanging over the future of this signature health initiative, which Biden began first as vice president under Barack Obama and later renewed as president. (Chen, 8/1)
On the hack of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's cancer records —
The Washington Post:
Jury Convicts Man Of Illegally Accessing Justice Ginsburg’s Health Records
A 34-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of illegally accessing the private medical data of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2019 but acquitted of posting the information to an online message board where conspiracists falsely claimed Democratic politicians were covering up her death. Trent J. Russell testified in his own defense near the end of a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., repeatedly asserting that he never viewed or posted the justice’s confidential medical information, which showed details of her cancer treatments at George Washington University Hospital. (Rizzo, 7/31)
