Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aggressive Breast Cancer Surgeries For Elderly Women 'Might Be Worse Than Breast Cancer Itself'
The New York Times: For Elderly Women With Breast Cancer, Surgery May Not Be The Best Option
Annie Krause moved into a nursing home in Detroit in 2015, when she was 98 years old. She had grown frail. Arthritis, recurrent infections and hypertension had made it difficult for her to manage on her own. When the facility’s doctor examined her, he found a mass in Ms. Krause’s breast and recommended a biopsy — standard procedure to determine what sort of tumor this was and, if it proved malignant, what treatment to pursue. Once diagnosed, breast cancer almost always leads to surgery, even in older women. (Span, 9/14)
The Associated Press: FDA Plans Meeting To Discuss Safety Data On Breast Implants
U.S. health regulators say they'll convene a public meeting of medical advisers next year to discuss new science on breast implant safety, including an independent analysis that suggests certain rare health problems might be more common with silicone gel implants. The Food and Drug Administration said it would hold the meeting even as its officials and several independent experts disputed the new work. Leaders of the study concede that it has big limitations and cannot prove that implants cause any of these problems. (9/14)
The New York Times: New Approach To Breast Reconstruction May Reduce Pain And Weakness For Some
Before Deborah Cohan had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction five years ago, her plastic surgeon explained that he would “create a little pocket” behind her chest muscle and “slip the implant in.” Her doctor glossed over the part of the procedure in which the large pectoralis major muscles are detached from some underlying ribs, pulled off the chest wall, then stretched out for several months to accommodate breast implants. The process can weaken the muscle and left Dr. Cohan, an obstetrician, with chronic pain that made it difficult for her to work at a computer, let alone deliver babies. (Rabin, 9/17)
