Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aggressive Treatment Of Very Early Breast Cancer May Not Be Effective, Study Finds
The Washington Post: Study Raises Doubts About Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatments
Aggressive interventions to treat the earliest stage of breast cancers have no effect on whether a woman is alive a decade later, according to a study that tracked more than 100,000 women. (Johnson and Cha, 8/20)
The Associated Press: Earliest Breast Cancer Risky For Women, Study Suggests
New research shows that chances of dying from very early breast cancer are small but the disease is riskier for young women and blacks, the same disparities seen for more advanced cancer. Death rates in the 20 years after diagnosis totaled about 3% for women whose breast cancer was confined to a milk duct. The death rates were twice as high for those younger than 35 at diagnosis and in blacks — but still lower than those with more common invasive breast cancer. (8/20)
As Jimmy Carter reveals that he has brain cancer, news outlets cover the former president's treatment plan, which will include radiation and IV infusions of a new type of anti-cancer drug.
The Washington Post: Jimmy Carter To Undergo Latest Immune Treatment For Brain Cancer
Flanked by family members and friends at a news conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta, he detailed the treatments that he has already begun and will continue in coming weeks, including radiation and the IV infusions of a new type of anti-cancer drug that tries to harness the body’s immune system to fight the disease. (Nutt, Phillip and Dennis, 8/20)
Reuters: Former President Jimmy Carter To Be Treated For Cancer
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Thursday that his cancer has spread to his brain and he will start radiation treatment for it later in the day, adding that his fate was "in the hands of God." Carter, 90, held a news conference on his condition barely a week after announcing he had undergone surgery for liver cancer. Appearing calm and lucid, the former president said he will cut back dramatically on his schedule to receive treatment every three weeks after doctors detected four "very small spots" of melanoma on his brain. (Beasley, 8/20)
