Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Despite Health Insurance, Illinois Woman's Cancer Diagnosis Leads To Bankruptcy
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Swansea Woman's Cancer Diagnosis Leads To Bankruptcy
A routine mammogram a year ago — Angie Salvador's first ever — launched her on an odyssey through the American healthcare system. More tests were ordered. A biopsy followed. Then the bad news: breast cancer. (Barker, 6/15)
CBS News: A Mom's Stage IV Cancer Had No Symptoms. An Innovative Surgery Saved Her Life
When Amy Piccoli's son brought home a stomach bug in May 2024, she thought she knew what she was in for. The Los Angeles mom of three was used to seasonal illnesses and 24-hour viruses. Piccoli got sick, as she expected. But she soon became "really dehydrated" and ended up in the emergency room. As part of their workup, doctors ran a CT scan. The test showed spots on her liver and a mass in her colon. A follow-up MRI led to a biopsy. Piccoli said she "kind of blacked out" when she received the results. (Breen, 6/13)
The New York Times: Millions Of Women Are Left Out Of Menopause’s Moment
Cybele Maylone, 46, has been hearing about hormone therapy nonstop. Whether it is her friends going through menopause or posts from influencers on her social media feed, the subject has seemed unavoidable: who was on it, which doctor finally took their symptoms seriously and, most importantly, how good it felt to be on the medication. The hot flashes waning. Brain fog lifting. Sleep returning. To Ms. Maylone, it sounds like a miracle drug. But for her and millions of other women, it is not an option. (Krieger, 6/15)
KFF Health News: Early-Onset Cancers Are On The Rise. Knowing Your Family History Is Crucial
Bryce Ramsey of Madison, Mississippi, was 33 when she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Upon noticing blood in her stool, she blamed the hemorrhoids she’d developed after delivering her son eight years earlier. Ramsey didn’t initially link her symptoms to cancer. “But I had just kind of made a deal with myself because the blood was starting to become more frequent,” she said. “I was like, ‘If this happens the next time I go to the bathroom, I’m going to make a call.’” (Anthony and Farmer, 6/16)
Los Angeles Times: What COVID Is Teaching Doctors About The Relationship Between Viruses And Cancer
In early 2022, around the time the Omicron variant started driving a new surge in COVID-19 cases, researchers at James DeGregori’s University of Colorado Anschutz lab noticed something unusual: When lab mice with dormant breast cancer cells were infected with either influenza or SARS-CoV-2, the animals were significantly more likely to develop aggressive lung tumors. What’s true for a mouse isn’t always true for a human. But when the team examined healthcare databases, they were surprised to find that something similar appeared to be going on in the human population. (Purtill, 6/15)
MedPage Today: Timely 'Nudges' Can Help Encourage More End-Of-Life Conversations In Cancer
Reminders, or "nudges," to both oncology clinicians and patients led to a significant increase in difficult conversations about poor-prognosis cancers, a large randomized study showed. Involving more than 1,000 patients and their oncology providers, the study showed that patients who received a nudge along with their clinicians were 79% more likely to have serious illness conversations (SICs) within 60 days as compared with the no-nudge group. (Bankhead, 6/15)
Regarding vitamin K, cannabis, and social media use —
MedPage Today: Newborn Girls Appear Less Likely To Get Vitamin K, Hepatitis B Shots
Newborn girls were less likely to receive vitamin K prophylaxis and hepatitis B vaccination than newborn boys, according to a cohort study involving more than 93,000 babies. (Henderson, 6/15)
KUNC: More Seniors Are Using Cannabis. Researchers In The Mountain West Want To Know Why
Many older adults are turning to edible cannabis for the first time to find relief from age-related health issues. Researchers want to better understand their motivations. A new study out of the University of Utah and University of Colorado Boulder surveyed about 170 adults in Colorado over the age of 60 about why they wanted to purchase edible cannabis products. (Cohen, 6/15)
CNN: Social Media Use Early On Can Lead To Substance Experimentation
The minimum age requirement for most social media platforms is 13 years old, but nearly 40% of adolescents between the ages of 8 and 12 use social media. Doing so could lead these tweens to earlier experimentation with drugs and alcohol. (Trivedi, 6/12)
The Hill: UK Joins Limited Nations Banning Social Media For Those Under 16
The British government is banning access to social media for children under 16, joining just a few countries across the globe trying to protect kids online through a strict age-based restriction on certain applications and platforms. The move, announced Monday by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, makes the United Kingdom the fifth nation to pursue an all-out ban on social media for young kids and teenagers. Australia became the first in the world to implement an under-16 ban late last year, followed by Indonesia, while countries including Brazil and Canada have introduced legislation for similar provisions. (Nazzaro, 6/15)
