Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Undark: The Side Effect Roulette Of Cancer Treatment
The stomach pain stopped Vickie-Lee Wall in her tracks. “The first time the pain got that bad, I honestly thought something had burst in my gut,” said the 64-year-old New Jersey woman, who has stage 4 lobular breast cancer. Her oncologist had prescribed two drugs, including a targeted medication called abemaciclib, after the cancer spread to Wall’s spine in 2018. Initially the pain was relatively mild. But then it ratcheted up until, three months later, Wall begged her physician for relief. “The next visit with him I went, ‘I can’t do this at this dose.’” (Huff, 12/6)
CNN: No Antibiotics Worked, So This Woman Turned To A Natural Enemy Of Bacteria To Save Her Husband’S Life
With her husband near death from an antibiotic-resistant superbug, a scientist found a cure no one had used in the US — intravenous injections of viruses called phages — and convinced the medical system to save his life. (LaMotte, 12/6)
The Athletic: Inside The Surgery That Changed Patrick Kane’s Career And The Rehab That Changed More
If Patrick Kane stays in the lineup for the rest of Detroit’s season, he’ll have played more post-hip-resurfacing-surgery games than anyone. Resurfacing — an alternative to a full hip replacement that involves shaving damaged bone and cartilage from the femur, capping that bone with metal and popping it back into a lined socket — has high-profile test cases in tennis (Andy Murray) and pro wrestling (The Undertaker). (Gentille, 12/5)
The New York Times: Homeless Advocate Takes On A.C.L.U., And It’s Personal
Jennifer Livovich started a nonprofit to give socks to the homeless population in Boulder, Colo. She lost it, and more, in a legal and policy dispute. (Richtel, 12/4)
Financial Times: The True Extent Of Damage To Schools From Covid-19
If any one country had schools that were designed to cope with the Covid pandemic, it would be Finland, which already had a highly digital education system that made the logistics of distance learning surprisingly easy. Yet even in Finland, the impact has been stark. At Kulosaari Secondary School, it took a year and a half for teaching to return to normal after the Finnish government declared a state of emergency in March 2020 in response to the rapid spread of Covid. (Borrett, 12/4)
The Guardian: The Fire That Still Burns: The Mental Health Crisis Unfolding Among Maui’s Children
When the destructive summer blaze swept across Lahaina, in west Maui, Maryann Kobatake’s nephew helped ferry a friend’s grandmother and cousins to safety. On the drive out of a burning Front Street, the town’s main thoroughfare, she said the 18-year-old heard screams and witnessed carnage that haunts him still. He has not discussed what he’s seen with her or other family members. “I don’t think he wants to relive it by talking,” she said, adding that she’s tried to get him to open up to her. “Because he’s had it tough in life, I think that’s just how he copes with it.” (Wang, 12/3)
