Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nearly 30 Percent Of Cancer Deaths Linked To Smoking
Los Angeles Times: You Can Blame Cigarettes For Nearly 3 In 10 Cancer Deaths In The U.S., Study Says
Cigarette smoking can be blamed for at least 167,133 cancer deaths in the U.S. in a single year, according to a new report. That’s more than the total number of people who will attend the first four games of the World Series in Cleveland and Chicago. It’s also more than the entire population of Salem, Ore. (Kaplan, 10/24)
In other news —
NPR: The FIT Test Measures Up For Noninvasive Colon Cancer Screening
Not so very long ago, colonoscopy was the gold standard for colon cancer screening. But times are a-changing. Last month when I went in for a checkup, my primary care doctor handed me a FIT test, a colon cancer test you can do at home without the unpleasantness and risk that turn people off to colonoscopy. The FIT test, or fecal immunochemical blood test, is a newer and more accurate way to test for blood in stool, which can be a symptom of colon cancer. (Shute, 10/24)
Georgia Health News: Why Are Childhood Cancer Rates Rising?
Just one of every 100 new cancer diagnoses in the United States is a childhood case. Still, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) says there has been a significant increase in the overall rate of childhood cancers in recent decades — up 27% since 1975 in kids under age 19, according to data collected by the NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The news comes as the overall incidence of adult cancers has fallen. (Miller and Goodman, 10/24)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Joe Biden Talks Cancer Moonshot At Cleveland Clinic Innovation Summit
Vice President Joe Biden opened this year's Cleveland Clinic medical innovation summit with a talk about what he deemed "the only bipartisan thing left in the United States of America"-- the fight against cancer. Speaking about his Cancer Moonshot initiative, launched in January, Biden told a roomful of doctors, healthcare executives and entrepreneurs that for millions of people across the country affected by cancer, this work is urgent. (Zeltner, 10/24)
