Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Putting More Focus On The 'Invisible Cancer Generation'
The Washington Post: If You Are Young And Have Cancer, Help Can Be Hard To Find. That’s Changing.
Adolescents and young adults with cancer, often called AYAs, have been an in-between, often forgotten population. Groups that advocate for them argue that research, treatment and survival rates have not kept pace with those of young children and older adults. “We are the invisible cancer generation,” Zachary says. Furthermore, this group has age-specific concerns, including body image, sexuality, fertility, relationships, education and career. (Cimons, 8/18)
The Washington Post: Childhood Exposure To Secondhand Smoke Is Linked To Lung Disease Decades Later
Childhood exposure to secondhand smoke is linked to lung disease decades later, according to a study published last week by the American Cancer Society. For 22 years, researchers have been following more than 70,000 adults who have never smoked. At the beginning of the study, the participants were asked whether they lived in a household with a smoker while they were children. Those who did were 31 percent more likely to die of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. This is the first study to find a correlation between the two. (Furby, 8/18)
Politico: I’m Coping With Cancer By Reporting On It
I’ve got direct access to the cumbersome and complicated and hopefully lifesaving American health care system. I am in reporter heaven even if I am in cancer-patient hell. Straddling that line is bizarre. To write this story, I filled out a patient consent form that allows me to write about getting treated for my own disease. I went through the Moffitt Cancer Center’s press office to fact-check this article with my own doctor. I always fear misquoting or mischaracterizing someone, but now, the person I fear misquoting will soon cut me open on an operating table. (Glorioso, 8/19)
The Wall Street Journal: An Ex-Husband Moves Back In—For Cancer Care
Chad Burnheimer and Holly Platt, both in their 40s, had been divorced for eight years when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2017. At that point, Ms. Platt became his caregiver, taking him to the doctor, monitoring his medicine and joining him at support groups for those with brain tumors. He moved into her Pittsburgh home with their three children, ages 11, 14 and 21. ... The profile of the nation’s 40 million unpaid caregivers is evolving. Family members—typically spouses and adult children—still provide the majority of care for the sick and aging, but as families become smaller and more far-flung, others are stepping in, including grandchildren, neighbors, stepchildren, and partners. Now, with high rates of divorce, especially among baby boomers, a relatively new face is emerging in the caregiving landscape: ex-spouses. (Ansberry, 8/19)
