Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Finds Most Diagnosed With Early Breast Cancer Live At Least 5 Years
Fox News: Most Women Diagnosed With Early Breast Cancer Will Survive Beyond 5 Years, Study Finds
Death rates from breast cancer have been on a steady decline in recent decades, dropping 43% between 1989 and 2020. The average risk of dying from breast cancer in the five years after an early diagnosis has fallen from 14% to 5% since the 1990s, according to a recent study from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, that was published in the British Medical Journal. (Rudy, 6/20)
The Washington Post: Obesity Increases Risk Of 13 Types Of Cancer
Being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk for at least 13 types of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those diseases are breast cancer (in postmenopausal women), multiple myeloma, meningioma (a type of brain cancer) and cancers of the esophagus, colon and rectum, uterus, gallbladder, upper stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas and thyroid. (Searing, 6/19)
Also —
AP: Martina Navratilova Says She Is Clear Of Cancer After Tests
Martina Navratilova says she is clear of cancer. The tennis Hall of Famer announced the news Monday on Twitter after what she said was a full day of tests at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians etc- what a relief,” she wrote. Navratilova, 66, revealed she had been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer in January and that she would begin treatment that month. She had been diagnosed with a noninvasive form of breast cancer in 2010 and had a lumpectomy. (6/19)
Bloomberg: Cancer Warnings On Beer, Wine In Ireland Spark Industry Alarm
New health warnings by Ireland set to be the world’s strictest on beer, wine and spirits have sparked alarm from alcohol-producing countries that argue the labels would impose an obstacle to trade. The US and Mexico have raised concerns over the legislation ahead of World Trade Organization committee meetings this week. Argentina, Australia, Chile, Cuba and New Zealand have also expressed reservations about the law, which Ireland passed last month. While the European Commission gave Ireland the green light, at least nine wine- and beer-producing member countries opposed the measure. (O'Dwyer, 6/19)
Axios: Startup Prenuvo Now Offering Full Body Scans In Chicago — And I Did It
Throughout history, humans have asked the elusive questions: When and how will we die? Though we can't predict our mortality, a new technology wants to give patients more control over how to live. The Silicon Valley startup Prenuvo has improved upon imaging technology to create a whole body scan that screens for cancers and long-term diseases. They recently started offering the scans in their new practice in Chicago, on Van Buren in the West Loop. And I did it. (Kaufmann, 6/18)
In related news about cancer —
NBC News: Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Rates Are Soaring: What To Know
The rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — which can lead to life-threatening conditions, including cirrhosis and cancer of the organ — have been soaring over the past three decades, a new study finds. (Carroll, 6/16)
Boise State Public Radio News: New Registry Could Shed Light On Link Between Wildland Firefighting And Cancer
In 2019, Kat Navarro worked a season with the Redmond Hotshots, a Forest Service crew based on the east side of the Oregon Cascades. Late that summer, they were on a fire in the Malheur National Forest. In videos she recently shared with me, thick smoke filled the dense woods. Navarro was doing the same tough work as everybody else, and that long summer served as an intense crash course on the complex reality of wildland working conditions. (Woodhouse, 6/16)
