Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Steep Financial Toll Of Cancer Deaths: Lost Earnings Costs U.S. $94B
Stat: Cancer Deaths Cost The U.S. $94 Billion In Lost Earnings In A Single Year
Cancer is estimated to have caused more than 600,000 deaths in 2015, inflicting a toll that extended far beyond personal losses to impose an enormous burden on the nation’s economy, according to a new analysis. Cancer deaths that year — the most recent year for which certain data were available — collectively cut short 8.7 million years of life, a loss that translated to $94.4 billion in lost earnings, the study found. (Flaherty, 7/5)
The New York Times: New Weapons Against Cancer: Millions Of Bacteria Programmed To Kill
Scientists have used genetically reprogrammed bacteria to destroy tumors in mice. The innovative method one day may lead to cancer therapies that treat the disease more precisely, without the side effects of conventional drugs. The researchers already are scrambling to develop a commercial treatment, but success in mice does not guarantee that this strategy will work in people. Still, the new study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Medicine, is a harbinger of things to come, said Dr. Michael Dougan, an immunologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. (Zimmer, 7/3)
The Washington Post: Breast Cancer Survivors Have Fewer Worries About Lymphedema Today
For more than 25 years, many breast cancer survivors were given a lifelong, life-changing warning: Do not lift anything over five pounds, avoid getting manicures, taking saunas or even gardening since it might lead to a painful complication called lymphedema, which can cause irreversible swelling in the arm and often hardening of skin. The condition is usually caused by the removal of lymph nodes, which is done during breast cancer surgery to determine if the cancer has spread. (Berger, 7/6)
