Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Two-Thirds Of Cancer Patients Don't Meet Cancer Screening Criteria: Study
MedPage Today: Current Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Miss Most Tumors, Study Suggests
Only about a third of patients with lung cancer met U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) screening criteria, according to results from a cohort study. Among 997 patients with lung cancer, only 35.1% met USPSTF screening criteria, while universal age-based screening (40-85 years) detected 93.9% of cancers, preventing at least 26,124 deaths annually, reported Ankit Bharat, MD, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues. (Bassett, 11/20)
NBC News: These Women Were Diagnosed With Lung Cancer. They Weren't Eligible For Screening
In 2024, Kara Goodwin started feeling a pain in her arm and shoulder that wouldn’t go away. She was diagnosed with bicep tendinitis and frozen shoulder. Doctors thought the resident of Brooklyn, New York, who has run multiple marathons, had an overuse injury from her active lifestyle. Two months later, when the pain hadn’t gone away, Goodwin got an MRI. “They could visibly see the giant tumor that was shattering my humerus bone from the inside out,” she said. Goodwin, now 39, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her bones. (Kopf and Vespa, 11/20)
CBS News: A Mild Symptom Was Bothering A Young Dad. He Had Stage IV Lung Cancer.
Endurance athlete Kevin Humphrey was used to discomfort. He regularly participated in ultramarathons and other intense events. Swimming, biking and running dozens of miles at a time was standard for him. His two young sons also kept him active even when he wasn't training. But in January 2024, a persistent back pain kept bothering him. The pain "just would not go away," Humphrey said. He couldn't sleep on his back. At the same time, he started coughing. (Breen, 11/16)
KFF Health News: After Series Of Denials, His Insurer Approved Doctor-Recommended Cancer Care. It Was Too Late
For nearly three years, Eric Tennant endured chemotherapy infusions, rounds of radiation, biopsies, and hospitalizations that left him weak and depleted. “It’s good to be home,” he said after one hospital stay in early June, “yet I’m tired and ready to get on with things.” In 2023, Tennant, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile ducts that had spread throughout his body. (Sausser, 11/21)
Bloomberg: Abbott To Buy Cancer-Screener Exact Sciences For $21 Billion
Abbott Laboratories agreed to acquire cancer-screening company Exact Sciences Corp., in a deal with a total equity value of about $21 billion. In the biggest health-care deal in two years, Abbott will pay $105 per common share in cash, the companies said Thursday in a statement. The price represents a 51% premium to Exact Sciences’ closing price on Nov. 18, the last full trading day before Bloomberg reported that Abbott was nearing a deal. (Davis and Nair, 11/20)
Also —
KFF Health News: US Cancer Registries, Constrained By Trump Policies, To Recognize Only ‘Male’ Or ‘Female’ Patients
The top authorities of U.S. cancer statistics will soon have to classify the sex of patients strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of transgender people, one of the nation’s most marginalized populations. Scientists and advocates for trans rights say the change will make it much harder to understand cancer diagnoses and trends among the trans population. Certain studies have shown that transgender people are more likely to use tobacco products or less likely to receive routine cancer screenings — factors that could put them at higher risk of disease. (Pradhan, 11/21)
KFF Health News: Cancer Stole Her Voice. She Used AI, Curse Words, And Kids’ Books To Get It Back
When doctors told her they had to remove her tongue and voice box to save her life from the cancer that had invaded her mouth, Sonya Sotinsky sat down with a microphone to record herself saying the things she would never again be able to say. “Happy birthday” and “I’m proud of you” topped the phrases she banked for her husband and two daughters, as well as “I’ll be right with you,” intended for customers at the architecture firm she co-owns in Tucson, Arizona. (Dembosky, 11/21)
