Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Stop Using The Word 'Cancer' For Very Early-Stage Cancers
The New York Times: Not Everything We Call Cancer Should Be Called Cancer
“You have cancer.” Ask anyone who has been told this: It’s terrifying. That’s one reason we need to rethink what we call cancer. Despite amazing advances in our understanding of the disease, we have neglected to update how we define what has been called the emperor of all maladies. Some cancers have extraordinarily low risks of altering the quality or length of life but get lumped in with those that do. And that often leads to unnecessary treatment, disfigurement, side effects and a constellation of other psychological, relationship and financial issues. (Dr. Laura Esserman and Dr. Scott Eggener, 8/30)
The Washington Post: Army, Navy, Air Force Bosses To Tuberville: Stop Dangerous Hold On Promotions
The senator asserts that this blanket and unprecedented “hold,” which he has maintained for more than six months, is about opposition to Defense Department policies that ensure service members and their families have access to reproductive health no matter where they are stationed. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this policy is critical and necessary to meet our obligations to the force. It is also fully within the law, as confirmed by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. (Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, 9/4)
Stat: How To Bring Climate-Focused Employees Into Biotech
More and more people, especially early career workers, want jobs fighting climate change. But when we think about climate work, we tend to imagine only a small number of activities, like integrating renewables into the grid or planning cities to be resilient against flooding and fires. We often overlook jobs in another key climate technology sector: biotechnology. (Lily Fitzgerald, 9/5)
Stat: How Hospitals Can Help Patients Prep For Appointments
The term for a patient who lists their questions was likely coined in the late 19th century in the clinic of Jean-Martin Charcot at the Salpêtrière. Known as la maladie du petit papier, or the illness of the little paper, the derogatory descriptor was inherently feminine and usually reserved for hypochondriacs making a laundry list of their purported ailments. As researchers in and proponents of the burgeoning field of shared decision-making, we now know that doctors shouldn’t be so dismissive of patients who bring in a list of questions. In fact, medical systems should be promoting the practice. (Akila Muthukumar Valliammai, Leigh Simmons and Karen Sepucha, 9/5)
The Washington Post: What Patients — And Doctors — Should Know About ‘Benzo’ Withdrawal
When my primary care doctor prescribed Klonopin to treat my severe anxiety in the months before and after major surgery in December 2021, I had no idea that getting off the drug later — as well as the Ambien I had taken for over a decade — would become a nightmare. (Sharon Goldman, 9/2)
