Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When Cancer Patients Need Support And Encouragement, Personal Coaches Can Be The Answer
The Wall Street Journal: Cancer Coaches Help Guide Patients During And After Treatment
Tom Loeswick has faced a series of illnesses in his life, but when he was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma in 2012 at the age of 61, he felt helpless, emotionally drained and disconnected. Overwhelmed, Mr. Loeswick turned to cancer coach Shariann Tom. Ms. Tom, a five-time cancer survivor and former executive coach, helped Mr. Loeswick understand the emotions he was feeling—especially anger—and helped him move forward, he says. (Sadick, 9/16)
The New York Times: How An Unsolved Mystery Changed The Way We Take Pills
Odds are that you have had moments of frustration trying to open new bottles of aspirin or other over-the-counter medications. Perhaps your fingernails are not up to the task of breaking the seal on the plastic wrap. Or maybe the pop-up cap is a challenge, seemingly designed to be not only childproof but also adultproof. The foil covering the lip of the bottle may defy neat tearing. Then you struggle to remove every wisp of the cotton wad standing between you and the medicine. But odds are also good that, even if a bit annoyed, you are reassured. All those layers of protection mean you may reasonably trust that the pill you are about to pop is safe. (Haberman, 9/16)
The New York Times: Where A Sore Throat Becomes A Death Sentence
Neighbors whisper that she is pregnant, a disgrace for a young, unmarried woman. The rumors mortify her. She hates her swollen belly. But Florence Ndimubakunzi is not pregnant. Her heart is failing. It pumps so poorly that blood backs up in her veins, bloating her liver and spleen, and filling her abdomen with fluid. She is only 18. For millions like her in poorer parts of Africa, Asia and other regions, this devastating heart disease began insidiously. During childhood, they contracted strep throat — an infection caused by streptococcal bacteria. (Grady, 9/16)
NPR: Support For Caregivers Is Key To Managing Alzheimer's And Dementia
When Kate Sieloff's husband, Karl, began acting strange, she didn't know where to turn. Her hard-working, affectionate spouse was suddenly having fits of anger and aggression. He stopped paying the bills. Karl, 56 at the time, was an engineer at General Motors, where he'd worked for more than 40 years. But some days he didn't even show up for work, finding it too hard to get out of bed. Because the problems were sporadic, most people in her life couldn't see what was going on. (Gravitz, 9/15)
The Wall Street Journal: The Secret To Retaining A New Skill: Learn, Exercise, Sleep
Scientists are discovering new connections between learning, exercise and sleep. A new study suggests that when learning a new task, people improve the long-term retention of those skills when they exercise intensely for as little as 15 minutes immediately afterward—provided this is followed by a good night’s sleep. The study was published in March in the medical journal NeuroImage. (Ward, 9/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Synthetic Materials Can Replace Cartilage In Your Aching Joints
Cartilage, a rubbery tissue that acts as a cushion between bones of joints, doesn’t come with a lifetime warranty. When it wears down with age, or is damaged, the pain may be so severe that the patient ends up fully replacing a joint such as a knee. For the big toe, a common option is to surgically fuse bones together, reducing pain but leaving the patient with no motion in the joint. (Johannes, 9/16)
The Washington Post: Mysterious Terrible Pain Afflicted Her For Years Because Doctors Refused To Listen
The prominent New York City gynecologist didn’t bother to conceal his disdain. “Stop practicing Google medicine,” Lina Kharnak remembers the doctor chiding her when she asked about a possible cause of her worsening leg and back pain. The disease about which she was inquiring, he said brusquely, has different symptoms. (Boodman, 9/15)
The Washington Post: Chronic Back Pain Managed With Body Modificiation
Janet Jay is a cyborg. No, she’s not RoboCop or Darth Vader. But she shares a similarity with those characters: Her all-too-human body has been upgraded with a machine. A next-generation implant deep in Jay’s back stimulates her spinal cord, overriding her body’s pain signals to give her some relief from the back pain that has plagued her for years. (Blakemore, 9/16)
NPR: Seniors Flock To Marijuana Dispensaries To Relieve Aches And Pains
Shirley Avedon, 90, had never been a cannabis user. But carpal tunnel syndrome that sends shooting pains into both of her hands and an aversion to conventional steroid and surgical treatments is prompting her to consider some new options. "It's very painful, sometimes I can't even open my hand," Avedon says. (O'Neill, 9/17)
Arizona Republic: Small Particulates In The Air Linked To Dementia, ASU Research Finds
Researchers from Arizona State University have found another good reason to stay indoors on days when the local air pollution is high — it could help prevent dementia. A recently released working paper by three ASU economists makes the case that prolonged exposure to air pollution does not just cause respiratory problems, but also puts individuals at higher risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. (Innes, 9/14)
The Washington Post: David Salamone, Who Contracted Polio From Vaccine And Helped Spur Changes In U.S. Immunization Policy, Dies At 28
“We had a very healthy 8-pound, 8-ounce baby boy, no problems at all,” John Salamone said in 1995, describing his then-5-year-old son, David. The problems started when David was 4 months old and received a routine oral vaccination for polio. He had a fever and a rash, but within weeks his parents noticed he could no longer crawl or turn over. (Schudel, 9/15)
The Washington Post: Face Transplant: Canadian Hunter Maurice Desjardins Becomes World's Oldest Face Transplant Recipient
A bullet fired from a rifle during a hunting trip left Maurice Desjardins with a severely damaged face. Despite the efforts of doctors and surgeons, who tried rebuilding the his face with plates, screws and even some bone that came from his leg, he was left with holes in his face instead of a full nose, and a mouth that he was unable to fully close. (Rosenberg, 9/14)
