Latest News On Cancer

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Long-Excluded Uterine Cancer Patients Are a Step Closer to 9/11 Benefits

KFF Health News Original

More than 20 years after the terrorist attacks, the World Trade Center Health Program is considering covering the most common form of uterine cancer, in what patient advocates say is a key acknowledgment of the women affected by the 9/11 fallout.

Oncology Doctors Say the Build Back Better Act Will Slash Cancer Care Funding — A Skewed Argument

KFF Health News Original

The Community Oncology Alliance is targeting the prescription drug provisions of the Build Back Better Act, saying they will trigger deep cuts in oncologists’ pay, causing clinics to close and health care costs to rise. But it leaves out some important details.

Covid-Overwhelmed Hospitals Postpone Cancer Care and Other Treatment

KFF Health News Original

Patients with advanced cancer and heart disease are among those who have had to have surgeries and other treatments delayed and rescheduled as a high number of critically ill, unvaccinated covid patients strain the medical system.

‘Luckiest Man Alive’: Why 9/11 First Responders’ Outlooks May Improve Even as Physical Health Fails

KFF Health News Original

The New York City Fire Department’s 20-year report on the health consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks finds that first responders consistently report mental health quality-of-life indicators that are better than those of average Americans, even as their physical health declines.

‘Kicking You When You’re Down’: Many Cancer Patients Pay Dearly for Parking

KFF Health News Original

Patients often fork over payments comparable to valet rates to park while receiving care. A recent study found that some of the country’s most prestigious cancer centers charge nearly $1,700 over the course of treatment for some types of the disease.

Getting a Prescription to Die Remains Tricky Even as Aid-in-Dying Bills Gain Momentum

KFF Health News Original

Access to physician-assisted death is expanding across the U.S., but the procedure remains in Montana’s legal gray zone more than a decade after the state Supreme Court ruled physicians could use a dying patient’s consent as a defense.

Gene Screenings Hold Disease Clues, but Unexplained Anomalies Often Raise Fears

KFF Health News Original

Multiple-gene panel tests are frequently offered to patients at risk for diseases such as cancer that can assess more than 80 genes. But in screening a wide variety of genes, doctors might see a variant that hasn’t yet been deciphered and be unable to explain its significance, leaving patients with concerns and no answers.

New Legal Push Aims to Speed Magic Mushrooms to Dying Patients

KFF Health News Original

A proposal in Washington state would use right-to-try laws to allow terminally ill patients access to psilocybin — the famed magic mushrooms of America’s psychedelic ’60s — to ease depression and anxiety.

NIH Spearheads Study To Test At-Home Screening For HPV And Cervical Cancer

KFF Health News Original

The National Cancer Institute plans to launch a multisite study next year involving roughly 5,000 women to assess whether self-sampling at home for the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer is comparable to screening in a doctor’s office.

Fearing The Deadly Combo Of COVID-19 And Cancer

KFF Health News Original

Cancer patients seeking care during the coronavirus pandemic face an array of obstacles as states reopen, such as heavily restricted in-hospital appointments and new clinical trials on hold.

Cancer Patients Face Treatment Delays And Uncertainty As Coronavirus Cripples Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

As hospitals across the country are forced to delay or cancel certain medical procedures in response to the surge in patients with COVID-19, those hard choices are disrupting care for some people with serious illnesses.

The Golden State’s Mixed Record On Lung Cancer

KFF Health News Original

California has one of the lowest rates of new lung cancer cases in the country, attributed largely to its aggressive anti-tobacco policies. But gaps in the state’s health care system mean that people who are diagnosed with the disease, or at a high risk of getting it, often fall through the cracks.