Category: Lung Cancer
Higher U.S. spending for cancer care pays off in almost two years of additional life for American cancer patients on average compared to their European counterparts — a value that offsets our higher costs.
Deaths from cancer in the U.S. declined from 1999 to 2008, maintaining a trend seen since the early 1990s. Mortality fell for most cancer types, including the four most common types of cancer in the United States — lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate –, although the rate of decline varied by cancer type and across racial and ethnic groups.
Some companies are also penalizing employees who don’t give up cigarettes by hitting them with higher health insurance premiums.
In the previous five years, the 7 percent of retailers were caught selling tobacco to underage teens. This year the number caught jumped to 15 percent of the time.
Cancer often takes a heavy toll not only on people’s bodies but on their finances as well. And just as some types of cancer are more deadly than others, some types cause more financial pain,
Washington’s Tobacco Quit Line will no longer provide services to the general population, but King County residents and some other groups can get help other sources.
Cancer’s impact on the developing world goes largely unrecognized and unaddressed, panelists said at a Seattle World Affairs Council event held Wednesday night at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Washington residents who are ready to quit smoking can now receive at least two weeks of free nicotine patches or gum if they call the state Tobacco Quitline in May or June. People without insurance can also get eight weeks of nicotine replacement therapy. Those on Medicaid are already eligible for a 12 week supply.
Electronic cigarettes are drawing heavy media and marketing attention, but it’s not known whether they help smokers cut down or quit.
While quitting smoking is tough, you have a better chance of succeeding when you have help: smokers who get counseling, combined with medication and other support, have a much better chance of quitting and staying tobacco-free.
The U.S. must spend $500 million on prevention this year. Rather than spreading it around, writes Robert Gould, it would be best to target one thing: tobacco.
An analysis of lung cancer screening results in 3,200 people finds that 21% to 33% of the suspicious nodules found by CT scans are not really cancer.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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